Bodies

[flandersander]

Are there any other kinds of bodies other than lexan? like aluminum?

 

[itsalifeworthliving]

you'd have to fabricate aluminum. but it only works for certain applications. and in order for it to be some what "nice' you would need some bending tools and would have to do a fair amount of skilled welding.. they are genarily used in sand rails and sprint style or dirt ovel cars.. lexan is the cheapest and easest with the best resolts.. imo

 

[flandersander]

yeah. well i don't exactly have an aluminum welding shop so I suppose that went out the window. is there anything else? any other kind of body other than lexan?

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Lexan is used so much for a reason. It's very, very lightweight in comparison to fiberglass or aluminum, something like that. It is also very flexible, so it gives and returns to it's orginal position, wheres as fiberglass cracks and shatters, and it's clear so you can paint it from the inside to protect the paint. I've thought about building bodies from other stuff but so far I think that Lexan and carbon fiber seem to be the best materials that I've found.

 

[flandersander]

Yeah they seem pretty sturdy. What about making your own. Like I know you can buy lexan sheets are they for heating and puting over a mold then sucking all the air out? or Can you even make your own?

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I have no idea about the mold with lexan, I've only used and been around fiberglass molds. I do, however, know that building the mold is a huge process as I've been watching the process from some guys on the forums that are designing and building lexan bodies, and the mold making and then forming the Lexan was a VER Y long process for them, keeping in mind that this is someone where the money is not an issue, so I would think for an individual it would take quite a bit of work to get it done. Let me know how it goes, I would love to hear from you if you decide to give it a try. I'm all in all the time for guys who do their own custom fabrication.

 

[flandersander]

As much as I would love to try it, it sounds like WAY TOO MUCH WORK. In fact i could probably work for a couple days and buy a whole bunch rather than building my own. however I would like a hummer body. Not sure if they sell them but my LHS never has any.