Fibreglass Parts fabrication (could this be done)
Discussion
Hi,
I own an old Mk 3 Pontiac Trans Am;
The rear spoiler is a horrible design, basically it's a big lump of heavy rubber. The clips that hold these on rust distorting it and eventually it has to be binned.
Several companies in the US make aftermarket fibreglass copies that are much lighter, stronger and don't have the rust problem, however they're expensive and combined with shipping and import tax they're a fortune.
See Hawks Thirdgen for example: link
Now there are a lot of owners of these cars in the UK all with the same problem so I was wondering that if one was bought could it be cloned in the UK and bought by the owners here so that costs could be reduced?
I don't know the practicalities of doing something like this so was interested in the folk that do fabrications' opinions to see if this was realistic or would it not save any money?
Cheers
I own an old Mk 3 Pontiac Trans Am;
The rear spoiler is a horrible design, basically it's a big lump of heavy rubber. The clips that hold these on rust distorting it and eventually it has to be binned.
Several companies in the US make aftermarket fibreglass copies that are much lighter, stronger and don't have the rust problem, however they're expensive and combined with shipping and import tax they're a fortune.
See Hawks Thirdgen for example: link
Now there are a lot of owners of these cars in the UK all with the same problem so I was wondering that if one was bought could it be cloned in the UK and bought by the owners here so that costs could be reduced?
I don't know the practicalities of doing something like this so was interested in the folk that do fabrications' opinions to see if this was realistic or would it not save any money?
Cheers
Edited by qube_TA on Monday 16th February 21:04
probably best off finding an owners club/forum, I'm sure you could drum up some interest.
Fibreglass is fairly easy to work with, and there are a lot of fabricators about, so making it shouldn't be too much effort for a run of 10-20 pieces.
You're probably better off buying one from the US first and taking moulds though. Do some research, might be possible to get a group buy from the states and split the shipping/handling costs, might end up cheaper and easier that way.
Fibreglass is fairly easy to work with, and there are a lot of fabricators about, so making it shouldn't be too much effort for a run of 10-20 pieces.
You're probably better off buying one from the US first and taking moulds though. Do some research, might be possible to get a group buy from the states and split the shipping/handling costs, might end up cheaper and easier that way.
If you were ever in the scouts (making canoes) or did A level Engineering Design (making a lamp shade) or if you worked in engineering composites (making composite moulds), you'd know that making a copy of a Glass fibre part is a peice of piss.
Take one genuine part, add mould release spray, gelcoat, and layers of glass matt and resin to make a female mould.
When Dry, remove the genuine part, and clean up the mould.
Then repeat the process usinfg the female mould to create the copy.
Take one genuine part, add mould release spray, gelcoat, and layers of glass matt and resin to make a female mould.
When Dry, remove the genuine part, and clean up the mould.
Then repeat the process usinfg the female mould to create the copy.
Looks like a fairly simple part....
Creating the mold is the expensive and time conusming bit... The parts alone will cost somewhere in the region of £150...
But once you have the mold you could pop out as many as you like...
Im sure there must be doiuzens of companies/people who can take an old rubber one and create a nice new one from fibreglass if you do not feel up to doing it DIY...
cfsnet.co.uk are a good source for composites!
Creating the mold is the expensive and time conusming bit... The parts alone will cost somewhere in the region of £150...
But once you have the mold you could pop out as many as you like...
Im sure there must be doiuzens of companies/people who can take an old rubber one and create a nice new one from fibreglass if you do not feel up to doing it DIY...
cfsnet.co.uk are a good source for composites!
guru_1071 said:
a mate of mine has one of those trans ams, a nice looking car.
your right about the poor design of the spoiler, his just fell off when the steel tags rusted through.
im sure he said he could get a grp one from the states fairly cheap?
To buy one from the US would cost about £700your right about the poor design of the spoiler, his just fell off when the steel tags rusted through.
im sure he said he could get a grp one from the states fairly cheap?
Presumably making a copy of one would knacker the original.
But if I can get say 10-15 people interested we can buy one, send it to someone who could make a good copy and then buy that. If the total each is much less than £700 then it's worth doing.
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