ideas on strengthening fiberglass holes?

[justin802]

I just traded my old truck for a CJ5 , the jeep has a fiberglass tub on it, the person who I got it from claims he didnt have it long at all. The body is in good shape, but he didnt put the seats in well at all. All he did was bolt them down with no washers or anything, so when I got it, I noticed the bolts were pulling through. I took the seats out to re-do them, and I took the boot off the shifting levers. I noticed he had cut a 16"x18" hole in the floor for them. It doesnt need to be any part of that. I have some fiberglass repair stuff, but any ideas on how to strengthen that? Or would just putting new fiberglass over it be strong enough? any ideas would be great! thanks!

 

[Old Dog]

The seats should have a bolt running through the body with a big washer (or plate) and nut.
Not sure what you trying to do with the 16x18 hole. Thats probally what the steel body had there, so you can acess the Transmission and Transfer Case when needed.

 

[priceg]

Pic?

 

[robert1973]

Agree a pic would be very helpful here.

 

[justin802]

Sorry I'm in maine right now for the weekend, I will take some pictures of it monday when I get home. yes I agree that the hole being so big is to access the tranny/tranfer. But the hole is so big that the seats being in there are really putting a lot of strain on the tub, it had started to crack from the hole down to the front corner of where the seat was. So I just wanted to try and cover the hole but also give it a little added strength. As far as the seat mounting goes, I was already planning on mounting them to a big plate, so it wouldn't strain the tub so much.

 

[flyingbrick]

It kinda sounds like your tub is not made to take the seats.

Unless your tub has steel plates glassed in underneath to provide a secure mounting point it probably has not been designed with this in mind.

I can imagine even large washers ripping through fiberglass.

If you have a rollcage it might be better to take seat mounting points off those- have full width bars going from left to right of cage to take the seats.

 

[Allen9878]

If there is a crack between the seat mounts and the shifter plate, it sounds like you have bigger problems. I have a glass body and the access hole is roughly the same size, it would take some good offroading to crack that.

 

[54cj3b]

clean up fiberglass around hole , spread some fiberglass resin around hole ,place a big washer in resin let dry, spread more resin on washer and around it , cut and place sheets of fiberglass over washer several layers,spread lots of resin over the sheets soak them good , let it dry , drill out hole through washer,put 1 more coat of resin over washer to seal any exposed fibers from drilling , let dry , mount seats put bolt through top of frame into the tub , than before you put the nut on the bottom side place a drilled piece of flat stock across bottom Kris crossed to other bolt,

doing this will make it more safe that your seats wont break free for any reason

 

[justin802]

thanks so much for the idea of putting the washers in the fiberglass. that sounds like a great idea! The only thing I'm trying to figure out the best way to do now is fill in this huge hole over the tranny. I only need a 2" hole for the tranny shifter, and a 2"x6" hole for the transfer. the rest I want filled in. any ideas to help with strength on this one?

 

[MrJingles199]

I too am inquiring about the fiberglass tub... I have a fiberglass tub on my 1975 CJ5 . I am currently restoring it. I have small screw size holes which I am going to fill in and patch.

As I read about fiberglass cracking under weight. I am concerned about my seat set up. As my seats currently are not on any type of mounting bracket.

The front mounts of the front seats are each mounted on a 4X4 piece of wood that spans across the width of each seat. As to the back mount of the front seats are just drilled into the fiberglass.

I was going to replace the 4x4 piece of wood with hockey pucks to give it a cleaner look rather than wood and the back mounts i was just going to use the holes the person before me already drilled in the fiberglass. However, I would like to prevent any future cracking... any ideas would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks MIKE

 

[gert]

Ok then....... Start by getting down to the fiberglass remove shifters put something to mimick the shape of the new material you want...put some mold release on it....feather down your fiberglass on the tub...my job specs out a 12 to 1 ratio. then start laying sheets down and if you use the better woven stuff lay it down at a 45 deg angles when the desired thickness has been acheived cut your holes and remove your backing plate good luck playing with fiberglass gets itchy, it would help greatly to alk to anybody in your area that deals with corvette restos as they are all glass to

 

[flyingbrick]

Ok then....... Start by getting down to the fiberglass remove shifters put something to mimick the shape of the new material you want...put some mold release on it....feather down your fiberglass on the tub...my job specs out a 12 to 1 ratio. then start laying sheets down and if you use the better woven stuff lay it down at a 45 deg angles when the desired thickness has been acheived cut your holes and remove your backing plate good luck playing with fiberglass gets itchy, it would help greatly to alk to anybody in your area that deals with corvette restos as they are all glass to

Theres a bit more to it than that. I suggest watching a few fiberglass tutorials on youtube or doing some reading.

Any boat builder or fiberglasser will be able to help- they do not need to necessarily work on corvettes.

re: the wood.... thats nasty. If its spanning from left to right its a good thing- its adding valuable strength.

Either replace the wood with some box section steel OR replace with new wood and fiberglass over the top to seal it in.

 

[GPER]

Your seat brackets should have tabs welded on,

Then the bolt goes through the body and mounts to the plate that goes across the arms on the frame.

Here is the support for the clutch linkage

 

[GPER]

As far as the big hole for the trany, it should be there then the trany cover plate is screwed into the body to cover the hole.

 

[Billofthenorth]

This is an old post so maybe you have already remedied the problem.

Originally, the steel body had a plate that covered that area didn't it? Would that fit over the tranny hole. Alternatively perhaps you could make a bolt-on cover from sheet metal or plywood, painted and/or fiberglass covered as you prefer.

 

[luluxiu]

Unless your tub has been installed below a safe point, it may not take into account the unique design of this plate. I can imagine that even a large washing machine, ripping through a glass fiber. If you have a roll cage, it might be better to take points off those seats installed the full width of the cage from left to right, the right to take the seat.Tera Items...