Here I take a break from armoring to share another hobby of mine; hot rods! This is how I made custom fiberglass panels for the engine bay of my 1965 Impala SS.
David Guyton tengo una chevy 94 caja corta cabina sencilla y me gustaria hacerle cambios pero me falta el talento que tienes tu...crees que puedas ayudarme con ideas?
EnterStevesWorld Yes you need a sub channel, or start posting car / automotive videos on the regular? I found your channel this way. I can say it was a great stumble- and your other work is top notch as well.
I truly admire your work on the engine bay cover... I'm customizing a 1980 Chevy Grumman Stepvan as a fun van slash truck & I'm taking notes from you & others especially from your custom dash edition as I'm trying to customize a dash & interiors...
My dad had a early 65 police package Impala factory internally balanced and blue printed 409 last year for that engine specially built for the owner of a Chevrolet dealer who was my dads drinking and golf buddy.
Hey there David. I have made and repaired a lot of fiberglass from school bus fenders, forumly 4 nose pieces to some custom 1973 Ferrari Boxer bumpers. Any way I have used parchment paper over my final resin topcoat to smooth out the finish and to work out air bubbles. It cuts down on the smoothing time between the ruff in and the Bondo/ Rondo. Just thought I'd share.
Your work is amazing. This has really inspired me to take on this task. I’ve been wanting to try something like this on my car. Fingers crossed that it comes out even half as nice as yours. Thanks for the inspiration
ya honestly, more of what you do with cars would be phenomenal! I'm a young guy with nobody to teach me but I'm a fast learner and would love to see more of that high quality grade work, it's nearly impossible to find
I'd honestly like to see more tutorials along the lines of cars. Specifically, how you make a rat rod, or however you do an engine like the interceptor from mad max
Great work. Can you go into more detail on how you worked out mounting the parts integrating bolts where needed? Also interested in seeing more about how you stiffened long runs and added strength where needed. The prep and planning is very interesting to see when done well. Thanks for posting.
well the bolts are welded to a piece of metal, and then that piece of metal was placed in the car and bolted in before I started adding the resin. This ensured an exact fit. Then the resin was added to the fleece, but it was certainly not strong enough. I pulled the pieces out and added fiberglass mat, but I also threw in some pieces of aluminum flat stock to stiffen the long flat areas. Then fiberglass on top of that to embed it. It's also very important to put the pieces back in the car before they fully cure because if you don't, they will warp.
salute, you gave me motivation to do also for my impala ss 64 because here in Dubai rarely to find these kind of job done by garage and if you found one it will cost you $$$$, deserve to be subscribe. Thanks again
Sorry he bought from him as a demo. In 1965 it was a four door though but it was insanely fast car would light up the tires for a hundred yards. I always liked the 65 impala especially the 2 door. With the triple lights the destroyed the 66 with the tail lights being bland bar style. I'm very impressed with your work on the engine bay cover looks very clean. Nice armor as well.
the LS series engines (I am including the Vortec truck motors too) are going to run a little hot naturally, as compared to a SBC or BBC. 205 is about where my LS2 runs all the time
I have not had any issues at all with the paint or the fiberglass being affected by the heat from the engine. There is also no overheating issues with the engine because of the tighter engine compartment (which I thought might be an issue but it runs at the same temperature as it did when I had no wheel wells at all).
Cool project, might try something like this myself. One question though, can fiberglass catch fire or start burning because of the heat from the exhaust manifold? Thanks.
It will melt if you touch it to anything hot like exhaust, but as far as catching fire, no. Nothing in the engine bay is hot enough to do that...just keep it off of your headers.
I have a 65 Impala and in the process of an LS Swap. How did you solve for the oil pan clearance. I purchased universal plats to mount the motor, but would to know if you ecounterd an issue thee as well. I catching heck trying to align the moutns. I think yours look greet.
I ended up raising the motor a little bit. I thought I could just raise the frameside mounts a little, but that wasn't quite enough. I ended up having to cup up and modify some solid engineside mounts to make it work. I think I raised the engine about 1". I was using the Hummer pan....but I think if you use the Holley pan there will be enough clearance. That pan is the shallowest one you can buy.
David, I'm thinking about a similar project for my vette. How have the panels held up to the heat? If it was asked already, I apologize, I just skimmed over the other questions. Keep up the great work!!
I sold the car a couple years ago but there were never any problems with heat. It's really no different than having a fiberglass hood on your car (or in your case, all the fiberglass body panels) As long as you have decent clearance from the exhaust you should be fine.
wow looks really good, I've actually never even considered this before but I will now. Is there any heat build up areas or potential problems? or anything like that I should keep in mind when making this
+Keith Woodhouse well you definitely want to keep the parts clear of the headers and engine in general. Your fan should blow a lot of air over the motor and out through the trans tunnel, even when sitting still....keeping heat from building up too much under the hood. I also have an open area right between frame and inner fender right by the headers to allow some of the heat to escape there instead of building up. But all cars and engines are different. There's no telling what issues may arise for each individual application.
