steel body??

[lwkinderknecht]

i am stuck in analysis/ paralysis about buying a hot rod kit. does anyone have experience with the steel body fitment? are the doors pre hung? is the hardtop still composite/glass? i think the glass body looks daunting at best. just afraid i can't complete if started. any thoughts??

[JOP33]

I was in build school with a gentlemen from Canada that had purchased one of the first steel bodies...he had already experienced delays from FFR due to fitment issues (this was in March). I was told by FFR when I ordered my kit the top was still currently fiberglass and "that when the engineers decided to work on a steel top option it would then be available".

[Mick Scarborough]

FFR seems to be hush hush on any developments. I put out a steel body question on the "Ask an FFR tech" section and never got a response. Frankly I dont see it happening any time soon. But to answer the posters question. From what I have read the top will still be glass but should mate to the steel body the same as it does with the glass body. The doors will be pre hung but the real questions are if the areas that need to be cut out on the glass body (door catch, window channel etc) will be pre-cut. Cutting glass is easy but cutting steel window channels would be a PITA and lead to many errors among builders.

[DaveS53]

I noticed precut slots for windows on the steel body pictures, but those openings also need to be flanged on both sides, to provide a surface for attaching a proper outside sill weatherstrip and an inside whisker strip. FFR has totally ignored this problem with the 'glass body and left buyers with a major headache to deal with. There's no excuse for that, after selling over 1000 kits.

Don't think that a steel body will greatly reduce body prep time. I've read magazine articles about prepping other steel reproduction bodies. It still requires a lot of filler and/or high build polyester primer and a lot of sanding to get all of the panels straight. It will also require some hammer and dolly expertise to knock down the high spots.

[Mick Scarborough]

Yep, weather stripping on the channels would be an issue. I guess a flange could be welded on if FFR didnt do it. Its just tough to swallow that this isnt a better option. For 13K I can get a 1st gen Camaro body fro Dynacorn that has every bolt hole, clip, tab, channel, etc ready to bolt the subframes on. They require a bit of finish but at least all the little bits are there. I would expect the same for a 10k (much smaller) FFR body.