Repair panels recommended suppliers

[GavinL]

i appreciate that this can be a contentious issue, but as a 'newbie' who is about to buy some new panels and repair sections for my car, i've read some of the posts about poor quality panels with concern. So, i'd appreciate feedback from those who have purchased full or repair panels recently which they have been happy with, and which have fitted without requiring significant reworking, and who they got them from.

[firedrake1942]

I am an ESM fan but hate the heritage wings with that seam down the front. Not so impressed by BM tho.

[greendefender123]

ESM i got all my repair panels from them. Well apart from my spring hangers as i wanted them on small panels not the complete repair panels or on there own. Iv found the panels to be excellent quality. The service from them is excellent. Any problems and they sort it out straight away.

[ManyMinors]

I am an ESM fan but hate the heritage wings with that seam down the front. Not so impressed by BM tho.

Every Morris Minor wing ever made by anyone has the seam at the front. It is easy enough to fill it in if you wish - which is what the factory did originally. The cheap pattern ones are FAR worse in respect of the seams.

What has not impressed you with Bull Motif's panels? I bought all mine from them for my Minor saloon and thought they were excellent - good fit, good quality steel and good value. I'm fairly certain they use the same supplier as ESM anyway? I had previously bought some from Charles Wares and thought them pretty poor quality by comparison.

[firedrake1942]

MM I suspect most of the panels come from the same supplier in the end, but individual ones from BM have seemed inferior, perhaps just the luck of the draw - even panels from the same supplier can vary.

I agree all had the horizontal seam which used to be leaded, requiring a small amount of work, but the long diagonal seam seemed (sorry) to me, to be absent on the last set of wings I put on.

I also noticed a huge difference in gauge and weight when I took the original wings off and compared them to replacements, but later car panels did get thinner , i think in an effort to reduce cost.

[chickenjohn]

ESM bought all the old Hadrian tooling when they went out of business and did a good job of improving the panels from there. ESM manufacture most of the panels they sell. The RP135 L and R for example now come with original looking drain holes and fit to both the floor pan and sill edge panel a lot better. Plus decent gauge.

I second ESM. My only criticism of the ESM panels is they should paint them in a weldable etch rather than the cheap black paint the panels come in.

[Chipper]

I also noticed a huge difference in gauge and weight when I took the original wings off and compared them to replacements, but later car panels did get thinner , i think in an effort to reduce cost.

According to Wikipedia:

"For a short time in 1968, the thickness of the steel used in the bonnet and doors was decreased from 1.2 mm to 1.0 mm to act as a form of crumple zone, but as the wings continued to be made of 1.4 mm mild steel, the modification was pointless and ineffectual and was reversed in 1969 as it increased passenger compartment crush in collisions."

[amgrave]

I thought most repair panels were about 1mm thick now, I stand to be corrected though

[firedrake1942]

There was definitely a difference between 1957 and 1981 wings !

[ManyMinors]

The difference in weight between an old wing and a new one is probably simply the amount of dirt, paint and underseal etc which has been added over the years. I've never felt that there was much difference in metal thickness between early and later models of our cars or the OE replacement panels - although certainly the "pattern" wings available seem a thinner steel.
When I've removed old wings from my cars over the years I agree they've been heavier than the replacements but not because of the steel gauge.

[IaininTenbury]

I doubt if any wings were made in 1.4 mm steel (16g). It'd be difficult for such a deep draw pressing and not needed for a non structural panel. Genuine old ones seem to be around 1mm and pattern new ones less, probably 22g as many modern car panels are. Those are the ones with super sharp edges to catch the unwary.... I'll 'mike' up a lowlight wing now, just for curiosity...

[philthehill]

Every good tool kit should contain a metal thickness gauge - preferably Moore and Wright - calibrated in both SWG and Metric.

[Boxofbits]

ESM bought all the old Hadrian tooling when they went out of business and did a good job of improving the panels from there. ESM manufacture most of the panels they sell. The RP135 L and R for example now come with original looking drain holes and fit to both the floor pan and sill edge panel a lot better. Plus decent gauge.

I second ESM. My only criticism of the ESM panels is they should paint them in a weldable etch rather than the cheap black paint the panels come in.

With regard to ESM panels, I wonder if some believe that the 'cheap black paint' you refer to is primer, as it most certainly isn't ! It comes off very easily, and should be erased altogether and re-primed in a zinc based primer. I have seen a Minor which was rebuilt but which has rotted out badly again, and I wonder if the lack of rubbing off the black paint and re-priming was the problem.

Kevin

[Mac76]

Just about to begin a full undercarriage rebuild. I have read the black paint on repair panels should be and can be clezned off with thinners. Is there a weldable zinc primer? Or should I red oxide all repair panels as a primer?

[Chipper]

Yes, there is, for example:

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/paints ... d-2-primer