These photos really tell the tale of how our cars are built. Everything is new, no junkyard parts. The bodys are hand laid fiberglass, this takes longer to produce, but the thickness of the glass is very consistent and very strong, because we can control the resin to glass content better. Excess resin makes the body brittle and adds wight without strength. We also use ISO resin, not general purpose resin. It costs more but the shrinkage is better and by using the highest grade of resin, the quality shows with a body that lasts longer and is resistant to stress cracks. By hand laying, I can control where an extra thickness of glass can be added for strength, as in the edges of fenders or where a mounting bolt hole is. Attention to detail is part of the build. We also use a product called CoreMatt, that adds stiffness to the floor, firewall, doors, where we really need to beef up a part but not make it overly heavy. All bodys are further reinforced by using Wood in the door jams and in the roof bows. These pieces are shaped to fit the body, laminated into the body and because the wood soaks up the resin, the wood is a better material for reinforcement becoming part of the body, not a crutch to help flex. It is tight all the way around, has a better expansion rate than metal and can be sealed with resin to make the wood moisture resistant. This makes the door jams very strong and gives a good anchor to the hinges, bolted through the jam. You can stand on the roof and when we flip it to detail the bottom, the doors still work. A great framework to attach upholstery.
All doors are assembled on the body, mounted to the frame for a glove fit. They are not built on a jig, that may not be as good of a fit. This also takes more time and is more difficult, but good craftsmanship is more important to me. The inner and outer door skins are not glued together, they are hand laminated on the inside for a solid shell. 1/4" metal plates are laminated into a pocket to retain them inside the door and deck lid skins, tapped for 3/8" bolts, they cannot come loose from the inner skins. Some pix here, more in the gallery.
All doors are assembled on the body, mounted to the frame for a glove fit. They are not built on a jig, that may not be as good of a fit. This also takes more time and is more difficult, but good craftsmanship is more important to me. The inner and outer door skins are not glued together, they are hand laminated on the inside for a solid shell. 1/4" metal plates are laminated into a pocket to retain them inside the door and deck lid skins, tapped for 3/8" bolts, they cannot come loose from the inner skins. Some pix here, more in the gallery.
