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Fiberglass parts for FB...

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Old May 14, 2008 | 06:31 AM
  #76  
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Yeah I think you pretty much have a choice of either fresh air or air that recirculates inside the cabin.
Old May 15, 2008 | 01:06 PM
  #77  
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im just wondering if any of you guys think someone should make this kinda of kit. having the stock lines but jsut wider. also for tire and brake cooling. for ex.





mrs front fender



and a mock up. dont laugh i tried. rear look wierd but u get teh point.


or
Old May 15, 2008 | 02:39 PM
  #78  
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I would honestly say that you might as well design it as a widebody kit? That way you can adjust for how squarish it will look.

Maybe if I get off my lazy artist's block *** and do a couple of sketches I'll post them up... maybe?
Old May 15, 2008 | 05:11 PM
  #79  
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Another widebody design would be awesome but I'm not sure I like that design. I'm all for function over form but there is a limit LOL. I still like the idea of having 20-30mm wider stock fenders for someone who doesn't want a full widebody but wants to run wider wheels. Finding flares that fit the car without modifying is getting harder and harder
Old May 15, 2008 | 06:51 PM
  #80  
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I'll probably be making some fenders before I make any hoods. Somebody had mentioned stock-style fenders that had a bit more clearance and that idea's stuck with me. I like more "custom" stuff, but I don't think I've really seen any good wide-body kits that would really look good on an FB. And I haven't had any success finding a TII hood that's junk with a good scoop to use, so I may as well try to build the scoop and mold it into an FB hod when I start that. The FC hoods are aluminum anyway, so I can't weld the scoop up to an FB to make an original...Oh well-I'll figure that out when I get there...

Sorry I don't have the cowl panel finished yet. I did manage to take my board sander to it and realized that it'll have to have at least one more coat of filler before she's ready to build molds from. You guys will appreciate the time I'm taking to insure the originals are perfect once the parts are avaliable-that means less time and work involved for you or your body man, saving $ in the long run. Once it's perfectly straight, I'll have to spend a couple of days primering, painting, wet-sanding, and polishing it so it's as smooth as a baby's ***. It won't be much longer-I'll have 'em ready before you know it...

The main reason it's been taking me so long to get it finished is the job I'm working on now. I'm installing an air ride suspension on a unique car that's been appraised at $100k. The owner's what he would call a "heavyweight", and I believe that he'll eventually give me a hand starting my own shop-so I've been busting my *** on this car to keep him happy. I'll squeeze in a bit of time for the fiberglass parts, but most of my concentration is completing this car at the moment. Once it's finished, I'll be full-force in the parts-producing department (hopefully in my own shop soon). I'll continue to keep you guys updated as often as I can, and I'll post some pics of the cowl panel just as soon as the last coat of filler is applied and sanded smooth...

Thanks for your patience with me guys-I promise you it'll pay off in the long run...
Old May 15, 2008 | 07:47 PM
  #81  
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No one is pressuring you to finish on an impossible deadline man, just take your time. Take care of whatever priorities you need to before these and by all means take your time on the parts. Yeah some of us may get impatient but quality is what's key and if it takes time then that's all there is to it
Old May 16, 2008 | 07:41 AM
  #82  
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Originally Posted by FirebirdSlayer666
No one is pressuring you to finish on an impossible deadline man, just take your time. Take care of whatever priorities you need to before these and by all means take your time on the parts. Yeah some of us may get impatient but quality is what's key and if it takes time then that's all there is to it
+1
Old May 16, 2008 | 07:00 PM
  #83  
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Thanks guys-I have been working on the cowl panel during breaks here, and I think I'll bring all my fiberglass materials here (as long as the owner of the car I'm working on gives me his approval-I don't think he'll care) so I can spend a bit of time perfecting that as I take time off from hacking and welding on this "Phantom". Besides, I've hauled about four S-10 truck bed loads of my tools here, so this is really the perfect place to sand and paint the panel. It sure beats the hell outta hand-sanding it at storage where I have no water or electricity...

