forming a buggy body

[nightcrawler]

I was digging around the back lot at a friends shop today and found a set of buggy molds. he said that i could take them. was wondering where to get info on how to make the body in them, kinda step by step lol. any info would be appreciated

[darkdune]

do you know anythign about mixing fiberglass?

[rterfert]

Your best bet would be to sell them to someone looking to build buggy bodies and request pick of the litter when ever you need a buggy body....Or 2 OR 3 OR well you get the idea.

[bigfuninc]

Would you like too sell them..Will make you a body as part of the deal..Could you post some pics?..Where are you located?

[247vws]

[247vws]

Here is a short look at the process....

There are two type of molds also...

Dune buggy body would be a male mold I think...

This is a PDF with some great info too..


http://www.performancecomposites.com/fiberglassdesignguide.pdf
_________________
1958 Boss Bug "Coke Buggy"
1967 Manx #M2762C907E
1967 SandRover T Buggy "Rat Trap"
1966 VW Beetle "Rose"
1974 VW Beetle "SunBug"

The best FORUM for dune buggy information worldwide is.... www.dunebuggyarchives.com
http://www.dunebuggyarchives.com/forum/forum_show.pl

[nightcrawler]

Thanks for all the info. I know a little about fiberglass, not interested in selling the molds. I am semi-retired and want to try to make a couple of theese in my spare time. I am in N.M.

[Jimmler]

I'm no expert, but I think for professional results, you'd need a sprayer for applying the gelcoat and a "chopper gun". You supply the chopper with raw fiberglass, resin, and catalyst and it sprays out the mixture into the gelcoated mold. Between layers, you force the material into all the corners, etc. with a roller then go back to building it up with more chopped fiberglass until it's at the desired thickness.
If you get the Discovery Channel, "How It's Made" just did a short segment on how fiberglass boats are made. They repeat the showing quite often, so maybe you can catch it again. Looks simple if you know what you're doing and have the right equipment, but it's not something I'd be tempted to try. I AM thinking about molding my own dashboard, tho. I'm not seeing anything out there I like and my current dash is a P.O.S.
_________________
-Jim
Nipomo, CA

[HeidelbergJohn4.0]

Chopper guns create generally much heavier and more brittle results. Hand laid mat can be much thinner and stronger and more consistent in thickness. It is easier to wet out the glass in a hand layed process. Chopper guns are fine for parts where weight and structural strength aren't critical. That being said, I suspect the majority of dune buggys produced in the past were likely manufactured with chopper guns. Search around for any boat or fiberglass with a high quality reputation and I'd bet it is hand layed.

Hand laid fiberglass also doesn't require purchase of a rather expensive piece of equipment if you are on;y going to produce them in limited numbers or in a small shop.
_________________
71 LWB Manx style dunebuggy
71 Beetle
71 Volksrod
Machette Speedster
2012 Passat TDI SE (sadly sitting in a buyback parking lot somewhere waiting for it's heart to be ripped out.)

[mach4]

You can Google composite homebuilt aircraft (like LongEZ, Cozy, Berkut, Velocity, GlassAir and so forth). These guys have obviously mastered the art of the hand layup and are betting their lives on the integrity and quality of the build. A structural layup is obviously a lot more critical than a cosmetic one - or at least one where a crack won't "ruin your whole life".

Some excellent sources of materials are Aircraft Spruce and Wicks Aircraft.

One more thing, consider employing vacuum bagging as a technique to eliminate delaminations and weak spots. Here's an introduction to building a home bagging device called the Cheap Little Sucker - http://www.berkut13.com/sucker.htm

[Elwood]

Ok, Here the deal. Chopper guns will make a heavier partdue to a higher resin to glass ratio. That being said 99% of all of your buggies are Chopped, many times even if you were told it was a hand layed part it probably is not. There are ways of faking it.
If they were all hand layed they would be much more expensive new and there wouldn't be as many of them

I would contact some local fabricators and get a quote form them on how much it would cost for you to have them pop you some parts out.
Reason is theres quite a bit of mess involved and also materials cost. It will cost alot more for you as the materials will be purchased in smaller amounts and you might even run out and have to buy more.
Now factor in the fact that you have 0 experience so theres a good chance you could mess up your molds. Granted you got them way cheap as it cost alot to make a mold, but a part stuck in them 'cus you didn't wax it properly will be a disaster and you'll loose both your molds and alot of money. Granted I can fix things like that but most people cannot and won't either.

Another thing is too you can screw up a part simply by catalizing it wrong.
Too much and your part kicks just fine but then a year or 2 later you will have a very brittle part, once you put the crystalization into motion it will never stop, so evetnually all of these Buggies will be gone as they crystalize into dust, so over catalizing will speed up the process. Granted you would really need to go way over board with it but it has been done.

As far as a good or proper lay up goes it really comes down to knowing your materials and what not to use where and when. That takes alot more experience then just simply reading about it. Aricraft spruce will be charging you like 2 or 3 times more then a good supplier will as they are not a distrubiter in the first place. If your paying over $600 for a 55 gallon drum of GP then your getting ripped off.

Another thing to consider is that your dealing with some seriously dangerous materials. The MEKP for one will blind you if it gets in your eyes, on your skin it will give you a thrid degree chemical burn and if its enough it will sok into your skin and can kill you. Obviously if you drink it you will die as well. Then the resin is considered toxic too, and once your done with these containers you will then have Hazardous waste ofn your hands, throw it out in the trash and you can be arrested. You will have to pay for propper disposal or know the proper way to dispose of it. You gotta kick off the materials and throw nothing wet away. Being in NM they will be on you instantly.

Hand Laying it your self is the way to go, as far as cost goes but by the time you buy all the materials, tools and everything it will cost you nearly what a new body might. Your best bet is to Sub contract it out. Little known secret is most 'Glass shops have a bunch of different molds that do not bleong to them, alot of times they belong to clients and they store them. Client calls up and says " hey, I need 3 of these..." they they do it.
Some charge for storage some do not. I wish I did. I need to start.

[mach4]

I don't disagree with anything that Elwood has said, however I got the distinct impression that nightcrawler was not interested in going into production, but rather trying his hand at creating a body out of a mold he has on hand.

That being said, there is a big difference between the polyester resin used for surfboards, manx bodies and general fiberglass and hand laid epoxy-fiberglass. Epoxy is not benign, but typically the reaction to exposure is an allergic reaction rather than a toxic reaction. Nitrile gloves generally provide adequate protection and unless working in an enclosed area fumes are not a significant problem.

Working with epoxy fiberglass composites are ideal for the homebuilder and the finished product could be very strong and durable. Vacuum bagging would just make the job all that neater, not at all necessary. My son and I made a surfboard over the summer and working with the polyester resin was a real pain. Working with epoxy is a piece of cake. If you get slow stuff you can have hours of working time. And the basic tools are brushes and rollers, not chopguns and the like.

As far as cost is concerned, you could easily be looking at as much as a new commercial production piece would run - but I don't think that was the primary driver.

On our recent manx project we did quite a bit of epoxy fiberglass work, mostly to repair some damaged sections, to reinforce some weak areas, to stiffen the fenders and to add an area to clear the bellhousing.

[nightcrawler]

thanks for all the info guys, and we do not plan on taking this into production. just want to make a couple for fun