Bonding Steel to fiberglass

Thanks for all the info guys...

the reason I use stell is due to the amount of welding needed to be done. not sure if you have seen the steel work which I've complete? you can see it here www.jtm311.com..

Yes this is a copy of the real lamborghini diablo Roadster, with a afew changes..

Thanks again
john

 

Some early low production FRP cars had bodies that were structurally bonded to the chasis (Lotus, TVR, Alpine). They lasted for so long and then cracked. It was even worse when they were damaged and body pieces had to be chiseled off the chasis. Most resolved the issue by changing their technique into bolting them on with great flanges and flexible gaskets, which greatly assisted repairing, but they rattled, were heavier, and still cracked.
There is too much vibration and flexing in cars to have those two materials working together.
The other major issue is corrosion, especially in the lower parts that are exposed to a humidity, salts etc. Eventually rust will built up between the steel and the plastic.

KoZ
ex Alpine A110 and Europa S1 owner! Same idea 10 times better execution on the first one!

 

Hi Folks
We use Plexus for gluing all Stainless & Ali to GRP
Darren

 

That's what you need, Plexus or other methacrylate glues. Better than epoxies for bonding disimilar materials. Smelly, nasty and expensive but it's good.

 

thanks again. I read about the plexus, it looks like this will work great to hold the body to the steel points, because it will be flexable. But what about solid mounting like steel in the door which can not be flexable. can you simple glass this in?

Thanks again for all the time and help.
John

 

I saw something in your site that looked like a door hinge, or somekind of hinge.
My Lotus Europa S1 had a long pin that went through two perpendicular surfaces and held the door. Poor design, every Europa owner I've met had a sagging door which had to be lifted to shut properly.
Other cars had a whole metal frame where the inner/outer GRP skins were bonded around, so the stress went from steel to steel. Bonding is one problem but concentrating the loads of the doors in that bonding area is even a bigger one. The key is spreading the load in a wider area as possible.
Also after time some GRP parts may sag under continuous loads and sustained vibration. In order to keep body parts aligned a method of adjustment should be designed in. What will you do if the door panels begin to sag and the door/hood/trunk are off alignment later?
Here is a pick I found for you that may relate to your headaches. I'm sure Chrysler has figured out a way to solve the problem after 10 years.
http://www.vipercarparts.com/carjpgs/Tice Door Hinge .jpg

 

thanks zerogara The hing was copy from the real car, the reason you see those photos are I took it one step further and built in a bushing. So there is no longer steel on steel. You do have adjustment with this set up both on the door and on the hing plate. The problem comes in because these doors lift up not out so the load is not the same as a standard car door.

Thanks for looking around.

john