Bracing a fiberglass body...?

[greaseball]

So I picked up a t-bucket body for $150,
But it needs the bracing/re-inforcement stuff-
Somebody told me to use wood,
But it seems like there will be too many curves for that.

Uhhh....
so anybody want to school me?

[oldchevyseller]

i used 3/16th 3/4 angle and cut little reliefs to make the bends. and then welded em shut ,mada a skeleton inside turned out fabulous , but i do not have any pics as my puter ate all of em,

[marq]

a lot of the guys over here in the uk use tube,go to the local hire shop and get a tube bender for a few days,5/8 tube is the norm here.It takes a bit of practice to get it right but when it's done it will look real good and profesional,not only that it can be bent in real tight unlike angle.............Marq

[old beet]

Around the upper back, I've used a garden hose full of epoxy then glassed into place, but that was in 1962........OLDBEET (its still there)

[InPrimer]

check out boat places for different types of epoxies and/or glass fillers, use glass matting to adhere the tubing to the body(if you are going to use tubing) a lot of glass cars are reenforced with oak which is supposed to expand&contract the same as fiberglass. as far as bracing, get a shitload of cardboard, a good razor knife and trim away, duplicate to wood and you're home

[zibo]

cardboard

[UKAde]

i used square 1 inch box to brace my body
it's easy to join together as it doesn't require the tubes to be filed to fit like round tube it sits flat against the body giving more support to the glassfibre

at can be easly bent by making pie cuts and welding up on small tight bends or around a former like an old wheel rim for bigger bends

take a look at my pics to see how i did it

UKAde

[CharlieLed]

First a question...how much to you know about fiberglass?
Assuming that you know how to mix the resin and apply the mat the following procedure will give you the strongest bond and the most support, pound for pound...
Get some foam like they use for building surf boards, make sure that it's not polyester foam because the resin is also polyester and will melt that type of foam (ever put lacquer thinner in a foam coffee cup... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif )
Shape the foam to fit the inside of the body in the areas that you would like to support. 1x3 inch shaped supports work well.
Once you have your bracing shaped cover the inside of the body (just where the supports are being placed) with blue masking tape, the kind that is made to be removed easily. Put the foam supports in place and layup your fiberglass mat and resin over the supports leaving about a 1 inch flange on each side of the support. This flange will give you a better bond for the final installation "bonding" step.
Once the supports have been glassed and cured, remove them from the body and remove the tape. Buy some structural adhesive, this will be a 2-part epoxy made for bonding fiber reinforced plastic (FRP). This adhesive can be bought at most auto body supply houses or online.
Remove the blue tape, clean the mating surfaces, and apply the adhesive and structural supports.

This technique will give you a professional appearance, the strongest body, and the bond will be stronger than any bond you could achieve by laying new resin over previously cured fiberglass (a mechanical bond in fiberglass is a problem waiting to happen, avoid whenever possible!).

[Deuce Rails]

Is this for temporary reinforcement, like to keep the body square while you're aligning things?

Or is it for permanent reinforcement, which is why you mention the many curves?

[Jimv]

Its very simple & cheap to do,i did it on mine & it held up great.
Get some furring strips(2"x3/4") get some bondo with the fibers in it,some of those big orange roach clips from Odd lot.Then try & get a total performance assembly manual.
They give you all the lengths to cut the furring strips, then you just get the bondo( mix up only what you'll use quickly) Then put he bondo on the wood like your putting peanut butter on bread,Then use the roach clips to hold it in place till it sets up.Really hold great & tightens the body right up.It also gives you something to tack the upolstory to.
If you can't get a otal manual i'll seeif i hae mine & i'll take a picture of te page with the lay out on it.
Trust me its a great cheap way to do it & it doesthe job.
JimV