Reputable dealer for 57 ford fiberglass body parts?

[410ranchero]

I'm looking to get some fiberglass parts for my 57 and it seems like every company I found has 6 pages of lawsuits as the first hits on google when I search them(suncoast, showcars). Is there any reputable company that makes fiberglass parts for 57 fords? I'm looking for a one piece front end, or at least fenders and a hood. I missed a set of fenders on EBay about a month ago for $100! Kinda kicking my self over that one.

[cammerfe]

It's been several years but it used to be possible to get FG parts for '57 Fords in the JC Whitney catalog.

KS

[410ranchero]

interesting, were they any good?

[Heo]

The thing with fiberglass...If you take a steel
body panel from another car it almost never
fits 100 %. Not even new oem parts fits
  But with steel you can bend, it stretch it,
hammer it in shape and it stays there.
But fiberglass springs back .And if the fiberglass
parts have been sitting on a shelf it change shape
after a while. Dont buy it Before you are ready to
mount it and buy it fresh from the mold.
So dont kick your self for not getting the ebay fenders
probably been on a shelf for years.
Fiberglass parts have a bad rumor beacuse of this
Yes there is realy bad fiberglass parts out there
but some are better but not perfect
But almost no steel parts is 100%perfect
take a look at the amount of shims on some fenders
And with a frame built car things can realy missmatch
depending on how the frame/body is shimed
a perfect fitting door from one car can take a lot of
persuading with 2by 4,and portopower and shimming
to fit Another car.
If you try that with fiberglass you end up with  broken parts

[machoneman]

Think your best bet is to join this site, cruise the ads and/or place your own ad for the fenders.

http://www.1957ford.com/index.aspx

Not sure if Whitney still sells fiberglass repos these days but you could check their website and/or call 'em.

Being a Chicagoan when JCW was still on S. State St. in downtown Chicago long ago, one could visit their retail site. I do distinctly remember that they had some '55 or '57 Chevy glass fenders on the floor. Picked one up and was shocked. The 'glass fender weighed more than the OEM steel fender! Odd at the time but they did look very good and IIRC were hand-laid, strips of reinforcing mat pieces, not the "chopper gun" type used some years later.  Unless the new 'glass parts weigh less than the steel ones, if your looking to save weight,  I'd stop right now, skip most of the 'glass stuff, add gennie steel parts, and look elsewhere for true weight savings.  JMO! 

[jayb]

For what it's worth, when I switched to fiberglass parts for my '64 Galaxie I reduced the weight of the car by 235 pounds.  The front and rear bumpers and brackets were good for 50 pounds each, the hood and the trunk lid were good for 50 pounds each, and the front fenders, inner fenders, and core support combined were only good for a weight savings of 35 pounds!  If I had to do it again, I'd keep the fenders and core support steel, and just replace the hood, trunk lid, and bumpers with fiberglass parts.

[machoneman]

Went back and read my post and made a change to clarify. I agree with Jay that IF you can get lightweight '57 parts.....go for it. The old school JCW 'glass parts that were considerably heavier likely aren't even around anymore! 

[Heo]

If you have 2 layers hand laid parts they can take a prety good hit
and just flex but Heavy choppergun parts "explode" when they are hit
A friend of me have a fiberglass production Company
he use  some thing thats called Firete mat to reinforce hoods 
so they keep the shape (you can walk on a hood laid on the floor)
The heat from the headers and turbos and so on can warp a hood
pretty much

[410ranchero]

Thanks for the replies fellas!

I did some more research and it seems there is a place called Suncoast Racecars(not Suncoast creations) that has a pretty good rep. They made the body for MegaFord if you are familiar with that car. I'll give them a call and see what the wait time and prices and weight savings would be.

More inner fenders and core support are in great shape, of course being a 57 the fenders need some work, and about 150 bucks in patches in each, so I think cost wise it might be a wash. I want to keep it looking stock, but a fiberglass tilt front wouldn't be noticed unless it was open.

I think the one piece would be less hassle in the long run, as opposed to trying to get fiberglass fenders to match up to the rest of the parts I have.

I was surprised when I took it all apart to find the drivers side fender had 2 shims in the rear by the cowl, and the passenger side had over an inch of shims!

[Heo]

Yes thats exactly what im talking about  and people buy fiberglass parts
and expect them to line up 100 % with out shiming and when they dont
they blame the fiberglass parts.
Yes there are many real bad fiberglass parts out there but not Always the case