72 Challenger Fiberglass

[chongo25]

How do you fix the front fiberglass part? It is busted pretty good around the light and found someone to send me a a cut out of that section but I do not know how much that will help.  Can you just buy the whole front part or is is fixable as is, will post pics if needed.

[Bullitt-]

Your referring to the header panel that is not reproduced but there seems to be plenty of good used available the problem being cost & shipping of such a large fragile piece.
Minor repair of fiberglass should be within most anyone's ability, mine had some chips and cracks and seem to be holding up well with the little effort I put in.
As for adding a section I will leave that to more experienced folks to comment on.   

[chongo25]

Your referring to the header panel that is not reproduced but there seems to be plenty of good used available the problem being cost & shipping of such a large fragile piece.
Minor repair of fiberglass should be within most anyone's ability, mine had some chips and cracks and seem to be holding up well with the little effort I put in.
As for adding a section I will leave that to more experienced folks to comment on.

Ok thanks for the reply

[HP2]

Almost every aspect of fiberglass is repairable. You will need to make sure the mating parts line up perfectly, but after that it is simply resin, adding cloth for support, more resin, and getting everything to set up correctly.

There are a lot of 72-74 header panels out there for reasonable prices if you would rather not tackle a big repair like this. If you want to attempt it, you might be ahead of the game and save yourself some grief if you picked up a book outlining specifics of fiberglass repair.

[burdar]

Do as much of the repair as possible ON THE CAR.  Mine had a crack in it...it was fixed OFF the car.  As soon as it was bolted in place, it cracked again.  The same thing happened to another member here.  When mine gets fixed, it won't be taken off the car. 

[HP2]

This is why I suggest doing some reading on 'glass repair. While not difficult, there are some special techniques required to make it work.

If nothing else, take it to a body shop that specializes in Corvettte repairs. Since Vette body work has been exclusively fiberglass for 60 years, I'm pretty sure there are some poeple out there who have the repair process dialed in.

[Gumby]

Or a surfboard shop, if you have one in your area! lol. Fiberglas is relatively easy to work with. Just be sure to wear breathing protection and wrap around goggles to keep it out of your eyes. The stuff itches the same as fiberglas insulation. Do it outside if you can, when sanding, that stuff gets EVERYWHERE. I used to be pretty good at repairs, but I absolutely hate the stuff and won't touch it anymore. I even want to insulate my house with the spray in foam, I hate it so much. If you wear contact lenses - don't - if you work with the stuff.

[chongo25]

Thanks for all the suggestions really appreciate it!