Bellypan

[gt crazy]

Ok so my opel has the california front spoiler and some mysterious side skirts that i never seen before car was bought this way. Ok anyways I finally made up my mind that i like stock better so thats what im aiming for. I know OGTS has fiberglass bellypan which is 270. i dont care for money as long as i will never have to worry about it again. but my question is this belly pan any good? Will it still be holding in another 20 years? And is it worth the money.

[Sparky73]

It's a pretty nice reproduction. Like any fiberglass panel, some work needs to be done to it to make it perfect. There is going to be minor imperfections in the fiberglass.. and the primer that comes on it will have to be sanded down. On my body kit, it seemed as if the coating of primer would chip off, so I just sanded it down and coated it with myself.

The only problem with fiber glass is if you hit anything.. it is more prone to damage. Metal will sometimes pop back out, or you can hammer it back to original shape.. but fiberglass will have to be fixed and re-painted.

[gt crazy]

do you suggest that i have a proffesional install it or do it at home project?

[Sparky73]

Do you have any experience with body work? Your going to need to use fiberglass and body filler (bondo) to blend the car to the new belly pan. I will have to find the forum, but I know there was one about the best way to attach fiberglass body panels.

Having it done professionally would be EXPENSIVE. Not sure on your budget, but I would only go this route if you have no confidence in yourself. Remember.. with body work, you can't really make it worse. If you screw up, it can usually be re-done.

[gt crazy]

well im not very experienced at all in body work but my dad is pretty handy at it.

ok one last question. there is that body line that is hidden underneath the bumper. does that split in 2 horizontally when you take the rusty old one off. because mine is kinda start to pop apart horizontally

[broszzy]

it's spot welded all the way around

Broszzy

[gt crazy]

when i put the fiberglass bellypan on do i want to take it apart or leave it alone.

[opelspyder]

The belly pan is nice from GT Source, but I am not so sure I would want to install another. It takes some extra fitting, like the back lower flange was not long enough in certain areas and fiberglass had to be added here. The front has to be cut on to clear the turn signal housings, and the grilles are another challenge. Here is a link to the posts on the install, I just do not know which would save you money-having the rusty original repaired, or fitting the fiberglass one. Also the inside of the fibre one is unfinished, and pretty rough-we reworked that out as well

http://www.opelgt.com/forums/opel-gt...ownload-5.html

Keith

[jordan]

Originally Posted by Sparky73 Having it done professionally would be EXPENSIVE. Not sure on your budget, but I would only go this route if you have no confidence in yourself. Remember.. with body work, you can't really make it worse. If you screw up, it can usually be re-done.

I disagree, I have seen a lot of body work thoroughly screwed up causing many more frustrating hours. Like when people just start torching apart body work in chunks instead of methodically creating patch panels with the aid of existing rusted areas as a kind of "contour" template. And then carefully cutting away the affected area layer by layer.

[gt crazy]

well the thing is.... i dont have a rusty belly pan to repair lol its almost completly gone

[DennisGardiner]

To GT Crazy

If you are going to install any fiberglass panel, you want to have a nice big bond surface. So you will want to have about 2 to 3 inches of the old steel belly pan left under the pinch weld (under the bumper).
This way you will have more than enough material for a solid, tight and water proof bond. On my GT I used 'Marine Epoxy' back in 1991, and it is solid still today. {Hey, those boat guys know their stuff!}

[Sparky73]

Originally Posted by jordan I disagree, I have seen a lot of body work thoroughly screwed up causing many more frustrating hours. Like when people just start torching apart body work in chunks instead of methodically creating patch panels with the aid of existing rusted areas as a kind of "contour" template. And then carefully cutting away the affected area layer by layer.

That I do agree with. I was talking more about body filler and such. I was figuring he didn't really have a belly pan to start with, like he stated.

[Sparky73]

gt crazy; Maybe you could post a wanted Ad in the boards and see if anyone has an original steel belly pan in decent condition. With a lack of body work, this may be an easier route. That way you could repair any necessary rust or dents while it is off of the car, and install it when you are happy with the condition.