FiberGlass work on Bradley GT

I have some fiberglass repair to do on my bradley in several places. Above the right front wheel well a good sized chunk is missing and along the other wheelwells its starting to crack away a bit. On the front grills the tail lights wont stay in because they cracked out.

Ive torrented a couple of videos on fiberglassing but they didnt really help me.

Could some one write a step by step tutorial with some pictures to help me overcome my these problems maybe?

So far i went to napa and bought a fiberglass repair kit that has this giant bucket of resin, a small clear tube of what id guess is hardener and a 8foot sheet of this woven cloth.

That was really helpful! Do you have to grind the gel coat 100% away from the area though? hard to tell in your photo.

Also my bradley is plagued by bubbles on the roof, dash, and parts of the hood. Is there a special way to deal with this or should I just sand it down and coat over it with bondo or cats hair bondo or lay a single sheet of mat over it?

That is a good write up w/pictures on glassing.
Will be showing how to as I do this & other mod's.
They make a roller to roll out the mat/resin & remove air bubble.
You can get them from a Fiber Gall supplier.
THEY ARE A MOST HAVE ITEM, about 6 - 15.00 each
Below is a drawing showing the wedge cut to do.
I cut back 2-3 inches & use the mat to fill the cut.
Air in the mat or to much resin will make it weak.
Do the inside as will if you can get to it, will help to support the the seam.
Join 2 sheet of paper with tape on one side & check it, the add tape to the back & see the different.

Excellent tutorial. That's about as clear as anything I've seen, and will become immediately understandable as soon as the follower begins to work.

Regarding "bubbles," "pinholes" and "blisters:"

Air between laminates, or areas where resin hasn't penetrated thoroughly, can cause blistering (bubbles), so be sure to work "wet."

Pinholes are from one thing and one thing only -- contamination. This means that your hands, tools and anything else you work with should be spotlessly clean before laying cloth or resin.

Wash your hands and all surfaces to be coated with lacquer thinner or alcohol. Many shops recommend Prep-Sol, but I do not. It has a slippery, grease-like content all its own, and I wouldn't trust it.

Again, my compliments on a great -- and sorely needed -- tutorial.

Warmest...

Some little hints:

*aquire rollers, gloves, dust mask, and respirator? - Disposable paint brushes (the little white bristle brushes), disposable foil baking pans & latex gloves (double them up so you always have a clean pair on). A metal roller is VERY nice but not required.
*need fiberglass mat not cloth - Yes
* sand from 3-4 inches out down to paper thin at the point of repair - Depending on the side of the crack and/or repair. The larger the crack, or the more stressful the location, the bigger the taper.
*clean surface with acetone - After grinding. I use a 4 1/2" grinder with a grinding wheel to make fast work of the tapering.
* mix resin with hardener? Only as much as id use in 10 minutes - Depends on temp and humidity...but yes.
*layer on resin and mat in layers rolling any bubbles out as I go - yes.
*let cure then sand and paint? - Shape with 80 grit, fill any pinholes with a 2 part putty, prime with a high build primer, block sand, paint.

Its fun times!

Pic doesn't show for me. Could be a work firewall. Does anyone else see it?

Darn work firewall! What do they expect of me when I am here.....work?

Here are some pics of the front braces I made. They were about 50lbs lighter then the monster pipes that were on the car when I got it.




Under the front of the nose there was a piece of 2 1/2" flat stock that bolted up though the glass and into the braces.

They are run off the front torsion tubes.

If you look at the second picture you can see 3 threaded sections and two nuts to the far right. Those are muffler clamps going around the torsion tubes. Attached to them is a vertical piece of 1.5" angle iron. Off of that angle iron I welded a horizontal 1" square tube and the diagonal 1" square tube.

The diagnonal and horizontal tubes fall in between the two nuts on the muffler clamps. At the end of the horizontal tube I welded a short section of 1.5" angle iron (as seen in the first pic).

In each of those short sections of angle I drilled two holes (on on each side of the 1" tube). On the other side of the body (so.... small section of angle, then fiberglass body, then flat stock) I took a 2.5" piece of flat stock and ran it from one brace to the other. I then drilled 4 holes in it to match the holes in the small angled stock at the end of the brackets. I also used a section of cabinet liner (I know...not the best, but it was rubber like) between that flat stock and the body to protect the fresh paint.

All of that material is available from Home Depot, except the heavy duty muffler clamps.

I can now see the picture. Here is what I would do. First you need to support that nose. I would fab up some of the brackets that I have explained. The total cost is maybe $30. You need to support the nose before you can make the repair.

Make sure the nose is lifted back into the appropriate position. Fixing it where is is now is just asking for trouble.

After the nose is lifted, then grind the edges back about 1.5" all the way around the piece that is missing. Clean with acetone well. From the back I would use some duct tape to tape some wax paper to the back of the fender. Use just enough wax paper to very slightly extend beyond the repair. Use several layers of duct tape to hold it tightly. Try to form it to the shape of the missing piece.

I would then lay in a couple of layers of matt into the hole. Go about 1" onto your ground area. Your just trying to build a solid surface to add more. Once it cures, roughen it up with some 80 grit, clean, and apply more layers of matt. Apply more than you need. You can then sand it to the shape and fill in any imperfections.

Hi Ray,

The original support tubes are shown and discussed under "Operation 34 - Install Front Bumpers" of the build manual. Jeff Troy included a copy of the build manual in the CD you purchased from him ......so you have a copy.

Here is a picture of mine, which I modified to provide clearance for the sway bar. The lower lip of the nose is fastened to the pipe with a u-bolt through a heavy strap underneath.





Gary Hammond,

You can slice the bow area & support the front to get it back into shape.
Using cardboard with plastic tape or Alum tape, made backing on the inside of wheel well as backing to reform the lip.
Fiberglass will not stick to these 2 tapes so will be able to remove easily.
Then glass the inside, sand the outside to finish look.

NOT paper thin at the point of repair about 2/3 the thickness.
You will also do the inside to about 1/2 the thickness.

Can we use chunky instead of creamy peanut butter? Good way to go green and recycle.

Any one want to sell me a pair of nose supports? My schedule for the next three months is 50+ hour weeks. :S

Hi Ray,

Just go to your local plumbing shop or hardware store. The support pipes called out in the build manual are just a couple of 1.25" ID pipes about 38" long each.

Don't know what Jeff has, but 38" of 1 1/4" schedule 40 steel pipe only weighs 7 or 8 pounds each!

Check out "Operation 34" of the build manual for details.



Gary Hammond,