broken74 Posted February 9, 2005 Share #1 Posted February 9, 2005 hey guys, i was in an accident not too long ago and as a substitute fender i bought a 50 dollar fender not in the best of shape and had it put on so the car was driveable around town. i'm thinking about getting the car painted now and i was wondering if i went with a fiberglass fender on one side might throw off the suspension or the handling or anything odd like that? next i was wondering if i were to go with both fenders and the hood in fiberglass would that cause the front of my z so point up in the air because of the lightened weight in the front or could it cause anything else wierd to happen?thanks for your time,brian <broken74> Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrush Posted February 9, 2005 Share #2 Posted February 9, 2005 Hi BrianThe custom hood on the red Z in my avatar is fiberglass with steel reinforced (sp?) rods along the inner sides (hood hinge area) for strength. The hood is actually two parts. My husband claims that it is heavier than a stock hood. Fiberglass (fenders) is/are a pain to repair, ask any Corvette owner.Vicky Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112072 Share on other sites More sharing options...
broken74 Posted February 9, 2005 Author Share #3 Posted February 9, 2005 where did you get your hood if you dont mind me asking? yeah i understand pretty much any fiberglass part will be a pain in the arse if i get in a fender bender or anything and would probably just have to repurchase the part. i was mostly just wondering if besides it being a pain in the arse if it causes anything else to be "off" on the car. why did you hood have to be reinforced?brian Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112074 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanceM Posted February 9, 2005 Share #4 Posted February 9, 2005 I've a glass hood, think it is heavier than original too. You won't notice any difference with the parts mixed or matched, typically though the fiberglass parts are harder to make straight if you are looking for a good paint job so I would recommend going with steel, fenders are still available from Nissan. Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112078 Share on other sites More sharing options...
broken74 Posted February 9, 2005 Author Share #5 Posted February 9, 2005 ok thanks, yeah i heard the reproduction panels are often hard to make absolutely straight. i'm not really looking for something to make a 4,000 dollar paint job work i'm doing the economy, make my frankenstein z one color and maybe half decent looking thing. ok yeah the main thing i was wondering was if it would affect how anything handled or looked because of any weight reduction or anything. interesting how the hood on both of your guys' cars seem, i was under the impression fiber glass was supposed to be a weight saver.brian Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112081 Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanceM Posted February 9, 2005 Share #6 Posted February 9, 2005 You bring up an interesting point, so since mine is off the car and I have a scale I figure I'd weigh it. This is a 240Z fiberglass hood w/o vents, with stock hinges and hood latch still attached, 29 pounds 4 oz. So if anyone can weigh a stock hood we will at least have some ball park figures as to which if either is lighter! Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112084 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zrush Posted February 9, 2005 Share #7 Posted February 9, 2005 where did you get your hood if you dont mind me asking? yeah i understand pretty much any fiberglass part will be a pain in the arse if i get in a fender bender or anything and would probably just have to repurchase the part. i was mostly just wondering if besides it being a pain in the arse if it causes anything else to be "off" on the car. why did you hood have to be reinforced?brianMy husband had the molds made from a 78 280Z that I owned. One mold for the top, one mold for the underside of the hood. Metal was put in between the two parts for strength where the hood hinges attach in the corners. After the two parts where fused (for lack of a better word) together, many and I mean many hours of work was done on the hood to make it straight and smooth. If you didn't know it, you'd think the hood was metal. All this work was done so the car would have a cowl induction type hood............on an EFI car :stupid: Vicky Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112085 Share on other sites More sharing options...
240znz Posted February 9, 2005 Share #8 Posted February 9, 2005 Yes, fibreglass is weight saving if you make it thin enough. But with thin comes flexing and with flexing comes ugly lines and horrible paint job.Just buy the fenders from Tabco (if they do them) or your local Nissan dealer if you can.As for a change in handling, I doubt you would see much if any difference. As above, if you go for fibreglass, chances are that it will be just as heavy if not heavier than steel. The best thing you can do to help your handling is to install a spoiler up front to keep the nose down at speed. For better handling look at shocks, springs, sway bar upgrade and bushes. Then rubber upgrade and never forget about the brake upgrade to. Stick to steel. They made them that way for a reason. However, if you really want light them go Carbon Fibre Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112086 Share on other sites More sharing options...
beandip Posted February 10, 2005 Share #9 Posted February 10, 2005 If you take the fender to a real body shop they can repair it and no one will ever know the difference. Take it to a regular shop and they will slap bondo on it. Look for a shop that does custom cars and hot rods , ask at car shows in your area . They will be real craftmen doing the metal work. It just takes some time to hand shrink the metal and work out the damage. I worked with Scanlon on my car and I am amaized on what was accomplihsed with out body filler . Gary Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112162 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Camouflage Posted February 10, 2005 Share #10 Posted February 10, 2005 hey guys, i was in an accident not too long ago and as a substitute fender i bought a 50 dollar fender not in the best of shape and had it put on so the car was driveable around town. i'm thinking about getting the car painted now and i was wondering if i went with a fiberglass fender on one side might throw off the suspension or the handling or anything odd like that? next i was wondering if i were to go with both fenders and the hood in fiberglass would that cause the front of my z so point up in the air because of the lightened weight in the front or could it cause anything else wierd to happen?thanks for your time, brian <broken74> Whoa, put down the crack pipe dude. Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112181 Share on other sites More sharing options...
broken74 Posted February 10, 2005 Author Share #11 Posted February 10, 2005 hey mr. camouflage,thanks for your help. i heard tomohawk needs some help designing his manual automatic shifter that activates the clutch, maybe you can help him too. Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112223 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted February 10, 2005 Share #12 Posted February 10, 2005 I don't use a clutch. You don't seem to know what I was talking about, either. Link to comment https://www.classiczcars.com/topic/14940-fiberglass-alternative/#findComment-112229 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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