Fibreglass Panels

Post by **Wal** » Sun Jul 11, 2004 8:36 pm

Hi,
I'd be interested to know peoples experiences, good or bad, with fitting fibreglass panels - wings, boot etc. I know about the non rusting but what about things like flexing, panels gaps, finish quality etc. I am considering fitting some in order to reduce the weight but am not yet sure.

Regards,
Wal

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 10:25 am

i dont like them.
no strength,

paint will show stress marks over time,

there just a cheap option,

unless you racing then those factors become important.

Post by **simmitc** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 12:47 pm

Many years ago with my first Minor when I was ppor & impoverished I used GRP wings. Three were perfect fits, the 4th was a right b*****d requiring some chopping & glassing to make it fit. I've still got the car in the garden, and the wings are rust free! Note that there can be a great deal of difference in quality between different suppliers. Gelcoat craking only a probelm on porr quality parts, or if you hit them - boats & plenty of big things are made from GRP with no problems. However, I don't think that you'll save much weight, and I'd stick with steel for most parts, although I've currently got GRP valances on the bumpers.

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 3:49 pm

boats! imagine how thick the grp is compared to a grp wing
no wonder it dosent crack.

Post by **Pyoor_Kate** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 4:17 pm

I dunno, I've considered them and would consider them now - but then I'm poor and impoverished. I've forever regretted not salvaging the four wings off a sad little moggie in a scrappy in Hemel all those years ago. They'd obviously survived a long time and weren't cracked (the gel-coat was fine) despite the abuse of being on a scrap mog. The only sign that they were GRP was that someone had had the electrics off the car. Was a red 2 door 1000, incidentally.

Post by **Willie** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 6:16 pm

I fitted a pair of cheap rear wings to my old saloon and they
crazed badly within three weeks of finishing a two year rebuild!
My convertible has one fibreglass front wing which is well made
and strong BUT it has 'starburst' marks where stones are thrown
up by the front wheels. I would only recommend that the front
and rear valances are a very good idea in glass because of the
value for money compared with the steel type and for their rust
proof qualities.

Post by **brixtonmorris** » Mon Jul 12, 2004 6:31 pm

youve got a fiberglass wing on your morris willie
i'm shocked

Post by **Duncan** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 1:20 am

Can any of you point me to a website where someone offers a fiberglass valance panel? I need one, and fiberglass would be ideal for my application.

Thanks

Post by **Kevin** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 3:10 pm

The best ones are available from Smith and Deakin and they are listed under BLMC not Morris
http://www.smithanddeakin.co.uk/

Post by **Willie** » Tue Jul 13, 2004 7:33 pm

BRIXTON, yes,one glass wing but I draped my body over it when
I met you so that you didn't notice! It's on my 'must do' list.