Fiat, Second Time Around

[BigIrish]

Looks nice! I would be stressed about that one too.

 

[bob w]

The Fiat has turned into a paint drying rack while I concentrate on the Plymouth truck. Those are Plymmie parts hanging all over it.

Todd, Yep, 2 doors, 2 seats. It's just a little economy grocery getter .

 

[bob w]

Poor little Fiat sat neglected all summer collecting dust. Time to get back on the project. I was able to sneak into the garage and cut the passenger door out today even though I was helping babysit our 1 year old grandson and wrangle 4 dogs plus tend to the neighbor's dog. A couple days ago I got the bear claw latch on the driver's door.

The plan is to have it together for an indoor car show next April.

 

[skull]

nice

l hope ya get it running soon,

like to see more on this one

Later

 

[bob w]

Got the passenger door frame and opening reinforsed with fiberglass and installed the hinges. Putting doors in the body was one of my biggest worries so I'm glad that worked out ok. Still need to figure out a weatherseal arrangement around the tops of the doors.

After that, a filler panel for the big hole in the roof.

I'm working on three projects at the same time, doing the things that don't cost much so each project seems like it isn't moving along very fast.

 

[donsrods]

That is one of the cars on my bucket list, Bob. Yours is really coming along well.

Don

 

[bob w]

Since this was a drag car fiberglass body there was no provision for side windows, just openings. When I first built the car I put the aluminum channel along the window sill and had studs 'glassed in at the top of the window. Little plates were held on with wing nuts. It worked out ok but with opening doors I needed to come up with a better arrangement.

The doors are 1/8" thick chopper fiberglass so I had to build up the area around the window pieces (Plexiglass) to create a lip for them to set in. I did this with Tiger Hair (long strand fiberglass filler)and Duraglass (short strand fiberglass filler).

 

[bob w]

The Plexiglass windows set in a recess and are flush with the built up upper door frame. There is a lip around the outer door edge, which is easier to see in the previous pic, that will match up with a weather seal on the body. I have to build that next.

Now trying to come up with a way to hold the window pieces in place at the top. A method that will be secure but will allow for easy removal. This area is very close to the roll cage so there isn't much space to work with.

 

[Snake Farm]

It's great to see ya making progress again on the "paint rack" ....er, I mean Fiat Bob! [P[P[P

 

[bob w]

I made lip seals around the door tops out of fiberglass and they look like they will do the job.

So I moved on to filling the open top. Had some sheets of 2" thick foam insulation laying around so I glued two of them together and cut it with a hand saw to fit the opening.
Trimmed a fair amount of the excess off with my soldering gun. I learned that on Youtube.
The rest of the shaping was done with a big heavy Souix grinder with a 7 inch 24 grit disc and then a Stanley Surform "cheese grater". Still more shaping to go but it is pretty close.

 

[bob w]

Here you can see the crown in the roof. Lots of foam was removed. Quite a bit got tracked into the house. The dogs will have to make room for me tonight in their house.
Next I have to figure out how to make the buck in the rear.
After all the foam is shaped I'll put a thin coat of drywall joint compound over it to fill in the irregularties. That stuff will be easy to sand to get a smooth finish.
The fiberglass will be laid directly over the plaster covered foam. A mold release will be applied so it will come apart.
Since I'm not making a female mold for the roof the outer surface might not be entirely smooth. It will either get a skim coat of Bondo and if that won't do it, I'll probably spray some kind of texture material on it.

BTW, the first pic of tonight's post in on the previous page (15).

 

[zzrodder]

My hat is off to you for diving in on that 'glas work [cl I get itchy just thinking about it ! So is that roof fabricating known as the ' lost foam ' method ?? Sounds a lot easier than Ed Roth's old ' spitwad ' style mold making.

 

[38fordtruck]

you do great work bob!

and this no exception [P

 

[Flywheel]

Wild fiat by bob w.

WOW ! THAT IS GOING TO BE ONE BAD A.. CAR....!
MY HAT IS OFF TO YOU BOB W.
I HAVE READ EVERY PAGE IN THIS BUILD . AND I DONT LIKE TO READ.
BUT I JUST COULD NOT STOP READING .. I COULD NOT WAIT TO SEE WHAT YOU DID NEXT. YOU ARE DOING A FANTASTIC JOB WITH THE LITTLE FIAT .
I CAN NOT WAIT TO DEE IT FINISHED UP....
KEEP UP THE GREAT JOB !

I LOVE IT.[cl[cl[cl [P

 

[BigIrish]

Hey you could always put a vinyl top on it. Just kidding of course.

Man, this is a helluva project! [cl

 

[Todd]

Hey you could always put a vinyl top on it. Just kidding of course.

Man, this is a helluva project! [cl

Would that be like VW California top? Cool idea.

 

[bob w]

I got a coat of drywall joint compound spread over the roof and it sanded pretty good this morning. Looks like it will work to create a smooth underside for the roof.
Glued up some material to fill the rear window/roof area. Filled and glued it to the main roof panel with that spray urethane insulation. The metal pieces are there as weight to hold it in place while the urethane cures.

Yes, this is a "lost foam' procedure. Could end up being a 'lost cause' if it doesn't work.

I'll get the rear section shaped and coated with joint compound this afternoon, after my babysitting (14 month old grandson) chores are done. Then, I have to wait til tomorrow for it to dry. Getting anxious to lay some 'glass and see if it will work.

Thanks for the favorable comments. It is a good motivator.

 

[John T. Hodgen]

Love the car and all your fab work. The foam thing, I belong to a teardrop camping group, TearJerkers.net, and one of the members has built a whole camper out of foam insulation cover in canvas and epoxy'd. Light as hell and a really neat idea. Your doors came out nice, and you was worried
Later-John T.

 

[bob w]

Got the foam contoured in the back area and a coat of plaster on it. A little sanding and hopefully I can start the fiberglass work tomorrow.

Thanks for the positive comments, John. In this case the foam will be removed. I HOPE it will come out! I have investigated foam core construction and it is pretty cool. The foam core material is quite expensive though.

I looked into canvas opening tops like older VWs had but they are were too wide. An RRR member a few years ago used one and that is where I got the information/idea. The Fiat is really little.[S

 

[bob w]

I found wax paper to be a very good mold release. Cheap too. So I taped wax paper over the buck, overlapping it so resin would not leak onto the body.