I had the oppurtunity to tour the assembly plant last week. The tour guide (a college student) knew very little about the cars. Are the body panels fiberglass as used on C-3 cars? Their finish is perfect compared to the older cars like the C-3. I saw three cars being built with front of door marker/signal lights and tow hooks for shipment to Europe. I thought that was interesting. The tour was great, everyone should make it a must stop during their travels near Bowling Green.
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
the panels are fiberglss but they bond urethane skin on the panels to make for a smooth look -
PS
yes the tour is great,did you get to start a C-5 for the first time startup? they pick someone out of the group to fire up a new C-5 at the end of the line. i go to BG 2/3 times a year and take in the factory tour every time as you notice something different every time.Comment
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Re: PS
Clem, a pretty lady ahead of us guys was picked to start a convertible and given a certificate. I think I know why the assembly guy would choose her over the rest of us gunky guys.Comment
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
Body panels are a modern derivative of fiberglass called "sheet molding compound" - SMC. All the panels are one piece and the major departure from traditional Corvette construction is that there are no bonds. All the panels are BOLTED to the structure. Also they are painted before being attached to the car. They are hung on a special fixture - basically in the orientation as installed on the car, but the panels are separated so the robot painters can spray the ends and edges, which is why C5s look so better finished. Also, becauce they are painted away from the chassis, there is no overspray on anything.
SMC is being used for a lot of panels today. Saturn is 100 percent SMC and a friend's Bullit Mustang has an SMC hood and trunk lid.
The only potential downside is that SMC panels cannot be repaired in the field as far as I know. You'll need a new panel if one is damaged, but on the plus side, all the body shop has to to is buy the new panel, paint it off the car, and bolt it on after removing the old panel. They'll only need your car for a day for minor damage, and it won't get filled up with sanding dust.
DukeComment
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
the bolt on panels also make for cheaper insurance on the C-5 than the C-4Comment
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Re: PS
that sounds like a SEXIST comment to me.Comment
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
Some of the panels like the hood are SMC. The fenders and quarters are plastic and considered non repairable. The bumper covers are urethane just like most other cars. It's amazing the paint matches so well with the different substrata.Comment
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Re: PS
Is the plant no back to giving tours twice a day? Last I heard they has suspended on a daily basis for the general public.Comment
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Re: PS
Jim, Monday thru Friday 9:00 & 1:00. Its best to check their web site for tour and plant closings.Comment
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
Not only are the substrates different for the front and rear fascias vs. the other body panels, the paint is too; the reinforced RIM urethane fascias are painted with a unique formulation with a flex agent - not the same material as the rest of the body gets. Almost all automotive bumper fascias these days are painted by outside suppliers and arrive in color, ready to install as modules, with most of the lighting and decorative parts already installed by the supplier; the cost of a complete dedicated urethane paint system just for fascias for every assembly plant is prohibitive.
The Viper fiberglass and SMC body panels are all topcoated with PPG BC/CC paint at an ASC facility about 15 miles from the Viper plant; the fascias are molded and painted (with BASF flex paint) 1200 miles away in Georgia. When stripes are called for, the four points on the ASC-painted hood stripes must match the adjacent four points on the Georgia-painted front fascia stripes within +/- 0.5mm at each point (not to mention exact color match, metallics included). Yup, it took just a little coordination and communication to make this workComment
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Re: C-5 Body Panels Are They Fiberglass?
John, I noticed at the assembly plant the taillight section was painted and they had people hand detailing each taillight piece. I wondered why they would be doing that seperate to the other body panels coming from the paint section.
Your explaination now explains that. Thanks RogerComment
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