Fiberglass body construction methods?

[alteredpilot]

Ok, so what methods/techniques/materials etc. are used to construct what people would consider the 'best' t bucket bodies?

i've had probably 5 different fiberglass t roadster bodies, not including the one on my race car and some felt super solid, heavy and rigid while others felt light and flimsy, and i always wondered what the difference was in the construction of the body.

do they all use a single type of material or a combination of different types? is there a magic number for the number of layers? those are the kind of answers i'm looking for mostly because i don't know what questions to ask.

is there a reason i never see bodies sold with wood or steel reinforcement already glassed in?

thanks for your input!

 

[jimbo01]

A good mold is the first place to start. Builder reputation is the next step or kind of go hand in hand. The process that is used on most if not all bodies is chopper or spray up. I'd ask for the thickness of the body and what they do to avoid porosity in tight areas and corners. I would guess a heavier glass weight would build a stiffer body. I don't believe any company offers wood or steel reinforcement in their bodies because of the different building techniques or upholstery needs. I'm also a stickler on nice gel coat. It would be very nice to see bodies made using the LPMC or SMC methods but the cost would be so high nobody could afford them because of the cost of the nickel molds. I would also much prefer a cold molded body over spray up or chopper. But once again the demand just isn't there to warrant the cost for tooling and production.

 

[TriodeLuvr]

Is that correct, all these bodies are built with chopper guns? No one is doing layups?

Jack

 

[EX JUNK]

When my son made my body he hand laid the glass and let it "cure" in the mold for several days thereby eliminating the warping that is seen in many cheap bodies. There is NO wood in my body. (No comments please. LOL) We reinforced it in critical areas with steel and them foamed the inside. After the foam cured we laid down more glass on the inside and created a VERY strong body.

Jim

 

[Hotrod46]

My body (Russnomore in LA) is double wall construction. I bought it unassembled and glued it up myself. I added wood and metal reinforcing in some places even though I was told it wasn't needed.

I added wood around the perimeter of the upper body in the event that I wanted to install a top. The door opening got both wood and metal. There is also a metal tube installed under the dash for the steering column support.

Seems that I remember them saying that they laid a single layer of glass by hand next to the gel coat and then chopper gunned the rest.

 

[RPM]

ALL of our glass parts are all hand laid. No chopper guns!

 

[bobs66440]

There is NO wood in my body. (No comments please. LOL)

Ok, no comment

 

[bigblk1177]

When my son made my body he hand laid the glass and let it "cure" in the mold for several days thereby eliminating the warping that is seen in many cheap bodies. There is NO wood in my body. (No comments please. LOL) We reinforced it in critical areas with steel and them foamed the inside. After the foam cured we laid down more glass on the inside and created a VERY strong body.

Jim

So that means no Woodies for you? LOL Couldn't help myself

 

[alteredpilot]

@RPM...
So do you guys use a specific weight cloth or mat or a combination of both? how many layers do you guys use? thanks.

 

[Carolina Man]

Good Thread,

 

[choppinczech]

I use pieces of .5 oz. E-glass cloth next to the gel coat and then 4 layers of 1 1/2 oz. mat for the most part. (Feather those edges). Here and there I'll go with up to 6 layers of mat.

Plus unidirectional, biaxial, Coremat, glass tape, chopped for filets, or whatever that area needs.

The best layups are done with vacuum infusion (bagging). You can't beat it. No air pockets, and even distribution of resin. Look up 'vacuum infusion' videos. It's an awesome method.

 

[Ttownbucket]

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