Fusing fiberglass to metal body

Chevy or dodge van rear quarter panels turned upside down
Use the top sections

 

When I read your first post, I thought you were well on your towards making a parts car for someone a year down the road. I'm not saying it's a BAD idea, or that it can't be done, you just have to realize going in what a HUGE commitment you're facing.

Here is a little avuncular advice...

You've expressed a couple of times that you just want to throw it together, and you might use it for your business. If you want to advertise that you're sloppy, careless, and cobble a project together with no plan other than to do it as cheaply and quickly as possible, you may want to rethink this.

I think it's a great idea, and your car looks better than stuff many of consider to be nice builders. With a little work and thought, you can improve your design skills, wildly expand your skill set, and end up with something you can be proud of, not just a load of scrap headed for the recycler.

Instead of looking at the car/truck/ute/ElCamino project as a throw away, go back and take a look at the pictures people dug up and posted on your first thread. There are some really nice looking examples of early '50's Chevy's done as pickups, and they ALL use a pickup cab.

There are several well known Rods built on late '40's Ford sedans, both as conventional cabs and roadster pickups, and they too ALL used the pickup cab rear panels, and a regular, albeit shortened box, to keep the proportions right. I am too lazy to find, scan, and post them, or go through my photos and find 'em, but trust me, there are some stunning examples that show up here in Kalamazoo every year at the Nats North.

If you start out with the "rat" word in your head, and think it's going to be a casual, throw it away if it doesn't work type of project, it'll turn out poorly, and you'll be disappointed.

Do yourself proud, and do it right.

There, speech over...

Brian

 

duuuude. Use the back half of a pick-up cab or the back half of something that is a shape that flows with your body. UTE's have a 99% chance of looking like an ass extrusion anyway...DON'T make it 100% and hand form the back half out of fiberglass.

Also, I'd be worried about putting some structure back into that thing. Fiberglass won't get you that.

Good luck, don't give up. You might want to befriend a decent fabricator, too.

-r

 

Fiberglass to metal can be made to hold up for a long time, but in small areas. The size of the filler panel you're doing will crack at the junction, and happen pretty quickly. The larger the area, the sooner it will crack.
I did fiberglass flares on a OT car I owned back in the late 70's. I sold the car two months ago and the flares still showed no signs of cracking. I sold the hood off it last year that had a fiberglass cowl attched to it, and it also hadn't cracked. But these were all small areas connected to solid metal. The rear opening of that cab will flex in normal driving, as will the panel, and it will crack.

 

Yep, what he said.^

 

Yep, X3 on what Flyinbrian said. Normally I write off shit like this as the death of another old car. I think a few of us are giving you benefit of doubt, hoping you step up and don't hack this. It's not THAT hard to learn enough to do an acceptable job, you can be proud of. Nor do you need thousands in equipment. Biggest thing is welding. If you can't weld very well or at all, cover your car with a tarp. Learn to weld.... then build you car. These guys learning to weld ON their car, are the main reason I usually write this kinda shit off as a waste of time.

OK that's all from the "kinder gentler Tinbender"

 

Another ave you might take is to find the rear corners/glass etc from a station wagon and use that.....it might flow better/easier to the shapes you have.

I've seen some done that way that look factory

 

I would use steel if possible. Glass over chicken wire would probably flex like crazy. Look in the bone yards for curved sections that could be adapted for the corners. The van's mentioned above are good examples. I used roof sections from a Model A on the back of mine, to wrap around the corners, and a larger pannel for the center. Also weld in some sort of sub structure to keep everything tied together. Also think about the back not being completely vertical. It will look better if it has a bit of a curve in it. Also it would give you more room inside, say at the top end of the seat back too.
Good Luck!

 

I like this idea.