Ever see a grown man cry?

[Bill Braun #33186]

Well, I've seen it and it ain't pretty. How about a frame-off resto of a '65 coupe in the finishing stages, a hastily placed jack which slips and a hole in the floor of the driver's footwell? A friend of mine in Germany is looking for the best repair method and, since his English is a bit weak, he asked me to put a question to the Board. In short, there is a two inch hole in the floor and three cracks (torn) radiating out from the hole about four to six inches long. There is a fourth crack (looks like a stress crack and is not torn) at the corner of the trans tunnel. The only damage I could see was to fiberglass. Although he did a pretty good job of the car's restoration, the car will never be NCRS judged and he wants it primarily as a driver. I've read about replacement footwells. Do such things exist, who makes them and are they relatively easy to install? Or would he be better with a simple fiberglass repair kit and resin? Any suggestions would be very welcome.

Bill Braun

[dale pearman]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

All you have to do is have breakfast with me when I read the Wall Street Journal and you'll see a grown man cry! I really don't understand what problems would be encountered with standard fiberglass mat and polyester resin. Several circular sheets of mat would be required, each at a slightly smaller diameter. The existing hole should be beveled on top and bottom edges and the mat application should be done from top and bottom. A little sanding and Presto! ACHOO! (scratch-itch-curse-etc.) This approach is the most simple, reliable and strongest. The repairs will be hidden to all except the lubrication technician (we used to say grease monkey). Good Luck, Varooom!

[Duke W.]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

Regular old fiberglass repair - then hit it with a little "blackout overspray". Maybe an NCRS judge would even buy it!

Duke

[David K.]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

I could imagine how a grown man cries.But, could you translate what he said!

[dale pearman]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

Said his buddy's car fell of a jack and knocked a hole in the fiberglass floor. Wants to know how to fix it.

[Jeff]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

I have a friend who did a resurrection, not a restoration on a 45 CJ2A. He spent about 5 times what it should have cost because he insisted on restoring every original part rather than use exact and readily available better or NOS parts because it was his grandfather's Jeep.

Then he dropped it off the ramps trying to drive it into a Ryder truck he had rented to take it to a show. He pretty much destroyed the Jeep, bending the frame and crushing the body in the process. Then he started over and it's now intact again. He's a better man than me, I couldn't have faced doing it a second time (but, then again, I probably would have taken my time loading it).

JP

[Juliet P.]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

That certainly is better than him NOT crying, had he been crushed under the car when the jack slipped! ~Juliet

[Gary Schisler]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

Bill, as the others have stated, standard fiberglass and resin will do the trick. Three years ago, while I was dropping my gas tank, I decided to take out the extra tail light that a previous owner had installed in my 66. The trick is to insure that you have good bonding edges for the glass and resin to stick to. I feathered the area around the existing hole, on both the inside and outside of the panel, for about two inches and then started the glass build-up. My first layer of glass was placed on the inside and once it had hardened, it formed a sort of backing plate on which the rest of the glass could be layered in. I started with a cirular piece of glass that was exactly the same size as the hole and added resin and hardener. Each successive piece was just slightly smaller than the previous piece, perhaps by less than 1/16". Once I had the entire area built up, I started sanding until it was flush with the existing panel and flat. It your friend is careful and doesn't rush things, the fix will be undetectable. This was one of the easiest jobs I have done to the body and, three years later, there isn't any sign of the existing hole.

Good luck, Gary

[Gary Bishop]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

Enclosed is an E address of a good Corvette shop in Belgium if needed.

[George Daina]

Well Bless mah soul...

I'm itchin' like a man up a fuzzy tree...hafta count my blessings, had the 68 3.5' off the floor, torquin' the day lights out of it installing the complete front and rear suspenion, including 3rd member, trailing arms, steering box, etc. I've taken a lickin' but still tickin' and the 68 is still up 3.5' off the ground. At times, as I was twistin' da bolts underneath, the vette seemed to "MOVE", and I thought have I bought the farm? Gotta love them jack stand and the placement of 'em.

Now, for the body work, as everyone suggested, glass matt and resin. I had myy floorboards cracked all the way through, used Evercoat's resin, when mixed properly, tougher than a granite wall. If your friend is planning on judging, only point or two will be deducted for condition.

[Bill Braun #33186]

[Mark L.]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

Bill,

One thing I noticed that was not mentioned about this repair is the cracks that exist should be cut clean with a hacksaw blade or some such tool, and repaired in a similar fashion to the hole. Follow the crack line to the end and then a little more, feather the edges, cut fiberglass to match cut line configuration. BTW, you can get all the materials from a boat repair shop, much cheaper than the Corvette catalogs. Hope this helps......Best Regards from Connecticut, USA Mark.

[Gary F. LeDuc]

Re: Ever see a grown man cry?

If he fiberglasses the hole, He could add some dye to help hid the repair.