33 Vicky redo

Tooltime

Tooltime

Active Member
Supporting Member
I thought I might start the redo info with a bit of the original build details.

I don't have a lot of pictures of the progress as the car came together:eek::eek:

Started the car in 2000 and finished it in time for the 2006 Canada Day show here in Napanee.

frame outside.jpg

The frame was built by Hot FX in Wasaga Beach Ont and I can say it is extremely well built and super stiff!!!!

front pass.jpg

The body is from a company that was called Cutting Edge Technologies in PEI and probably the biggest piece of crap I have ever experienced!!!! Doug at Hotrod FX said "You know these aren't the best bodies!!!!" To which I said " It can't be that bad". Well he was very right!!!!!

I cut the body from the back corner forward to the door, just under the body line and remove a wedge of 3/8" and then cut the door from 3/8" at the back to nothing at the front to make the body lines straight!!!!!!!!!!

The rear window was 1 1/2" out of centre and the hood/side panels need extending in length almost 3/4" on each end!!!!!!!!!!!

So you might get the idea of what was involved to get the car as straight as it was!!!!!!!!!!

The body shop that has painted/ body worked all of the hotrods I have built did a great job dealing with making it smooth after I did all the modifications with West System epoxy!!!!!

Pict0126.jpg

PA060070.jpg

P4080747.jpg
 
Car looks great...I guess with all that cutting you had to do along the edge of the body line...the manufacturer really lived up to its Cutting Edge name...really like the colour combo..
 
JohnnyBgood said:
Car looks great...I guess with all that cutting you had to do along the edge of the body line...the manufacturer really lived up to its Cutting Edge name...really like the colour combo..
Click to expand...

It was really unfortunate that they didn't fix the body of the car that came from someone in the States before copying it:mad::mad::mad:

The glass work is good and uses the "scrimp method"/ vacuum bagging to infuse the Vinylester resin into the glass cloth and some balsa core materials ( floors). Also the fenders have a foam core about an 1/8"-3/16 " running through the centre of them. Hence no staring. This method is how the newer Vettes are made giving the glass a much thinner appearance. I have had some reach into the rear fender opening to see if it is glass or steel and ask "is this steel":eek::eek::confused:
 
Excellent, I’m glad that you have it sorted, pity we didn’t catch up in Victoria.
 
Sorry for the delay in continuing the update. I had to figure out how to convert some of my pictures from TIFF to JPEG format!!!!!!!!!!:confused::confused:

These pictures are of the body before paint on the origional build in 2000

Pict0056.jpg

Pict0059.jpg

Pict0094.jpg

Pict0097.jpg

Pict0098.jpg
 
As you can see in some of the pictures the "wonderful fitment":(:(

Now the reason for a redo!!!!!!!!!!

If anyone remembers the 07 Points West tour, you might recall how blasted hot it was in Saskatoon !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jamie and Steacy Burns were driving the new Ford chase truck and trailer. Jamie came over to me and said " do you realize that the truck says 41 Deg C on the outside temp!!!"

Well that explained why we were smelling fiberglass inside the car!!!!!!!!!

And the AC wasn't keeping up!!!!!!!

The next morning I was dusting off the car and I noticed the pattern of the fiberglass weave through the clear coat!!!!! What the hell!!!!!!

Apparently the cost of post curing the body would have paid off ( $1500) which entails baking the hole thing!!!! I am note sure what the temp was or time BUT I might not need to repaint!!!!!

I am not sure if you can see it in the door, but it looks like a pixelated picture on a computer screen that has been blown up larger!!!!!!!

20191011_145133.jpg

We did have a lad in Sudbury at the car show ask me how I got the paint to do that????? I asked what he meant and he said the pixelated look!!!!!!!:eek::eek:

Also the previous repairs on the body lines started blistering on the doors!!!

I think it was due to me not getting all the blush off from the epoxy or that the body filler used wasn't compatible with the epoxy.

These pictures are of some of the spots that I thought needed attention!!

20191011_145047.jpg

20191011_145124.jpg

20191011_145105.jpg

20191011_145213.jpg
 
So with all these spots coming up..are you better off just to redo the whole car..and is there any concerns that this will happen again?..
 
JohnnyBgood said:
So with all these spots coming up..are you better off just to redo the whole car..and is there any concerns that this will happen again?..
Click to expand...

What I have done is grind out the problem areas and added a couple of layers of 8 oz. woven cloth using West System epoxy. The blush is cleaned with water and a Scotchbrite burgundy pad, which I have learned since 2000:eek::eek:

Rather than using regular polyester body fill like Rage Gold (used it on the 30 Vicky build) I have used the epoxy thickened with low density powder from West System. This is what the fiberglass boat industry uses for faring/body filler on the hulls to make them super smooth and straight. This stuff sticks extremely well to just about anything ( other than plastics) that is roughed up with 80 or coarser sand paper.

I am also using Urethane primer over any repairs( I will post pictures of that later)

And yes I am repainting the whole car:eek::eek:
 
I know products have changed over the years but I can remember about 30 years ago we tried to repair some gouges in a fibreglass boat hull. Came out great. But after about 2 weeks baking in the sun before we got it back into the water the repairs bubbled and flaked.. We went to a local fibreglass canoe builder and he said once we go through the gell coat it's a whole new ball game. The resin in the fibreglass will eat at the filler we put in. Guy said we have to clean all that stuff out that we put in and reseal the glass and put the gell coat back .. Everywhere else that we put the filler that didn't have the gell coat broken through never bubbled...we ended up just putting the boat back,into the water and riding it until we sunk it after hitting some rocks...anyways this might be the same thing your up against...
 
Now I'm thinking about it ..I'm pretty sure the filler had some chopped up fibreglass in it....think it was called cat fir or something like that...damn I hate growing old....can't remember hardly anything anymore...and by the time I do remember I forgot what I was talking about in the first place....kitty fir..maybe..
 
JohnnyBgood said:
Now I'm thinking about it ..I'm pretty sure the filler had some chopped up fibreglass in it....think it was called cat fir or something like that...damn I hate growing old....can't remember hardly anything anymore...and by the time I do remember I forgot what I was talking about in the first place....kitty fir..maybe..
Click to expand...

Kitty mat or kitty hair.? There are long strand and short strand fibre glass fillers.
 
Last edited:
Good one Tim, you will be happy you have re done everything again, a pain but will be much better when you are done, I have faith in you brother :) :) Oh well you are making great progress at least, I can see the straight away now with what I have been doing to :)
 
JohnnyBgood said:
I know products have changed over the years but I can remember about 30 years ago we tried to repair some gouges in a fibreglass boat hull. Came out great. But after about 2 weeks baking in the sun before we got it back into the water the repairs bubbled and flaked.. We went to a local fibreglass canoe builder and he said once we go through the gell coat it's a whole new ball game. The resin in the fibreglass will eat at the filler we put in. Guy said we have to clean all that stuff out that we put in and reseal the glass and put the gell coat back .. Everywhere else that we put the filler that didn't have the gell coat broken through never bubbled...we ended up just putting the boat back,into the water and riding it until we sunk it after hitting some rocks...anyways this might be the same thing your up against...
Click to expand...

The compatibility of Polyester,Vinylester and Epoxy is quite a complex subject of which I am by no means an expert:confused::confused:

I have done a fair bit of research on the West System Epoxy and it seems to be deemed about the best for fiberglass repairs.:cool::)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom