fiberglass bodies ??!!??

not exactly what you are looking for but I know he did a steel firewall in a glass body
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=324514

 

OK you CAN find a nice original '32 at a reasonable price. They are out there. You CAN win the lottery. It happens. If, however a fellow should wait on either of these events before starting his first build up, he will most likely go to his grave still wanting a hot rod.

I've had a couple of glass cars and enjoyed the hell out of them. Like any thing else you'll ever drive they have pluses and minuses.

The one thing I will guarantee about any hot rod is that you will enjoy building and driving what ever you have way more than you will enjoy lusting after something you can never afford. Glass cars are the only way into this hobby for some guys, and there ain't nothing wrong with that.

 

i recently bought fairlane front fiberglass fenders and looking for rears, i went through a internal struggle, i realized my metal skills are not to the level of repairing my originals and steel re-pops were almost double the cost as glass and neither are original, i live in NE where steel gets eaten and women like slamming doors into the side of your car....i went with a quality fiberglass fender and cant wait to get it on the road...if i'm at a show and I know i'm looking at a all 100% original steel body and fenders there is additional charm, gets the mind thinking what are the stories the car can tell and the price tags reflects that charm are rarity.....but I'm sure as hell going to like and respect a fiberglass body too, if its cool its cool, and as long as a few part are original in it you can still have a little of that charm knowing those parts have a history behind them and if they could talk the stories they could tell

 

page 59 of the thread I just posted, Skirv's coupe has a louvered hood
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=324514

 

Nope not at all I have a steel Rootlieb hood on my glass 32' . IMHO you def wanna run a steel hood on a glass car. They just look better. And you can purchase louvered steel decklids as well. Im a big fan of the Plastic Henry's . If you buy a Quality well built body your good to go! Lots of advantages to the glass cars. - Mayor

 

We built a 'glass 34 Ford at work. Even with a better quality body there were still a lot of issues.

Once all was said and done, we probably could have put a genuine steel car together for less money due to all the labor hours involved in making things work properly.

That being said, if you buy the car finished, a glass body can be a great deal.

Shawn

 

Exactly where i am at.."lacking in metal shaping skills" ...its funny this past weekend it was very windy here in rochester, mn and i opened my car door and it hit the dam gas station baracade post ......made me sick instantly.....like getting kicked in the groin!!!!!!!!

 

I've had steel and I've had fiberglass, and frankly I couldn't tell a bit of difference going down the road........the smile on my face was just as big with both. It's like "I like steak and you like lobster........who is right?"

Don

 

I agree in general with the "to each his own" and it's all about the fun. For me, it has to be steel - that's just my thing. I've done so much rust repair that I can do it in my sleep. Fiberglass work, on the other hand, drives me nuts. I do have a couple bitch points, though:

I hate the guys that try to make a glass body look like a period correct or "patina" car. To me that is just wrong. Worse yet, how about the Brookville body guys who look down at the glass cars because they aren't "real steel"?

 

Absolutly beautiful....!!!!!!!!!

 

I totally agree!! If your having fun...Screw em...they're probably just jealous anyway....

 

big daddy ed roth did a lot of his work in what he called spitballs & fiberglass.

now company's are re-bopping steel cars and they do not have history like a gennie, but are excepted.

so either way should be OK as long as ya don't try to pass it off as something it's not.

l have seen several brand new bodies, steel and 'glass, faked to look like a barn find. some of the owners tell ya it a fake and then theres the truth stretchers.

me, l have had both and just loved'em the same.

bottom line, l build my rods very safe and the way l like'm. l tell people l am the one who has to own and drive it, so l build things for my taste.

if l had more money, l'd paint them all very nice, but for now l enjoy my rides the way they look.

Later

 

I have had training in both Marine and Aviation composites (fiberglass, carbon fiber, kevlar,etc) so working with plastics is easy for me. That said,on my Riviera,I have been learning how to weld,shape metal to do floor and body repairs,much more enjoyable for me. The labor to build a Glass car properly outweighs the cost of steel. The key here is the word properly , not gype and grind!

