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I agree 50/50 with ya. Bug pans are easy to buy though. New. You just have to be sure your vehicle passes all your states requirements to obtain a title. But you're right. Maybe it's more the mentality I am talking about more than the cars themselves.
Stumbled across this - I agree with the overall enthusiasm. I built a Bradley GTII and over a year (bought someone’s project) in 1983 and drove it for 2-3 years. Also built a Baja with a fiberglass kit on an65’beetle in high school. VWs and fieros were the two top chassis to use then. Later after leaving my first career, I owned a 60,000 sq ft fiberglass mfg facility for a decade. Here’s my simple answer - govts in too many states made it really difficult. Insurance has become a bigger issue (I had some issues even with my Bradley GT). Finally external molding like you’re describing is a long process just due to sanding. It’s easier to mold out of something else and pull a plug, because the surface comes out smooth. Later in building an airplane (cozy mark IV) that became real and I didn’t finish. Most polyester resins and many epoxies are in styrene so you can’t use styrene as a form as ir will dissolve. It’s way easier to do with wood or spray urethanes like one used for insulation. That’s some input. I’m totally on board, but today it would be a shame to destroy a bug as they are getting way more difficult to find without being rust buckets. Check out kitcarmagazine dot com - I was subscribed for years (have piles of them in storage). I bet you’ll find all the answers you’re looking for there. Thanks again. Was great hearing your enthusiasm on this. Hope my long message gives you some directions to research.
I'm not talking about premade kits, though they do kind of fall in place here. No, I am talking about starting with a frame/rolling pan and using plans found in a magazine, welding the tubes, shaping the foam and laying down fiberglass. I know of a ton of premade kit car makers, like the one you mentioned. I only used the Brubaker Box as an example because it was hard to find any DIY examples.
Oh ya, I am sure the body kits will be around doe a bit. I'm more talking about starting with a frame/rolling pan and using plans found in a magazine, welding the tubes, shaping the foam and laying down fiberglass. I do it for props and I may make a pickup camper that way if I decide to get a pickup that is. LOL
I watched a really cool documentary on Rat Fink and more specifically Ed Roth. And it talks about him starting on doing fiberglass. It's a really good documentary. I'll have to find where it is and let you know where I watched it and what it's called. It was a free stream channel if I recall right.
@@thecreepycrawl1413 i plan on starting my own build soon after our house is finished. Using a celica frame and redesigning the front end like a group c and making it mid engine.
A large part of the reason it died off is vehicle design. Beetles were great, the body bolted onto a pan, but modern cars? Everything's welded together, doors, hood and front fenders are about all you can remove. Throw in that unibody makes the body an integral part of the frame, and it's really just not possible for an amateur any more
Maybe not as cheap, but dune buggy/sand rail chassis are still available. I'm sure there are plenty of plans available for such chassis. However, I don't know who would go through the effort to build such a thing and have it not be street legal
People are less into physical things and are more interested in the internet or gaming. Cost of everything is up and chassis that a suitable for this are harder to come by and need work. Back then, you were buying a relatively new car for cheap that has such a chassis. Nowadays body on frame is rare and expensive. Maybe look into exo cars, that's something people do with cheap cars these days.
Body on frame cars stopped being made as soon as crash tests became a thing in the late 1980’s. Unibody vehicles are almost impossible to modify without catastrophically weakening the structure - windshields are structural components in current production cars…
Bug pans are still available to purchase. Just sad that no one for the most part makes things anymore. Even the premade kits are cool, but not quite what I am going for. If the idea should have ever pick up speed, though doubtful, I am sure there will be plenty of manufactures willing to provide whats needed.
Your comment is a good concept, but you need to work on punctuation. Though I do appreciate the constructive criticism, subs are not what it is really about for me.
