Project C4, 85 Corvette

[Steve85]

Here is the top with the big fat crack from my kids climbing on the car



There was some separation that left about an 1/8" gap for about half the length of the crack which presents a problem for the acrylic adhesive I was going to use so I had to break out the stuff Iused to put the hood scoop on.


So armed with SMC panel adhesive, a strip of fiberglass cloth and IPS Corporation Weld-On #40 Acrylice Adhesive I prepped the underside surface with 400 grit


I put SMC adhesive down, then the cloth, then SMC adhesive on top.


In the area the joint was still tight, I used the acrylic adhesive and some weight to level the two surfaces being glued. the glossy "river" between the roughed up area is the acrylic adhesive. The crack is about 10" longer than you can see here. It was shaped like a nike swoosh. It wraps back around the air gun I used for weight.


From the top, you could see the SMC/Fiberglass repair so I painted it flat black which hid it quite well (when viewed from the exterior).


I also had to paint the 1/8" strip on top (exterior) that the SMC sealed. So finished product from the top...


All in all I am pretty happy. The goal was to have a usable top w/out spending 500-1000. I hate that it really is a suburbaneck engineered repair but oh well. I just need to clean up the tape goo...

BTW, It knows I'm looking to replace it. It has been running smooth and very strong lately. Not sure I can go back to just over 200hp. Actually it isn't HP I care about, it's the 330+ ft/lbs of torque from 2000-6000 rpm I love, no waiting, it's just there, all the time, any time.