Thank you! I didn't make the valve covers. They are just the stock GTO ones that came with the engine. All I did was grind off the GTO lettering, paint them, and add Impala emblems. Had to trim a few spots to make them fit the car too, but that's all
In need of your advice. I’ve made two covers one leaving foam in and the spray adhesive came loose forming air pockets on the top. I then made one and removed foam but it was too thin. How many layers of resin do you apply to too and bottom if you don’t mind me asking
You need to apply all the resin you can through the fleece on the first pass, otherwise you will have dry spots in the fabric where the resin hasn't penetrated. After that, you can apply fiberglass mat or cloth, and add more resin to that for some added strength. For interior parts, the fleece and resin alone should be strong enough if you add enough resin. For something like this, under the hood, or for actual body panels, you definitely need to add 2 or 3 layers of fiberglass cloth or mat.
I would like more detail on how the fleece was pinned to the temp structure. If there were concave shapes then how would you get the fleece to lay inside them, and wouldn't the action of brushing the fleece with the resin have the fleece moving all over the place? Very effective though.
I used little pins all over to keep the fleece in place on the foamboard. That way even if it moves a little when you brush over it, it can't move very much. Pins will work for concave shapes too.
That engine bay looks fantastic, and is a real credit to you. Just one question please if you don't mind, as I am going to give this a go for my '57 Star Chief. After you coated the felt with resin, did you have to go over it with more to make that super smooth finish, or was it just the initial resin sanded?
Never done that but it's a similar process. Only thing is you have to account for the shape of the rear of the piece (the part facing the car) so it mates well. You also need to be sure that the part is well reinforced, since it's going to end up being a body panel of the car it will have to be strong
Nice work there.. Have you noticed any increase in engine temperature after installing the panels? I assume that there might be a disruption in air flow around the engine. Hope I am mistaken with this assumption.
I was concerned about this too, but after doing this, I can say, at least in my case, that engine temps are actually very slightly cooler. The only reason I can think of for this (and I may be totally wrong) is that the air from the front of the car, coming through the fan still hits the motor, and then goes through the trans tunnel and out under the car. Before putting this engine bay together, the air could bounce around the engine bay, but had no clear path to leave the car.
That's pretty impressive, David. I have a '72 Corvette that will definitely be getting this treatment. Do you recommend doing the larger panels first or does it make any difference?
nah the size of the panel doesn't matter very much. It only matters if you try to skip the fleece step and try to use fiberglass cloth. I tried this for the front panel and it was a disaster. It was curing before I could finish it, and it wasn't all nice and flat and pretty in the end. Took 3x the time to fix it. I should have done it the right way first.
I wouldn't suggest trying to piece fleece together for this. You need it to be a single piece so that it will stretch properly and conform to the part you are making.
So, do you actually use the flees like you might use a fiberglass layer? For the cosmetic side. Then you just use regular fiberglass as a strengthened layer?
Might be a dumb question but..... did you remove the cardboard and the foam board or? Also the metal strips you did for support did you just bend them and toss it in? And finally, instead of adding bolts on a strip, could you just extend it a bit to fit bolts along the fender? Or is that really complicated? Sorry first timer here
For my interior work, I left the foam inside. For this project, it was all removed, and then reinforced from the underside with fiberglass cloth. The metal supports inside are added before the fiberglass layer, so the metal is sandwiched in between the fiberglass. I am not sure exactly what you mean by extend a bit....I would suggest doing it the way you see me do it in the video, as this is the most precise and strongest method and it's not a lot or work to get right.
David Guyton thanks for responding so fast! I just mean instead of adding bolts to mount it to something in the engine bay, I don’t have anything I could mount it to that way, could I build it up like you did the front and have the fender bolts hold it in place?
if I am understanding correctly, you'll likely crack the fiberglass if you try to use the factory bolts for the fenders to secure it. It would need to be reinforced in that spot with some kind of washer. But if you have fenders, you should be able to do exactly what I did. You just need to drill two holes into the fender (in an unseen area of course). You don't have to drill into anything considered "body". I drilled into the support structure of the fenders, right under where you see the panel I made meet up with the fender.
Did you leave all that cardboard in the car, im not english so i dont understand everything. Do these custom covers not cover stuff you have to refill quite often? This is giving me ideas
No the cardboard was removed. The panels are all fleece, resin, and fiberglass. In my case, there is nothing under the covers except for the radiator, and I made a hole to line up with the radiator cap so that I can access it without removing the panel.
dude!!! shit if you promise to make more car videos ill, fuck it ill subscribe and eagerly wait for the next car video, mean while I will search your channel for more car videos!
