I needlessly destroyed a lower bi-wing

[Scott Evil]

What was Ford thinking? My upper bi-wing has been cracked and I have NOS replacements collecting dust in my basement, so I thought I would just replace the upper wing. The old one was toast enough that I could remove easily without removing the lower wing's overlap. The lower wing looks like new, so I wanted to leave it as is.

However, it was quite impossible to install the new one, without removing the lower piece. So, I pulled apart the inner hatch pieces and attempted to loosen the anchor nuts. Instead of the nuts loosening, the whole damn anchors twisted in the cheap, flimsy plastic holders. Only three came loose without destroying the plastic mounts, the other six cracked and broke. So I removed the whole thing and started installing the new lower piece. I guess it would have cost Ford too much to add more reinforced plastic so the thing could be removed and reinstalled.

What a waste!

[140cilx]

I understand how you feel on a great many topics.

Hang in there.

[Pat_in_L.A.]

I only had 1 or 2 do that on my lower wing when I removed it. Save the old chunks of plastic and look into JB Weld or industrial grade epoxies.

[Eyelawdoc]

Like Pat says, you can reglue the broken parts with JB Weld or Epoxy and repair the old one good as new!

[Ken Potter]

Plug the holes!

If you decide not to repair / use all the studs be sure to plug the holes in the hatch or water will get inside the hatch and rust it along the bottom edge from the inside out... Same goes for the studs... The black caulking / gasketing is available from autobody supply houses, some parts stores, and Eastwood catalog. Gotta seal it up or it WILL rust.

[indiana dave]

A trick for anyone in the future reading this... Use plenty of WD40 or similar stuff on the studs before trying to remove them...
btw... i think I have about half of the studs holding my wing on now... They're long gone