Reinforcing Fiberglass fenders

[Pstl_pete]

My body guys didnt do a great job mounting my origin fiberglass fenders and now they are flimsy as hell. So much so that one of them has already spider cracked.

Im dont have the funds to repaint the car and I dont want to take the fenders off since they will crack even further.

I want to figure out a way how to reinforce the fenders without actually taking them off. People keep telling me to add fiberglass to them but thats not going to be easy with them on the car.

I am thinking of filling them out with some foam spray? I think with that in there they fenders will be at least a little more rigid.

[pandabear2]

no take them off. there are only like 8 bolts holding them on.

[koukimonster139]

wtf

get some steel I-beams, tape them on the outside of the fender. ill type a write up later

seriously how would they crack more by taking by them off? unless of course your gonna be taking them off with a battle axe

if they spider webbed and you just paid to have someone paint it/install it, take it back and bitch. i bet they didnt use ANY flex additive hahahaha

[nassin31spr]

I dont know about taking them off with out cracking them but you can call uscomposites in florida. They sell all kinds of carbon fiber, fiberglass stuff. Get some 3 to 1 resin and some matt fiberglass and redo the inside of the fenders with a couple more layers of material. It will add a little weight but give it a lot more tinsel strength.

[Pstl_pete]

If the car wasnt in storage I would post some pictures. There is no way I can take them off because they used silicone ontop of the screws then PAINTED over it all. I try to take it off and its going to destroy the paint on the fender. Trust me if I could take them off I would.

Its a botched job overall and I would normally have the front repainted but Ive got pearl in it so its going to be impossible to match. Its a long and complicated story so I need suggestions on what to do without taking them off.

[ThatGuy]

So you're talking about the rear overfenders?

[chmercer]

you could just like mix up a bucket of kitty hair and stack it all over the back of the fender, but itll be weird to do it on the car since itll want to drip off from gravity

[Pstl_pete]

Front fenders.

I may just do as you said mercer. it could get messy but it may work better than using the expanding foam

[ThatGuy]

Your front fenders were riveted on? :wtf:

[Bryants95240sx]

Sounds like i would be having a word with they body shop.

[Gumballf355]

Go back to the bodyshop... most legit bodyshops should have some sort of paint warranty... ESPECIALLY if the work was recently done. fiberglass will always end up cracking... but it shouldn't just by sitting around. Take a picture and I can give you a better idea of what you should be telling them.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060714/125811.jpg
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060714/125834.jpg
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20070126/164554.jpg
Origin fenders aren't perfect, but they should be good enough to mount without problems. I've done quite a few. It takes alot of experience to make them fit correctly though.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060905/175912.jpg
VERY STRAIGHT.. but only after 2 days of fitment and bodywork. Behind the scenes you'd know that I epoxyed aluminum brackets behind the fenders to add strength and take out a crappy bend in the top of the fender. I'll try and take some pictures of what I did.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060829/123729.jpg
I wish you could see what it looked like before I straightened everything out.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060829/151902.jpg
This is what she looks like after so much work...
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20061013/162700.jpg
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20061013/162840.jpg

If you're having alot of problems with Origin fenders perhaps you should go with Chargespeed... the holes are predrilled in all the right places and fitment is almost OEM.

http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20061206/114913.jpg
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20061206/114945.jpg
Origin rear overfenders molded on... if it doesn't look this clean, it was done wrong.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20061206/154259.jpg

[95Kouki]

break out the duraglass....

[chmercer]

dude would you stop posting that fucking corolla in random threads

nobody cares about your show cars

[Gumballf355]

hahah.. he's asking about origin fenders that need work. I bet you don't know as much as I do about that topic. Those are origin fenders on my car that had simmilar issues. And they aren't show cars... I dailydrive my cars. Otherwise I'd be at Hot Import Nights in San Mateo as we speak. You should probably keep your comments to yourself in thats all you have to say. Punk.

[Gumballf355]

Oh, and simply stacking kitty hair won't help with the problem he has, It would only make it worse. So your advice sucks. I wouldn't expect a backyard garage mechanic like you to understand though. I know you'd do that to your own car. Stick to driving... hopefully you're better at that.

Pete you should post pictures and I can give you a better idea of how to take care of your problems...

[chmercer]

go put some zaino on your crappy yellow 355, then learn how to edit a post

i think its pretty obvious that if he is unwilling to take the fenders off, then he sure isnt going to take it to a body shop

[Team Rootbeer]

Oh, and simply stacking kitty hair won't help with the problem he has, It would only make it worse. So your advice sucks. I wouldn't expect a backyard garage mechanic like you to understand though. I know you'd do that to your own car. Stick to driving... hopefully you're better at that.

Pete you should post pictures and I can give you a better idea of how to take care of your problems...


stop thinking that your a bodywork genius because you made your kit fit right and molded some overs in. if you cant make a kit fit in less than an hour, your a fucking idiot, and are wasting your life. if you cant sand filler straight you also fall into that category. mr backyard garage mechanic mercer here painted his shit himself, with little experience. it look WAYYYY better than the cars you posted. wanna know why? not because it had great body work, or a show car like finish. but because you could actually see it put to use on a track.

[infinitexsound]

more layers of fiberglass matte.... and resin.... or like someone else said.. epoxy a piece of plastic or alluminum (.30) to the back,,,

[TheWolf]

3/8" Balsa wood dowel rods clamped in posistion with soft grips. Then fiberglass them in. You can add alot of strength by using just that rod.

[Gumballf355]

stop thinking that your a bodywork genius because you made your kit fit right and molded some overs in. if you cant make a kit fit in less than an hour, your a fucking idiot, and are wasting your life. if you cant sand filler straight you also fall into that category. mr backyard garage mechanic mercer here painted his shit himself, with little experience. it look WAYYYY better than the cars you posted. wanna know why? not because it had great body work, or a show car like finish. but because you could actually see it put to use on a track.
This from a guy who claims to be a professional bodyguy but couldn't figure out how to take up the gap between his headlights and his Origin front bumper so he had to make a post on it for people to tell him how.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060906/214112.jpg
Excuse me... I have a dedicated car for track.
http://www.dropshots.com/photos/149/20060420/024621.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050617/normal_drifting-silvia-or-hachi-0283.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050617/normal_drifting-silvia-or-hachi-0404.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050617/normal_drifting-silvia-or-hachi-0405.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5514.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5564.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5565.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5567.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5568.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5629.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5630.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5632.jpg
http://www.sromagazine.com/events/albums/wpw-20050616/normal_IMG_5633.jpg
Now back to the topic... post pictures Pete...:w00t:

[chmercer]

sweet dude. 300 more pics of a corolla. i love looking at corollas. thats why i read zilvia. to look at corollas.

[hellion240sx]

wtf

get some steel I-beams, tape them on the outside of the fender. ill type a write up later

seriously how would they crack more by taking by them off? unless of course your gonna be taking them off with a battle axe

if they spider webbed and you just paid to have someone paint it/install it, take it back and bitch. i bet they didnt use ANY flex additive hahahaha


jesus christ that was funny. i almost choked on my oatmeal!

[manjijima]

chmercer, you should put money where your mouth is, lol