So did you apply the resin & fiberglass while it was inside the engine bay? Awesome finish btw :) Guess I found my summer/fall project. Just need to start small
I installed the parts while wrapped in fleece, and then while they were in the car, I applied the resin to the fleece and let it harden. Then I took the parts out and added the fiberglass to the underside....then immediately put them back in the car to be sure that they didn't warp during the final curing process. (One piece at a time, of course)
Ah makes sense, thanks for the quick reply :) Not a car guy, but I do like to build stuff so this project should be fun. How many pieces did this end up being?
What thickness of mdf and foam board do you suggest for dashes, door panels and engine bay panels? Do you think this process will work for the (Impala Covers) you have over the valve covers?
Well I don't use MDF for door panels because of the close proximity to water. I suggest using the "whiteboard" stuff you see in the video, because one side is waterproof. That stuff should be 3/16 thick. In the dash, etc, anything is fine. 1/4", 1/2"...whatever works best for whatever thing you are trying to build. The MDF is only the skeleton of what you are trying to build, so it does not have to be nearly as strong as something like a speakerbox, because the fiberglass you put on top of the structure is where the strength is. For the foam board (some call it foamcore) it doesn't matter at all. Typically it comes in 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses. For the underhood panels, I removed the foam board completely after fiberglassing. For the door panels, all the foam board pieces just became part of the internal structure of the door. Not for strength, but because there is just no way to get in there to remove it. But since it weighs almost nothing, it doesn't matter.
oh and as for the engine covers....it my case they are just modified stock parts with stock (newer style) emblems on them. But yes, anything can be created using this method.
At 1:34 in the video the fleece is just pinned to the aluminum foil correct before putting down the resin? It's not glued down to the aluminum foil correct?
sorry, I did not get an alert for your comment. Yes it's just pinned to the foil. The foil is just there as a barrier so that it can be pulled away from the skeleton structure after the resin cures. You will have to add fiberglass to the bottom for strength after you pull it free
I was worried about that when I built this, but honestly it runs at the same temperature as it did before. The fiberglass also does not seem to be affected at all from the engine heat
There are holes across the core support and I use those little black push-in fasteners there. There are also two bolts embedded in the fiberglass on the side, and there are two nuts securing those bolts inside the fender well. There are also two metal brackets attaching them to the frame, hidden away out of sight
+Ben ConradI made some music for my tutorials and I used some website to modify it and make it sound like dubstep or something. I forget the website though. The music you hear at the end of the video, "Calm Amid the Raging Waters" is available at my website, www.armortemplates.com
got a 1973 charger that was just finished and when everything is straightened out im going to be doing a little of this to hide some of the electronics from the elements
you seem like a guy that loves a challenge. I'd like to know your opinion if you think it would be possible to the replicate or something similar of a toyota mk4 supra interior in a Infiniti G35. Like I said I'm just looking for your opinion to see if you think it's possible.
I have seen some pretty wild interior swaps in cars. Honestly it seems like it would be easier to start from scratch. Not sure how those guys get things to fit right. It's possible though
@@DavidGuyton that's what I figured but I like how the supra interior is like a fighter jets cockpit and would love to do something similar in my G35 and maybe add cup holders if there's room. I'm in no way a fabricator and have zero experience in that kind of stuff so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.
@@TheLoner00 My suggestion: go for it. There's a million times I had no idea what I was doing but I tried it anyway. That's the only way to get things done. I'm sure there's information about it somewhere online.
I have made them before but it's a pain. I make them from wood or clay (oven bake) and then once they are shaped right I make a mold of the emblems. Then I cast them in plastic
I was concerned about that too, but after doing this, the car actually ran a little bit cooler. The only reason I could come up with is that the fan wash was directed over the engine and out through the trans tunnel. Before I put the panels in, the hot air wasn't being directed anywhere, and it would just soak the engine bay. It's weird, but I am pretty sure that's what happened
Fleece has a stretch to it, and it is thicker than fiberglass cloth, allowing it to hold more resin. You can do it with FG cloth, but it's a lot more work and you won't get these uniform curves very easily. In more advanced builds, you want very little resin and thin, lightweight panels. For this type of backyard build, fleece is the way to go because it's easier.
Yes, actually. I was worried that it would cause engine temp to rise some, but as it turns out, it actually ran a little bit cooler. I can only guess, but I imagine it is because the fan wash was blowing over the engine/trans, and directing the heat out through the trans tunnel and out under the car. Before I added the panels, the heat had nowhere to go so it generally stayed in the engine bay.
Dude,u are the man with this stuff!👏👏👏👏I'll be tryin that for sure in my build real soon Don't know how sucessful I'll be😂 but I'm gonna damn sure try it!
