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Fitting of fibreglass doors and body panels

Started by _dazzatheman_ , Oct 23 2019 08:44 AM

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6 replies to this topic

#1 _dazzatheman_

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Posted 23 October 2019 - 08:44 AM

Hi guys, I wanted to use all fiberglass panels on my 4dr lx, Can anyone tell me what is involved. Such as, do you have to drill all the holes to fit rubbers and will a standard rubber kit and weather strips work? Also how about things like door glass, window regs and bonnet, boot, door catches and locks. Tia

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#2 dattoman

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Posted 23 October 2019 - 08:56 AM

I would say you will be drilling lots of holes

Where are the panels coming from - Alfa ?

I know with some cars they do doors for drag.. .which can't take internals... and doors for street which can

Best give your supplier a call on these questions

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#3 _dazzatheman_

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Posted 23 October 2019 - 09:25 AM

I was looking at alfa, asked a few questions but their reply was very short. Repliglass will soon be doing rear doors which was why i was looking at alfa, so i may use repliglass. I will be using all hinged street style panels. i Intend on running standard windows and door catches. Standard style hinged boot without lock with release from inside car. Standard style hinged bonnet with aerocatch style bonnet pins.

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#4 Bigfella237

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Posted 23 October 2019 - 10:18 AM

I'm pretty sure NCOP 6 says any fibreglass panel replacement on a vehicle newer than 1970 (with ADR 10) must be approved by an engineering signatory? There's a whole heap of crash testing involved with "crumple zones" and all that crap.

Unless they supply a certificate with their panels?

Also I'm guessing you would have legal issues with a 1977 or later car with ADR 29 - Side Door Strength?

Have you actually compared the weight of a bare OEM panel with their fibreglass equivalent? The made-for-racing stuff would be lighter of course but I wouldn't be surprised if the ADR-approved stuff is comparable to an OEM panel?

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#5 _dazzatheman_

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Posted 23 October 2019 - 10:23 AM

Its going to be a promotional vehicle so registration wont be an issue. but i want to keep it with original functionality. Will be also doing an occasional track day.

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#6 tonytorana

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Name:Tony Parker
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Posted 28 March 2021 - 02:25 PM

Has there been any updates on the fibreglass pannel front? I'm very interested in doing the same to my 76 LX sedan.

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#7 Heath

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Name:Heath
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Posted 29 March 2021 - 09:37 AM

With the fibreglass rear doors that I had (Alfa Fibreglass, bought around 2009 I guess), I did the following:

- Door Latches you'd have to drill out the screw holes, grind out the hole for the strike to reach into the catch area, and grind the inside of the skin and frame a little to get the latch mechanism in (the fibreglass is thicker than steel, so it's tight)

- Door hinges you'd drill out the holes and slot them as per the original design, then you'd steal some nut plates out of some fucked rusty doors (or make new captive nut plates) and they would be loose in the door - not actually captive.

- Door seals you'd just drill the holes and install them normally

- Winding glass? Forget about it. It was flange-mounted. I cut back the flanges to be narrower than how they came. Then I'd paint the flanges black, and screw a bit of plastic window in there and stick a black stripe (or section the original window separator thing in half and glue it on the outside) to make it look like it had a quarter window and a normal winding window.