Where was the front-clip purchased ?

[bdockery81]

I just received a new front clip from Ecklers and I'm very unhappy with the quality. They didn't even sand out a a huge seam between bonding points. I'm curious where the high-quality looking clip was purchased for the project?

[MaineVette]

I bought my clip from ACI fiberglass (www.acivette.com). Ecklers and ACI manufacturer most of the fiberglass body panels on the market and generally I hear good things about both. For me it was a tossup when I decided to buy my front clip. I bought several body parts from ACI including a front clip, rear quarter panel, rear tail lamp panel, rear valence panel and front valence panel. The only part I was unhappy with was the rear valence panel - it was too short but I made it work.

Anyway, I'm surprised to hear of the quality issue. Ecklers does have a good reputation. Can you post a picture of the defect? I'd be curious to see what you're looking at. If you're seeing a "ridge" of gel coat along where the bonding seam would normally be I wouldn't' be surprised - my front clip had a bit of that too. The expectation for any of these parts is that the piece will be block sanded prior to paint. Therefore, they don't bother with minor imperfections in the finish. Thankfully, the gel coat sands like butter and it's quick work.

If it's a major defect I suggest giving Ecklers a call and express your concern.

[bdockery81]

Thanks for the info Maine!

So that seam is only from gelcoat and not fiberglass? What actually creates that? Do they put the whole thing in some kind of press?

Here are pics of mine:
http://imgur.com/a/32GbY

[MaineVette]

Yup, that seam is only in the gel coat. Mine looked the same way. If you want to quickly hit the seam with some 220 grit sandpaper you'll see that it quickly sands away leaving a smooth finish behind.

They fabricate these one piece hand laid clips using a female form that is made up of several parts. Each part of the form is the same shape as the original panel piece. For the front clip it includes the two front fenders and the hood surround. Each of those three parts are bolted together so the form can be disassembled once the piece cures. What you're seeing in the gel coat is the seam where the parts of the mold were bolted together.

Generally, they start fabrication by assembling the mold and then spraying the entire face of the form with gel coat. It's about 1/16" thick. The gel coat provides a nice smooth finish that's easy to sand prior to final paint. Once the gel coat is in place they spray a layer of fiberglass stand and resin into the form. Once that's cured they do a bit of trimming and release the part from the mold. This process is called "hand laid" fiberglass and is inherently different than press molded fiberglass. Press molded fiberglass doesn't use a gel coat, provides a smooth finish on both sides of the panel, but is much more labor intensive (and therefore costly). The original panels on our Corvettes were press molded.

Anyway, hope that helps.

[MaineVette]

Here's a link to ACI's site that explains the fabrication process with pictures. Ecklers process would be the same. This is for hand laid parts

http://www.acivette.com/aci0039m.htm



Also, if you haven't read the articles about my front clip fit up on my website I suggest doing so. It was a pretty involved process.

[bdockery81]

Thanks so much!