Thread: building a T-bucket starting with building the glass body

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High all,

I am going to start building my T-Bucket not that I have had the chance to see Don -Itoldyouso- build his. I have a set of molds for the body that I am going to use.

I was told that the cowl is 8 extra inches, although I am not sure that this is true. I have assembled the mold to see how much work I must do on it first.

I will try to update as often as I can, right now I am working two jobs and have a 1 year old son so it might be slow.

Zachariah

here are the parts for the body. I also have the bed and a grill shell.

The molds have been in a crate for over a year. I took them out and washed them off. What I found was not bad. There is some resin that had to be removed. There are some cracks and air bubbles in the gel coat. Not too bad. just time to get it fixed.

When I got it assembled there are a few pieces that don't line up great. I am going to rework these area. mostly I am going to pull the bolts out realign it and drill new holes.

There are several places that the last guy to pull did not use enough mold release and broke the mold corners off. I am going to get some fiberglass body filler and build the areas back up.

I am going to then re-gel coat the areas that need it.

I have made resin objects before and some some fiberglassing, I have done lots of mold work so I think I am ok.

I was going to use two layers of mat covered by a layer of cloth. What do you think, will this be enough?

It is mothers day weekend so I didn't get much done.

Zachariah

I will also be posting build info on my website.
http://www.oddcarout.com
It will look all nice and pretty here soon we are rebuilding it.

Not a bad looking set of molds, I'd say they need some reinforcement on the outside before you make a body with them....

Just my 2 cents, but since you have to start by working on the mold, then all the manhours to make the body, not to mention the expence of it all. Wouldnt it be a lot easier and possibly cheaper to just buy a body? Ive seen some decent glass T bucket bodies on ebay for around $250. I know its cool to say you built it yourself, but......

That cowl does look a little longer. Any improvement in leg room is a plus in one of these. It looks like it will be a fun project. I've done my share of Corvette repair but I've never built a body from scratch so I can't say how many layers to use. My gut feeling is to make it plenty thick and strong. I remember seeing guys make wooden reinforcements for the inside of the body. Then they'd resin them in and cover them with a layer or two of heavy mat. It really stiffened things up and gave a place to attach things like interior trim.

Tom

Lots of new products out to use in the layup. Some very high strength matting, we use it on the Merc's, and around the shop to make up some strong and lightweight pieces.... It's a booger to work with, but when you use it correctly it's certainly worth it....

Thanks,

I really want to build it all by myself. plus if there is extra leg room I need it. I am 6'3" tall.

I am doing the frame myself also, with some help from those who can weld beyond my capability. P.S. the frame is going to be long I am going to pull the engine forward so that the tranny doesn't push through too far. I am looking at a 223 with a three speed and need the room for the third pedal. (its not a rod unless it has all three pedals.

I am planning on wooding some of the interior before I pull the mold off. I will add a dash, wood the firewall, the back and add supports for the seat, and around the top.

I think this is going to be a great project, we will all love watching this one come together. The best part is going to be seeing you do the body, sounds like you have it figured out pretty well.

You asked if 2 layers of mat and one of cloth would be enough. I think it should be fine. Sometimes in boat building they do a layer of mat, then the cloth, then mat again, sort of sandwich the cloth inside the mat. It keeps you from getting print out from the pattern of the cloth as mat is on the outside.

I would also suggest you shoot a couple of layers of gel coat into the mold after you put the mold release in there, it will give you a better finish and less work to get it ready for paint. I recently watched a show on TV, Shipshape TV, and they went to a boat factory to watch boats being built. They actually use like 11 coats of mold release agent and then use compressed air to pop the boat out of the mold. I guess the more mold release the better.

I also think Dave had a good suggestion about possibly reinforcing the outside of the mold so it doesn't bow out on you when you start laying up glass. If you have ever passed a place that builds boats the molds they have laying outside all have tubular bracing running up and down the sides of the mold to keep it's shape. A small T body wouldn't need a lot, so maybe you can test it to see how it feels to you before you start.

I'm really excited for you, this is going to be a fun project.

Don

We used like 6 layers on the race car bodies. i forgot what weight mat we used, but it was pretty thick stuff.

Cool project keep the pics comin. I wish i would have added about six inches to my tub.( three in the door if they open)

I did not get a chance to grab pics tonight. the city is shutting down our water for the next 12 hours and said it will be at least another 36 before we can use it again. I had to fill the tub, make sure all the plats were deep watered it will be almost 90 tomorrow.

Back to the car. The molds do have tubular supports running down the side to help hold it together. I am thinking about boxing the bottom with wood to support it. we'll see. I am thinking I might order my glass and resin on-line, the closest place to buy it is about 70 miles away and with gas the way it is shipping looks cheaper.

I have not decided on weight of glass yet. the mold is pretty stout and does not weigh much.

Don- how thick was your body?

Thanks,
Zachairah

[QUOTE=oddcarout]

Don- how thick was your body?

You know Z, I really couldn't tell you, it is a bought body and probably chopper gunned as are most of the $ 500 ones. It is a Speedway to the best of my knowledge, and much heavier than the Total Performance one on my Son's T. Probably twice the thickness.

I think you could do well to lay yours up as heavy as possible, this is one place where bigger is probably better. In the early days of fiberglass boats the boat builders weren't familiar with the properties of this new found product, so they laid them up almost as heavy as the wooden ones they had been building for years. Those were some of the best built boats out there and held up well.

At one time I owned a 1965 Chris Craft 27 foot cruiser, and it was one of the first ones that Chris Craft did in glass. It was a tank, and one time I cut a hole into the bottom of it to put a transducer in and the glass was one inch thick in that area ! But the boat never had one stress crack develop and we took that boat into some really bad seas 50-80 miles offshore, and it never creaked or shuddered.

So the point is, if you lay up more than the 2 mat = 1 cloth setup you were talking about, it might pay dividends. I think the body would tend to retain it's shape better too. The body shop that painted my T and my Son's T told us they had a terrible time getting his straight enough for paint, but that mine was much easier. TP makes a very thin body for some reason.

Like I said, lay up what you have mentioned and see what you think. Also, prices for resin, cloth and mat are all over the place. You should be able to score polyester resin in the $ 20+ per gallon range, and if you buy mat and cloth by the yard (not in those little prepackaged deals) you should get it pretty cheap too. (I forget what I paid)

Have fun!

Don

It looks like that mold may make a body very similar to mine. I am using a Dave Koorey Street Rods body and it has the cowl area extended 6". You definitely need the room if you're running 3 pedals; it was a tight squeeze for mine even with the extra length.

As for thickness: I have cut / drilled holes in several places for various things and this body seems to be about 1/4" thick everywhere except the floor and trans tunnel which are even thicker. I'm pretty sure this body was made with a chop-gun except for the floor reinforcement...

I worked at Eckler's Corvette years ago and most of their stuff had 4 layers of mat, but I don't know what weight.