'57 corvette build
- Thread starter ksungela
- Start date
Chris_Hamilton
Trying to be the best me, I can be
jlcustomz
evil painter
Sounds a little familiar to this build. https://www.kindigit.com/gallery/57-corvette/
I really gotta agree with modernizing the chassis & drivetrain of something that old. Agree 100% with your color choices also from a personal level.
With such an iconic classic body type, there is always room in my opinion for subtle or even not so subtle small mods in body & interior without detracting from the original lines of the car.
You definitely got the right idea wanting to let the fresh bodywork bake in the summer sun as that step before last block sanding is so worth it. There are many variations in best way to deal with fiberglass work & some higher tech products now, but v-notching into anything that looks like a crack & flaring out the sanding of these areas for repair material is still the most basic unchanged procedure for dealing with old damaged fiberglass. Fiberglass work does take a little different mindset.
I had my personal vehicle fiberglass harwood hood upper skin separate from the lower structure at 70 mph, flying about 20 feet in the air & shattering on highway back in 2010. Pieced it all back together along with entirely reshaped front section back before I heard of SPI epoxy among other things I'd use now. Mainly boat store fairly fresh traditional poly resin & matt for a start, then evercoat fillers & g-2 primer surfacer. Epoxy mix for bonding understructures to top. Painted your color & gets out in hot Fla sun some of time. Looking close for surfacing imperfections in black paint now, there is some shadowing between brand new add on area & old, which could possibly even color sand out. A few tiny stress cracks I guess got missed not stripping every square inch you can see up close, they are one of your worst enemies.
Not sure what sort of wire mesh you're thinking of using, but I wouldn't do any such thing. Grind & build back up with matt & resin with as high of a matt to resin ratio as possible, trying not to have any bubbles left in when rolled out. I've done really good repairs with poly resin, but there are some epoxy resins that though messier to work with are stronger bonding & shrink less. Can epoxy over poly resin, but never poly resin over epoxy. Though Shine sadly isn't here to comment, i know Jim C knows some good high end products & a good tough boat industry filler.
I really gotta agree with modernizing the chassis & drivetrain of something that old. Agree 100% with your color choices also from a personal level.
With such an iconic classic body type, there is always room in my opinion for subtle or even not so subtle small mods in body & interior without detracting from the original lines of the car.
You definitely got the right idea wanting to let the fresh bodywork bake in the summer sun as that step before last block sanding is so worth it. There are many variations in best way to deal with fiberglass work & some higher tech products now, but v-notching into anything that looks like a crack & flaring out the sanding of these areas for repair material is still the most basic unchanged procedure for dealing with old damaged fiberglass. Fiberglass work does take a little different mindset.
I had my personal vehicle fiberglass harwood hood upper skin separate from the lower structure at 70 mph, flying about 20 feet in the air & shattering on highway back in 2010. Pieced it all back together along with entirely reshaped front section back before I heard of SPI epoxy among other things I'd use now. Mainly boat store fairly fresh traditional poly resin & matt for a start, then evercoat fillers & g-2 primer surfacer. Epoxy mix for bonding understructures to top. Painted your color & gets out in hot Fla sun some of time. Looking close for surfacing imperfections in black paint now, there is some shadowing between brand new add on area & old, which could possibly even color sand out. A few tiny stress cracks I guess got missed not stripping every square inch you can see up close, they are one of your worst enemies.
Not sure what sort of wire mesh you're thinking of using, but I wouldn't do any such thing. Grind & build back up with matt & resin with as high of a matt to resin ratio as possible, trying not to have any bubbles left in when rolled out. I've done really good repairs with poly resin, but there are some epoxy resins that though messier to work with are stronger bonding & shrink less. Can epoxy over poly resin, but never poly resin over epoxy. Though Shine sadly isn't here to comment, i know Jim C knows some good high end products & a good tough boat industry filler.
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Raymond_B
Hobbyist
I am sure somewhere you can work in some POR-15
Mustang408
Member
This looks familiar. I've been working on building the floor for this 54. Custom frame was built 10 years ago with a dry sump LS7, 6 speed and independent rear. Someone then cut up the floorpan of this body to fit the frame. I was dumb enough to take on making new fiberglass pieces to fix it all.
After floor is done I will repair whats needed for the body and paint it.
I see that Art Morrison now makes a frame for these cars. Funny thing is, his shop is just 30min from me.
After floor is done I will repair whats needed for the body and paint it.
I see that Art Morrison now makes a frame for these cars. Funny thing is, his shop is just 30min from me.
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ksungela
Member
Yeah, maybe POR-15 instead of epoxy, then right to base coat. 
For the stack injection, I'm thinking inglese or borla. I don't know if anyone else sells a stack injection system for an LS3.
As side note, I'm a dealer for Art Morrison, so if anyone needs a chassis, I can provide a competitive price. Also Dakota Digital gauges and Eddie Motorsports.
For the stack injection, I'm thinking inglese or borla. I don't know if anyone else sells a stack injection system for an LS3.
As side note, I'm a dealer for Art Morrison, so if anyone needs a chassis, I can provide a competitive price. Also Dakota Digital gauges and Eddie Motorsports.