Nothing out of state. Been driving it about a year consistently, and I made the engine bay panels in May. I don't drive all that far from home generally, but I have had many rides of 90 mins or more.
Nah it's way too much work to do this and make it affordable for a buyer. It's also very specific to each car. Where my motor sits, the brake booster setup, the modified heater box...these all make my setup pretty much impossible to fit on another 65 Impala....not without a lot of modification. Tail lights I may have considered doing some to sell...but my dog ate one side of the mold I made, so I'm afraid I can't do that anymore haha
Actually no...I was pretty surprised but the engine temp went down a few degrees. I am not certain, but I think it's the fact that the fan is blowing air over the engine, and then out through the trans tunnel and out from under the car. Before these panels were installed, I had no wheel wells at all, and the incoming air had no direction to go, so it just stayed in the engine bay. Now it has no ability to do that, and the temps dropped a bit. Again, I have no idea if this is the actual reason why, but it's all I can think of.
David Guyton the panels you made actually prevented hot air that went through the radiator to get cycled again, and moved away from the radiator. Nice work.
I didn't make those. Those are the GTO covers that came with the LS2. I used a Dremel tool to get rid of the GTO lettering, and I added some real Impala emblems. You could certainly use this same method to make an engine cover though. It wouldn't work for emblems, but I have created my own emblems out of wood or clay before, then made a silicone mold, and then cast them in plastic. You can make anything if you put the effort into it
David Guyton thanks, im buildin a 77 regal that im going with a gnx pro touring theme i thought up as if it was a 2017 gnx. I hope you post more car videos because your build is one of the best Ive seen on the net and it raises the bar for me. Great job Sir.
Whatever the common size is....1/8" or something. But you are not limited to foam board and you are not limited to any thickness either. You can use whatever works easiest for you
Man you gotta do more stuff for us beginner/amateur hotrodders! Thanks for this video!
Dude why do you not have an entire channel based around car modding? You do excellent work.
Thank you! I really don't do enough car stuff to justify making a full channel for it though. If I had a working garage I probably would
David Guyton Disculpa en que ciudad vives?
Baltimore, MD
David Guyton tengo una chevy 94 caja corta cabina sencilla y me gustaria hacerle cambios pero me falta el talento que tienes tu...crees que puedas ayudarme con ideas?
EnterStevesWorld Yes you need a sub channel, or start posting car / automotive videos on the regular?
I found your channel this way. I can say it was a great stumble- and your other work is top notch as well.
Very nice! About 8 years ago I sold my '67 Chevelle convertible after we had our second kid. I miss it. It had a 396 in it too. One day.....
Dude, more custom car fabrication tutorials! This and your custom dash one are amazing!!
+Javier Hernandez if this one racks up significant views, I'll know they are popular enough and do more of them
I truly admire your work on the engine bay cover... I'm customizing a 1980 Chevy Grumman Stepvan as a fun van slash truck & I'm taking notes from you & others especially from your custom dash edition as I'm trying to customize a dash & interiors...
Awesome tutorial David, definitely inspired me to try and fabricate some parts for my car. looking forward to seeing more of your work, thanks
Thanks for checking out the videos James! I will do some more car videos whenever I think up another project
Damn, dude! That is pretty slick.
Stunning work! Thanx for taking the time to share this!
My dad had a early 65 police package Impala factory internally balanced and blue printed 409 last year for that engine specially built for the owner of a Chevrolet dealer who was my dads drinking and golf buddy.
Wow, so smooth looks factory made
Hey there David. I have made and repaired a lot of fiberglass from school bus fenders, forumly 4 nose pieces to some custom 1973 Ferrari Boxer bumpers. Any way I have used parchment paper over my final resin topcoat to smooth out the finish and to work out air bubbles. It cuts down on the smoothing time between the ruff in and the Bondo/ Rondo. Just thought I'd share.
Your work is amazing. This has really inspired me to take on this task. I’ve been wanting to try something like this on my car. Fingers crossed that it comes out even half as nice as yours. Thanks for the inspiration
You can do it I promise!
this deserves way more views and likes!
Man! That looks fantastic!
ya honestly, more of what you do with cars would be phenomenal! I'm a young guy with nobody to teach me but I'm a fast learner and would love to see more of that high quality grade work, it's nearly impossible to find
Ryan Clark GREAT-* stupid
I'd honestly like to see more tutorials along the lines of cars. Specifically, how you make a rat rod, or however you do an engine like the interceptor from mad max
Turned out amazing man, great job!
