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I Ground off the excess EXCESS! Separated the fiberglass trough from the aluminum mold with the heat gun.....
Rough-sanded and trimmed to size...the blue tape cured too long and didn't want to release...Ohhhh Wellll.......
this is what the trough should look lie when bonded to the inner fender/hood edge..
The top flange goes UNDER the fender skin..........
I need to make an Inner Mold to sandwich the fiberglass so it cures with flat surfaces and sharp corners!
Now that I Have A Clue...I will fab a 2nd extension trough for the passenger fender which has NO trough because of much previous damage over the decades.
(Did I say the flange under my thumb fits UNDER the fender edge?
The hood is cocked to one side to allow for test-fitting the trough-mold)
Last edited by doorgunner; Oct 30, 2025 at 07:23 AM.
Tony,
I’m just thinking out loud here so…..
Wouldn’t it be easier and at this point cheaper, just to purchase a complete front clip?
I’ve seen a couple posted lately.
Even getting the pieces one or two at a time may be cost effective and much less trouble?
Don’t get me wrong, the work you are doing is fantastic and I truly hope it all comes together in the end, but I’ve never seen anyone take on this level of repair.
I’ve taken on some basket cases over my years, but nothing like you’ve taken on (this is a complement).
I wouldn’t even attempt the work you are doing!
Just something to think on my friend!
Tony,
I’m just thinking out loud here so…..
Wouldn’t it be easier and at this point cheaper, just to purchase a complete front clip?
I’ve seen a couple posted lately.
Even getting the pieces one or two at a time may be cost effective and much less trouble?
Don’t get me wrong, the work you are doing is fantastic and I truly hope it all comes together in the end, but I’ve never seen anyone take on this level of repair.
I’ve taken on some basket cases over my years, but nothing like you’ve taken on (this is a complement).
I wouldn’t even attempt the work you are doing!
Just something to think on my friend!
WHERE CAN i FIND THESE CLIPS/PARTIAL CLIPS YOU SPEAK OF?
Your idea is sounding better and better because of me fighting the PTSD.
The main (budget) reason I didn;'t buy a used clip was to put the big bucks in the paint job.
I would make a trip to get what I need within 500 miles...may as well make a mini-vacation out of the trip since shipping would cost more than the trip.
915200 (it's an aviation thing)
Last edited by doorgunner; Oct 30, 2025 at 11:27 PM.
Mulikins is a Corvette salvage yard.
I’ve found several impossible to find pieces for my car on their website and especially by calling them
They have always been helpful and their customer service is top notch.
The items they have shipped to me have always been exactly what I needed.
Run an add in the want to buy section and see what turns up.
I remember not to long ago someone posted a complete front clip in the parts for sale section.
Even if you get one section like a fender at a time, it might be better than what you must be going through.
I’d get PTSD just thinking about it.
Great tip on Mulikins! Watching what you’ve been dealing with on the front clip I have many times thought that you are definitely cut from a different cloth than me for sure.While I applaud that you have the skills and tenacity to get it done (which am lacking), I’ve also thought about the stress inducing part being that you get one area corrected just to find that another area has now gone and decided to move on you. If I had hair, I’d have none after such a bout. But then again, yer a battle tested “get it done and get it done with what you’ve got” soldier!
The first fiberglass trough I made is on the left......the other two pieces are the 1st mold and the new outer mold which will make it easier to trim the future sections of the trough to size.....(I think)
The fiberglass w/resin is laid on the inner mold....the outer mold s then clamped into place to make a neater looking trough....I took industrial scissors and trimmed off the excess fiberglass as soon as the molds were clamped together (time for a new pair of scissors)....
I took Ya'lls advice and used less hardener-then I put the assembly outside in the sunlight to cure......(hard to tell what is going on in the pics/sorry 'bout that)
I may have to make one more section of trough....maybe...but the inner/outer mold set made the job go about 70% faster.
The final repair-trough is done...the two-piece mold/upper-lower halves helped a lot...to give the fiberglass some 90* corners...
(don't tell my wife I washed the grinding dust off it in the lavatory)....
Now I can grind off the old trough remnants on the inner fenders and epoxy the repair troughs into place.
I will post the outcome this week I HOPE!.
It should be O.K.
I have to buy six 90* pvc elbows to attach to the blower box...attach THE BLOWER BOX TO THE FIREWALL the ends of the flexible ductwork to the elbows.....connect the prewired 12V feed wire and ground wire, also.
The trick will be fitting the blower speed control swtch and the Thermostat switch into the radio faceplate to keep"the original look.
I MAY leave the radio as is and use the console control cables to operate the two switches using 2 bellcranks rather than 2 switch *****...the switches would be hidden behind the passenger lower dash panel and bolted to the blower box.
YEP...my PTSD said to use the cables.
Gotta go to home de-pot and get 6 elbows...then remove the OEM air/heater box and store it in the attic.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Watching what you’ve been dealing with on the front clip I have many times thought that you are definitely cut from a different cloth than me for sure.While I applaud that you have the skills and tenacity to get it done (which am lacking), I’ve also thought about the stress inducing part being that you get one area corrected just to find that another area has now gone and decided to move on you. If I had hair, I’d have none after such a bout. But then again, yer a battle tested “get it done and get it done with what you’ve got” soldier!
Good Luck! 