I was in a ACE Hardware store purchasing some bolts and was talking to a employee, who was assisting me, about my 1958 Corvette restoration project. Charlie mentioned that his home town was Ashtabula, Ohio. There was a company in the town called Molded Fiberglass Co., owned by Bob Morrison, who he said made the fiberglass parts for the 1953-54 Corvette. Didn't see any reference to this in Noland Adams' book. Anyone know if Charlie's recollections are accurate?
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Thats correct -
Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
For many years and models. Morrison, though is best remembered for Being the one who talked GM into the feasibility of a Fiberglass body in a production car.Bill Clupper #618Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Bill..years ago in a conversation with John Evans the chief inspector at the St.Louis Corvette Plant..he told me some stories about making trips to Ashtibula to check on fiberglass production.
Seems to me he said they had a salesman that was a former football player for the Detroit Lions.
Maybe one of the Morrisons would remember.
One thing I am curious about is if the inner fender big brake cooling tube holes came from Ashtibula that way or were they template cut at St. Louis.
JoeComment
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Re: 63 Fiberglass Color, Greenish??????
Correct. Interesting bit of Corvette trivia. Have you ever seen greenish tint 63 body panels? If so, there "original" Chevrolet. In the early seventies Rockwell International expanded it's automotive sector by acquiring Morris Fiberglass Boat Company, better known as Morris Industries and renamed it "Reinforced Plastics Operations". Rockwell's first Divisional Director was Jim Mason. Shortly after the acquisition there was a bitter labor dispute and resulting strike. Detroit management was directed to Ashtabula and "operate" the facility. I had the distinction of operating the purge lines, which feed raw material to the molding shop and wasn't very proficient at my assignment. The components RPO was molding for truck customers were white, provided the purge lines were adequately cleaned by the operator. Unfortunately, small amounts of colored resin remained in the lines tinting the finished components. After a new labor agreement was ratified, all skilled operators returned to their jobs. Several months later I visited the plant, went down the line to the position I filled during the dispute, spoke to the operator explaining my problem to his laughter. He shared a festinating story with me: When he first began his career with MFBCo. (Molded Fiberglass Boat Company) their primary product line was fleet of small green boats for Sears. Of course, I questioned him about Corvette production, remembering Steve's car we stripped, 1975 timeframe, and to our surprise found several greenish body panels. Steve was employed, by Chevrolet, in the engineering building's receiving department. He acquired his car from another tech center employee and knowing it was a unhit car was baffled by the color. Hank explained the problem was the same. When production had completed molding Sears' boats and the lines weren't properly purged would result in greenish tinted body panels. He continued to explain how system improvements eventually corrected the problem.
Any past Chevrolet Engineering types remember Steve??????????????Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
In 1955, when demand for Corvettes REALLY waned, the company used some of its excess capacity to produce the GRP sides of the Chevy Cameo Carrier pick-up trucks. -Ludvigsen p37.Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
More: According to Charlie, Bob Morrison and his brother each inherited $500,000. in the 30's. His brother put his inheritence in a savings acct while Bob, the entrepreneur, put his money into a business. He bought a Ford Dealership. In 1947, when autos were in demand, he sold his dealership for a high price and invested the returns in his fiberglass company. He became a multi-millionaire who never lost touch with his roots and always remembered the name of a person met, even after many years...according to Charlie, in a conversation at the ACE.Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Richard..thanks for sharing the stories!
JoeComment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Goodyear didn't last long with that job, which they got by pressuring Chevrolet Purchasing and making some kind of deal on their tires; didn't take very long for Goodyear to figure out they'd never make a dime producing fiberglass body panels, and they had to plead with Purchasing to take the tooling back and re-source the job to someone else.
Bob Morrison was truly a legend - without his persistence in pushing fiberglass technology, the Corvette may never have been born.Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Jimmy
I will check under the nose of my car!
Years ago I had a very original 54 that I restored. Inside the drivers door fiberglass panel there was a red or blue stamp from the maunfacturer. I remember sending a picture of it to Sam Folz.
He responded saying he had never seen another stamp like it.
I probably have the picture and the letter from Sam somewhere. If I find it ..I will post it.Comment
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Re: Corvette Fiberglass Origins
Joe, Not that this will shed any light on your quericy, but my neighbor now ownes the Ashtibula building in question. He ownes a large chemical Co.and it only one of his locations.
Yes, I remember a Former Detroit Lion that was a sales rep and called on Chevrolet Engineering, but I don't recall his name.
ArtComment
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Re: 63 Fiberglass Color, Greenish??????
I have a spare C1 hood, 62 style. When I stripped it, I discovered it had a Rockwell tab imprinted into it. It is a press molded hood of good quality. Any chance this is an original hood, or a reissue from the 70s or later?Comment
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Re: 63 Fiberglass Color, Greenish??????
North American Rockwell acquired it's "Reinforced Fiberglass Division" in the early seventies. Does your hood have a sticker indicating "North American Rockwell" or is "North American Rockwell" completely molded in with a white background. Same procedure would apply to "Rockwell International" later name change.
1. Sticker indicating "North American Rockwell" Regular C3 production manufactured after 1971-72 timeframe and shipped to GMPD (General Motors Parts Division).
2. Molded in "North American Rockwell" specifically molded to support service requirements. Would apply to all C1, C2 or C3 body panel.
3. Sticker indicating "Rockwell International" Regular C3 production manufactured after 1974-75 timeframe incorporating the new name and shipped to GMPD (General Motors Parts Division).
4. Molded in "Rockwell International" specifically molded to support service requirements after the new name 1975-75 timeframe. Would apply to all C1, C2 or C3 body panel.
I would suggest your hood was manufactured by Rockwell as a service replacement from GMPD.
Hope this helps.Comment
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Re: Rockwell Fiberglass Replacement Panels
As a supplement to my earlier post it's important to emphasize that all replacement body panels manufactured by North American Rockwell or Rockwell International were produced using original tooling and molding process. The only difference between original body panels molded during the sixties, without supplier identification, and Rockwell's is "time". Rockwell had a corporate directive to identify manufactured components. The genesis of product traceability and reliability.Comment
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