So how does that go together, fiberglass questions

[deoxford]

I just got my fiberglass fenders in from GT racing. And wellman there is a lot of work. I looked and looked for the instructions, and no luck.
THen I found a statement on the invoice.
It said there are not instructions because this job is not for the DIY. OK
SO that bring me to my piont

How do you do this?

How do you put the light in the bucket?there are no mounts

How do you mount the vent and turn signels?

and how do you mount the gas flap?


I have about 4 weeks to get it together for a DE at the end of OCT, so I don't what to re-invent the wheel here.

THanks

[jpnovak]

You are right. no instructions. I think it is doable to get these installed in 4 weeks but you will spend a LOT of time on it. Everything has to be fabricated. It will be close to have the car finished and I doubt you will have it painted.

First you must fit the fenders. Is your hood still in place? this will make fitting these fenders easier. open the hood and tape the fenders in place. the tape will extend from the top of the fender across the flange mount into the front boot. line up the rear cowl section first then move foward. The lower front corner by the horn grill should line up with the bottom edge for the nose panel seal support. Of course, in reality the fiberglass is much thicker and will drop below to line up the hood line. Pay attention to the hood/fender seam. you will likely have to block it straight to get an even gap. Same with the cowl seam, the trailing corner at the A-pillar, the door seam, etc. Check to see that the vertical fender support actually touches the fender. my supports were too far forward on the fener and I have to "realign" the tub with a large drift and also shim the fender to prevent stress. Don't bend or flex the fiberglass or it will be prone to cracking.

you will be unable to use the factory clips to mount the fenders. They must be bolted in place with large backing plates to distribute load. I made 1 x 3" aluminum backing plates to go on the fiberglass side. Once the fenders are in place, mark the mounting holes with a sharpie through the tub to the fender. Then drill and bolt up. Start at one end and work your way down. This is a lot of assembly/disassembly.

All the mounted parts must be fabricated. you will have to cut tabs to mount all the lights and epoxy or fiberglass in place. This is two tabs for the horn grills, two for the turn signal and one for the headlight (assuming H4s). I fit the parts, taped them in place screwed the brackets to the parts and epoxied in place. I used a punched hole and then speed clips mounted to the holes. This gives a few degrees of freedom for alignment.

I cut out the gas filler since I did a hood fill. Fitting this will be another set of problems since the factory mount is round and GTR provides a rectangular cutout. you will no longer be able to seal the filler neck at the fender. you will also have to fit the spring loaded clamp and flap. Take the old fenders and trace the mounting holes onto a template and then make your cuts. i don't think a drill will fit so either a right-angle attachment or careful milling with a dremmel will work.

btw, check the fit before you drill any holes or make any cuts. The potential for being trimmed too far back out of the mold is high. I had to send one back when I could stick my hand inside the door and fender gap where it was cut too much. Most places will not take it back if you modified in any way.


best of luck.

[Zeke]

Jamie, that was a virtual treatise on mounting FG fenders. That should go into the "Golden Archives." I wonder if the use of pop rivets would speed up the process of fabricating and mounting tabs for the lights, etc? Especially to hold things in place while the epoxy or resin is hardening.

BTW, all areas to be worked on with more resin or epoxy have to roughly sanded and well cleaned to accommodate adequate bonding strength.

[Joeaksa]

Not to forget that if the car is to be used on the street, pls put some padding on the inside of the fenders. If this is not done eventually the rocks thrown up by the tires will make dents that will come through to the top outer side and show in the paint.

Several people I have seen have glued old scuba suit material on the inside top to protect this. Should be other materials that would work.

Joe A

[TRE Cup]

BTW, all areas to be worked on with more resin or epoxy have to roughly sanded and well cleaned to accommodate adequate bonding strength.- Milt

Zeke's point should be well heeded- which of course applies to the surfaces to be painted as well. Why? lots of mold release and cleaning will most likely have left residues in the material- which do not mix well with primers and paints

[Zeke]

Another excellent point! I have seen this before, but I forgot about it. Wet suit material is available in bulk, or by the piece. Might be a tad heavy, but used judiciously, that wouldn't be too much of a problem. Of course, a real race car wouldn't have that need.

[jpnovak]

Milt, I did not include any information about working with fiberglass. I will assume that this prior knowledge is present or is being learned as background info for the project. I built and repaired surfboards as a youngster growing up in FL. It was a good way to hone my fiberglass skills. you can do lots of cool stuff with some polyester and MEKP.

Joe, I just used a thick coating of POR Silver on the backside of all my fiberglass. tougher than the gel coat and no problems (yet) with star cracks or chipping. of course, spray this on after they are all fit to the car. it will help seal all the bolt holes, etc.

[TRE Cup]

thanks for the por silver tip , jp!

[jpnovak]

Dave, it comes in other colors too. I just used silver since it matched the color of the car. POR claims it can be used as a substitute for or to repair fiberglass gel coats.

[Joe Bob]

I just did the job....the headlight and gas filler buckets need to be cut from the steel fenders.

Do yerself a favor...have a shop do it.

[deoxford]

Thanks for all the info,
So I have my work cut out for me.
I have to read this over a few more times so I can get all my questions straight

what do you use to make the tabs? Metel 90's Also do you use a wood screw before the resin?

[jester911]

In those oh so infamous words you love to hear.

"Some assembly required"

[JohnJL]

POR Silver is great stuff, I used it on the underside of my FJ40, but keep in mind it will yellow/green with age. It works really well as a first coat if you go back over it with chassisblack or black POR so you can ensure a complete even coat.

I had poor adhesion/durability results with POR Hardnose.

[Jeff Alton]

Just a quick note, before you sand anything with gelcoat on it, wash it exstensivley with tolulene. It will remove the mold release wax and the wax that is added into gelcoat used in making parts that are comming out of a mold. IF you do not get rid of it now, you will force into the laninate with sanding and run the risk of having the pain fish eye.

Cheers,

[Jack Olsen]

Originally posted by mikez
I just did the job....the headlight and gas filler buckets need to be cut from the steel fenders.

My glass fenders had great buckets. But mine weren't from GT Racing.

I'd bought steel inserts as a precaution, and now have a never-used set for sale, if anyone's interested.

[rsrfan]

Jack,
I am interested. Let me know what you want for the buckets shipped to Las Vegas, NV 89107.

JP

[deoxford]

Jack,
Send me a price
Derek

oxfordsearly911@mchsi.com