 

RAT rodders hate them, and vice-versa. You can't get the patina they want

As steel rusts, fiberglass cracks.

It's all a money pit.

Seriously, look over a fiberglass car closely before you buy, and if all the lines have poor definition, than it is probably a copy of a copy of a copy, and your satisfaction will decrease weekly as you think it is getting uglier with each passing day.

 

Ahh hahaha! You do know that car in your avatar is fiberglass, right?

Personally I prefer steel, but that's an opinion, and you know what they say about opinions! Do what you can afford and.what makes you happy. At the end of the day that what matters, not someone elses opinion.

 

I have had both, here in Fl. w/ humidity you are always chasing rust from where it was chopped etc. yrs. ago. You can do your best but it WILL come back somewhere. I now have glass, the smile is the same , and as others have said if you enjoy it who cares!

 

I built a glass car, I also made my own hood and trunk lid out of aluminum and they look great. My next project will most likely be a 32 3 window, and because of the cost difference it will be glass. As far as it being a "kit car", well if this is a kit I didn't get the instructions with the body. I think if you take your time and have patience you can make a nice looking car for alot less. I don't have alot of money ( less then 15 grand ) in my roadster and I've turned down some mid 20K offers. As far as traditional, it's not, but I don't try to pass it off as something it isn't. It's my hot rod, built by me, with the money I could afford. Good luck with yours.

 

Fiberglass does crack, and I have seen paint issues on a couple, but they are fine in the big picture. Bring it on! JUST DON"T PAINT FAKE RUST ON IT!!!!

 

I have both! 30 pickup all steel and real and a 32 glass roadster. Love them both!

John Q. Public seems to go nuts over the Roadster. My Hot Rod friends like the old truck better.

 

lmfao!!!!!!!!!!:d

 

I made a glass car many years ago, taking a mold of an original because that's the only way I was going to get one. Got a pair of original steel doors, steel hood fenders and running boards. It looked exactly like the real thing and nobody ever suspected it was a glass car as they tapped on the doors or fenders to check. I had the choice of being in the hobby with a glass car I made myself or not being in the hobby at all.

But it's a bit like real peaches and canned peaches - both taste great but just not the same....

 

I found one of the fenders on my old truck has a fiberglass patch laid over rust complete with cracks, sorta the worst of both worlds.

Still fun to drive , one day I'll fix it....one day...

 

JustplainJ's '34 and this one from Arizona,are two of the best interpritations of a Traditional style Hotrod i've seen....BOTH glass!

 

In the 60's, drag racers replaced every imaginable/removable panel they could with 'glass. Many street racers and hot rodders followed suit. Now, the young guys, that weren't even around then, are trying to tell us that 'glass is forbidden or taboo. Like has already been said, have fun. And if you can't afford to follow your dream with steel, but can with 'glass...the answer's obvious. Me? I'd rather have 2 completely different and cool 'glass hot rods than 1 steel one. I've built both steel, and 'glass cars. If the difference in price between the 2 wasn't so huge, I'd choose steel. But, the price difference is big, very big. And the difference isn't worth it to me

 

I have always had steel cars ,and always will. Glass ones are pretty but I dont care what anyone says its not a REAL 32,34,40,or whatever. I dont think they should be in the same class at shows etc as real steel cars. As always just my opinion...

 

WOW! This one gets BEAT TO DEATH,over and over and over!!!!!!

 

One thing I know from years of working on body's.

Fiberglass is real bitch to pound dents out of.

 

There are a few guys on here who don't seem to realize that - Brookville aside - they're not making any more steel bodies. Original steel bodies aren't a renewable resource: every one used means one fewer left to use. 'Glass bodies are an easily renewable resource: in fact the very ease with which small-scale production of 'glass stuff is set up is what leads to the wide variety of levels of quality that are out there.

Personally I believe that is a good thing. I'd rather deal with one of hundreds of mom-and-pop operations than with the Enormous Motor Corporation. Let the repeated caveatting of many emptors give the good ones a good reputation.

 

I built a Model A truck that was fiberglass. Real easy to work with and will do it again soon. As long as you have fun, thats all that counts.