Hello everyone! Picked up a 2800 (1971) and not sure if I got lucky or have lots of work ahead. The guy I bought it from picked it up at an estate sale where the previous owner was planning on make it a race car but then changed his mind. Not sure if I buy the racecar story but car has fiberglass fenders, hood, trunk and to my untrained eyes it was hard to believe they were fiber glass. paint job is good but not sure if I got lucky or have lots of work ahead! Regardless it'll be a journey and looking forward to giving her some more TLC.
New... Lucky or lots of work ahead?
- Thread starter Ivan O
- Start date
Looks good from the outside.
But you mention something that raises my interest....Fiberglass fenders are a bit strange, as the front fenders are a originally welded on, as they are part of the structural integrity of the car. If one would just cut out the fenders and replace them with fibregass, how would the rigidity of the front end be maintained?
It seems like all the bits are present and make it a nice drivers. I mean interior etc. Biggest question to me would be the rust monster.
Did you have a look up into the area behind the glove box, atop where the vertical part of the firewall meets the side of the A-pillar ? That is a tell tale spot for corrosion.
Other spots are the rockers / sills. Your car seems to have the screw- on rocker mouldings (also called decorative trim) on the sides. They are a metal plate running front to back, with a clipped on chrome+rubber trim. The entire metal plate can be unbolted; it offers a view of the outer (first) of the 3 layers that make the sill. The intermediate (2nd) layer is hidden inside the sill and can only be seen with a optic fibre camera through some inspection holes on the inside. The 3rd layer of the sill is the interior side, can be viewed when lifting the carpets.
When looking from under the car, with the rocker moulding removed, you can see the spotwelded seam of the outer (1st) and inner (3rd) layer together.
Last point are the 4, round, drain holes.
If those locations look solid, you have one less worry.
But you mention something that raises my interest....Fiberglass fenders are a bit strange, as the front fenders are a originally welded on, as they are part of the structural integrity of the car. If one would just cut out the fenders and replace them with fibregass, how would the rigidity of the front end be maintained?
It seems like all the bits are present and make it a nice drivers. I mean interior etc. Biggest question to me would be the rust monster.
Did you have a look up into the area behind the glove box, atop where the vertical part of the firewall meets the side of the A-pillar ? That is a tell tale spot for corrosion.
Other spots are the rockers / sills. Your car seems to have the screw- on rocker mouldings (also called decorative trim) on the sides. They are a metal plate running front to back, with a clipped on chrome+rubber trim. The entire metal plate can be unbolted; it offers a view of the outer (first) of the 3 layers that make the sill. The intermediate (2nd) layer is hidden inside the sill and can only be seen with a optic fibre camera through some inspection holes on the inside. The 3rd layer of the sill is the interior side, can be viewed when lifting the carpets.
When looking from under the car, with the rocker moulding removed, you can see the spotwelded seam of the outer (1st) and inner (3rd) layer together.
Last point are the 4, round, drain holes.
If those locations look solid, you have one less worry.
Fiberglas or aluminum? Aluminum hood and trunk were available for the CSL and would be quite valuable now, but as Erik said, fiberglas fenders would be very unusual. I'd like to see photos of the fiberglas parts.
Congratulations, it certainly looks good from the one picture.
Ian
Congratulations, it certainly looks good from the one picture.
Ian
jmackro
Well-Known Member
The guy's heirs may have confused "building a race car" with "restoring a rusted car". While e9 hoods don't tend to rust, trunk lids and fenders certainly do. So he may have installed fiberglass parts as a way of ensuring there would be no further rust.
As eriknetherlands wrote, check for rust in other areas: rockers, floors, etc. If my theory about fiberglass for rust repair is correct, the rust would not have been confined to the outer panels.
And good luck with it! I'd say that you are both lucky AND have lots of work ahead!
As eriknetherlands wrote, check for rust in other areas: rockers, floors, etc. If my theory about fiberglass for rust repair is correct, the rust would not have been confined to the outer panels.
And good luck with it! I'd say that you are both lucky AND have lots of work ahead!
'69 2800cs
Well-Known Member
mrglasscar was making fiberglass panels years ago...s search of that name will bring up some old threads. Not sure if he is still around.
MrGlass is still around but you need to call him. His name is Skip
(714) 527-3121
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(714) 527-3121
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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Erik,
You have had the pleasure of hacking into your rockers and the lower front fender, so you know more about this than I. I was under the impression that the inner fender, and the two support structures hiding behind the front fender provide nearly all of the front end rigidity for the strut towers. As far as I know, most of the lateral portion of the fender (that follows the door seam) is floating, with no welds. The outer fender is welded at the lowest point near the rocker, to the inner fender along the top, and is brazed to the A pillar, and obviously welded to the nose. I'm probably wrong, but seems reasonable to me that you could run front fenders without any structural issues.
jmackro
Well-Known Member
I would tend to agree. After all, It is believed that CSL's had lighter gauge steel fenders, and they were heavily used in racing where the forces on the unibody are greater.
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Thanks for chiming in Sven! As a professional architect and experienced e9 surgeon, what is your take on the structural significance of the outer fender?
Yes, I would say it does contribute to the front structure. Most body panels on this car have a structural role, even the roof. It is part of the unibody design concept.
Perhaps if a fiberglass panel has actually been used, depending on how it is attached to the steel portions, it may be able to contribute roughly equivalent support. I wouldn't want to test it myself.
Perhaps if a fiberglass panel has actually been used, depending on how it is attached to the steel portions, it may be able to contribute roughly equivalent support. I wouldn't want to test it myself.
jmackro
Well-Known Member
Arrgh - you're right. My post has been edited accordingly.
Snap some pics of the glass work. It would be cool to see! Welcome btw!
From what you've shown so far, I would say you're lucky. Looks clean and well done. I can only assume the fiberglass panels replaced rusted out components. Jury is still out until you've inspected the rockers with close scrutiny of pillar bases. Given the question of structural stability, you may benefit from a strut brace. Furthermore, if you could ride in an all steel coupe to compare rides, I'd be very interested to get your feedback.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
Just for those interested; Lightweight CLS's used 0,7 mm panel thickness for the front and rear fenders instead of 0,8mm for the 'normal' CS/Csi's.
Erik.
Erik.