Body mods question...

Guys, I'll be cutting into my body soon(ish) with a couple of mods/repairs.

1. I'll be cutting a hole in the hood which (hopefully) will be very neat and tidy and I'll only want to reseal the glass on the edges around the hole. What would be best for this? Just some glass resin?

2. I'll be cutting into my rear fenders and replacing the modded rear marker lights with inserts from some original panels. I would imagine that once I've cut the hole to suit, I need to clean up the areas around the join on the remaining panel and the insert then lay some glass mat over the join. Should I also rough up the original glass? Will that help the new mat to bond to the original panels?

3. I'll be cutting into my front fenders and replacing the 82 louvres with egg crates, so the glass work will be much the same as #2

Oh, I read Lars' paper on body work and I can pretty much guarantee that I won't be able to get the products he talks about by brand name.

Thanks...

#1 Do not see any reason why that would not work.....Go for it.

#2 If your simply eliminating the light....after cutting it out bevel the inside
edges and clean all paint, etc. * at least 4" around the hole then cover
the outside of the hole with some cardboard covered with 2" masking tape.

* Edit: Oops.....clean paint OFF with NO finer than P80 sand paper
down to bare glass to assure adhesion of the new glass to the old......

I would think it's not big enough to bother with and insert.
(Actually thought of doing the same mod to ours).

Lay up your glass on the inside, 3 good layers should do........after cure......
pull the cardboard off and the outside should be 80% there. Lightly bevel the
entire area on the outside and lay 1 to 2 really neat layers of glass.......
a fiberglass roller will do you a nice job.
....after cure..sand level then apply a thin layer of filler to remove any imperfections.

#3 Do as much of the structure work as you can on the back side.....
so you keep things on the outside to a minimum.

I'll see if I have any How-To articles similar to this.......
If so I'll scan them an post for you. :thumbs:

Thanks John :thumbs:

Wayne,

These pages come from a repair book I bought from ECKLER'S many years ago (1991)...
I have not seen it in their catalogs in years.......assume it is long out of print.

(Not the best scans but, Maybe they will be of help to some reading this.)

If you plan on sectioning the lower fenders with pieces from a '72 model
keep in mind the glass material is different on an '82 (SMC) than a '72 (GRP/FRP).
You will need an Adhesive that is compatible with both.

SMYDA said:

...If you plan on sectioning the lower fenders with pieces from a '72 model keep in mind the glass material is different on an '82 (SMC) than a '72 (GRP/FRP).
You will need an Adhesive that is compatible with both.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the scan John. Yes I do plan to use a 72 section so when you say an adhesive that is compatible with both SMC and GRP/FRP, I assume you mean the fiberglass resin?

I did a quick search and Araldite 2015 comes up as: "Araldite 2015 is a two-component, room-temperature curing paste adhesive giving a resilient bond. It is Thixotropic and non-sagging up to 10 mm thickness. It is particularly suitable for SMC and GRP bonding."

Is that what you mean?

Yes........there are several products like what you just described.

Most Resins for GRP do not work on SMC and vise-versa. But there are
products that will work with either.

I say "Adhesive" because regardless of what you use you are basically
"gluing" the panels together whether it be resin or another product.

You mentioned earlier that you could not get the same Brand Name
products over there that are offered over here. So just be sure that
what you get is compatible to both.

Sorry if I'm causing any confusion.
I know I'm not always clear.

Thanks for the info John - I've always thought fiberglass was fiberglass. If that Araldite's ok, I reckon I might be able to track some down out here. Big names products like Loctite, Snapon, DeWalt etc is available out here so hopefully Araldite will be as well. At least I know what to look for now :thumbs:

Your car is an 82 right? The hood (stock one) and door skins are NOT SMC, it's the same plastic like stuff that's used on C4s. I can guarantee you, your fiberglass will not stick to it.

Yes mate, mine's an 82. I'll only be cutting a hole in the hood though and not doing anything to the doors, but thanks for the head's up.

I think I learn something new about this bloody car, every day :huh2:

Should I just use something compatible with SMC to seal the raw glass around the hole I cut?

saudivette said:

Should I just use something compatible with SMC to seal the raw glass around the hole I cut?

Click to expand...

YES.....that would work fine. :thumbs: