Pros and Cons on fiberglass tubs

[Robbp]

Hi all, I am looking at several jeeps, one has a fiberglass body.
Obviously a 'glass body would be great due to me living in the rust bucket (Ohio) but are there drawbacks or things to look for/beware of?


Thanks
Robb

 

[coldwater]

Well, glass bodies are like anything else, some are good and some are bad. When I bought mine 14 years ago I chose a 4WD hardware body and it still looks great. It has steel reinforcement In the firewall, steel Channel in the tailgate opening, a resin impregnated balsa wood floor, and double wall sides with a foam insulation core. Some bodies are simply a glass shell and not much more. Do you know who the body came from?

 

[Robbp]

Well, glass bodies are like anything else, some are good and some are bad. When I bought mine 14 years ago I chose a 4WD hardware body and it still looks great. It has steel reinforcement In the firewall, steel Channel in the tailgate opening, a resin impregnated balsa wood floor, and double wall sides with a foam insulation core. Some bodies are simply a glass shell and not much more. Do you know who the body came from?

No I have not even seen the jeep yet, but I wanted some info to have when I did look at it(Sometime next week). Can you see the steel inserts? how can I tell if it a decent shell and where would I find a makers stamp or ID of who made it? The guy may know I just want a little knowledge before I jump into this thing. ....and pay for somthing I may be sorry for later on!

 

[nitor]

When you have a fiberglass tub, you have to run a ground wire from everything. No grounding through the body.

 

[Old Dog]

Coldwater pretty well said it. When I bought mine from AJ's they offered 4 differnt models form thin wall "show" to the "offroad" model I bought. Other companies do the same.
The best you can do is check for steel plates with a mag. And just feel how thick it is.
Make sure there are no cracks and such.
I love my glass body, it's taken alot of abuse and still looks good.

 

[TDHofstetter]

Look over that 'glass tub closely for signs of delamination in the fiberglass. Rap on it everywhere with your knuckles, look at each of the flat-plane transitions (like where the floor meets the sidewall, where it meets the wheelwells, anywhere the 'glass changes direction. Grab the side of the tub & shake it a bit - a flimsy lightweight one-layer "race" tub will flex quite a lot, while a heavier-built tub will feel pretty rigid. Mostly, feel for the thickness of the tub - it'll feel either about an inch thick or about a quarter-inch thick.

Depending upon the manufacturer, they may have left a glassed-in label in any of several locations (driver's side firewall, centered behind the seats, nearly anywhere) or none at all. I've got one 'glass tub out front right now with no markings on it - it's a good one, though, sturdily built. Shame the PO sawed a fat ol' 6" hole down through the rear to get to the fuel sending unit.

 

[coldwater]

No I have not even seen the jeep yet, but I wanted some info to have when I did look at it(Sometime next week). Can you see the steel inserts? how can I tell if it a decent shell and where would I find a makers stamp or ID of who made it? The guy may know I just want a little knowledge before I jump into this thing. ....and pay for somthing I may be sorry for later on!

Coldwater pretty well said it. When I bought mine from AJ's they offered 4 differnt models form thin wall "show" to the "offroad" model I bought. Other companies do the same.
The best you can do is check for steel plates with a mag. And just feel how thick it is.
Make sure there are no cracks and such.
I love my glass body, it's taken alot of abuse and still looks good.

There you go. Dog covered it pretty well, including the magnet trick. The quality of tubs varies more than many people think, which causes a lot of misinformation and bad name calling on them for no good reason. The misinformed will see a cheap glass tub fail, and that's it....all glass is junk, which is far from true. There is attention to detail in good tubs that in my opinion, put them on an even playing field with a steel body in strength, and out strips them when it comes to rusting. look for an embedded steel plate in the firewall where the pedal assembly and steering wheel attach. It's easily seen through the glass if It's not been painted. The best bodies will have a resin impregnated balsa wood floor which holds It's integrity when It's drilled out for seat and belt attachment. The balsa is porous and soaks up the resin making a solid thick floor impervious to water. Some bodies are simply a layer of glass, and some have a plywood laminate, which can rot and separate when water gets into the mounting holes drilled into them. You can usually tell where the plywood is coming apart, as it will be spongy at those points. When you knock on the side of the body, good ones will sound like you're knocking on a boat, making a solid feeling thud, and not like hitting a shower wall. Pushing on the side of the cowl and the area behind the door openings should have little to no flex on a good body. See if it is double wall as well, which is the sign of a good body. Look inside up by the E brake pedal and you will find where the double wall stops. It's easily seen if It's there. It may or may not have a tailgate. If It does, a good body will have a heavy welded steel structure embedded into the glass which not only eliminates any cracking, but will be the only body that will allow you to mount the original spare tire rack and not fail. If you look under the body you can see the bulge where the steel is embedded in the glass. If the body is cracked at the bottom of the tailgate opening, It's almost a guarantee that there is no steel. Those are fa few guidelines to look for, and hopefully help you make an informed decision. As far as overall quality on a GOOD body, Old Dog and myself can testify to their ability to handle a good thrashing and come out on top. When I first built my 7 14 years ago, I wheeled the hell out of it with not one single issue. Not one, not ever. It's now just a weekend driver, and looks as good as the day I built it. If I'm not mistaken, Old Dog still stomps his, and I have not heard him complain about his once. Lots of people will tell you that glass bodies will tear out body mounts and fall apart, and maybe that's true for cheap models. Mine has added reinforcement at those points, and they aint gonna fail come hell or high water. Take your time looking it over, and good luck.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

