Working with fiberglass for custom body work

p5150

ASE and FAA A&P Certified
Mar 31, 2005
1,176
0
36
Central Idaho
Hey all - im working on transforming my supra, but I dont want to purchase a body kit because I dont really like the way most of them look. I want a very large opening on the front for a huge intercooler, so im going to chop the front support and nose and form the edges of the body panel with fiberglass.

Does anybody have experience working with fiberglass? I used it once to make a custom speaker box. My biggest concern is how to get it to stick to the already existing body panel.
 

Justin

Speakers?
Mar 31, 2005
1,699
0
0
40
Spokane, Wa
p5150 said:
Hey all - im working on transforming my supra, but I dont want to purchase a body kit because I dont really like the way most of them look. I want a very large opening on the front for a huge intercooler, so im going to chop the front support and nose and form the edges of the body panel with fiberglass.

Does anybody have experience working with fiberglass? I used it once to make a custom speaker box. My biggest concern is how to get it to stick to the already existing body panel.


if you sand the body panel down I don't think you'll have any issues with it sticking.
 

KeithH

New Member
Mar 31, 2005
1,716
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Portland, OR
FG will eventually split apart from the Urethane of the bumper skin. The bumper skin is flexible and the FG is not.

Check out www.urethanesupply.com for some cool products for repairing the urethane skin.

Or... use the nose to make a mold of what you want and then build the whole thing out of FG.
 

p5150

ASE and FAA A&P Certified
Mar 31, 2005
1,176
0
36
Central Idaho
Thanks for the link Keith -

I know that the EVO front eliminates the front structural support for the bumper, I plan on cutting the center of the bumper with a plasma cutter and extending the intercooler opening upward to permit a larger intercooler surface exposure. I just dislike the way the ebay kits look, and I want to go with something that looks somewhat stock without paying out my ass..

Im going to stick a huge intercooler in there.

After I cut the bumper up, im going to need something to finish the urethane edges off so that they look nice.