Opening Doors Part 1

Not being one to leave things alone, I decided to undertake the ultimate challenge and install opening doors in my 27 roadster.  This is something that I have always wanted to undertake but never had the time to spend working out the details.  One of the main things to understand when undertaking something of this magnitude is pre planning.  If I don’t think this through, I might wind up with one major mistake that could cost more time and money than I want to invest.  Now I know that I can buy a 27 roadster that has opening doors both installed and raw or uninstalled.  But I am also pretty cheap , and if I can save several hundred dollars and still get the same results for a small investment , then I am all about that.  Plus, l am always up for a challenge.  With that said, let’s get started.   I might add that these same procedures can also be used on t buckets or other fiberglass bodies.

There are a couple of things that need to be known about this body.  One, it actually was rescued from a dumpster years ago and then sat in or outside a shop for several more years.Two , it was pretty cut up because it was used or slated to be used for a drag car.  With this in mind, and after much thought, I decided to take some precautions BEFORE I made some major mistakes.  Since I didn’t know what kind of stress this body had been subjected to and knowing that when one removes a section of fiberglass from this type of body ( one piece construction), it can and often does go crazy and becomes very distorted,  I decided to lock the area to be removed ( the door opening ) by supporting it with 1 x 2 pine wood strips bondoed with fiberglass bondo to the area just inside the revels where the door would be cut open.  Four pieces were used, the area roughed up, and 1/2 inch holes drilled in the wood to help hold the wood to the bondo/door.  Coat the back of the wood pieces , slide into position, and then run a finger or a small radiused bondo spreader along the inside and outside to form a small radius and increase the strength of the bond.

After the bondo is set, I placed 2 inch masking tape on the outside of the body next to the door revelle and marked where I was going to cut the opening with a magic marker. I left 5/8 ths of an inch from the outside of the revelle for the cut line.  Then I took my disc cutter with a 1/16 th inch wide disc and made a cut on the vertical and horizontal line at the bottom of the door.  This is so I can start the cut with my jig saw ( I could have used a sawzal or a disc cutter just as easily)  The small radius at the bottom of the door on the corners, is marked out with a 1 inch inside diameter flat washer ( using the outside diameter for the actual arc) and the cut starts from one of the two slots just made and the round cut is made , 1/2 from one direction and 1/2 from the other.  

This view shows the door after the cuts were made.  I should mention that I cut the bottom of the door first , AFTER the corners were cut, and then cut from the bottom to the top , but not all the way up and across the lip. I did this on both sides.  By doing it this way, the top of the door is not flopping around while the other side is being cut.  Remember that cutting with a jigsaw creates a lot of vibration, and I didn’t want to take a chance that the loose door would vibrate enough and crack the side I was working on.  That would just create more problems.  

This picture shows the cut out door with the wood installed.  When I cut the doors out, the door only moved or distorted about 1/16th of an inch.  Not bad when you consider how much it might have distorted had I not taken the precautions to keep the door from tweeking.

In this picture, I am laying up fiberglass that will be used in building the door jams and tying pieces together.  This will all become clear as the story unfolds.  Flat pieces are done on the table covered with wax paper so that they are easily removed.  The angle pieces ( 90 degrees)  that will be used to form the jams, are made using 2 x 2 inch angle iron, covered with 2 inch masking tape , covered with mold release wax or auto paste wax.  On the angled pieces, I lay up three layers of 1 oz. mat.   I could go thicker if I wanted , but the way this will come together, I feel it will be strong enough the way it is.

This shows my shop foreman DJ and his brother Tivon.  DJ is 14 and Tivon is 9.  Notice that they are wearing protective clothing , safety glasses, welding respirators, and disposable gloves .  I can’t over emphasize that when working with fiberglass and other products that are toxic, safety precautions need to be strictly adhered to.  When working with fiberglass, work the resin into the mat by tapping the brush up and down.  Do not brush it on like paint or the fibers will move around and cause a big mess.  Don’t get to much resin on the mat.  It should be translucent and not soggy.  If it is soggy to the point that it can run, when it sets up it will chip off and be brittle or form a weak spot.  If you get fiberglass resin on your skin, take a rag with a small amount of lacquer thinner  and wipe it over the resin until it is gone , then wash the area with soap and water and then apply some good hand lotion.  Lacquer thinner will take the oil out of the skin and can cause a skin burn or irritation. Protect yourself .

Building A Fiberglass Trunk Lid ( Part 2 )

This picture shows part of the passengers side  and top with  the side piece in place.  The strength that this one piece adds is totally amazing.  I filled in most of the low spots with fiberglass bondo and will finish the entire top with ultra light  bondo.  The metal straps are to hold the trunk lid in place so that I can align and set up the side hinges.