Anyway, another update-I should have my white "gelcoat" additive along with a gallon container of the good West System epoxy resin and a few other goodies some time early next week. The gel coat was the main reason I placed that order but I figured I'd need a bit more resin in the near future too, so I don't run out before I'm finished making parts or molds...

I think I'll sand that last coat of filler on the cowl panel tonight and add another to sand off in the morning. I'm hoping I'll be able to balance this out and start getting some parts to you guys here soon. I guess I'll need to get a business license before too long, too. Maybe these guys will extend their "April Advertising Special" another month-I'm not producing anything at the moment to justify the cost but I hope to be by this time next month-or at least by the end of next month anyway...
Old May 16, 2008 | 07:54 PM
  #84  
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Sounds great man. Talk to Doc, I'm sure he can find you a good deal on getting a Vendor's permit or license or whatever it is. So I'm going to assume that you spend your day hacking on a $100,000 Rolls? LOL
Old May 16, 2008 | 10:18 PM
  #85  
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no worries about timetables... just enjoy what you are doing and if some nice parts get made at the end of the day... yay!
Have a good day
Old May 19, 2008 | 01:14 AM
  #86  
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Originally Posted by rxforspeed
Doc and DemonSpawn-great idea, but the only drawback (for the current time anyway) would be the "negative draw" that the entire front end lacks. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to try that and see how it turns out but the first things I'll be making would have to be a bit simpler. A hood, header panel, headlight cover, rear panel, etc. can be pulled out of a single mold or molded in two pieces and epoxied together whereas an entire front clip would have to be vacuum-formed in a multi-piece mold-and I just don't have the ability to do that yet...
You're right about the multi-piece mold, but you wouldn't need to vacuum it any more than you would need to vacuum any of the other parts. The biggest issue with that would be creating the base to create a mold from. Vacuuming when you cast in a mold just eliminates the air bubbles and means that you need less thickness to create the same strength. As long as you're doing things right and not trying to rush things and you do a good job creating the mold you can get away without vacuuming it.
Old May 19, 2008 | 02:53 PM
  #87  
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Would you consider a stock strong but lightweight hood, I desperately need one, I can install the scoop I have if I had a fiberglass and light one
Old May 19, 2008 | 04:49 PM
  #88  
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I like that GP Dura Flex body kit but the only problem I hate with that kit is you can't just use the front if you wanted, when you just install the front its about an inch and a half or so lower the the stock sides of your car.. forcing you to get sideskirts so it lines up. If that wasn't the case I'd be all over that front end.
Old May 19, 2008 | 05:06 PM
  #89  
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I promise you guys I'll be spending at least 8 hours a day on the fiberglass molds/parts just as soon as I get this car done. I have managed an hour here and there on the wiper cowl-and it's getting damn close. I've been using my board sander on it lately (since my compressor's here) and it's really knocked quite a bit of time off it...Another coat of filler or two and she'll be straighter than the stock piece ever was...

FirebirdSlayer-the car I'm hacking and welding on isn't actually a Rolls Royce, but looks more like one now then the '88 Pontiac Firebird that it used to be. The owner's had it appraised at $100K, but it's mostly just a bunch of fiberglass body panels and it's had the frame stretched with what appears to be a Chevy II/Nova front frame clip. I've been able to slide by using S-10 front "upper" air bag cups, but I've had to fab up all the other brackets so far. The owner gave me permission to post a thread about the car and work I'm doing to it-so watch for that in the next day or so in the "Non-techincal" section...

Got some pics for ya this time...
Attached Thumbnails Fiberglass parts for FB...-003a.jpg   Fiberglass parts for FB...-2001a.jpg   Fiberglass parts for FB...-002a.jpg  
Old May 29, 2008 | 07:10 PM
  #90  
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Just a quick update:

Guys, to be honest I haven't really done much with the fiberglass lately. This "Phantom" has been taking up all my time and energy. I'll work on getting the cowl piece completed during the next few days or so. I'd like to get the other cowl piece I have off my car and start smoothing it out so I can make a mold from that (cowl panel without gauge mount)...

Most of the hard work on this car is completed, there's just a bit more fab work and customizing a few other things to work right with his set-up. Just as soon as this thing is finished, I'll get busy turning out the fiberglass parts...
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