so this is sorta on topic but just more of a riddle me this question. What if you were say running a different than stock Transmission like say an AX15 that pushes the TC back further than any of the stock configurations, how would you modify the tub for the new shifter position if it were glass? With a steel body you just cut the hole as necessary to clear shift linkages and then weld in supports anywhere that seems to have lost its structural integrity, what would you do with a Glass tub?

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Shame the PO sawed a fat ol' 6" hole down through the rear to get to the fuel sending unit.

If it were a steel tub this would just be a matter of carefully measuring out a plate of steel and about 15 minutes with welder or someone who could wel and not a . Not opposed to Glass tubs here as I have never used, seen, or owned on but if I were buying a jeep these would be issues that concerned me.

 

[BigDsCJ7]

I will say, I bought a 86' CJ7 for $2200 and in a year and a half I've invested over $10,000. Now I'm down to the last few cosmetic things. The cheep thin walled fiberglass tub is one of them! Has cracks and no steel in it at all. I have been looking for a used YJ tub in CT for months now and cant find anything that doesn't need a load of work due to rust/damage=$$$$$$$. And now I am considering trying to fix the glass tub I have now. Putting steel reinforcements in from the body mount up to the firewall and a few other places. If I knew how much of a problem this was going to be, I would have done more research on the tub before i purchased it. Over all, I have seen a ton of really nice fiberglass tubs and I feel that is the way to go. Just my thoughts.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I will say, I bought a 86' CJ7 for $2200 and in a year and a half I've invested over $10,000. Now I'm down to the last few cosmetic things. The cheep thin walled fiberglass tub is one of them! Has cracks and no steel in it at all. I have been looking for a used YJ tub in CT for months now and cant find anything that doesn't need a load of work due to rust/damage=$$$$$$$. And now I am considering trying to fix the glass tub I have now. Putting steel reinforcements in from the body mount up to the firewall and a few other places. If I knew how much of a problem this was going to be, I would have done more research on the tub before i purchased it. Over all, I have seen a ton of really nice fiberglass tubs and I feel that is the way to go. Just my thoughts.

Too bad you aren't closer, I know a guy that has two perfect Yj tubs, one good CJ6 tub, 1 good CJ8 tub, 2 CJ7 tubs and some other various rusted out tubs all sitting around his house. But that is here in MObile.

 

[coldwater]

so this is sorta on topic but just more of a riddle me this question. What if you were say running a different than stock Transmission like say an AX15 that pushes the TC back further than any of the stock configurations, how would you modify the tub for the new shifter position if it were glass? With a steel body you just cut the hole as necessary to clear shift linkages and then weld in supports anywhere that seems to have lost its structural integrity, what would you do with a Glass tub?

No problem. I had several Transmission / TC changes in mine. Just open up the hole and make a new trim plate to cover it with the proper cut outs for shifter openings. A good glass tub is pretty strong, and you could pretty much cut out the power train hump from the firewall all the way back to the reinforcement gusset If you needed to. Cheap tubs aren't worth the money you pay for them unless you're going to race them and tear them up. Good glass tubs will outlast 10 steel bodies.

 

[CJSIT960]

What manusfacture makes the best glass tub? Does Anybody know where i can get one?

thx

 

[Posi]

Hi all, I am looking at several jeeps, one has a fiberglass body.
Obviously a 'glass body would be great due to me living in the rust bucket (Ohio) but are there drawbacks or things to look for/beware of?


Thanks
Robb

Drawbacks.........fire!

 

[Greenwithenvy]

I would look into a Shell Valley tub and fenders. I had the standard model, they make a Kevlar model, on my 70' CJ5 . I had no trouble with any cracking, Delamination, or stripped out nuts and washers. Everything fit back on in the same location as the metal body. My frame was completely boxed and reinforced by a full racing cage attached to my frame. The only thing I did not like was the lack of a tail gate, and it was hard to come up with adequate rocker protection, without tying it to the frame.

 

[Hedgehog]

Well, on the bright side it looks like the KC Lites can be salvaged.