I am not into racing with my third gen but I know a lot of people are. I stumbled onto this place by accident and thought I would pass it along. Its not too far from where I live. Here is the link: http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/site.htm
Maybe its a good resource... maybe not.

Kevin

 

VFN is only one fiberglass parts supplier. A simple google search can also locate Harwood, usbodysource, up22, Token plus many others who produce fiberglass body parts for race cars not counting all the places that just produce hoods. Fit, finish, cost and inventory varies from supplier to supplier. It just depends exactly what you want and how much you're willing to pay and how long you're willing to wait for it.

My fiberglass doors are from VFN.

 

yeah,

I just stumbled onto it and thought it was cool because its local for me. I like to share things like this. I found another place for floorboards and they ended up having much better prices. I guess I am way out of my league with this site though because I dont know much about the fiberglass parts.

 

kevmann--
No ones ******* ya man!!
He's exchanging what he knows incase someone else is looking for 'glass parts--it's always good to see what can be learned from these threads!

Some of these ppl are a living 3rd gen encyclopedia!!

Stephen 87 IROC is up to date on ALOT of aftermarket parts as well as factory parts!!

Read--Learn--share--enjoy!!!

 

Because of the third gen's unibody construction, switching to fiberglass stuff isn't very common. A hood is the simplistic and most common swap. You can get one in whatever style or look that you're after. Doors would be next but not for any kind of street car as you can see in my project swap thread. Front fenders probably weigh more than the thin steel fenders although fiberglass fenders would resist flexing better. Doing a complete fiberglass front end swap is a major undertaking and is most common on a tube chassis type car. The last thing that could easily be changed to reduce weight is the deck lid.

For the majority of people, the hood swap is the only thing they can justify. It's just not that easy to replace other body parts on a third gen. If you get into it that far, it would be better to just build or buy a tube chassis car with all the body panels just hanging off the chassis to give it the look of a third gen.

 

I realy liked the info you posted during the door swap! I am thinking about getting one of those bigblock hoods or maybe the sunoco(?) style hood-the 1 that looks like a wide cowel.

That's interesting that 'glass may be heavier than the thin metal! I guess the flexing would be more of a concern with the strip guys?

 

The front fenders on a third gen are not very big or heavy. To make a fiberglass replacement would need to be stiff which would make it heavier. I had to make braces on the front side of wheel openings on mine. At high speed, the nose was pushing the front of the fenders back which pushed them out at the front of the openings. A simple brace to the inner fender made the outer much stiffer.

My front end is also very stripped down with little factory bracing so that may also have been part of the problem.

Some fiberglass replacements can be big savings. A hood is big and heavy with extra bracing so a fiberglass replacement is much lighter including the factory fiberglass hoods. The doors have a huge amount of steel in them mainly for safety. Front fenders are mainly cosmetic so there's not a lot of extra metal required for strength.

Fiberglass hoods come in 2 flavors. A bolt on which has more stiffness and is designed to be a direct replacement for the factory hood or a much thinner and lighter lift off hood which requires Dzus fasteners to secure it to the car.

 

I was considering glass doors because of the heaviness of the steel ones. But after looking into it a little more, I dont think its the way to go for me. Mine is a daily driver and a v-6(for now). Never felt like anyone was "doggin" me though. Your right. There is a wealth of info on here. I know a little about cars in general but have much to learn about these cars.
Thanks,

Kevin

 

Bought a hood for my wife's Charger from VFN, nice quality piece. I've got to get a cowl fiberglass hood for the Camaro, as there's no way I'll have clearance for the air cleaner once I put the nitrous plate under it, though I have considered just taking the saws-all to it and letting it stick through.

Dan

 

in case your not aware, fibergalss doors and a big no-no for any vehicle that will see street use. They have no crash bars in the door and offer no protection in the event of a side impact.

 

if you want even lighter than the stock front fenders get some aftermarket repops, mine were a pound or two lighter each and that was having a whole panel without rust holes lmao

 

Nope. I wasn't aware of that at all. So they are not even street legal. Good to know. There was a set for sale near me a while ago. I am glad I didnt buy them and then find out after the fact. They were 50 bucks a piece.

 

Without the steel crashbar inside the doors to offer driver protection, I'd never recommend them for the street. There's also the fact that the fiberglass door can't use the stock glass windows and Lexan windows won't seal like glass does. This means the inside of the car won't be wind or water tight.

For my race car, this isn't an issue. When I'm not at the race track, the car is stored in a heated garage.

For a third gen street car, stick with a fiberglass hood and if you can, a fiberglass deck lid.