This is a shot of the front lip of the body , which is done the same way as the side pieces and the front of the trunk.  The hinge was made from a 1/2 in x1 coarse bolt with a 1/4th inch hole drilled in the center.  You will need a lathe or a great hardware store to get four ( two for the trunk and two for the body) of these to use as the hinge.  I also turned the head of the bolts down to about 3/32ths thick for space requirements.  Look closely and the one for the body can be seen in place in the upper end of the passenger side trunk opening.  I could have used a different type of hinge, but these work very well, are cheap, and easy to install and work really super!  Almost a no brainer.

Here is a great shot of the front and side pieces installed on the trunk lid along with the driver side piece.  It also shows how the hinge bolt is held in place .  I just use a flat washer and a nyloc and then form a support cone with fiberglass bondo on both the trunk and the body side of the hinge pin bolts.  The hinge pin is a 1/4 x 3 unc bolt with another 3 inch bolt welded to the head of the hinge pin.  This allows me to remove the pin easily and when I final assemble the hinge, I will put a flat washer  with a 1/4 x 20 nyloc nut on the end of the hinge pin to lock it in place.

To get a nice straight evenly spaced gap on the top / front edge, I use two or three pieces of chip board covered with wax paper ( this acts as a spacer ) and taped to the body side of the trunk opening.  I first straightened the body edge by sanding and adding fiberglass bondo and using a straight edge to get it the way I wanted.  Then force fiberglass bondo in the gap and up against the trunk lid.  When set, remove and add more fiberglass bondo to the trunk to fill and even out on the inside against the edge.  The same process is used on the sides of the trunk.

This shows what happens after the fiberglass bondo is forced from the top into the side to fill in the gap.  Now just fill the bottom where the bondo did not reach, sand and finish.

Here I’ve started smoothing with ultra light bondo. The side gaps look real good too!Although it looks like a lot of bondo, there actually Is not that much when all is said and done.  In this picture the front gap has not been done yet.  Not to bad for a cheap trunk lid.  It opens and closes real well and is easily removed.  For the latch, I fiberglassed a thin piece of plywood with two 1/4 x 20 x1 in. elevator bolts ( available at Home Depot or Lowes).  This will allow the upper latch to be attached to the bolts.  I did the same to the inside of the body to hold the lower latch and bracket. 

Building A Fiberglass Trunk Lid (part 1)

This body did not come with any type of trunk lid or filler piece for the trunk.  At first I was going to make a mold off the body and then pull a piece from the mold and complete a trunk.  After looking at how much it would cost for the fiberglass, resin, bondo,sandpaper, time etc.  and knowing that I would probably never need the mold again, I decided to just make one from fiberglass and finish it on the car.  Doing it this way makes the deck lid a little heavier but saves a lot of time and money.  I could make one out of sheet metal, but I wanted to keep the entire car fiberglass.  I started by taking a piece of 22 ga. sheet metal and rough bent it over an oxygen bottle to get a basis curve to fit the body.  Then I bent a long strip at 90 degrees and pop riveted it to the top or forward edge so that it would sit on the edge of the body. Next I used several sheet rock (sheet metal) screws and screwed it along the edge and bottom to suck the metal close to the body contour. Next I covered the sheet metal with wax paper , taped it down and then applied 4 layers of 1 oz  fiberglass mat ( not shown).  This then forms the basis for the trunk and the rest of the process.

Now comes the fun part.  I made a pattern of the contour of the body and transferred it to a 2 x 4 and rounded the edges of the contour on both sides,  This will make 2 lefts and 2 right sides to form the inside lip of both the trunk and the body.  Cover the  2 x 4 with wax paper so that it fits tight and nice, tape it down good and use  some mold release or car paste wax.  Cover with three or four layers of 1 oz fiberglass mat.  Make two off one side and then reverse and make two off of the opposite side.

I also need a nice straight one for the front or top of the trunk lid.  Use a nice straight 2 x 4 , cover with wax paper and apply 3 or 4 layers of 1 oz. fiberglass mat.

This picture shows all five fiberglass pieces along with the 2 x 4 I used to make the side pieces.

Trim the pieces with a band saw or jig saw leaving at least an inch on both sides.  Do this with all five pieces.  Use some lacquer thinner to clean up any mold release or wax residue.  Take some 36 or 40 grit sand paper and rough up the outside surfaces to help insure a better bond and grip for the fiberglass bondo.

Now its time to put these pieces in place.  Take some 36 or 40 grit sandpaper and rough up the inner surfaces of the body and the inner surface of the trunk.  Mix up some fiberglass bondo and spread it along the surface to be bonded (mated).  I pre drilled two 1/4 inch holes and pre fitted each piece so that when the installation takes place,  the bolts will hold the pieces in place until cured.  When cured (kicked) remove the bolts, fill the hole and dress up /off any excess.  Fill in low spots rough sand and get ready for the next step in part 2.