Fiberglass doors - NJFBOA - Home of New Jersey's Camaros and Firebirds

String · 05-30-2009, 02:02 PM

Anyone know a company that makes fiberglass doors for 3rd gen camaros? wonder if such a thing exists.

unstable bob gable · 05-30-2009, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by String

Anyone know a company that makes fiberglass doors for 3rd gen camaros? wonder if such a thing exists.

Turd gen Camaro 'glass doors are manf by the following cos.:

http://www.vfnfiberglass.com/site.htm

http://www.hairyglass.com/camaro.html

http://www.glasstek.com/

//<86TA>\\ · 05-30-2009, 08:25 PM

If the car will EVER see street use, glass doors are a deathtrap in the event of a side impact accident. Keep that in mind.

NastyEllEssWon · 05-30-2009, 08:34 PM

yeah fiberglass doors on a street car is not a good idea

Frosty · 05-30-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by //<86TA>\\

If the car will EVER see street use, glass doors are a deathtrap in the event of a side impact accident. Keep that in mind.

...not to mention completely pointless....

String · 05-31-2009, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

...not to mention completely pointless....

Wow just a simple question and you guys get all angry. how is it pointless. stock doors are HEAVY. Your attitude is pointless. I can never ask a question without peoples negative remarks.

Frosty · 05-31-2009, 09:44 AM

Who is getting angry

I said they're completely pointless in response to someone's comment. Unless you're building a full blown drag car it's not worth it for the reasons people listed above...damn us for trying to steer you in the right direction.

String · 05-31-2009, 10:03 AM

damn you!

Frosty · 05-31-2009, 10:17 AM

String · 05-31-2009, 02:39 PM

ANYWAY, haha, I figured doors are heavy as hell and the hinges dont seem to hold up so well over time so fiberglass popped in my mind, like a lightbulb

! Safety who needs safety, weight reduction FTW! haha

WildBillyT · 05-31-2009, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by String

ANYWAY, haha, I figured doors are heavy as hell and the hinges dont seem to hold up so well over time so fiberglass popped in my mind, like a lightbulb

! Safety who needs safety, weight reduction FTW! haha

To the best of my knowledge they are all off-road use only not just because they don't have the side impact capability but because they only have provisions for fixed lexan windows- i.e. no roll-down, no glass.

BonzoHansen · 05-31-2009, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by String

Wow just a simple question and you guys get all angry. how is it pointless. stock doors are HEAVY. Your attitude is pointless. I can never ask a question without peoples negative remarks.

Their attitude was not pointless, they cared just enough to tell you the very big downside to your idea. Nobody was nasty about it. Would it have been better if no one said anything to you, you bought them, and then you got in an accident and the car folded in half? (crashes other than side impact would be bad too).

If you do a full cage buy then buy doors! Do it!

If hinges are the issue someone makes a rebuild kit fro 3rd gens that is beefier & greasable.

BarneyMobile · 05-31-2009, 10:53 PM

I wouldnt call it completely unsafe seeing how all 4 gen doors are fiberglass with metal reinforcement.

btownws6 · 06-01-2009, 04:54 AM

yea but the 4th gen doors are a much stronger build and the fiberglass aftermarket doors would be much weaker in comparison.

BonzoHansen · 06-01-2009, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BarneyMobile

I wouldnt call it completely unsafe seeing how all 4 gen doors are fiberglass with metal reinforcement.

the structure of the cars is different you cannot compare. plus that reinforcement is part of the structure when the door is closed.

2kblackgtp · 06-02-2009, 08:46 PM

I was about to point out how 4th gens have fiberglass doors but someone beat me to it i guess...

Tru2Chevy · 06-02-2009, 08:49 PM

4th gens have fiberglass door skins....not fiberglass doors. HUGE difference there.

- Justin

Frosty · 06-02-2009, 08:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

4th gens have fiberglass door skins....not fiberglass doors. HUGE difference there.

- Justin

DING.

Mike · 06-02-2009, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frosty

DING.

fries are done

Frosty · 06-02-2009, 10:31 PM

BonzoHansen · 06-02-2009, 11:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tru2Chevy

4th gens have fiberglass door skins....not fiberglass doors. HUGE difference there.

- Justin

And different roof & front stub structures.

jims69camaro · 06-14-2009, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonzoHansen

And different roof & front substructures.

it's safe ( ! ) to say that the entire structure of each gen is different enough not to be able to compare them.

fiberglass door skins won't save you that much weight. if the entire structure of the door was 'glass, then it's safe to say you don't want to be in any type of accident. once you start tearing apart the outside structure of a third gen, you will see that it's more than just sheet metal covering the car. the front fenders have reinforcement so that just fiberglass fenders doesn't make enough of a weight savings in and of themselves. the same is true of the door structure. there is enough steel in the reinforcement to make a weight savings, but if you are only going to replace the door skins then you won't see that much of a difference.

this is why you hear of some guys going with a full tube chassis. it's got all of the same connect points as the car's original structure (and if it doesn't, it's not that big of a deal to weld on some ears or a tab here and there) but it weighs significantly less. this is where the term "off road use only" comes into play, because the tube chassis will not withstand the types of crashes you see on the street. but if you went full tube, then you could eliminate the substructures of all of the sheet metal and fiberglass could take the place of the sheet metal... but if you added it all up, i don't think you could take 1000 pounds off of the car by replacing the steel with fiber glass (i could be wrong). remember, while you are saving some weight by removing the substructures and the sheet metal, you are replacing part of it with tube and fiberglass, which weigh something...

so, in the short answer there are people who make fiberglass door skins. but, as you can see, once you start tearing the car apart looking for weight savings you need to replace some of it with tube and then there are the NHRA rules to follow to make sure you pass tech inspection (assuming the car will see some track time).

if all you want is to build a super fast street car then i am sure there is a company out there that could build you a complete front end out of fiberglass... hood, front fenders, then throw in the doors, you could end up in a death trap really quickly.

if it is a street car, and it has t-tops, i know there are lexan replacements. same with the door windows. it might not sound like much, but that glass is heavy, and i'd bet there is 100 pounds there (between the two) to be saved. and the old formula ~100 = ~.10 seconds in the quarter mile...