Great work. Can you go into more detail on how you worked out mounting the parts integrating bolts where needed? Also interested in seeing more about how you stiffened long runs and added strength where needed. The prep and planning is very interesting to see when done well. Thanks for posting.
well the bolts are welded to a piece of metal, and then that piece of metal was placed in the car and bolted in before I started adding the resin. This ensured an exact fit. Then the resin was added to the fleece, but it was certainly not strong enough. I pulled the pieces out and added fiberglass mat, but I also threw in some pieces of aluminum flat stock to stiffen the long flat areas. Then fiberglass on top of that to embed it. It's also very important to put the pieces back in the car before they fully cure because if you don't, they will warp.
Damn man you are pretty talented.
Very nice work my Man! It looks really clean.
love to see you work especially on your cars!!!. maybe I can get you to a bomb proof bullet proof armour suit like iron man.
salute, you gave me motivation to do also for my impala ss 64 because here in Dubai rarely to find these kind of job done by garage and if you found one it will cost you $$$$, deserve to be subscribe.
Thanks again
Sorry he bought from him as a demo. In 1965 it was a four door though but it was insanely fast car would light up the tires for a hundred yards. I always liked the 65 impala especially the 2 door. With the triple lights the destroyed the 66 with the tail lights being bland bar style. I'm very impressed with your work on the engine bay cover looks very clean. Nice armor as well.
Very cool! I might end up doing a video where I show off my car...I think you'd like it
David Guyton I hope you do this you do great work looks hi end factory.
This is truly beautiful. Thanks for this tutorial!
Sweet man you build hot rods im right in the middle of my 61 impala 2dr hardtop!
man you do great work love it show more videos on work you do to the car
I am lost for words man great video.
Why thank you
Great work right there!
Very cool. Great project
Help! I can't decide which is cooler. Making this or making armor? Awesome skills.
why thank you! I can't decide which is cooler either haha
Great video, mad skills too !
why thank you!
Thanks alot ! I always wanted to do this and now I seen how it was done . Does not seem that hard . My 1980 Scottsdale thanks you lol
Awesomeness :) freaking awesome bro looks great. keep up the great work :)
very good look man!
Very nice work
SprayWayCustoms make videos again ! You went ghost
Nice!! I will be trying this on my c10!
Awesome work!
Sick dude!
Ok thanks...I'm doing a 5.3 conversion to my new project care and wanted to make sure. thanks man.
the LS series engines (I am including the Vortec truck motors too) are going to run a little hot naturally, as compared to a SBC or BBC. 205 is about where my LS2 runs all the time
super bro very awesome please keep videos going.
Great tutorial!
nice work looks great
Wow, very cool!
i think you should do more of the car stuff! with carbon fiber!
very nice video!
The music in the background reminds me of 80s porn. Great video.
thank you for the tutorial, i was wondering on how is the heat on the inside of all that coverage you had done??
I have not had any issues at all with the paint or the fiberglass being affected by the heat from the engine. There is also no overheating issues with the engine because of the tighter engine compartment (which I thought might be an issue but it runs at the same temperature as it did when I had no wheel wells at all).
thats cool. ok thank you. great video. thank you for the great tutorial.
Looking good
Damn!! You're the truth,bruh!! Great job!!
Cool project, might try something like this myself. One question though, can fiberglass catch fire or start burning because of the heat from the exhaust manifold? Thanks.
It will melt if you touch it to anything hot like exhaust, but as far as catching fire, no. Nothing in the engine bay is hot enough to do that...just keep it off of your headers.
Ok, will try keeping a good gap between. Thanks again.
I have a 65 Impala and in the process of an LS Swap. How did you solve for the oil pan clearance. I purchased universal plats to mount the motor, but would to know if you ecounterd an issue thee as well. I catching heck trying to align the moutns. I think yours look greet.
I ended up raising the motor a little bit. I thought I could just raise the frameside mounts a little, but that wasn't quite enough. I ended up having to cup up and modify some solid engineside mounts to make it work. I think I raised the engine about 1". I was using the Hummer pan....but I think if you use the Holley pan there will be enough clearance. That pan is the shallowest one you can buy.
David, I'm thinking about a similar project for my vette. How have the panels held up to the heat? If it was asked already, I apologize, I just skimmed over the other questions. Keep up the great work!!
I sold the car a couple years ago but there were never any problems with heat. It's really no different than having a fiberglass hood on your car (or in your case, all the fiberglass body panels) As long as you have decent clearance from the exhaust you should be fine.
wow looks really good, I've actually never even considered this before but I will now. Is there any heat build up areas or potential problems? or anything like that I should keep in mind when making this
+Keith Woodhouse well you definitely want to keep the parts clear of the headers and engine in general. Your fan should blow a lot of air over the motor and out through the trans tunnel, even when sitting still....keeping heat from building up too much under the hood. I also have an open area right between frame and inner fender right by the headers to allow some of the heat to escape there instead of building up. But all cars and engines are different. There's no telling what issues may arise for each individual application.
i was just watching your armor videos and then looked up how to do this, who would've thought
Pretty cool that you found me both ways haha. Honestly though...I see all fabrication as the same talent. It's just learning different materials
Super Cool!
amazing craftsmanship! ! #USA #IMPALA
Thanks James!
your hotrod videos are awesome... wish you could make a seperate page...
