Hi all. i approached this subject a while back, just need some advice.

Ive found a front pair of wings, the guy wants £100 for them and £25 to post them to me.

They are repro items but he assures me they are good quality thick metal. there is only light surface rust, so they dont need much work to make good.

I feel this is a good price for the wings?

Ive asked him what gauge/thickness the metal is as i remember some of you stressed this is the one thing which is noticed most buy hardcore enthuaiasts, do you guys know roughly what the the thickness should be.

Please help me with these two questions as i dont want to miss buying them, if they are as good to me as i think?
Kind regards
Lee Ivatt

(PS still need CABEL BRAKE ROD and INNER DRUM WORKING PARTS)  15959.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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Personally I don't know about the thickness, I just notice the shape at the bottom at the back.  8924.jpg You have insufficient rights to see the content.

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I wouldnt buy repro front wings! Regardless of description by the seller.
Ideally look for oval wings to get the right humps and deep sides, or at least go for genuine old 60's wings and modify them (you wont get the humps with 60's, but at least you will have good quality wings)
Also they will get damaged being delivered. Wings are a collection only item!

Again for rear wings, if you dont want to spend on oval, use genuine 60's and get the split light inserts from Wolfparts, or you could use the good new repro rears if you really want and do the same.

Repro rear wings are better than they used to be, but you still want to see them before you buy. With repro wings you need to feel round the rolled edges as sometimes they are really badly pressed and look awful!

If you can wait til Stanford Hall get a look there at some real split/oval and 60's wings on cars in the Historic display and you can see the differences for yourself before committing.
I am sure there will be some for sale at Stanford too.

(All this is assuming you dont want to pay a fortune for split wings)

I think later on you will really regret painting cheap/repro wings for your 49.

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Thanks anna, yeh your probably right. You see this is the biggest problem i have. I always end up buying cars that are bare shells. It would be alright if i had old parts on the car for reference, but as you know i have nothing at all!!!
Do you know if there any copies on websites of workshop manuals for 1949-1953 vws. I met a chap today who had one at home but hes to scared to use it as it may get damaged. he said i should be able to find info such as exploded parts diagrams on the net. Maby then i'll have a n idea as to what im missing in the first place.

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Who'd have thought that the volkszone troublemaker could be so helpful :wink: :lol:

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https://www.kaefer-nostalgie.com/ 

Have a look in their literature section. They do a copy of a 1950 parts catalogue that might help you.

Malc

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Front wings with the upward curved rear step disappeared with the first square windows in late 1957...I'm virtually sure...
It always irritates me when I see beautifully restored splits or ovals with the later 'smooth' flat wing detail. This is a detail which always jumps straight out, I find.

Yes the more i think about it id be stupid to buy these wings. looks like an expensive search is on for some old split wings.

thanks malc, i'll give them a look. I spent many hours last night sitting next to the chassis with an old 1954 service (haynes type) manual and the vintage vw catalogue from ssp. Guess you all warned me when i was buying it, in hind sight i should have bought the crash damaged 1950 that owain warlow was offering, at least it was almost complete. Guess i was impatient but i do have a 1949, so as long as i keep geting help from all you guys im sure the car will be a "good'un".

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:lol: :lol:



You can compromise with the wings in places, split wings will cost an arm and a leg, and even if you find some, making them straight and dentfree for a shiny car is a seriously hard task. ( Mine are dented and chewed up because it suits my car!)
The trouble is, once you line them up all together the year changes appear much more apparent, and then there's no going back!

But at least if you can find oval fronts and 60's rears you are well on the way to making them appear correct ( with some work and modifications)

Anyway, you have a 49! And one day you will make it drive along the road again too! I dont know about you, but even I am excited! :D

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I'm not sure about the running board step shape, but the early shape front wings ran later than `57. Up until `60 or `61 I think. The the area outside the headlamp bowls has a more pronounced dip and the wheelarch lips are an inch lower. They do look different, though maybe only to pervs like us lot!

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