After experiencing blistering and paint cracking on the wing on my GT5, I had a body shop strip it down to see what the problem was. What a revelation! I don't know if any of you guys have seen how these things are built, but they are basically held together by Bondo!
My first clue to this should have been three years ago, when my wing fell off the struts. The body shop then warned me that, although they had riveted it back on, they could not guarantee it would stay because there was nothing substantial inside to which they could attach the struts.
As far as I can tell, there is no structural integrity to the wings whatsoever. They consist of a couple sheets of very thin aluminum wrapped over some kind of a resin core. Once the adhesive holding the aluminum to the core starts to let go, the filler slathered over top starts to crack.
The two pieces of aluminum are not joined in any way. I expect you could easily break the wing in half just by bending it over your knee. The two pieces of aluminum are so mismatched that 1/4" of filler is needed just to even them up. With the filler removed, I estimate that half the weight is gone.
The struts are merely riveted to the aluminum skin.
I took my wing to a custom metalworking specialist, who told me it is so poorly conceived that it can't be made sound. He said it would be cheaper and easier to start from scratch and build a new one.
I have decided to keep the original wing as a souvenir and purchase a new one, in the hope that an aftermarket wing will be more structurally sound. I am looking for some advice on who makes the best, strongest and lightest wings that will mount in the original holes on my deck lid. I need the new wing to be as close to stock in appearance and size as possible.
Any suggestions?
Original Post