David did you do the valve covers too? and is there video on that also? I can say that Your hard work paid off man.
Thank you! I didn't make the valve covers. They are just the stock GTO ones that came with the engine. All I did was grind off the GTO lettering, paint them, and add Impala emblems. Had to trim a few spots to make them fit the car too, but that's all
In need of your advice. I’ve made two covers one leaving foam in and the spray adhesive came loose forming air pockets on the top.
I then made one and removed foam but it was too thin.
How many layers of resin do you apply to too and bottom if you don’t mind me asking
You need to apply all the resin you can through the fleece on the first pass, otherwise you will have dry spots in the fabric where the resin hasn't penetrated. After that, you can apply fiberglass mat or cloth, and add more resin to that for some added strength. For interior parts, the fleece and resin alone should be strong enough if you add enough resin. For something like this, under the hood, or for actual body panels, you definitely need to add 2 or 3 layers of fiberglass cloth or mat.
Thank you for your reply 🙌🏻
I would like more detail on how the fleece was pinned to the temp structure. If there were concave shapes then how would you get the fleece to lay inside them, and wouldn't the action of brushing the fleece with the resin have the fleece moving all over the place? Very effective though.
I used little pins all over to keep the fleece in place on the foamboard. That way even if it moves a little when you brush over it, it can't move very much. Pins will work for concave shapes too.
David Guyton Do you know where I can buy some?
That engine bay looks fantastic, and is a real credit to you. Just one question please if you don't mind, as I am going to give this a go for my '57 Star Chief. After you coated the felt with resin, did you have to go over it with more to make that super smooth finish, or was it just the initial resin sanded?
You'll have go over it with some Bondo (or better quality body filler) to get a smooth finish
@@DavidGuyton Great thanks for replying, and so quickly as well.
Great Idea, now I believe I can use this method to build a bumper skin for my mustang that is cracked real bad.
paulpaulpaulpaul you could repair the existing one with a similar method
good work, my car apreciates this tip. kkkk
Good job man. I have a Infiniti G35 and thinking about learning more about fiberglass. Do you have any tips on making wide fenders?
Never done that but it's a similar process. Only thing is you have to account for the shape of the rear of the piece (the part facing the car) so it mates well. You also need to be sure that the part is well reinforced, since it's going to end up being a body panel of the car it will have to be strong
Thank you for the tips David. I might start off with something simple first, maybe eyelids.
I really want to do this to my 1961 Corvair!
very nice
Nice work there.. Have you noticed any increase in engine temperature after installing the panels? I assume that there might be a disruption in air flow around the engine. Hope I am mistaken with this assumption.
I was concerned about this too, but after doing this, I can say, at least in my case, that engine temps are actually very slightly cooler. The only reason I can think of for this (and I may be totally wrong) is that the air from the front of the car, coming through the fan still hits the motor, and then goes through the trans tunnel and out under the car. Before putting this engine bay together, the air could bounce around the engine bay, but had no clear path to leave the car.
Yousuf Bani-Hashim thats the first thing i wondered too and relieved to learn otherwise!
once you have made the fiberglass panels do you remove the substructure structure
In this case, yes. On the interior panels I create, I leave it inside of the structure.
That's pretty impressive, David. I have a '72 Corvette that will definitely be getting this treatment. Do you recommend doing the larger panels first or does it make any difference?
nah the size of the panel doesn't matter very much. It only matters if you try to skip the fleece step and try to use fiberglass cloth. I tried this for the front panel and it was a disaster. It was curing before I could finish it, and it wasn't all nice and flat and pretty in the end. Took 3x the time to fix it. I should have done it the right way first.
For a given panel, does the fleece need to be contiguous or can it be pieced together?
I wouldn't suggest trying to piece fleece together for this. You need it to be a single piece so that it will stretch properly and conform to the part you are making.
So, do you actually use the flees like you might use a fiberglass layer? For the cosmetic side. Then you just use regular fiberglass as a strengthened layer?
correct. As long as you scuff the surface underneath, the fiberglass/resin layer will bond to the fleece/resin layer.
Lovely, thank you David! Great tutorials. Keep em coming! :)
Might be a dumb question but..... did you remove the cardboard and the foam board or? Also the metal strips you did for support did you just bend them and toss it in? And finally, instead of adding bolts on a strip, could you just extend it a bit to fit bolts along the fender? Or is that really complicated? Sorry first timer here
For my interior work, I left the foam inside. For this project, it was all removed, and then reinforced from the underside with fiberglass cloth. The metal supports inside are added before the fiberglass layer, so the metal is sandwiched in between the fiberglass. I am not sure exactly what you mean by extend a bit....I would suggest doing it the way you see me do it in the video, as this is the most precise and strongest method and it's not a lot or work to get right.
