Has anyone stored the body in an attic?

[Richk]

I just got my kit yesterday and was wondering if the heat in the attic would affect the fiberglass at all.
I live in Florida so it gets pretty hot up there. But it would be a good place to store it while I work on the rest of car.

[Hobby Racer]

I could not say for certain, but the amount of heat you most likely get in an attic in Florida would allow the panels to deform if they were not supported in exactly the shape you want them on the car. Not easy to do when storing.

[aquillen]

The thing is, when someone wants to "straighten" a mis-fit body part, they usually use a combination of heat and pressure. This might be some weights and sunlight, or anything else that is handy. So generally expect that heat you get in a warm climate + attic is going to make it very easy for the body parts to reshape and the question is how much (and how much do you want to fix back later).

I'm storing mine in my garage attic, and it gets warm up there in the summer but not like in a house attic or Florida attic.

I spent a fair effort in making support blocks all along the parts and eyeballing where they might sag or bend over time, and supporting those spots. Do that and you probably can put them in your attic with minimal changes, but don't be surprised. Heck you probably will have to tune them into shape no matter where you store them anyway.

See what others say who did store in hot attics ?

Pete?

[Hindsight]

I stored mine in the crawl space so they wouldn't deform. I wouldn't put them in the attic because the constant heating/cooling cycles will cause the fiberglass to harden and become less flexible and more prone to cracking. You have to flex the panels quite a lot when installing them to get the right fit so I wouldn't want them cracking on me when I did that. Heck, even storing them in the crawl space, the rear side sails had a tiny bit of cracking where they mount to the upper perches. Put them in the basement or crawlspace if you can, otherwise I'd suggest a small climate controlled public storage facility, or a friend with a basement or crawlspace.

[Snail]

this has got me thinking...I don't think I have any ideal location (dry, free from deep temp cycling and large enough) to store the fiberglass body.

do you think FFR would send the entire kit without fiberglass, you build completely, then they send you the balance? It would avoid storage, and you have fresh body panels only when you're ready.

[Ajzride]

this has got me thinking...I don't think I have any ideal location (dry, free from deep temp cycling and large enough) to store the fiberglass body.

do you think FFR would send the entire kit without fiberglass, you build completely, then they send you the balance? It would avoid storage, and you have fresh body panels only when you're ready.

My experience has been that shipping costs from FFR are crazy expensive. You could probably rent a climate controlled storage unit for a significant amount of time for the cost of a second shipping crate.

[Snail]

My experience has been that shipping costs from FFR are crazy expensive. You could probably rent a climate controlled storage unit for a significant amount of time for the cost of a second shipping crate.

good point; i guess it depends where you're located. FFR is about a 5 hour drive from me, and I'd tend to want to make a road trip out of it.

...just thinking out loud

[RAMRobAZ]

Can’t be much worse than 130 degrees in my Phoenix garage.

[RJD]

Is making a mobile over/under body buck an option for you? With wheel dollies, you can roll out the chassis from beneath the body when ready to work.

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[UnhipPopano]

So far all the images I have seen, the panels are either hanging from the ceiling or from the walls. Has anyone come up with a buck for the 818?

[frankc5r]

So far all the images I have seen, the panels are either hanging from the ceiling or from the walls. Has anyone come up with a buck for the 818?

Tom Wallace has made one.

[DSR-3]

For reference; My bodywork was stored 3 years "out back" full exposure, in random positions/no support. I tried to keep the hood on/against flat surfaces, and a brick under the trunk rear-edge so it didn't get flat. I didn't notice any weird deformation, etc. when hanging the body on the car. Biggest downside was it got super dirty, and the duct tape and foam were left on the whole time so no fun to remove and clean-up that mess! Dedicated neglect...