Low Slung T
- Thread starter dwsatt21
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EX JUNK
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dwsatt21
Active Member
If anyone wants some motivation to make sure you buy a quality body from a reputable manufacturer, here it comes..
So I'm doing a little work on fitting my windshield frame. The cowl has a little bit of a hump in the center of the body. So I'm working on taking it down a bit so that the frame sits evenly over the cowl.
You may notice the nice size air pocket on the passenger side. No biggie, I can fill it easily. But well done fiberglass doesn't have so many air pockets.
But as I kept sanding I started thinking about my experience with this body so far. I've seen countless air pockets and thin fiberglass on every place I've sanded on. So I'm glad I took it slow taking the cowl down a bit, but I wasn't quite slow enough. I stopped to check for thin spots and found this.
Although this is a bummer, I'm not too worried about it. I can pretty easily add a few more layers of glass to build it back up. But if I was not comfortable with fiberglass this would be a nightmare. I would say this is probably the second hardest place on these bodies to get to when fiberglassing. The first being the corners where the windshield posts mount.
Either way, I'm done until I get it built back up. I still have about 1/16" to 1/8" gaps at the edges of the frame by the posts.
Do you guys think I will be alright with that amount of gap once I paint and put the seal in between the frame and body? If not, I'll probably just build the outside up a bit to level it out.
So I'm doing a little work on fitting my windshield frame. The cowl has a little bit of a hump in the center of the body. So I'm working on taking it down a bit so that the frame sits evenly over the cowl.
You may notice the nice size air pocket on the passenger side. No biggie, I can fill it easily. But well done fiberglass doesn't have so many air pockets.
But as I kept sanding I started thinking about my experience with this body so far. I've seen countless air pockets and thin fiberglass on every place I've sanded on. So I'm glad I took it slow taking the cowl down a bit, but I wasn't quite slow enough. I stopped to check for thin spots and found this.
Although this is a bummer, I'm not too worried about it. I can pretty easily add a few more layers of glass to build it back up. But if I was not comfortable with fiberglass this would be a nightmare. I would say this is probably the second hardest place on these bodies to get to when fiberglassing. The first being the corners where the windshield posts mount.
Either way, I'm done until I get it built back up. I still have about 1/16" to 1/8" gaps at the edges of the frame by the posts.
Do you guys think I will be alright with that amount of gap once I paint and put the seal in between the frame and body? If not, I'll probably just build the outside up a bit to level it out.
dwsatt21
Active Member
Oh yeah. I got my fuel tank ordered on Monday. I'm told they will be shipping it next week since it has some custom options. I can say this so far, the company I ordered it from has great customer service so far. They answered all my questions fairly quickly and seem very nice to work with. Hopefully the tank meets my expectations and at least holds fuel when I get it. Also the price was right. Pics to come in a few weeks of that!!
fletcherson
Well-Known Member
I agree about the body. Mine has more added glass than it came with, but I wanted it to be strong for two doors, and I wanted the windshield frame to be strong enough to endure being used as a hand rail to help enter, exit. My cowl was very warped also and several others have mentioned that trait. Also, I had to remove the door lines and move the door location back to clear the windshield post brackets. When I did that, one side of the body was concave, the other was convex. It was clearly molded that way. I actually had to sand so much material off of one side to get it strait that I had to glass over the inside for strength. The other side required filling. You don't save money by buying a cheap body if you value your time. Mine was a used old school car that I am redoing, but I wouldn't do it again with a similar body. Keep us posted about your tank, I'm interested to learn how you like it. I'm in the market soon for one as well.
Intrepid
Active Member
Not sure if you noticed my pics in my thread.
I am glassing in a piece of steel under that lip so that I can weld studs to the bottom of the windshield frame and nut them down from the bottom.
If you need to still go down 1/8 you can glass from the bottom side and fill the top cracks with resin.
I am glassing in a piece of steel under that lip so that I can weld studs to the bottom of the windshield frame and nut them down from the bottom.
If you need to still go down 1/8 you can glass from the bottom side and fill the top cracks with resin.
Intrepid
Active Member
dan nichols
Member
mine was really bad also but i knew when i bought it that it was going to be cut up and changed. but your right if a person is afraid of glass work they are better off buying a quality body. i have way more in mine now then if i would ave got a better on but i also feel i learned some skills i didnt have before so it was worth it i guess. your build is moving along nicely for sure cant wait to see it done.
dwsatt21
Active Member
Had a busy weekend. Pulled the body off. Flipped it upside down and laid some more glass under the windshield frame area of the cowl to patch up the thin spots. It was actually way easier to get to than I had anticipated. I also sanded it down a little more. Still not quite there yet though.
dwsatt21
Active Member
I then started working on my windshield frame a bit. Once I sucked the frame tight into the post, I realized that I had measured a bit wrong for the frame width. I needed to take about 5/8" more out of it.
So I needed to make this thing 5/8" shorter, keep the contour and keep the threads.
Here is the final product. I'm happy with it and the bolt still bottoms out in the hole. I did have to tap the threads inside a bit longer.
Here it is very roughly mocked up. You can still see the slight gap between the cowl and the frame on the drivers side in this picture. It is the same on the passenger side. This picture doesn't really show that.
Too bad I didn't give CCR the right measurements in the first place. Then I wouldn't have had to do all this work. However, it pushed me to use my persuasion skills with my wife to acquire that nice little tool sitting on the bench in the background of this pic. New machinery is always a win!!
So I needed to make this thing 5/8" shorter, keep the contour and keep the threads.
Here is the final product. I'm happy with it and the bolt still bottoms out in the hole. I did have to tap the threads inside a bit longer.
Here it is very roughly mocked up. You can still see the slight gap between the cowl and the frame on the drivers side in this picture. It is the same on the passenger side. This picture doesn't really show that.
Too bad I didn't give CCR the right measurements in the first place. Then I wouldn't have had to do all this work. However, it pushed me to use my persuasion skills with my wife to acquire that nice little tool sitting on the bench in the background of this pic. New machinery is always a win!!
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fletcherson
Well-Known Member
I don't know how I survived without a drill press, lol, I have since procured a cross slide with a vice for it to allow very precise drilling and even some basic mill function. I went years without torches too, I can't imagine working without them now. Another injustice of life, you work all your life without proper tools, you procure them along the way and by the time you have everything you need, the show is over! No fair!
dwsatt21
Active Member
Got home from work yesterday with my fuel tank waiting for me.
Rear view of the tank.
Bottom view of tank with send and return ports.
Inside view. You can see the baffle in this pic.
Inside view #2. In this pic you can kind of see the hole that goes into the sump. This is the only area I currently have a concern about. There is a bur still sticking on the tank on the inside where they cut the hole for the sump. I could get the camera at the right angle to see it. I should be able to get something in there to knock it off and then fish it out. They should have checked for burs on the inside before welding the sump on.
Last pic, the brackets that came with it.
Overall, I am very pleased with it. Is should look good and will work good for my application. It was packaged well. Custom made and delivered quickly.
Rear view of the tank.
Bottom view of tank with send and return ports.
Inside view. You can see the baffle in this pic.
Inside view #2. In this pic you can kind of see the hole that goes into the sump. This is the only area I currently have a concern about. There is a bur still sticking on the tank on the inside where they cut the hole for the sump. I could get the camera at the right angle to see it. I should be able to get something in there to knock it off and then fish it out. They should have checked for burs on the inside before welding the sump on.
Last pic, the brackets that came with it.
Overall, I am very pleased with it. Is should look good and will work good for my application. It was packaged well. Custom made and delivered quickly.
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