ohhh .. and for you guys choosing the steel over the fiberglass...

sledge hammer vid on the fiber panel
http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2/bj_bumperboy/?action=view&current=sledgehammer.flv


measley 2 lb hammer on the steel panel

http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j2/bj_bumperboy/?action=view&current=HPIM0017.flv

Steel can be pounded and or pulled out.



Note that the body panel was not mounted to a vehicle so it could move with the blow. Also the first blow, not shown in the video, did do some damage <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shiner.gif" alt="" /> and they atleast point that out. I wonder if they had the panel laying flat on the ground for that blow?

-- Bryan

and will CREASE .. crack paint and rust .

fiberglass is super easy to repair , and will NEVER rust .





actually lessening the damage ! both the steel and the glass panels !
.. BOTH had the same support , and hammer swing . There is NO "wool over the eyes" the fiberglass took the hit waayyy better then the steel .

did ya notice the differance in the HAMMERS ????? one was a 10lb sledge the other was a 2LB <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/nana.gif" alt="" />




ALL hits were on the saw horses .. same for the steel AND the fiberglass panels .




are you kidding ???? fiberglass has come a long way since the 60's , well known fact that glass these days can be made WAYYYY stronger then steel .. + with the invention of carbon fiber , and Kevlar .. easly makes steel obsolete .

I rolled my truck with CJ's panels, when we pulled it back over, it all popped back out and looked like new.
Fiberglass FTW!

fiberglass is just better.... it doesnt stretch like metal and you can fix it way easier even if it does crack. fiberglass resin is cheap and if you know what your doing you can repair it to be stronger than it was before it cracked.

I still like my steel panels bashed in or not when you start making carbon fiber ones at low cost and then hit them with a hammer im in <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/lol.gif" alt="" /> sweet rig btw

The fiberglass panels look great, don't rust, and are strong. I really would like to get some....but the shipping and brokerage fees. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/scared.gif" alt="" />

I'm currently looking at the costs and built up weights for fiberglass, kevlar, and carbon fiber for a camper back. The back would fully replace the pickup bed so it would have the pickup bed sides as part of it. The problem is right now I don't know how many layers of fiberglass/etc. I would need to achieve a suitable strength. I'd be making a foam cored structure, likely with the roll cage embedded into it. I've been told that 1/8in of fiberglass on both sides of a 1in foam core should be strong enough, but how many layers of glass cloth does that equate to and is it really strong enough? To have the minimal amount of excess resin I'd go with vacuum bagging. Part of me wants to try vacuum infusion.

-- Bryan

What sort of lift kit is that on the front end?

Randy

moved to Tools and Fabrication forum Fiberglass and cores.

-- Bryan