Fiberglass body work tips?

[flat6pilot]

I'm starting on a wide body conversion and will need to move/extend the ends of the rear bumper to match the flare. I've worked with fiberglass before. I've made patches and repairs etc, but haven't cut, extended and reattached a piece yet. (with a large gap between pieces.)

Like this on kinein's car:





Any tips as the best type of FG cloth or weave to use? Build up material etc.. ??

I might be over thinking this.

I was planning to start with the bumper attached and everything in place as a guide, then start a FG 'bridge' to get the pieces in place then remove the bumper and do the final work unattached from the car.



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[962porsche]

i will give you a rundown of the supplies you will need later .
i have built every thing from a 36 foot composite boat to car bodies ( like the blue car) to complete front ends (hood bumper fenders )on the honda .

[Cook&Dunning]

Flat6 you are in good hands now the Master has weighed in. Looking forward to learning from the pro.

[flat6pilot]

Thanks 962. I've read through some of your posts and agree with Cook&Dunning.

After messing withe the flare a bit more It looks a bit better than I though. Hopefully all I'll need to do is subtract a bit of bumper material rather than add. I'll post pictures shortly where I'm at with everything.



On a positive note: The front fenders (wide body fenders were purchased from Better Bodies) look like they'll line right in with the Rennspeed bumpers with little effort.

I previously had GT Racing bumpers on before. While the GT Racing stuff actually fit pretty well and looked nice, the Rennspeed stuff seems a step above that.

[flat6pilot]

Here's the start of the project pics.

First, a bit of history for the Porsche purists before I get flamed for cutting up another 911. (nobody cares about the SC's anyway, do they? ) It's an '80 SC that had previous tub damage. A large chuck of the front right side was repaired and replaced. They did a reasonably good job overall, but when corner balanced it showed up as a slightly off-kilt adjustment. Nobody really notices it but me. Anyway, its just a weekend track toy that I occasionally drive on the street in nice weather. It's been converted to a low boost turbo setup that produced 360whp on the dyno. I've since dialed it back for safety and longevity. It's still enough for me at the track with it dialed down.


I'll be doing the bolt on look like this one:



Here's mine getting started:
It looks like I'll be able to move the bumper in closer (tuck it in more) to close up the gap. Once I do that, it looks like I'll need to trim the outside edge of the bumper to re-align with the edge of the fender. It doesn't look horrible but definitely some messaging will be in order. I still need to move the fender forward about 3/4" or so. Everything is just 'roughed' in.









The current wheel setup right now (unless I change my mind) will be a set of the Fikse Fuchs. 17x12 and 17x10.

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[flat6pilot]

The front fender getting roughed in... From just holding up the Rennspeed bumper, it looks like it will line up with little effort.





Here's the whole car as I got started:




I'll be eventually adding a front oil cooler 'while I'm in there'.


She'll have quite the booty when I'm done with her:

[962porsche]

bolting or qtr turn fasteners would look good . personally i would go with QTR turn's for mounting the flares on . people tend to call QTR turn or turn locks as zeus /dzus they are a brand name not a product as Dzus was the inventor of them .

1st bolt up the flares were you want them on the car . any movement with them as your working on the panels will screw up every thing so they have to 1st be mounted right were you want them .
i tend not to use chop matting for building thing i use cloth it will use much less resin and over all save weigh and is easier to work with . matting is a ok filler/buildup material but even for that there are better materials that again use much less resin .

you have the idea of pie cutting the ends to get the shape you need . i would have stripped the gelcoating off before i did my pie cuts just makes things easier imo .
once you get the gelcoat off get your gaps to when you want between the fender and the bumper and clamp the thing in place .
you have a few options as to when you want to use for a mold to fill in the spaces between the pie cuts .
i would go with a 4 or 6 OZ fabric/cloth leaning to the 6OZ at 1st .
you could make a few straps to screw every thing together were you want it . i tend not to use that method much . personally i would make a foam mold to get the needed shape it's more work at 1st but the end result is a better job using a lot less products and again saves weight .
if your going to use the strap and screw method you will need a backing for the gaps between the cuts . you can use simple cardboard but cover the side the FG will be against with clear packaging tape the FG will not stick to the packaging tape so you can peal it right off nice and cleanly . get a few layups on one of the sides do not worry about the spaces between the pie cuts yet just lay some FG over the hole area 1st . this will hold every thing in place so you can remove the mold or the straps . once it's dried you can start working the other side . cut pieces to fill the areas between the pie cuts and lay them up to fill even with the bumper . once you have them filled dried and smoothed flush you then can layup two more layers for your finish layups . i use a very light OZ fabric for this and cross the weaves for strength .
once you finished with one side do the same to the other . i tend to do the back sides of a panel 1st then do the front sides of the panels last .

[flat6pilot]

962-

Thanks, you've confirmed my thought process (I've been watching some YouTube videos, too): Fenders 1st, then line bumpers to that etc. and using cardboard (with wax paper on it?) as backing for the buildup (if needed.) I think I may need to remove material then extend in this case, but it's nice knowing if I need to go that direction you've confirmed my process.

I'll try the 6oz cloth. Any recommendations on the fiberglass resin and Bondo? I was thinking 3M stuff. I have a good auto body place near me (WESCO) that I'll go to pick up supplies.

I've worked with Dzus fasteners on a different project (removable air dam for an Opel GT) but never had the opportunity to do this much FG work. It's a little intimidating at first, but you guys help ease the fear.

I'll be trimming the flares long the guideline you see in the pic. I'm still adjusting it slightly but you get the idea. I'm being patient on the first committed cut.

Kyle

[962porsche]

i buy most of my FG supplies from fiberglasssupply.com . stay away for the low grade stuff from your area home stores like bondo brand . it cheap ( low cost) for a reason !
if its a i need it now type thing west marine often has it on stock but at a much higher cost .

[flat6pilot]

Thanks for the link, 962.

Not quite ready to cut and redo fiberglass, but making a little progress:



Flares rough trimmed of excess FG:



Using pinstripe tape to mark final trim location (still a little tweaking to do, but close):



Hardware check, just to see how it might look:

[flat6pilot]

A couple more:

[lite75]

Were did you source your flares? Looking good.

[flat6pilot]

Originally Posted by lite75

Were did you source your flares? Looking good.

Betterbodies. Bumpers are from Rennspeed. The Rennspeed bumpers (Their 13" version) is about 1 1/2" wider on each side than the BB 'Super Wide Body Flares' which Tony says are 12.5 inches in the back and 10.5 inches up front. Some cutting and sectioning will be involved to make them fit correctly.

[flat6pilot]

Flares on. Wheels ordered (FIKSE 'ZUCHS')...

Next will be the fiberglass modifications to the rear bumper. :O





The wheels I'm going for (Fikse 'Zuchs')... (not my actual wheels, Fikse pic for reference).

17x10 and 17x12

[Queefchief]

ive searched better bodies to try and find the flares you used and cant seem to locate? i sent you a dm, would love to try this with my car