What do you suggest for doing fiberglass repairs? Mend whats their or just go ahead and buy that quarter panel. Money is no object here to answer with pure opinion no bias.

 

Forget about Bondo

 

That's a fairly serious hit, I'd want a professional doing the work I think on that one. I have a few PDFs on SMC repairs. Email me if you would like them.

 

oh i know bondo is out of the question. It's more of an inside joke between a couple of corvette guys. But i'd like to work before snow hits the ground. My neighbor works on fiberglass boats so when he comes back I'll get an estimate on the work. He's an FBI agent so he's always out and about doing what FBI agents do in New York . So its a crapshot on wether or not he's around.

 

i agree with jet jockey. let a pro do it and also make sure they don't get overspray on the muffer.

you seemed layed back about it all, i would have been spitting nails

 

a new fender from Ecklers is about 400.00... that's the right way.

SMC (these cars are NOT fibreglass!) is an interesting material... Sheet Molded Compound. It requires a special adhesive, because the stuff has a built in release agent!

Evercoat makes some good sealers... but with that damage, I would replace the fender.

 

Sorry about what happened to your vette. I always try to keep the gas gauge at least at half full because I've had that gas starvation issue around corners also.

 

Sorry about your car. But thanks to your post this new C4 owner now knows not to trust the gas gauge!

 

They are the most innaccurate POS on the road...

 

I dont know where you're at - but I have a passenger side quarter panel for a coupe (they are all the same 84 -96 - non zr1 anyway) that you can have for free if you come pick it up.

Its just some of the extra parts I had from when I rebuilt the rear of my '85 from the frame up... I got the piece from another forum member for free... so if you can pick it up, it's yours. PM me if your interested.

BTW- what year is yours? It looks like admiral blue, and your SN seems to suggest a GS, but those are 84/85 rims.

 

 

Ditto! I usually run the first tank of gas down to the warning light just to get an idea of what's left when it comes on. As I'm still on my first tank with my "new" '95, I'll probably still do that..... but I'll carry an emergency half gallon bottle with me as it gets close and be ready for a flameout in the curves. On the second tank I'll run it to half and see what's left.

 

I usually let off the gas when the car starves. That sucks, but at least it won't break the bank. I have a crack in that same place, but much smaller. You'l probably need a new panel, and to blend it in.

That rear piece IS removeable, I've seen it done.

 

I just saw that yesterday. The guy in the back shop had a tube of it.
It says, "it will bridge a 1/4 hole with no problem".

 

Sorry to read about your incident.
I had the same problem last week but was fortunate not to slam the car. ( Was very close ).
It was a slow curve, the tank was very low on gas. I even considered selling the Vette because I could not believe that poor handling.

Anyway, I now what happend now.
I was about to place a new post on that theme, specially about the gas gauge being so inacurate.
I fill the tank completly and suddenly it will go very low and then to reserve. It really sucks. My odometer gives me a better idea on how low the gas is.

 

Since my repair wasn't that much, I didn't buy the special gun to dispense it. I improvised:

 

Would 2 caulking guns side by side work as well?

 

Wow, that sucks. I saw your other thread a few days ago about how it was just repainted, too.

I forget who just asked above, but his car is from the 80s...it has the black molding on the sides/front, but he updated the bumper and gave it (in my highly, highly biased opinion) the best color paint job.

 

The part your not seeing is the two large sockets that the vice's are compressing. Each tube is fairly narrow just greater than a large socket. Caulk gun is way too big.

If I would have been doing a big job I would have spent the $40. for the gun. But I needed it on a palatte so that I could scoop it off. So this worked perfect.

 

I realized last night, this accident could have been prevented by ME! I didn't check behind the boys when they placed the wheels back on the car after they painted it and the front wheels weren't placed on correctly. The front rims were placed on incorrectly, preventing the car from hugging the road. When he turned the curve, the car didn't hold the wet road. He didn't understand the ramifications of the wheels being on wrong when many on this forum told him the front wheels were on wrong.
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I regret not checking behind him and it could have cost his life. I drove the car in the rain the other day and it didn't handle properly. Sadly, I had a feeling the rims weren't on correctly, but I forgot about it when I drove home and the road was dry.
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I'm just thankful he didn't get hurt or killed for my negligence.
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Jarrud, my son, is an honor student 3.7 gpa, very responsible and a good driver. I regret that I didn't believe him when he told me the car "just slid off the road" when I asked him about it. I learned a valuable lesson that I shouldn't take his knowledge of cars for granted and I need to pay more attention. Many people don't know about the tires and rims on the C4 Corvette having to be in a certain direction. And, to be honest, I didn't know until I had the tires replaced after buying the car.
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I would like to thank everybody for giving him advice and guiding him. We'll repair the car in the coming weekends and have it back on the road.