Missing trim part?

[The_Hawk]

This bit here:



seems to have gone missing, the question is, is this part also part of the original wheel arches?

Like the ones in this photo:


If true, it means when the previous owner removed the arches they had to buy these little bits? Meaning they most likely weakened the clips holding the bits together

So, is this one of those times when it's a good excuse to get new arches since I can't leave it missing that piece...

[Tim]

your car is a 96. They never had the arches. they never had any of the textured stuff cept for the front lip, skirts and bottom of the rear apron.
All the strips are sposed to be as in the pic. Its the front bumper that is the missmatch from a 94 or 95 model car.
U should be able to replace just that little bit if u want. Need to find it from a late model car or a dealer though. and then have it colour matched.

[rayray086]

your car is a 96. They never had the arches. they never had any of the textured stuff cept for the front lip, skirts and bottom of the rear apron.
All the strips are sposed to be as in the pic. Its the front bumper that is the missmatch from a 94 or 95 model car.
U should be able to replace just that little bit if u want. Need to find it from a late model car or a dealer though. and then have it colour matched.

True. Your bumper should have been colour-matched rather than textured. And yes, the wheel arches on pre-96 models have that bit as part of the front arches. However they are the thick strips - they stick out lower by a few mm. This matches the pre-96 model side mouldings.

[The_Hawk]

You can *just* make out in the photos (or maybe it's just because I konw it's there) marking from where wheel arches were.

I know this car was a "repairable write off" at some stage, so it could be the front quarters are from a pre 96?

The car itself is a 1/96 build.

So will the wheel arches pictured fit into my car? /me looks at rayray...

[Tim]

makes sense. they probly had a parts car they replaced the front end from.

[Tim]

if you wanted some of the wheel arch trims i have a few. Only front ones though. dont have any rears left.
I have 2 each of the front ones. brand new. And i also have 1 each of the front ones second hand in excellent condition. you would need to look at replacing the side trims and the rear bumper though. otherwise it wouldnt look right in my opinion

[gpk_gti]

its just part of the side trim,iv replaced it on my old mk3 vry when i had it.not part of the wheel arch as said b4 as you have a later model. order it from VW,cant be worth that much!

[peedman]

Mate goto a car dealer and steal one of their cars lol. The rears will look a bit funny if u have coloured tops.

[Tim]

Mate goto a car dealer and steal one of their cars lol. The rears will look a bit funny if u have coloured tops.

peedmans car looks like it has the same trims your car needs. Does he park in the street?

[DubSteve]

There is a 94 GL in my street that I use for parts aswell

[rayray086]

I feel genuinely scared for my car now!

Hawk, they will fit the car, but it won't flow right. Just to give you a visualisation : (dammit I hate it when the n: pops up)



See how the wheel arch trim going parallel to the ground is thicker than the door side mouldings? That's how it would look on your car, and maybe even more awkward since your side mouldings are painted, not textured. It's up to you to fit them or not now!

As for the markings, they might be something else. Your fenders have an oval indicator, which means it's >96. These fenders never came with wheel arches.

[The_Hawk]

These fenders never came with wheel arches.

Which is very odd since there is clearly arch marks on the panels where the arches have been romved (on the front).

Maybe it really has had earlier model panels put on the front...

Being that the rest of the car is black I suppose it couldn't be all that hard to match black to black then get the arches painted to match...

what to do, what to do...

bloody missing part. Before that went missing I was willing to live with (and try to remove) the arch marks... now....

I mean if I have to get a small part painted to match, why not get the whole arch painted... then is the question about arches vs no arches...

damn I don't know what to do.

[peedman]

Mate if i were u i'd go down the cheap route. Either get that side trim off loon next time he wrecks a car or pop down to some wreckers and pocket one or even pay for it! Shouldnt cost u more than $10 then buy a spray can matched to ur colour code = $25 and spray it up. Then a can of clear $10 and u got that piece back for under $50 and spare paint if u need it.

If u wanna go even cheaper just get plain old flat black paint $7. Comprendey?

[The_Hawk]

Interesting... had a look thismorning and it seems I have all the mounting holes for the arches.

Do the later model cars have mounting holes even though they don't have the arches?

I also noticed that the rear quarters also look like they have had the skirts removed at some stage with some minor markings left behind.

very wierd to see all the mounting holes as well as the obvious arch markings if this car never should have come with arches.

See how the wheel arch trim going parallel to the ground is thicker than the door side mouldings? That's how it would look on your car, and maybe even more awkward since your side mouldings are painted, not textured. It's up to you to fit them or not now!

As for that extra little bit of width on the arch... there is a small recess that that small trim part sits in on the panel, will the arch part actually fit into that recess or is it going to be too wide?

I'm starting to think it may be a better option to just grab that small missing part and not go down the arch path.

I think I may also have to pull the front bar off completely, maybe including the front lip and paint them up black to match the car.

[rayray086]

It fits in as the insert on the trim and the hole in the car matches.

FYI, my car also has the mounting holes, but the GL never came with the arches.