Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

Tweet

Well guys, much as I'd like to take credit for figuring it out for myself I can't.... Instructor at one of the fiberglass body and mold building seminars I went to a number of years back.... On the Merc's I use an industrial enamel paint with a hardener and scuff the area with 80 grit on a DA so the paint will work into the glass good. Of course when the customer wants to spend the extra $$$$ I finish the bottom with the same finish material as the rest of the body. On a driver type car, I've started using the brush on bedliner on the inner fenders. It helps with quieting down the road noise and as a bonus does an excellent job protecting from getting star cracks in the fenders when a tire throws up a rock or debris from the road and it hits the inside of the fender.....

That's good info. I plan on coating the h*** out of everything that isn't seen, and also the complete underside of the car. Should make upkeep pretty easy too, as bedliner coating probably takes a real beating.

Don

Its hard to beleave a guy runing around in a T would wory about noise.

Yeah, I guess those megaphones that will be aimed at my head will probably take care of that, huh. Good point.


Don

Well I feel pretty good tonight.......THE T FINALLY HAS THE FLOOR GLASSED IN !!!!

I worked on it yesterday, wiping down the entire interior three times with acetone to remove any wax, then sanded the interior with 80 grit, then scuffed it with 24 grit to get lots of tooth. One more wipe down and I was ready to glass it.

Or, almost ready. I still hadn't cut holes in the floor for my brake pedal or master cylinder ( so I can remove a tin plate and add brake fluid in the future) So, I got those cut out, put the body on the frame, bolted down the floor, and made sure everything was level and square, and finally glassed in the top edge of the floor where it meets the body. I laid up 3 or 4 layers of glass in this entire area, progressively moving further and further out into the floor and body so that the glass would have a really strong, stressfree bond. After I put in the rest of the wood I will flip the body and do the same thing to the underside.

Here are some pictures of what I got done yesterday and today.

Picture 1 is the interior after the acetone wipes and sanding.

Picture 2 is the floor all cut out and ready to glass in

Picture 3 is the mat I precut to have it ready to glass in

Picture 4 is the floor after the actual glassing

Picture 5 is what I will be doing tomorrow and beyond. I have to cut "stringers" to go all around the perimeter of the body and also vertically every so often. These will give the body strength and a place to attach the upholstery.


Don

looking good Don you'll be driving that thing before long.

Thanks Charlie, and I think you are right about it not being too long now. This step has been the stumbling block for me because I can't finish up and paint the frame and running gear until the body is wooded and removable. Once it is ok to take it off the frame I can set it on a stand and do the body work there, freeing up the frame for final detailing.

I think I finally see daylight at the end of the tunnel.


Oh, I talked to Sanderson today.........my headers are scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Seeing them will really get me moving I bet.


Don

Woo hoo, your getting close. You seem a little more fired up these days, i think that small break did you some good, are you going to daytona this weekend? im going saturday

No, I can't make it. Wish I could. But if I keep my momemtum I should make it in November........driving instead of watching for a change.


Have fun there.


Don

Bob Velia (this old house) MOVE OVER. I spent the entire day today cutting and shaping the wood stringers for the interior of the T. Never ate so much sawdust in my life, between the bandsaw and belt sander.

There are a couple of ways to wood the interior of a fiberglass car, like a T bucket. Total Performance directions say to glass pieces of small wood every so often around the perimeter of the body so you can attach your upholstery to them. I don't care for that method. Instead I like to build an entire wooden framework throughout the interior, and glass each piece of wood down to every other piece. It just makes for a stronger, flex resistant body IMO.

What took so long was shaping each piece of wood to conform to the curves of the T body. These things don't have one straight section to them, so each piece had to be cut and belt sanded until it fit tight against the body. Some pieces took about 20 trips back and forth to the belt sander, grinding a little off and trying it for fit. But, I am really happy with where they ended up. I am about 2/3 done, and the second side should go faster now that I have done one side.

I used 3/4 inch plywood for the backrest portion, and 1 x 2 and 1 x 4 select pine to do the actual stringers. After I get them all cut and numbered ( so I can put them back in the same place) I will start glassing them in.

Here are some pictures of what got done today.

Memo to self.............buy more clamps, LOTS more clamps.


Don

Say Don couldn't you have scribed your boards and made less trips??? I know when I put in cabinets I have to scribe the sides to the walls. Somtimes even have to scribe 1x2s to mount on wall then mount cabinets to them. Just a thought. I don't want you to get worn out this late in the game.

Nice looking woodwork, Don. Almost a shame to cover it up...

You may already know this.., but after you get all your wood pieces cut and fit, mix up a little bit of ordinary body filler, slather a strip of it on the back of each piece and stick them in place. In a few minutes the body filler will kick, permanently gluing the wood pieces in place. Then you can finish glassing them in without the clamps in your way.

Nicely done IToldyouso, looks stout as hell. I take it the next step is glassing all of those to the body?

I love the tip J. Robinson, what a great and simply fantasticly simple thing that would help alot.

Damn don i thought you were just a mechanic, nice work, im impressed

Thanks guys. Yeah, I've heard the body filler routine, and I'm sure it works well. But I have always cut some mat the same width as the wood, laid up a couple of layers of it, and clamped the stringer into that wet mat. It gives it somewhat of a cushion under there that will conform to the irregularities. I bet John knows this way from working at the boat factories. BTW, I'm still sneezing up wood dust.

I had to head back to the shop tonight........Santa came today in his brown truck. Got my headers. I LOVE 'EM. !!! Sanderson did their usual good job, and they seem to be aimed just the right way to deflect the exhaust down and out away from the driver. I am going to order a couple of end caps from them in plain steel and build my own baffles, then have them jet hot coated to match the headers. I think that should quiet it down a little.

Of course I had to bolt them to the engine for a look see, here are some shots.


Don


PS: Yes, I am going to paint that red distributor cap the same color as the engine. Sticks out like a sore thumb now.