Need a fiberglass clip recomendation

[justinyocum]

I am a youg kid building a 55 pro street bel air streetcar and have scraped together my life savings to buy a one peice tilt fiberglass front end ,I'm not sure whitch brand to buy though and I thought I'd talk to some people who may have had good or bad experiances with 55 fiberglass parts. Are there any horror stories out there ?

[MikeKy55]

Justin, US Body makes a good product. http://www.usbody.com . Wait for more feedback as the topic has come up before and someone else knew of another.

[prostreet]

Hi Justin
There are a few things to consider before you purchase a glass front .

1: make sure the product is hand laminated ( not completely chopped with a chopper gun)
2: Ask them if how much gelcoat is applied ( no less than 28 mills)
3: Ask how many ounces of fiberglass is used to produce the frontend.
4: Do they use a core matting
5: Do they use any structual bracing in the area's that will be use for mounting area's
6: Is there front end race weight or street weight
These questions are important because you only plan to buy the front end once . You could ask how the fit and finnish is but they may tell you what you want to hear. if they have a web site they may have customer page that will show you what you want to see. Mike has listed one and they make a lot of race car parts which is not all bad but may not be what you are looking for. If you find a company you would like to use post the name here first and we can help research . I just sold my fiberglass company 2 years ago we use to build 41 Willys bodies for the street so we are some what knowlegable with what to look for when buying. I have some friends in the industry but some of them I will not suggest to buy from becuase there quality is not there. I'm not sure if Steve from Superior Glass out west buils the front you are looking for but here is a link. http://www.superiorglassworks.com/about.asp I think the newest he buils is 53 but its worth a call or look.
Here is another one : http://www.up22.com/chevy55N.htm
Ask for Rich If and when you cal this company , his parts are all hand laminated but his front end I believe is rough on the apearance but they are strong and he will biuld the weight you want. The name is Rod N Race.
http://www.rodnrace.com/ Good luck keep us posted. :D

[MikeKy55]

Now thats what I'm talkin bout! Thanks Steve!

[prostreet]

Thank You :D :D

[thehazmatguy]

Also... keep an eye on eBay too. I have seen several 'glass front ends while doing one my favorite searches, "gasser".

A used front would be a gamble, but you could always post the listing here on trifive and get some other peoples experience working in your favor.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1955-Chevrolet-glass-tilt-front-clip-Gasser-San-Diego_W0QQitemZ4637521277