David Guyton thanks for responding so fast! I just mean instead of adding bolts to mount it to something in the engine bay, I don’t have anything I could mount it to that way, could I build it up like you did the front and have the fender bolts hold it in place?
if I am understanding correctly, you'll likely crack the fiberglass if you try to use the factory bolts for the fenders to secure it. It would need to be reinforced in that spot with some kind of washer. But if you have fenders, you should be able to do exactly what I did. You just need to drill two holes into the fender (in an unseen area of course). You don't have to drill into anything considered "body". I drilled into the support structure of the fenders, right under where you see the panel I made meet up with the fender.
David Guyton thank you
So is it all still holding up strong with paint and the fillers and what not???
I sold the car, but I stay in contact with the new owner. He hasn't had any complaints about that
It should hold up for decades.
Most cars are 80% plastic, which is more sensitive to heat than fiberglass and they do fine.
Did you leave all that cardboard in the car, im not english so i dont understand everything. Do these custom covers not cover stuff you have to refill quite often? This is giving me ideas
No the cardboard was removed. The panels are all fleece, resin, and fiberglass. In my case, there is nothing under the covers except for the radiator, and I made a hole to line up with the radiator cap so that I can access it without removing the panel.
dude!!! shit if you promise to make more car videos ill, fuck it ill subscribe and eagerly wait for the next car video, mean while I will search your channel for more car videos!
So did you apply the resin & fiberglass while it was inside the engine bay? Awesome finish btw :) Guess I found my summer/fall project. Just need to start small
I installed the parts while wrapped in fleece, and then while they were in the car, I applied the resin to the fleece and let it harden. Then I took the parts out and added the fiberglass to the underside....then immediately put them back in the car to be sure that they didn't warp during the final curing process. (One piece at a time, of course)
Ah makes sense, thanks for the quick reply :)
Not a car guy, but I do like to build stuff so this project should be fun.
How many pieces did this end up being?
Four parts total. The three big pieces you see, and there's also a small piece that surrounds the air cleaner if you look close.
What thickness of mdf and foam board do you suggest for dashes, door panels and engine bay panels? Do you think this process will work for the (Impala Covers) you have over the valve covers?
Well I don't use MDF for door panels because of the close proximity to water. I suggest using the "whiteboard" stuff you see in the video, because one side is waterproof. That stuff should be 3/16 thick. In the dash, etc, anything is fine. 1/4", 1/2"...whatever works best for whatever thing you are trying to build. The MDF is only the skeleton of what you are trying to build, so it does not have to be nearly as strong as something like a speakerbox, because the fiberglass you put on top of the structure is where the strength is. For the foam board (some call it foamcore) it doesn't matter at all. Typically it comes in 1/4" and 1/2" thicknesses. For the underhood panels, I removed the foam board completely after fiberglassing. For the door panels, all the foam board pieces just became part of the internal structure of the door. Not for strength, but because there is just no way to get in there to remove it. But since it weighs almost nothing, it doesn't matter.
oh and as for the engine covers....it my case they are just modified stock parts with stock (newer style) emblems on them. But yes, anything can be created using this method.
David Guyton perfect, thanks for the quick response.
At 1:34 in the video the fleece is just pinned to the aluminum foil correct before putting down the resin? It's not glued down to the aluminum foil correct?
sorry, I did not get an alert for your comment. Yes it's just pinned to the foil. The foil is just there as a barrier so that it can be pulled away from the skeleton structure after the resin cures. You will have to add fiberglass to the bottom for strength after you pull it free
I might try that for my mustang
could you fiberglass the hood inslation pad
that's cool
What fiberglass resin and hardner do you use?
I just buy the Bondo brand stuff available at Walmart
Do you have any issues with heat retention or over heating with the fiberglass in engine bay
I was worried about that when I built this, but honestly it runs at the same temperature as it did before. The fiberglass also does not seem to be affected at all from the engine heat
I would be coecern about how close you are to the header ,the heat can wreck fiberglass and or set it on fire. JUST A FYI.
How did you attach the cover to the body?
There are holes across the core support and I use those little black push-in fasteners there. There are also two bolts embedded in the fiberglass on the side, and there are two nuts securing those bolts inside the fender well. There are also two metal brackets attaching them to the frame, hidden away out of sight
what's the backround music for this video? it's really good for backround noise in the workshop.
