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Well....as the title stated. I am working on the actual Corvette that John Lingenfelter's raced. I have taken on this pleasure to do this in order to further preserve some drag racing history that belonged to a racing icon. I am truly honored to be considered to do this.
This Corvette is NOT going back to original configuration....but rather is being repaired and upgraded and painted back to the original Elkhart Green paint and being made solid again so it can be taken out on the track at NHRA events.
This thread will hopefully help some of you who may need to see how what I write is actually put into action.
There will be NUMEROUS fiberglass lamination repairs showing different methods. The possibility of the use of carbon fiber and fabrication parts out of it is also possible. But this has yet to be determined at this time.
Well...starting off. I ground and prepped the heater core hole in the firewall due to the owner wants any unneeded firewall holes all filled in. I am using a 24 or 36 grit grinding disc on ALL repair areas that require grinding. No need for anything coarser that 24 grit.
As I have stated before in previous posts on how the lamination should be accomplished. At the base of the roll cage tube where it meets the floor board area. The fiberglass that was applied was very poorly done.
The firewall side what I prepped the firewall at the heater box/core area.
A close up view of the poorly applied fiberglass mat and resin. Look at all the ripples.
In the center of this photo..you can see the air pocket that showed up once I began grinding on it. You can count on my laminations will not have this type of problem.
This photo is showing the lower roll cage tube where it goes through the floor board area also...and how the fiberglass repair that was applied is not even sticking because I can easily take my seam splitter and get in between the two layers with very little effort.
My tool is easily lifting the large chunk of fiberglass away from the floor pan area. If you look closely...there is still black undercoating material on the floor pan that had fiberglass applied right on it.
Well....I got the large piece out and you can clearly see the amount of black undercoating that was on the floor board that got pulled with the hand laid fiberglass lamination that someone applied. Keep in mind this car has changed owner before being reacquired...so who knwo who did what.<br/><br/>The white areas on the backside are the only areas that really stuck at all.
Now...I am working on another patch that is right under the top tube for the roll cage.
Another example of poor surface prep. Look at all the black crap that stuck to this patch. The white areas are the only place that this patch actually was bonded.
I masked off the firewall side and am gettign ready to apply my ONE layer of mat and resin.
Getting the size and shape of my mat so when I go in and laminate...I have it the size I want.
This is the shape of what I need. If you have noticed...I used a pair of scissors and cut the top edge straight due to this piece will butt up against the top of the cowl. All the other edges are left frayed. This is so the fibers can lay down easily and not leave a harsh/defined edge that I do not want. Frayed edges of mat will kinda melt into the repair and not be readily noticed.
OH YEAH...I contemplated on doing this or not....but I figured...what the heck.
Trust me...there is going to be A LOT done on this car...regardless if it is going to be a drag car or not.
I have already removed the body off the frame and it is being worked on.
Those of you who may follow this...keep in mind there may be certain areas that I will not post anything about or even cover with a towel due to it being a drag car and unique modifications are BEST left protected and out of respect of the owner who is PAYING for these modifications.
Because there will be enough to keep most people interested.
This is the heater box area where I came in a and prepped the one layer of fiberglass mat and resin I applied AFTER it has set up and cured in 24 hours.. I applied only one layer due to the opening is so wide...my backing tape could buckle and move if I tried to apply three layers all at one time...and try to get all teh air out of the lamination. I have found on some lamination that If I apply one layer and let it cure...it is now hard enough surface for me to laminate on.
These are the next two layers of ounce and a half mat that I will apply in the area I prepped.. I am slowly beginning to build in around the roll cage tube that is currently covered with blue paper in the past photo.
This is to show the fiberglass an resin lamination. I ahve often mentioned on how important it is to NOT get too much resin to where it pools or is thick and shiny when you are done. Resin by itself has really not structural benefits. So it is important to get the mat and resin on correctly. You can see the fibers, even though they are saturated...you can still see their structure.and texture.
Now...this is the firewall side of the heater box area. You can see how well the new mat and resin tied into the old firewall panel and how the transition between the two is seamless. This has EVERYTHING to do with how you grind the panel. The correct taper and making sure your backing material makes its come out like this. So when I go in and do some fill work in this area...my prep time is greatly reduced.<br/>
OK..I purposely did this area wrong when I prepped it to show you the difference. You can see the shiny resin on the right side of the oval cut out...and if you magnify this...I DID NOT grind the thickness of the firewall. This is to show that IF the taper is NOT correct..when you go and lay your mat and resin...the mat will not transition smoothly and actually leave and area exposed. This is NOT a huge thing...but it NOW causes me to have to deal with the prep in this area differently.
I think by the time this thread is done I will be able to lay fiberglass like a pro! (Just kidding). But seriously, great information and "how to". Also how "not to". Thanks for taking your time to share your knowledge DUB. I know time is money when you have your own business so I appreciate it.
The right floor pan area. Beginning the process in scraping out all of the crap and getting it ready to be cleaned for laminating and repairs.
Well...I think I 'practice what I preach' and feel that I have cleaned it well enough so when I go to grind and prep it...my mat and resin will stick. If you think this looks like there is nothing wrong here....just WAIT.
See all the holes of light shiny through??? Well that is what i have to get filled in.
This shows the inside area prepped so I can being the process. And YES...in case you are wondering...the underside of the floor pans were thoroughly cleaned also.
After grinding. the cracks that were not easily seen in the first photo of this post...can now be seen. There is a reason why I made the cracks more pronounced.
This is a part of the floor board where the bonding gave way. It has been prepped and getting it close to start the repair. All surfaces where my bonding adhesive will go is being prepped so it will adhere.
NOW...using these clamps that I use when I have to butt weld panels together. I use them to get the cracked floor pan area to draw back to each other and be flush. THIS is why I did not care that I increased the gaps of the cracks. These are going to be simply filled in with an adhesive and hold everything together so when I go and laminate it...the panels are perfectly aligned and RIGID.
This is the view of my clamps from the underside of the floor pan
Now..I use masking tape to go in between my clamps so when I go and apply the adhesive..it will not fall through the cracks. When the adhesive cures..the underside will be very smooth and need very little repair as you will see later. This also WHY i cleaned the underside because I wanted my tape to stick for this process and make sure the adhesive will also bond where needed.
Using Vette Panel Adhesive. I apply the adhesive in the areas of the cracks that I can get to. I am making sure that I get enough so it will actually hold what I have set into position.
This is the underside...AFTER the VPA cured and I removed the yellow tape.
If you know what you are looking at...you can NOW see how the tape makes the VPA flush with the panels....instead of being like stucco. This makes prepping it and lightly covering it ( which I will show later) with VPA an easy task due to the surface is already so flush.
You can see how some of the areas is now not showing light through it....like the previous photo of the large cracks.
Now this is when the VPA has been prepped again..because VPA needs to be prepped to have more applied on it. You can tell by the lighter blue color.
08-07-2016, 06:52 PM
John Lingenfelter's 1973 Corvette drag car
