Pat, taking a plug of a body question.

[Bruce]

Pat,
Working on a deal for a car, but the catch is I need to make a plug of the body to sell to make the whole project for me start to finish paid for with the sale of the plug of which there is a market for.

It is a fiberglass body already and one of only a few originals around and I would not want to damage it in any way.

Would the best way be to mould release wax the current body to death and lay glass over it, or would it be better to plastic wrap the body and layup glass over the plastic wrap?

BTW, the body removes from the chassis very easy.

[CaptPatrick]

Damn Bro, for someone who isn't crazy about workin' in fiberglass, sounds like you're bitin' into a really big apple...

Send me some images of what you've got to work from. The best release would a treatment of semi-permanant mold release, available from Bill Gallup, in Orlando - Related Technologies, Inc. 407.297.7195

You could also wax with Partall® Paste #2 and spray with PVA, (polyvinyl alcohol). You'll need to use Tooling gelcoat, either black or orange & a 1 qt dump gun with a #6 tip. All available from Glue Products...

Actually, you'll be making a mold, using the original body as the plug. You could, if need be, make another plug from the mold.

You'll need to make a jig frame to keep the body from warping or mold the body while attached to the auto frame. All contours will have to have a negative draught or you'll have to make multiple mold segments. The mold will also have to be heavily reinforced with steel frame work so that it remains ultra rigid and gives you a good reproduction without warps or twists.

There's a guy named Zed, I think his company name is Polytechnic, over near Bill's Gun Shop that would be a great local resource. He's made molds of all sorts of bike parts, auto body parts, etc. Bill Gallup has his phone number and address.

Br,

Patrick

[scot]

Bruce,
Please tell me it's a 62 Corvette.

[White Bear]

I'll guess Bocar or Kellison GT

[Bruce]

I still hate fiberglass, but with you not here there ain't no way around doin my own and figure might as well get used to it unless I want to change professions.

Body is a 70's vintage funny car they called "floppers" of which there are few left to purchase.

Its a rolling chassis only, but to afford to put a couple of engines together with Liz still in school, I need to make and sell the mold or a plug. I don't have to make the actual body.

I was crewing on Kevins vintage front engine blown alcohol dragster at the Citrus Nationals and got word of the car for sale in S.C.
It peaked my interest and since I cut my teeth racing in that era, it just felt natural and a step up from what I was doin then.

I'm heading up to S.C. tomarrow to take a look and if the deal goes thru, I'll send some pics.

Scot,
There's nothin in the world I would like better than a 63' split window coupe, but this old boy don't swing enough paper to afford one.
Besides the idea of shelling out so much coin for a car I could have had back then for cheap doesn't sit well with me.

Besides I thought I had burned up all that go fast mindset years ago and settled in to a nice comfortable end, but drivin those laps around Daytona speedway last summer lit a fire under my butt that I can't get rid of and doin it on the street just ain't cool.
Owning a coupe like that would be way too tempting and I'm not into show circuits. Did that for two years and it wasn't my thing.

[CaptPatrick]

Wow Ol' Buddy, I thought you might be thinking of something like a Meyer's Manix type one piece body... The Floppers used fiberglass look a like bodies of street cars like the Camero, Mustang, & even VW Bugs.

That's gonna' be some real complex molding, probably of multiple parts and then the parts assembled as a composite body. This ain't an entry level fiberglass molding project, and I'd be intimidated.

Just the shop setup, materials, equipment & time investment to get ready to roll will be huge. Try to search out and talk to Zed before you do anything. His shop is on the opposite side of the street from Bill in one of the strip warehouses running west to east. About the same distance from Belvedere...

Br,

Patrick

[Bruce]

Pat,
Vega body and I'm too stupid to be intimidated.

Won't be at my shop, I got someone who wants a body and will let me use his warehouse and cover most of the cost of the materials in trade for a body. I spent a good part of Sunday workin this out before I turn over the green.

There are a few people interested in the car, so it might end up in a bidding war and over my head.

Ya gotta learn some how.

Now lets see, the pointy end is the front of the boat so being there is no pointy end on a car I could have trouble...........or a very strange looking car.