How can 'ya tell which manufacturer made a glass body ?? like how do ya tell a quality body ( outlaw,downs, etc,....) from an el junk-o ???? do they have tags somewhere or the maker's name ?? Are they all in the same place ??? Any body know ??? thanks, jersey Skip
The only way to know is by how much it cost you. Not all cheaper costing bodies are bad, you just have to glass in more wood to keep it straight. Not a bad trade off, your labor is cheaper than the manufacturers.
Even the hi dollar glass can be a piece of shit. I had a friend that had a downs 34.. It was junk but he saved it. I have a american street rod design 32 3 window. Nice body not bad. Ive got a gibbon 32 roadster. Fucking junk. As far as the comment about them all being junk.. No so and to each his own. You do what you want and us glass guys will do what we want. This glass vs Steel shit is really gettin old. Dave ps: the old sayin again.. If you cant say anything nice SHUT THE FUCK UP..........
Dave,... your right !, I have both Glass and Steel, they are both fun to build and drive. ,....... and for the original question, sometimes they glass a buisness card under the cowl, in the floor or in inside the roof, Skip, what body style are you looking to build ?
I should add ive got the 32 roadster and i keep collecting parts. Its ready for frame blasting painting and assembly.. I have 4 new american racing salt flats for it now.. This thing is ready to be finished and has a title.. Buy it .. I wanna drink all summer instead of work Dave
As a former manufacturer of 'glass bodies, (retired) I can tell you that not all bodies are created equal. It has to do with the quality of resin used, whether fillers (powder) are used to replace more expensive resin, the quality of the molds which impacts the surface quality and what type of inner support is used. Additional factors are how are the door hinges and latches held on. I know of one manufacturer of '32 roadsters that uses 1/4-20 bolts thru 1/8" of fiberglass to hold the hinges and latches on. It is only your life at stake!! Hinges and latches bolted thru steel plate is superior to wood screws into a piece of oak or pine and far superior than just bolting thru the fiberglass laminate. I do take exception to the comment that all fiberglass is crap. You pay your money and usually get what you pay for. Hope this gives a few things to look for when considering a 'glass body. A much longer story could be written on this.
There's advantages and disadvantages to both tin and glass. Its easier to use glass if you want a real slick flawless body, cause old tin in real good shape is real hard to find.. I stumbled into a nice F-glass 29 A body a few years ago and have learned to appreciate the good points of it.. Look for steel inner structure, especially hinges latches door posts, and look for smooth, non wavey, panels. You need hand laid glass- not a chopper gun body. Also you need door sills that allow for factory like door sealing.I'm personally not into real slick body cars, and have found tin more satisfying to work with.. I think they might be healthier to work on too-- the fiberglas dust is a bitch..But..Its all good ..PA
I'd look for bodies handlaid from mat rather than shot from a gun. cheap bodies get 'glass shot into the mold from a "chopper gun" that literally chops up 'glass as it goes through the spray gun. You lose strength in your parts from this. Also look for strengthening put in between layers of 'glass in areas of high stress - much denser sheets of various material that is bonded between layers to made a much stronger composite material. I dont much like seeing metal tube bonded in a body - it rusts, and expands in the heat, etc. I don't mind glassing in small plates (with holes drilled in) for body mounts etc. Also, pay attention to all corners; if they dont work hard there will be an airbubble under the gelcoat and it will pop in the heat - get a 'glass body baked in a spray booth ASAP to find all these before it gets costly (like, after paint on the first hot day with your finished car).
Lemme drag up my soapbox...I'm in the throws of working on a 'glas 26RPU body. First of all ,it wasn't a bad body & certainly not a great body.I've seen worse & I've seen better.I spent over $1200 to get the body with doors"hung & latched".By the time I totally reworked the latches,reinforced the flimsy jambs,built new hinge mounts,and built a steel tubing inner structure , I have well over $2200 in the body. Today I spent another $300 on material to build a trans tunnel.And I haven't even started on reworking the lousy fitting doors.Glass resins,mat,gelcoats,mold release,etc are steadily going up.To sum up ,I'll probably have over $3000 in it before its ready to paint...I doubt I could have found a decent steel RPU tub for that..maybe so,maybe not...my point is that glas ain't necessarily the cheap alternative that people think...beside ya itch like hell every time ya work on it!!!
N&N out of Arkansas puts a business card on the tranny hump inside the car (resined in). I've been to their shop and looked at the molds. It's a pretty basic operation, lots of hard work, and they improve things as they go.
tip: shower in cold water first after working with glass. You dont want the glass getting in open pores caused by hot water.. p.s. glass may not be cheap, but it IS light. Can you imagine picking up a steel 55 body?
Do not buy a body that has not had the inner and outer doors and trunk lid assembled at the manufacture. Do not buy a body that has not had the doors and trunk hinged by the manufacture. Any manufacture that does not take the time to do these processes is not producing a good product.
Make sure you take a tape measure with you and measure square. look close at the beads and see if they are the same from side to side. Measure the height of the panels side to side. I've seen steel bodies (repop) the have really been off. eg. bead along the bottom on the passenger side vs the drivers side width about 3/16" different in size. This was from a quality body manufacturer. Really disappointed me because if I were producing a product, it wouldn't get out unless it was right. Period.
I somehow have one of the first few production Polyform bodies made. A 1927 ford roadster sitting in storage. They placed a serial number and business name under the resin near the back quarter panel on the pasanger side. I think most reputable companies follow this same sort of practice.
There are more horses asses than there are horses. If I lived in a town that is a "Deadville", I would move.
Yeah, Cause Jason Doesnt know anything about building vehicles Glass, Steel or otherwise. I think that he has built more shit than most on this board and is saying that from his own history of building, not which is cooler than another.
The tags are usualy on the firewall. Wescott bodies are really good. We built a 39 ford conv wescott body,it was extreamly good. Still prefer steel cars but sometimes cant afford the real thing.
Tops in quality year after year 'cause they did it right the first time?? Westcott and Poli-Form. My friend and I looked at many, many bodies over the years at swap meets and rod runs and ended up with a Kilbourne Rod Shop 32 3W body. Excellent steel structure, good door and deck lid alignment, fits an original chassis well, firewall is sunked but has nice beads similar to original, nice mould part lines on the beads for the most part ready for you to finish. Complaints (also heard about most other bodies), poorly fitting door window mouldings around door edge not the window hole itself, cheapo window felt channels like everyone else uses, no toeboards, steel over windshield makes wiper motor installation difficult. Sometimes I wonder if some manufacturers have ever built a car after looking at the great variety of reinforcement materials chosen and modifications made to bodies. A modification to a body should be an improvement, wouldn't you think??
Powder up first with talcum/baby powder and it won't bother you..is it still socially unacceptable to ask someone if their body is steel or FG? I mean if you can't tell....
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