Re: Fiberglass body

["Jason and Maria Colavecchia" <jasoncolavecchia@domain.elided>]

If you read my last post, you will see my feelings on what is better...

However, There are some things you should know about the fibreglas bodies:

1/  they do not tolerate impact as well as metal.  Metal bodies can take
quite a beating and repairs are fairly straightforward.  In some cases, you
can reuse the original panels simply by removing the dents or using body
filler.  Fibreglas is pretty flexible, but won't simply bend out of shape.
It WILL shatter or break, and you may end up replacing entire panels
instead of doing a minor patch job.
This kinda goes for the rest of the body, too.  
2/  On the other hand, if you are knowledgeable about fibreglas, the
previous problems might be negligible!
3/ All of the totally f/g scouts I have seen are MUCH lighter than an
original.  This is extremely noticeable when you look at the springs, as
they will hardly look like they have any weight on them.  This is
significant, since it will change how the scout operates, especially for
things like acceleration and payload.  You might want to hold off on any
suspension modifications until after you have installed the body.  You
might have an entirely different situation that you have to deal with once
it is in place.
4/ Despite the efforts of the body manufacturers,  these kits still leave
alot of the work unfinished.  Things like holes for lights, mounting holes,
and many other features are often uncut, and require a fair amount of
measuring to make sure everything locates correctly when assembling.  This
can be an advantage, especially if you are looking to replace some hardware
with more modern or accessible parts. (ie marker lights, latches, etc)
5/  The fibreglas bodies, while strong and somewhat resilient, do not
protect the occupants as well as metal does.  I would really suggest some
kind of full rollcage which acts doubly as added protection in a crash as
well as extra reinforcing.  The windshield frames are especially
problematic if you are going to a convertible, and I recommend some kind of
bars from the rollbar to help support it in its position.

Overall, I find the fibreglas bodies have more advantages than
disadvantages, and I would recommend them to most Scout users. 
----------
: From: Hans Chr <hacri@domain.elided>
: To: ihc@domain.elided
: Subject: SV: Fiberglass body
: Date: Saturday, January 16, 1999 9:52 AM
: 
: If i don't remember wrong there are several of you out there that have
fiberglass bodied Scout II.
: It is a sad fact that the body on my Scout is beond all repair,so i'm
wondering how do the fiberglass hold up so far,(here in Norway we have cold
winters about 6 months of the year.).
: I'm looking thru my catalogs of IH vendors i see fiberglassbodies but who
makes them (Kentrol,Howertron???)
: I have a catalog from US Body Source where they have two diffrent Scout
bodies,Heavy Duty and Light Weight
: Anybody know of anything about these bodies and the supplier.
: 
: Best regards 
: 
: Hans Chr Aasenden
: NORWAY