hello everyone my buddy got a glass 41 willys. the ppl he got it from, did not 1. hang the doors 2. finish the floor 3. install body framing. so i would like to help him get past this hump in the road. what can i do with the thin glass floor? support for the body at a and b pillars and firewall? where can we get door hingess on the cheap? he would like oem style thanks in advance
Lay some more mat on the floor to beef it up - your local boat supply should be able to help with materials. You'll need to laminate in some body bracing - wood or steel too. OEM style door hinges from www.willysreplacementparts.com + a bunch of other stuff your buddy will be needing....
Or you could just ship it to me and I'll deal with the issues. ha ha Good luck with the build. Share some pics in a build thread.
Yep, Steve's (Langy) build is a wealth of info and he reinforced his in all the key places so things like doors hang well. A lot of these bodies are what they call "race weight" which basically means thin fiberglass vs a heavier layup on a "street weight" body. So it becomes a lot like building a T bucket body, only bigger, where you have to add a framework and some extra thickness in some places to make it strong enough for street use. If you have never done any fiberglassing, go to the library and get a book or two on building and repairing fiberglass boats. I have done a lot of glassing in my life, but I have a couple of books in my collection that taught me a lot I didn't know. As weasel said, go to a good, old fashioned marine store (not one of the so called Discount Suppliers with prepackaged everything) and buy your mat, resin, acetone, and other supplies in bulk. You will be using more throwaway brushes, vinyl gloves, stirring sticks, plastic cups, acetone, and other supplies than you can imagine. But after you do a little laminating you will think you have done it forever, fiberglass is a very forgiving medium........but VERY itchy! Cover up well and blow the dust off frequently. Don
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