Make your own automotive body panels

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By Marc de Vinck
Posted 2008/06/01 @ 7:00 am
Category Energy

This is a nice set of photographs from a Lithuanian artist who made all his own interior and exterior panels from polyurethane foam. Yep, the foam is sanded and primed, no fiberglass on this car. I wonder if the DOT would approve?

Make your own automotive body panels

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5 Responses to Make your own automotive body panels

botchjob.wordpress.com on June 2nd, 2008 at 9:47 am said:

i dont get why this guy isnt using some fibreglass to cover his foamwork. one punch and everythings screwed. fibreglass would also save some weight, cause he wouldnt need so much bondo to get a stable surface.

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Monk on June 2nd, 2008 at 10:28 am said:

Technically, he’s adding to the car’s body. Not creating his own body panels.

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Mark on June 2nd, 2008 at 11:04 am said:

I don’t understand why the car companies don’t jump on this for people. Why is it so difficult to make the outer shell of the vehicle easily removable in panels. Got a dent? buy a $20 replacement panel. Want to have a cool-looking wing on yours? unbolt the 4 bolts and replace the panel. It seems so easy.

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Simon on June 2nd, 2008 at 1:17 pm said:

Mark, it’s because these days the body panels are an integral part of the shell structure. It’s called a uni-body construction. Every panel is adding to the strength and the crash performance of the car so they can’t easily be bolted on and off.

However back in the days when cars had chassis a coach builder would make a custom body for a car. Back then the bodies did just bolt on and off.

These days the closest you’ll get would be the bolt on body kits people add to their cars.

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helifino on June 2nd, 2008 at 2:09 pm said:

Mark:
Pontiac tried it with the Fiero (you might remember the ads for ‘space-frame construction’ if you think back), but I guess nobody else decided it was worth the extra engineering cost.

If you look in the kit vehicle marketplace, you’ll find quite a few bolt-on full-body replacement panel kits available for the Fiero.

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