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Glassfibre cracks
- Thread starter bernd_st
- Start date
Hi Bernd
Miles Wilkins in the UK wrote a great book a few years ago that is now back in print.
Here is a link to a few pages from the book on repairing fibreglass cracks, etc.
http://www.westfield-world.com/Fibreglass.pdf
Hope this helps!
Eric
Miles Wilkins in the UK wrote a great book a few years ago that is now back in print.
Here is a link to a few pages from the book on repairing fibreglass cracks, etc.
http://www.westfield-world.com/Fibreglass.pdf
Hope this helps!
Eric
jumpinjan
Bronze Level Sponsor
The gel coat is failing, and it needs to be restored. There are some materials out there to do this job, but I don't have them at my fingers. Ian's & my LeMans tops both need this done too. Its pretty labor intense.
Jan
atallamcs
Donation Time
cracks
Hello all,
I think with such a rare car you might not want to experiment--we don't need to be experts in everything. I suggest you contact a shop that works exclusively on Corvettes or even a boat restortion shop. These folks know how to work with fiberglass--then if adventuresome, you have the methods and the materials learned from them, to do it yourself.
Bill
Hello all,
I think with such a rare car you might not want to experiment--we don't need to be experts in everything. I suggest you contact a shop that works exclusively on Corvettes or even a boat restortion shop. These folks know how to work with fiberglass--then if adventuresome, you have the methods and the materials learned from them, to do it yourself.
Bill
AlpineIan
SAOCA Founder
Bill is right. I took the Lotus (now Erics) to a guy who was experience with GRP and he really did a good job with it. I can't tell you all the detail, but he did a ton of work fixing poor work from the factory and existing cracks to prevent cracks from coming back again... I also know he stripped all the gel coat and used a poly coat to seal it. (I don't remember if the poly coat replaced gel coat or went over top a new gel coat though.) This kind of work is very time consuming and not cheap. I spent over 10K on the Lotus body and it's still not in paint yet!
Technology of todays materials is far superior to that used in the 60's. It all needs to be reworked by someone who knows the proper materials and techniques.
It's also likely that these tops will never be free from cracking. The way the body is cut away and how the top mounts puts a lot of stress on the top in regards to body flex. There is really nothing supporting the rear body except the top.
Harrington Alpine tops don't have this problem because the body still has the metal cross brace between the rear wheel wells (part the convertable tops mount to). The LeMans has this section completely cut away. If I were building a LeMans race car I think I would build a rear stress bar to mount from the top of the wheel wells to stiffen the back.
Technology of todays materials is far superior to that used in the 60's. It all needs to be reworked by someone who knows the proper materials and techniques.
It's also likely that these tops will never be free from cracking. The way the body is cut away and how the top mounts puts a lot of stress on the top in regards to body flex. There is really nothing supporting the rear body except the top.
Harrington Alpine tops don't have this problem because the body still has the metal cross brace between the rear wheel wells (part the convertable tops mount to). The LeMans has this section completely cut away. If I were building a LeMans race car I think I would build a rear stress bar to mount from the top of the wheel wells to stiffen the back.
atallamcs
Donation Time
fiber glass top
I think Ian's point about body flex is the main culprit causing stess cracks. I decided for that reason to extend the metal work on my Harrington--giving more strength and also concealing the contents of the trunk. Who wants to look in the rear window and see into the trunk? It also helped seal off any fumes from the gas tank into the cabin, should there be any.
Here is what I am talking about.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1446355279078015567qBjHTp
Bill
I think Ian's point about body flex is the main culprit causing stess cracks. I decided for that reason to extend the metal work on my Harrington--giving more strength and also concealing the contents of the trunk. Who wants to look in the rear window and see into the trunk? It also helped seal off any fumes from the gas tank into the cabin, should there be any.
Here is what I am talking about.
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1446355279078015567qBjHTp
Bill
65beam
Donation Time
cracks
bill,
the type of fix that you did to your harrington would be almost impossible to do to a lemans without totally changing the style of the car .i had the frame rails and x frame reinforced in the mid 80's due to some rust getting started but this body is still 45 years and the lemans does have some weakness due to the amount of body that was removed. the bracing for the remains of the rear section of the steel body is not much help and it probably does shake a little .this no doubt does contribute to the body cracks .over the years i have accepted the fact that it will continue to crack.just throw a british flag across the roof and nobody sees the cracks.i have done that before .
bill,
the type of fix that you did to your harrington would be almost impossible to do to a lemans without totally changing the style of the car .i had the frame rails and x frame reinforced in the mid 80's due to some rust getting started but this body is still 45 years and the lemans does have some weakness due to the amount of body that was removed. the bracing for the remains of the rear section of the steel body is not much help and it probably does shake a little .this no doubt does contribute to the body cracks .over the years i have accepted the fact that it will continue to crack.just throw a british flag across the roof and nobody sees the cracks.i have done that before .
jmthehermit
Donation Time
I worked at a Corvette repair shop which also did custom work too. In fourteen years I never sprayed gel coat over any repair. Only primer and a glazing putty were used before the top coat of paint. Gel coat was only used in the moulding process. The mold of the part to be made is sprayed with a release agent, then the gel coat was applied, and finally the fiberglass. Most of the Corvette restorers now are actually coating the insides of the body panels of the older cars with resin to stabilize and strengthen them. Jeff
AlpineIan
SAOCA Founder
Bill, You shouldn't see the trunk when you look in the back window on a HA... It should have a vinyl covered panel that is trimmed off to conceal the trunk. The HA still has the metal brace that the convertible top mounted to. Should be plenty stiff. They didn't start cutting that away until the LeMans when they introduced the rear harch.