1954, "Manual of Building Plastic Cars". Looks like a pretty neat book, link below, scroll down. https://www.undiscoveredclassics.com/forgotten-fiberglass/manual-of-building-plastic-cars-part-1/ Mike
Almquist or some other early speed shop had a fiberglass roadster body the vaguely resembled a 30 Model A. It was a flimsy one piece with the doors, trunk lid, and wheel wells all molded together. The sides were pretty much straight down. And it had some big round pods on the back that looked like they were there to mount 52 Ford taillights. I had the chance to buy one in the 1980's but passed since it was so weird looking. I kinda wish I had bought it now because it was so weird looking.
No, not a Shay. Found it: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/early-deuce-from-almquist.581645/
I know, I just had to get my dig in about those Pinto powered Shay cars. Here is another FG body Almquist had made. The article below says Almquist bought Clearfield Plastics in the 50's to build his bodies, I think he was a bit premature in his decision to get out of the fiberglass body business! "In 1966, Almquist sold the company when the popularity of the fiberglass bodies faded." The full story Here: https://www.recordonline.com/story/...uist-history-found-on-auction-site/111919390/
I restored with my buddy Jean-Pierre this car built by Bill Bunce and Gordon Dustan in Moses Lake, Washington in 1959 using a fiberglass body by Ed Buck and Renault running gear, including a Gordini 845cc inline-four. Any information is welcome!
Considering I live in Southern California and I'm pretty deeply submersed in the vintage car hobby I have never came across any of these fiberglass sports cars outside of VW based ones... (Obviously I have seen the fiberglass hot rod stuff I mean it's everywhere It's probably more common than it manx type dune buggy). I've seen them (fiberglass sports car bodies) advertised in the old car magazines but I've never found one in the wild waiting to be rehomed or at an estate sale or yard sale or even the swap meets, where did they go. Some of them are really cool looking other ones I kind of understand why you don't see them because they were funny looking or ugly. I am not sure if I need one but I got to say I need to scratch that itch Even if it is a short-lived fling.
Yes... A nice way to say yes, it was cut and pasted together and then added to the magazine layout, before the overall cover was shot… “cut and paste,” an early version of photoshop. Hello, The industry was just getting started in our neighborhood of Long Beach. The local fiberglass warehouse and building centers for boating hulls was just down the street. We could smell the fiberglass aroma in the air every afternoon due to the consistent west winds blowing from the ocean nearby and giving us aromas to go along with each other. Surf shops with fiberglass glossing aromas and other car repair shops and warehouses that housed early fiberglass sporty cars. But, even in the barrage of west wind aromas was the best. When the Weber’s Bread Factory just baked a batch of bread, the aroma was mouth-watering. If we were bicycling around, we would stop for a free slice of bread in the showroom floor. Yummy. But that aroma competed with all other industrial smells floating around. When a new mold was being sprayed with fiberglass, the aroma was strong. No longer were they laying the whole surface with giant fiberglass cloth. Now the boat hulls were sprayed and the results were pop out hulls that were very smooth and shiny. The technology was used in the same way when the sporty car molds were used to pop out smooth bodies, but underneath, various fiberglass cloth supports were evident. The early sporty car underneath areas were similar. The early Corvettes had rough fiberglass surfaces, but no one noticed as it was a fabulous first time factory entity that was America’s Sports Car. Jnaki We did not get involved in early fiberglass, but in the early 60s, there were shops catering to the general public for fiberglass supplies. They all had gloss coatings, cloth and tons of aromas as one walked into the showroom to buy what we needed. Fiberglass cloth, resin, catalyst and buckets. My surfboard repair business was done in our backyard garage area, including color matching and ding repairs. YRMV Note: A sporty car manufacturer, La Dawri, opened up a warehouse near our house. They stayed there until they outgrew the space with the many different models made and needed a larger facility.
Yes, it was Angoulême 2024. Great event! https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/specials.720448/ (posts 1259 to 1262)
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