Full Respray With New Panels And Welding.

Hello,

We're having a full glass out respray done on our Mk1 which is due to start April-ish. This will include new front n/s and o/s wings and rear n/s and o/s wheel arches. I've got a couple of questions;

1) Have people in the past opted for the cheaper repro wings/arches? Or the more expensive genuine items? Guessing the repro's are bit trickier to fit. Any advice or experience on both types from own experiences? Also any suppliers that can be recommended.

2) Any further tips to removing glass? I have read the usual "put your feet against the top corners, push evenly and have a mate to catch it".

Thank in advance, can't wait to get stuck in again now

Andy

wings, if you can afford it, 100% genuine.

rear arches i got repro an tbh, the fit wasnt too bad just a bit of tweakinf but i used the arch only so 90% of the panel was wasted

Genuine wings weren't so available when I did mine but if I was doing it again would definitely go genuine, rear panels, front panels and arches were pattern and not too bad fitment / quality wise

Simon

only wings i have ever had a good fit straight away with are pop-on and i think they are long gone! i would buy genuine if you can. arches dont matter just leave as much orignal metal as you can. as said above around 90% will be wasted.
for the glass the hatch and rear windows peel the rubber in a corner and push, it will start to move out.

Took me an hour to remove one rear quarter of glass.  Then a mate popped over who is a window fitter and did the whole car in 20 mins!

He used a seal/oring hook to loosen the 30 year old seals on the inside.  Basically a curved spike and ran it between the seal and bodywork on the inside of the car.  Then even pressure from his feet on the inside and they popped out into my waiting hands! The windscreen was cracked anyway and that fractured in multiple places, not sure whether they are more fragile than the other panes?? Maybe worth cutting the seal on the windscreen? No guarantees on any of them though!!

break the seal on the inside with a curved wire like mentioned above, then use a blunt flat blade screw driver taped at the end and work the seal over the body lip so it goes onto the outside of the car, keep going all rpund and the glass will come free, dont use your feet or push out with force tec,you dont need your mates to catch it, chances are it will break like that

Thanks for the replies. Genuine seems to be the way to go then if the prices work out!! Anyrecommended retailers  where prices/shipping were good?

Going to look into the wire/hook between interior seal and bodywork method. Not going to actually give it a go yet or I'll have a wet golf for the next few months! 

Also need to look at new seals to put the glass back in!! All the current rubbers/seals are pretty grotty!!

Andy 

If you're replacing the seals then I'd just cut the old ones off (carefully, minding fingers and paintwork!) then the glass will come out much easier