[mattcrid89]

I'm thinking about buying a fiberglass body kit. What are some opinions you guys have about these? Are they reliable and sturdy? Are they hard to install?

[97S281]

From personal experience, I would not use them. My wife had a 98 vert and loved my saleen. She now has one of her own but before we got it I bought and installed a fiberglass saleen kit on her car. It requires alot more prep work. There were fine lines and you could not even see them until it was being painted. I had to pick it up, fill it ( just glazed the whole thing ) and resand and prime it. The install is not as easy as urethane or rubber either. The fiberglass kit did not have all the same mounting tabs as the stock bumpers did. There were no tabs for the side braces on the front or rear bumpers. The rear bumper did have the upper center support for the center section, but that and two screws in each fenderwell were all that I had to hold it on with. The front was held on with the two rivets in the center section and two screws in each fender well.

They were on there about six months before someone rear ended her. MAJOR damage to the fiberglass. I had to patch it from the back as it cracked pretty hard from the impact. then I had to constantly fill and sand to get it back into shape. Then pay for paint again.

I hit a trash can with the front bumper about a year later and it shattered the front bumper pretty well. I considered fixing it again, but as she was preparing to sell it to get her own saleen, I just replaced the body kit with the factory bumpers and side pieces.

It lasted and performed well on the car. I always felt the install was kind of half assed due to the kit not having the proper tabs to properly secure and align it on the car, everything had to be eyeballed on the install to get it to look right.

In all I probably spent as much in labor and time, as well as painting it twice (due to the rear ending) as I would have to get a quality urethane kit.

I would not buy another one if given the chance.

This was just my personal experience with a fiberglass body kit. To each his own.

[Prankster]

Do you think adding layers of extra fiborglass to the back side would make these cheap kits any better?

Can it be cheaply done with carbon fiber?

I am not anywhere gifted at getting things to be smooth, or flat so I would need to work the backside.

I could rubber coat the backside.

I already bought the fiborglass stalker kit so I'm stuck with it.

How do I make what I already have much better than it already is?

[exoskeleton]

Originally Posted by Prankster Do you think adding layers of extra fiborglass to the back side would make these cheap kits any better? Can it be cheaply done with carbon fiber? I am not anywhere gifted at getting things to be smooth, or flat so I would need to work the backside. I could rubber coat the backside. I already bought the fiborglass stalker kit so I'm stuck with it. How do I make what I already have much better than it already is?

you could strengthen them considerably by adding fiberglass cloth/resin layers to the backsides, but there's still a lot of smoothing on the outside, alignment issues, etc, and it'll still be much more susceptible to damage..plus, the added weight of the extra fiberglass will put more strain on the already borderline mounting points.
my advice- sell the kit if you can and get a urethane kit, it will be cheaper in the long run.
barring that, reinforce it where you can, especially around any mounting tabs, and look for any ways to make it stronger (large washers on the mounting bolts/screws, adding an adhesive at the mating surfaces, fabbing some brackets if you have to....and ask your insurance agent if you're covered if they get damaged, body and paintwork costs can get big quick, especially if your car is a tri-coat color....hope this helps.

[travis_afx]

Originally Posted by exoskeleton you could strengthen them considerably by adding fiberglass cloth/resin layers to the backsides, but there's still a lot of smoothing on the outside, alignment issues, etc, and it'll still be much more susceptible to damage..plus, the added weight of the extra fiberglass will put more strain on the already borderline mounting points. my advice- sell the kit if you can and get a urethane kit, it will be cheaper in the long run. barring that, reinforce it where you can, especially around any mounting tabs, and look for any ways to make it stronger (large washers on the mounting bolts/screws, adding an adhesive at the mating surfaces, fabbing some brackets if you have to....and ask your insurance agent if you're covered if they get damaged, body and paintwork costs can get big quick, especially if your car is a tri-coat color....hope this helps.

Well said.


Any fiberglass part you get will require alot of sanding and priming and sanding and priming and sanding,........ Usually alingment is bad as well. All the fiberglass kits I have worked with requiered alot of modification and fabricating to get them to fit the car just right.

[06RedfireGT]

Fiberglass kits require a lot more prep work than a urethane kit, plus if you hit a parking curb for example, the fiberglass kit will just crack because there is no give in it, a urethane kit will have some flex, so there is less chance for damage.

[06z28eaTer]

spend the extra cash for urethane, you will be happy in the end

[texas_mustang]

fiberglass is cheap until you nudge a curb.