Opinions wanted please! I need to rework the sheetmetal on the frontend of my Panel anyway. Should I rework and do a tilt front hood, or just get a fiberglass 1pc doghouse? rrrggg decisions decisions!

Renee'
1955 Ford F-100 Panel
1968 Mustang FT Fastback

 

it would depend on if your gonna keep it stock or go hot rod.
my 49 f-1 is gonna be stock but i got a 51 f-3 cab im gonna get a frame and drop a bigger motor in it besides the flat head.
the 51 will have alot of extra goodies in it.
but im gonna keep the 49 as stock as possible.
the only thing i might change is besides using steel i might go with the fiberglass parts.

hope i gave ya some info,
swanny

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Oct-02 AT 11:56 PM (EST)]Thanks Swanny!
Is it really obvious to the naked eye with a fiberglass front end?

I'm going the hot-rod route with it...it's so far from stock already. volare clip, 351C engine, c-4, caddy tilt steering, some body mods. But I drew the line at chopping it. Thats why hubby has a GMC now and my 55 pickup is gone. SO he could get his chop fix.
Renee'
1955 Ford F-100 Panel
1968 Mustang FT Fastback

 

I vote for the 'glass one-piece. That's a totally cool truck you've got.

 

i dont think it is obvious.
it looks the same as i can see.
it is less likely ta be dented and wont rust, but more likely ta spider web out from a crack.
im gonna have glass fenders, almost whole front clip, and running boards.
glass is cheaper on the poorer people.
i know i dont got the money for all that metal.

hope to see the pics when it is done,
swanny

 

My 53 F100 has a one piece tilt hood and fenders. I can see that it is glass in two ways. First the guy who did the work needed to block sand a LOT more than he did. It looks good but when I get done it will look great (i hope).

Also, in this case if the hood is not latched, it does not fit - it is too wide. Latched it looks ok.

 

I think a carefully done steel flip clip is really cool. Either way you go it will look very nice. Your panel is a rod already so I would do whatever you want. Very nice panel by the way.

'fenders

 

Iwent with a one piece glass nose on my 48. Part of the reason was because I was led to believe it that it would be a near perfect fit by the manufacturer.WRONG, it did not fit well at all. I had to modify it and re-arch the hood to get a decent fit. Others have also had the same problem with these parts from Fairlane. I see in a previous post that Spacecoast has the same fit problem on his.If you look at John Niolan's site, he also has fit problems with the Fairlane nose.Check out my User Gallery to see how I approached fixing mine. I am still working on a latch system for this too. The one piece tilt is "Cool" but it is alot of work to obtain a proper fit. I am not sure I would do it again if I knew of the problems ahead of time.

 

Renee,

Well, I guess you know I like fiberglass... my front sheet metal was in bad shape and I wanted to tilt.. fiberglass probably takes a good 200# off the front end and since I'm doing up a 460 that 200 is a good savings...

I agree completely with the fit... I was very disappointed in mine and am working toward the same resolution as Jim.

You can cut the fenders down low under the cab and you can't tell it's glass... if you don't look for the hood/fender opening.. and like said before no rust.. no dings.. easy to fix if you do.. but be prepared to spend some time and money getting the fit right..

Jim... are you going to leave the plywood brace in there and glass over it ??? did I read right ??? don't you think the fiberglass one would hold it once you have the shape where you want it ???

you'rs is looking good... I might try that plywood pattern with screws for mine also...good idea..

john

so... Renee... confused yet ????????/

 

>
>so... Renee... confused yet ????????/

LOL! Not really! I really appreciate all the feedback. Believe it or not, it has helped alot! Well, I guess it will come down to opportunity again, as has alot of the upgrades on the panel has been. (Thats how I got the Panel in the 1st place lol) Right now it is sitting on the frame it came with (Camaro front clip and 10 bolt rear UGH!!!!!!). I built up the other Frame with the Volare IFS and all the rear suspension upgrades, and placed the motor on it already. This will be my first "Frame-up" I guess.
It changes frames in a couple of weeks.

Renee'
1955 Ford F-100 Panel
1968 Mustang FT Fastback

 

Guess I am late with my take on this, but ...

I bought the full plastic kit (one piece front, running boards and rear fenders) many years ago (almost 13 to be exact) from a source called P&R Parts Unlimited in Maple Grove, MN (anyone knows if this company still exists ???) and paid $1,020 plus a truck load of $$$ for crating and shipping to Germany. ... and guess what: I never used it ! It is not rusting (you guessed it), but it can take a lot of dust when sitting that long. You can see it sitting on a shelf above my truck on the last pic I added to my gallery.

Reason for not using it: only steel is real ! ... and my steel was / is perfect (I have a shot in my gallery of the whole thing after sand blasting). I also had (and still have) my daubts if I could get it to fit. I now have it for sale, but don't expect it to move quick over here.

Greetings from Germany !!!:-)

 

I had been thinking seriously about a glass tilt nose from Fairlane for my '56. But with all the negative feedback regarding fit and quality i have been reading, i have reconsidered. Does anyone else make a quality fiberglass piece? It seems like a shame to spend $1000 on a nose and then have to work on it just to get it to fit right.
Anyone seen noses on trucks that were "pieced together" (ie, glass fenders and hood, or mix and matched steel and fiberglass parts)??

making a flip nose with all steel parts sounds good, but a lot of work involved and no weight savings. Also, not sure of the best way to fill in the gaps between hood and fenders etc, and how that would all look.

Mark

 

FYI-I don't have one of these fiberglass front-ends, so no first hand experience to offer. There is an article in the August 2002 issue of Custom Classic Trucks that shows them installing one on a 53 F-100. A good portion of it deals with fabrication of the front hinge pieces and mounting the hydraulic rams. It looks like they ran into the same fit problems that many others have described. It should be worth a look as another reference point.

LOL,
Kent
56 F-100

 

fatfords....I read that article. And it turned me away from a glass doghouse. Im going to poorboy mine and use the same hinge design they used in the article but Im going to keep mine all steel. I think Im going to cut the fenders at the horizontal seam to the rear to make mine flip. I was told that you have to cut the fender unless you can come up with some kind of slide mechanism, and that doesnt sound none too stable to me, so Im going do the cut and flip thing.unless anybody else has any other sugestions for me to consider before I make the first fatal cut. If there is anyone out there that has done the cut and flip design, how do you dress the fenders at the cut to make it look good?