Fiberglass or FRP??

[pantera928]

Just listened to the old video of Steve Blake in the Avanti plant. He said that the cars were actually FRP and not fiberglass. Were the original cars FRP or if not, when did the change take place?

[mfg]

52 minutes ago, pantera928 said:

Just listened to the old video of Steve Blake in the Avanti plant. He said that the cars were actually FRP and not fiberglass. Were the original cars FRP or if not, when did the change take place?

The originals (up to the Blake era) were old school fiberglass.

[pantera928]

2 hours ago, mfg said:

The originals (up to the Blake era) were old school fiberglass.

So 1984 and up were FRP or did he start in late 83?

[mfg]

13 minutes ago, pantera928 said:

So 1984 and up were FRP or did he start in late 83?

That's a very good question..I know my '83 is 'old school'.....I'm guessing all the '83's were built like mine.

 

[pantera928]

12 minutes ago, mfg said:

That's a very good question..I know my '83 is 'old school'.....I'm guessing all the '83's were built like mine.

 

I am guessing that when he redid the bumpers for 1984, he made that change unless he misstated in the video interview

[Geoff]

The originals were fiberglass. I recall fixing 1025 from my 1997 oops. My dad and I were into actual "white fiberglass" in many sections. The problem was trying not to use FRP for the fix, because so many people and places sell later Avanti parts.

I think Avanti started with FRP about the time other marques started with FRP, think other "plastic fantastics" like C4 Corvette and Fiero. Although I think late C3 Corvettes utilized FRP too. FRP has fiberglass in it (that's the F), it just contains other things.

Then there's SMC resin, which also contains fiberglass. This is the resin with the release agent contained, so body panels can be quickly stamped, formed, and released.

https://www.ensignautobody.com/car-talk/2016/12/30/fiberglass-smc-carbon-fiber-and-beyond
https://careertrend.com/facts-7762808-smc-fiberglass.html