The E-series Build.

[Sethodine]

Do we really know that the body panels are "glued", or is this just a guess?

 

[champsman]

Do we really know that the body panels are "glued", or is this just a guess?

It was stated a long while back they would be glued, just like corvetes

 

[Coss]

I don't know if this is how they've made the panels, but the smart way to go would be...
have little "spearhead" shaped nubs molded into the body...
That pop through the holes in the metal body tabs with moderate force...
And they themselves keep the body pressed against the metal tabs etc. while the glue cures.

Or, better yet, the nubs could be shaped so that spring clips would draw the panels tight...
Similar to the hood pin set up.

Correct; they started using that method on the Fiero's, then the (what I called) the "aardvark vans" long sloping hood; there was the Olds Silhouette, the Pontiac Trans Sport, and the Chevy Lumina APV; they were all the GM U platform
Then the Corvettes, and I believe they still use the plastic body panels on other GM's
It's not so much glue as a single stage epoxy; once it's on there, it's on there for good, that stuff is a nightmare to separate.
When you do body work, you don't usually take off the whole panel unless it's 80% damaged; GM recommends you cut out the damaged section only, and them blend a new piece in. You don't use fiberglass, there's a special material they have, made specifically for the plastic panels.
Fiberglass doesn't have the same flexibility and expand/contract rate as the plastic; same goes for the paint; you have to use a paint that flexes; that's also why the wraps work so well.

PPphhhewwww........

 

[Ty]

Correct; they started using that method on the Fiero's, then the (what I called) the "aardvark vans" long sloping hood; there was the Olds Silhouette, the Pontiac Trans Sport, and the Chevy Lumina APV; they were all the GM U platform
Then the Corvettes, and I believe they still use the plastic body panels on other GM's
It's not so much glue as a single stage epoxy; once it's on there, it's on there for good, that stuff is a nightmare to separate.
When you do body work, you don't usually take off the whole panel unless it's 80% damaged; GM recommends you cut out the damaged section only, and them blend a new piece in. You don't use fiberglass, there's a special material they have, made specifically for the plastic panels.
Fiberglass doesn't have the same flexibility and expand/contract rate as the plastic; same goes for the paint; you have to use a paint that flexes; that's also why the wraps work so well.

PPphhhewwww........

I think he meant "it was said a while back that the panels would be glued on like the Corvette" which is what Paul said. He didn't mean the process started with the Corvette. Man, I remember wanting one of those Fieros when they came out. I was but a poor wee lass.

 

[Frim]

I think he meant "it was said a while back that the panels would be glued on like the Corvette" which is what Paul said. He didn't mean the process started with the Corvette. Man, I remember wanting one of those Fieros when they came out. I was but a poor wee lass.

You were a lass before you were a lad? I would never have guessed

 

[AriLea]

Tell me about it; but I never used Loctite on my 42 45"; always Nylock nuts on everything, and you never reuse them unless it's an emergency repair.
And that's part of the trick with Nylocks; most people keep trying to use them over an over; after the second or at most 3rd time they don't lock any longer.

A number of people that were on the team worked at Boeing, we found out that the head bolts for a B-17 fit the Harley's so one of the formen at the machine shops ordered a bunch of them, and we bought them at Boeing cost. Sweet deal.


View attachment 9442

OH! I miss Boeing Surplus back in the old days. I got some of the coolest stuff from there, when it had a consumer sales outlet. It's exceptionally hard to find that kind of store these days.

 

[AriLea]

Plus the plant in Shreveport came with stamping equipment.

Yep, I hope this means they actually tooled up one of the presses at the plant, and that's where they did it.
But I think it more likely they had the tooling fabricated by a contractor near the assembly location, and stamped everything for the 25 mules as the verification.
At least you know tooling for this was done. It's a really big deal, getting that tooling design for stamping is usually a big development cost to get to a final verified geometry.
Then making all the tools needed for full production, is also a 'big deal'. But yet more predictable than final design.

 

[NSTG8R]

OH! I miss Boeing Surplus back in the old days. I got some of the coolest stuff from there, when it had a consumer sales outlet. It's exceptionally hard to find that kind of store these days.

Here ya go, Ari!

https://investmentrecovery.boeing.com/surplus/FeaturedAuctions.aspx

 

[AriLea]

Here ya go, Ari!

https://investmentrecovery.boeing.com/surplus/FeaturedAuctions.aspx

NICE!, But do they still have the walk-in store with all the nuts&Bolts and aluminum gizmos' on benches? I got most of my material from Boeing for my Tad-pole trike project back in 1982, including the rivets and aluminum sheet.

Edited: K, I checked online.. The results are not what I'd have liked..

http://www.seattlepi.com/business/a...e-surplus-store-in-Kent-on-Dec-21-1251205.php

After 35 years of selling office furniture, hand tools, gloves and safety glasses, The Boeing Co. is pulling the plug on its version of a corporate garage sale.
Boeing's surplus store in Kent will close Dec. 21 because, the company said, it could more efficiently get rid of extra goods, and it has fewer items to sell.
"We have less stuff at the end of the pipeline to get rid of. That is the major driver," said Dean Tougas, a Boeing spokesman.
"And there are new, more efficient ways to manage the sales of surplus materials than there were years ago when we opened the surplus store."

 

[NSTG8R]

That IS a bummer. It was too far away for me to check out, except for on the company website, and I always wished they had one here in St. Louis. Thank goodness for Ebay!