Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

How-to building, restoration, repairs, and fun with your authentic Manx!
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surfnc
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Location: Outer Banks NC 27954

Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by surfnc »

I did a thread on this on the Samba but figured it would be helpful here.

I have done this on 4 Manxes now and found this to be the easiest way to accomplish this task. (others may have a better way and I welcome any comments)

I start with the bare hood (no bracket or ABS dash.
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I made a stand so it is at a good level for me.

I then use an angle grinder to rough up the underside of the hood where it will attach to the dash. This gives a good bonding surface for the resin to bond to.
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I then match the two parts to see how well they match up. I then grind away the high spots on the hood. (it is usually thinner and faster to sand)
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I use stainless steel bolts and fender washers to hold the parts in place. (I used the existing holes in the hood to run the bolts)
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I use welding clamps to hold the lower outside edges flush.
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You can see that I also roughed up the inside of the dash.
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Here are the clamps I use and you can see that I used a paint stick to protect the gel coat.
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I ran some painters tape at the joint to keep the resin from dripping through.
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Here is the first layer of glass and resin layed out. Try not to get it on the bolts. (not too big a deal if you do just easier later when you remove them)
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You want to glass the corners at the bottom as well.
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Once you have a few layers down and it cures out you can remove the bolts.
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With the bolts removed and the lower corner bonded securely I move the clamps up to match the edge of the hood to the dash.
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Now you want to lay down a few more layers of glass to cover the hole spaces. You also want to make sure you get the corners as well.
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Here you can see that I have glassed the entire side up to the "bottom" of the hood and dash.
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Here is the outside view.
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After the resin cures out completely, all tape and clamps are removed. You will notice that one or both sides will be a little uneven. This is because the dash is made to go under the hood as well and is just a bit short of the hood outside dimension. Do not worry about this since the windshield will cover this up and will never be seen.
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Not the best picture but you can see it better here. The excess resin will also be covered up.
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View of completed hood dash assembly.
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Comments and questions are welcome.

Vince
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joescoolcustoms
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Location: Saint Albans, WV

Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by joescoolcustoms »

Thanks Vince! I have three dash's to attach to hoods this year and that helps.
YumaManx
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Location: Lodi, Ca

Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by YumaManx »

I used this technique from Vince and it works great. Thanks for all your great tips and insight. Rick
FulsGld
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by FulsGld »

Thanks Vince;

I too have a dash to install on my other ManxVair. This is the procedure I'll use also. Thanks again for posting this here.

Gary Berry
Prosser, WA
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surfnc
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by surfnc »

Rick, you are very welcome, any pictures of your Manx? I have always liked the Yuma Yellow ones.

Gary, you are welcome too. Any pictures of your Manx?

Vince
FulsGld
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by FulsGld »

Vince;

This is the buggy that is missing the dash (you can see it is missing in this picture). I have already had a new dash made and I need to install it, so your procedure is just in time. I've been repairing the rest of the body and I still have more work to do on the very front of the hood. Fun project...

Image

Image

Gary Berry
Prosser, WA
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surfnc
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by surfnc »

Garry,

Nice Manxvair! Can you post some more pictures in the gallery? I would like to see more of the chassis and how the wheel offset compares to the fenders.

Here is another thread that might help you with the hood:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... ght=ripped

If you have another Manx hood you can take a partial mold off it, line everything up perfectly and fill in that missing piece. Here is a picture of the mold I made to repair a Manx 2 hood.
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Here is a thread on what to do with the mold:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... old+making

Vince
YumaManx
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by YumaManx »

[album][/album]

There she is! Hope it works?
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FulsGld
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by FulsGld »

Hey Vince;

Here's a couple of pictures of FULSGLD, my other ManxVair. I had the body off a number of years ago so I could get to the band adjustment on the powerglide transmission. This shows what the backend looks like and how wide the tires are. These ar 10:50x15 tires on 10" rims. Also, a picture of FULSGLD with the body on and how the tires stickout. I'm pulling the body off in March to install a different engine and maybe a 4-speed. We shall see...

GaryB in WA

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Locan
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by Locan »

I'm in the process of putting a new dash in and the hood back on, this process required? Or can you bolt it back together like the same way it came apart?
Any comments would be appreciated thank you
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surfnc
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Re: Fiberglassing New Fiberglass Dash to Manx 1 Hood

Post by surfnc »

Locan,
If you have the instructions from Meyers Manx it indicates that you can bevel the forward edge of the dash to go under the hood.
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