+Ben ConradI made some music for my tutorials and I used some website to modify it and make it sound like dubstep or something. I forget the website though. The music you hear at the end of the video, "Calm Amid the Raging Waters" is available at my website, www.armortemplates.com
+David Guyton thanks
got a 1973 charger that was just finished and when everything is straightened out im going to be doing a little of this to hide some of the electronics from the elements
you seem like a guy that loves a challenge. I'd like to know your opinion if you think it would be possible to the replicate or something similar of a toyota mk4 supra interior in a Infiniti G35. Like I said I'm just looking for your opinion to see if you think it's possible.
I have seen some pretty wild interior swaps in cars. Honestly it seems like it would be easier to start from scratch. Not sure how those guys get things to fit right. It's possible though
@@DavidGuyton that's what I figured but I like how the supra interior is like a fighter jets cockpit and would love to do something similar in my G35 and maybe add cup holders if there's room. I'm in no way a fabricator and have zero experience in that kind of stuff so if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.
@@TheLoner00 My suggestion: go for it. There's a million times I had no idea what I was doing but I tried it anyway. That's the only way to get things done. I'm sure there's information about it somewhere online.
Great job, where did you get the impala 3D letters.
they are emblems from a newer Impala. I forget the year...2002 or so
Oh ok, I thought you got them cut out. I need some 3D cut outs with different name. Thanks for response
I have made them before but it's a pain. I make them from wood or clay (oven bake) and then once they are shaped right I make a mold of the emblems. Then I cast them in plastic
Oh wow, cool man. There's a guy on FB I saw that makes them & check him out.
Do you have problems with overheating ?
I was concerned about that too, but after doing this, the car actually ran a little bit cooler. The only reason I could come up with is that the fan wash was directed over the engine and out through the trans tunnel. Before I put the panels in, the hot air wasn't being directed anywhere, and it would just soak the engine bay. It's weird, but I am pretty sure that's what happened
Why did you use felt and fiberglass?
Fleece has a stretch to it, and it is thicker than fiberglass cloth, allowing it to hold more resin. You can do it with FG cloth, but it's a lot more work and you won't get these uniform curves very easily. In more advanced builds, you want very little resin and thin, lightweight panels. For this type of backyard build, fleece is the way to go because it's easier.
Any changes in engine bay and engine temps after?
Yes, actually. I was worried that it would cause engine temp to rise some, but as it turns out, it actually ran a little bit cooler. I can only guess, but I imagine it is because the fan wash was blowing over the engine/trans, and directing the heat out through the trans tunnel and out under the car. Before I added the panels, the heat had nowhere to go so it generally stayed in the engine bay.
Awesome thanks for the info I was thinking about doing that for my C3 project.
Dude,u are the man with this stuff!👏👏👏👏I'll be tryin that for sure in my build real soon Don't know how sucessful I'll be😂 but I'm gonna damn sure try it!
Looks awesome
Are you going to get a team to help make armor or something else like this engine?
You are such a proud three-percenter.
how long have you had it in and what's the longest you drove.....out of town, state.....long runs ?
Nothing out of state. Been driving it about a year consistently, and I made the engine bay panels in May. I don't drive all that far from home generally, but I have had many rides of 90 mins or more.
Do you sell any? I have a 65 Impala, I also like the tail lights
Nah it's way too much work to do this and make it affordable for a buyer. It's also very specific to each car. Where my motor sits, the brake booster setup, the modified heater box...these all make my setup pretty much impossible to fit on another 65 Impala....not without a lot of modification. Tail lights I may have considered doing some to sell...but my dog ate one side of the mold I made, so I'm afraid I can't do that anymore haha
No overheating issues after doing this?
Actually no...I was pretty surprised but the engine temp went down a few degrees. I am not certain, but I think it's the fact that the fan is blowing air over the engine, and then out through the trans tunnel and out from under the car. Before these panels were installed, I had no wheel wells at all, and the incoming air had no direction to go, so it just stayed in the engine bay. Now it has no ability to do that, and the temps dropped a bit. Again, I have no idea if this is the actual reason why, but it's all I can think of.
David Guyton the panels you made actually prevented hot air that went through the radiator to get cycled again, and moved away from the radiator. Nice work.
Nice
I need this done on my 96 impala ss. 😮😮😮
how did you make those impala engine covers.
I didn't make those. Those are the GTO covers that came with the LS2. I used a Dremel tool to get rid of the GTO lettering, and I added some real Impala emblems. You could certainly use this same method to make an engine cover though. It wouldn't work for emblems, but I have created my own emblems out of wood or clay before, then made a silicone mold, and then cast them in plastic. You can make anything if you put the effort into it
David Guyton thanks, im buildin a 77 regal that im going with a gnx pro touring theme i thought up as if it was a 2017 gnx. I hope you post more car videos because your build is one of the best Ive seen on the net and it raises the bar for me. Great job Sir.
Did you say foam board? How thick?
Whatever the common size is....1/8" or something. But you are not limited to foam board and you are not limited to any thickness either. You can use whatever works easiest for you