'57 fuelie fiberglass

[Joe B.]

About to do a frame off on a '57 fuelie. The car has two repaints and unfortunately was chemically stripped both times. The glass in the cowl area is extremley flexible and moves noticeably when we press on it. I think it may have been weakened by the chemicals. Left side of the car has also been previously hit and repaired(poorly). Anyway a local NCRS judge highly discourages repalcement of the front end even with a high end replacement press molded front end like Corvette Images makes. I continue to worry about attempting to restore what appears to be highly fatigued original fiberglass. Any thoughts on when you are beyond preservation vs. judging with correct replacement?? Thanks.

[Rich P.]

Re: '57 fuelie fiberglass

Joe,

I have saved many panels on cars that most folks would have replaced. It all depends on your end goal. There is noting like the look and texture of original fiberglass. I am just finishing the body of a 66 that had to have extensive work done to the nose and tail panel as it had been sanded so much that it's glass was less than 1/2 the width and was as you said, flexible. It was not easy or quick to do but now that it is done you still can say that it has it's original panels.

It would probably be cheaper to replace the nose. So you have to decide does the addded expense add that much value to the car???

The next thing is you need to make sure your bodyman is capable of doing the repairs correctly while still being undetectable.

Rich