Is a fiberglass tub okay?

My only experience with 'glas is the two rear fenders on my otherwise original steel '34 Ford V8.

One thing I notice is that when the tires thow up rocks *inside* the fender, it puts a spiderweb in the paint on the *outside* face. Not so great...

Pete

 

tatas are tatas plastic or not so a jeep is a jeep plastic or not as i see it :stout: both replacements have their issues and so do originals fiberglass is cheap and easy to fix but steel is steel its ur choice

 

i see a need for glass tubs only in situations where the metal would get destroyed by the elements, or treatment.

note that should you bend a metal peice, you can fix it. should you bend a fiberglass piece.. well it doesnt really bend so much as snap off. you can reattach it yes, but it takes alot more skill than joe in the jeep behind you with a mobil welder fixing your frame.... so you can keep going.

 

If you never have worked in fiberglass before here is a wonderful site to a great product.
West Systems is what we use on marine repairs and they have a product to cover every application and great tech to help you through the project.
http://www.westsystem.com/ss/

Good luck with the Jeep.

Donnie

 

I was always under the impression that glass was a pain to get fixed properly. you can fast patch yes, but i understood it that to patch it so it doesnt appear to have ever happened is difficult, and even after a patch, its not as strong as it was.

I may be horribly wrong on this. But i still think being able to weld on the trail is better than having to glass it back together...

And i wasnt refering to there being a fiberglass frame, just that its easier IMO to weld a frame on the trial than it is to fix fiberglass on the trail... patching glass in the field is well.. not possible really.. unless you have the supplies and time. if your all steel, you can just patch up and go no matter what the busted piece is.

 

I like metal. One of the things I really like about Jeeps is that there a piece of history that I feel I'm saving. I like thinking about all the things these old Jeeps have done over the years and the "stories" they would tell if they could. They just don't quite seem right to me with a fiberglass body, I like seeing the dents and dings and body rivets. I also agree about the tailgate. The truth is that everyone will have a diff opinion on here and the only one that really matters in this case is yours. What do you want? It's your Jeep if you like fiberglass go for it!

 

check out my favorite Jeep, it's metal and glass

 

I totally agree with jackrabbit396. fiberglass does not make the same cool sound as metal when wheel'n in the rocks. how else would I see the same cute nurse for my tetnious shot every year. rock rash is cool.

 

As has been said, It is YOUR Jeep, do what you like. I have run fiberglass fenders, hood, and front clip on my VW Baja for many years now. The 'glass is fairly easy to repair. It does take a different set of skills to repair properly. These skills are fairly easy to master (or at least to get you by). It is fairly strong. When I have ripped off a fender, I just throw it in the back seat and go on, or (I kid you not) tape it back together with 100 mile an hour tape. This is alluminum backed tape. This is a temperary fix to get me home. I have helped friends screw theirs back together with wood screws and thin wood slats.
It took a lot of force to break a fender with a bang againt the rocks or trees. I usually ripped a fender by hooking them with a tree branch. Steel would have been much harder to repair to get me home. The 'glass parts flex quite a bit before they break, but this flexing will pop the paint off. So I would get the "gell coat" if I were to buy a new set of 'glass for my Baja.
That being said, I personally would try to keep my Jeep steel. However if it already had a fiberglass body on it I would run it as is. IHTH, Matt W.

 

Dang, what a polarizing subject! I have both. My white Jeep is a glass body from AJ's. I wanted to build something that would be around for my kids to drive. I set down and figured what it would cost to fix and paint the steel body I had and for about half that cost I bought a new tub, fenders and hood. I hate the hood, way to flimsy. Other than that I really like the glass body. Wiring is a non-issue. My only real compaint while building my Jeep was how bad I itched for about a year! That stunk. My tub is not light by any stretch of the imagination. But it is very strong. They beefed up the body pretty much anywhere it needed it. The white gel coat is great. As for the GPW, original steel body, love it. Total peice of history. No matter where we go someone will comment on the old "Army Jeep". That is cool, I get no such attention with the white Jeep.

 

IMO I'd prefer a steel tub. Personally I'd rather work with steel than with fiberglass. Plus, to me, the condition of the tub indicates the condition of the chassis ... rust is a pain, in the chassis or in the body. I also feel that a replacement glass body is not as crash worthy as the original steel body. A glass body designed to work around a chassis (like the Corvette) is probably lighter than an equivalent design in steel, but I don't think there's much if any weight advantage to a glass tub if the tub has been built sturdy enough to survive Jeep usage.

I believe the fiberglass tubs exist because the costs to mold a fiberglass body are much lower than the capital costs to stamp the equivalent steel. Thus the fiberglass bodies can be sold at a lower cost, and can be made locally by small companies ... shipping costs for these are a big factor.

IMO the fiberglass tubs are adequate, but not optimal. Other factors may outweigh the suboptimal tub ... you have to weigh what's involved and decide.

hth!

 

sorry sparky, that would have been a good use of the little red flag.......next time.