Here's why we said to make...
Here's why we said to make sure you have eye protection and a respirator or mask. When sanding down the cured fiberglass work area the fiberglass dust it creates is immense (this goes for covering things in your garage and sealing the door to your house as well). The dust is an irritant and will cause breathing issues. Dress appropriately and wear the right safety gear.
In beginning our bodywork phase of our Generation Gap project '68 fastback, we knew we had plenty of fiberglass parts and modifications to tackle on our car. From installing a Shelby-style trunk lid and endcaps, to custom lower sidescoops, a multi-piece ground effects kit, and a one-piece nose, we had our work cut out for ourselves. Our fastback's bodywork is being handled by the crew at Classic Creations of Central Florida, not far from our offices. CCFL has worked with us before on numerous paint and body projects and we trust its work. From stock restos and mild customs to full-blown modified cars like ours, we've seen the company tackle it, so confidence in handling our fiberglass work was not an issue. Check out the beginnings of our bodywork here and tune in for more in an upcoming issue where we'll actually lay color and move forward with final suspension and drivetrain installation, wiring, and more. Don't worry; we've got plenty to cover, including some never-before-seen upgrades we think you'll want to see.
The roughed out work area...
The roughed out work area is ready for any small secondary applications of fiberglass and/or body filler, depending upon the depth of the areas. In our case we'll be fine with high build primer and some body filler for this.
There are different types of fiberglass, resin, and hardeners available to the end-user. Buying the cheap stuff at your local Wal-Mart might be OK to build a speaker box, but for bodywork that you want to last, head straight to an auto body supply house for the good stuff, especially the resin. A good quality resin will pour like warm syrup or thin motor oil. The cheap stuff usually has the consistency of molasses and takes much longer to dry. You also want polyester resin, though that's pretty much what's sold these days anyway.
For the fiberglass there is mat mold and woven cloth, and several thicknesses of both. Mat mold uses a random pattern to its fiberglass strands where as the woven, as its name suggests, is a weave of strands with a definite pattern to it. The mat mold is easier to hide in bodywork (you can sand down to the woven cloth and see the pattern in your body work) but the woven cloth is stronger. It all depends upon what you are building and where on the car. Fiberglass is very forgiving. You can sand it, mold it, cut it, and more. Best thing is, if you mess up you can simply cut it off and start over.
There are only a few different...
There are only a few different styles of lower 'scoops on the market, but that doesn't mean you can't create your own. We actually started with these much larger sidescoops and then trimmed them down as shown for a bit sleeker look.
You'll need hardener for your resin. The mix ratio is usually 15-20 drops per ounce of resin, but it can vary depending upon working temperature. Sometimes you want to mix the resin "hot" for it to set up fast. But remember, the hotter you make it the more brittle it becomes. For a strong and effective repair you need to use the right mix. You might even want to make small sample batches of resin and take notes as to how quickly it sets up. The working environment needs to be warm, but if it is too difficult to heat your whole garage-use portable heat lamps or a heat gun for small localized areas.
Finally, grab some disposable gloves, acid brushes, paper respirators for sanding, an old long-sleeve shirt, and you'll also need a mixing bowl for the resin. A good idea is an old Tupperware container, as you can flex the plastic bowl and "pop" the dried resin out of it to reuse it again. Whatever you do, refrain from using wax paper cups, as the wax will leach off into your resin and cause all sorts of scary issues you don't want to deal with.
To finish off the stock Mustang...
To finish off the stock Mustang rocker panel area and give the car a more lowered look, we're incorporating Mustangs Plus' ground effects kit. These can be simply painted and attached with screws and panel adhesive or bonding tape, but we're going to mold them into our fastback's body lines. Danny uses more epoxy to bond them to the rocker, using self tapping screws to hold them in place. The screws will be removed later and more epoxy used to fill the holes.
The 'scoops utilize mounting...
The 'scoops utilize mounting studs, so they help to hold the 'scoop in place, but Danny once again mixes up a batch of epoxy to give the 'scoop extra bonding strength before adding a layer of fiberglass around the perimeter. You'll notice in this photo the rear wheel flare already installed and fiberglass added. Don't worry; we've got three more flares to install.
Remember when we mentioned...
Remember when we mentioned cutting the fiberglass parting line earlier? Here is an example of that being employed. While many would prefer the look of the ground effects in one smooth part, we felt it would be better to allow removal of the fender in the future, so Danny made a simple cut in the ground effect. This cut line will be enlarged to match the fender gap and a backing plate will be made so the cut will be less noticeable.
For the CDC Flashback front...
For the CDC Flashback front fascia, the installation, much like the popular Eleanor front fascia, requires trimming the lower edge of the fender area. This gives the fascia a more modern wrap-around look. After careful measuring Danny gives our fenders an initial cut, leaving enough material to bend into place as a mounting flange.
Our left fender is a last-minute...
Our left fender is a last-minute replacement from National Parts Depot, as the original fender was deemed unusable (thankfully NPD's showrooms are open until 9 p.m. and we're less than 90 minutes from its Ocala store).
Once Danny gets the fender...
Once Danny gets the fender fit to the car and the fender-to-door gap roughly set with the help of CCFL's Merv Rego, the CDC Flashback fascia is test-fit. While the Flashback fascia has only been seen on a couple of custom-built Flashback Mustangs, it can be purchased separately. Mounting is up to individual owners and their body guys, but we've got a plan, which you'll see in an upcoming story. But for now we just wanted to check the fit, and we must say, even Danny and Merv were impressed with the fit, and they deal with a lot of fiberglass parts.