Why a Fibreglass roof & not an Aluminium one?

[Marque]

Good afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen

Looking at the state of my vehicle's roof got me wondering why Martin Walter used Fibreglass rather than pressing an all Aluminium roof.

They must have been aware of the relative strength of Aluminium. So what drove the decision to fibreglass?

Ease of mold production (like TVR's terrific bodywork - relatively easy to form)?

Kindest regards
Mark

[Teriann]

My guess is because it was cheap to make and didn't require expensive tooling.

[Gromit]

My guess is because it was cheap to make and didn't require expensive tooling.

Plus you would need access to a very big press.

[Jabbawocky]

Hi Mark

Looking at the state of my vehicle's roof got me wondering why Martin Walter used Fibreglass rather than pressing an all Aluminium roof.

I have not seen your roof, but I can guess what it looks like. Mine was in a very bad state. but restoring it was relatively simple and used very basic tools. If it had been an aluminium roof in the same state, it would have been beyond economic repair.

All I did was grind and sand all the bad bits, repair all the bad bits with resin and matting. Sand these repaired area back to the correct shape and then sprayed the whole roof with white gelcoat. I sprayed both the outside and the inside of the roof with gelcoat. It goes on quite lumpy, which is quite attractive on the inside. The outside took lots of elbow grease to wet flat back down to something like.

Why did they use fibreglass? It is cheap. Is simple and very quick to work with. Is waterproof. Is very strong for its weight. Looked very modern in the fifties and does not corrode.

Aluminium would have had to be formed in several sections and then either riveted or spot welded together. Welding all the roof together and then finishing it to the same standard as the Fibreglass roof would have cost a fortune.

Cheers Mick

[Marque]

Thank you Lady & Gentlemen. I have my answer. Much appreciated.

I will swat up on how to repair the roof over the winter for execution next year (under cover).

Thank you again.
Kindest regards
Mark