65GTO

Same deal on my 62 restoration. The nose had been hit and repaired so many times what was left was structurally gone. Might have got it so it could look good for a couple of years... but then the underlying foundation would have showed its head in the form of all manner of stress cracks in the paint. So off with the nose. I debated one-piece vs PM for a while. Went with one-piece for the reason I noted about IMO having a nose with no seams is a better nose. Having done it... if to do it again it would come down to this (note 'cost' is not in the criteria);

1. I would not hesitate to use the CI one-peice HL again. No question. The other 2 vendors I got a 62 nose from.... nope... no way
2. Extra work; The one-piece will be more work to install. It does not have the inner fenders, splash pan, etc, all built out.
3. The fact that the nose is not built out also has a blessing to it. One has more control over adjusting the top of fender height to match with the hood height. One does this in part by adjusting the upward pressure one allows the inner fenders to 'push up' on the inside of the hood ledge on the top of the fender. If one is unsure how all those 'hits' over time torqued things around a bit, one may need this flexibility (as I did) to control how much 'push up' (or down) one exerts on the bottom of the hood ledge on the fender at different points along that hood ledge. As a result, my hood height / fender height levels, and hood gap around the hood opening is near perfect.
4. Authenticity; The original nose is already gone, so it is no longer 'original' anyway... be it a HL or PM one installs
5. As noted, to make it look a little more 'authentic', with the added benefit of some added rigidity, I added some bonding strips to the one-piece nose. Cheap enough and only takes a few minutes to bond them in.

All considered... which way would I go again for a C1... tough call. Would come down to if I really did not want to do all the additional fitting or not... and trade that off for (again IMO) a nose that has no seams and (IMO) is structurally a sounder nose than one with seams everywhere. On the rest of my 62 body for example.. there were areas unhit (I know as I stripped the whole car) that there were hairline stress cracks in the paint along the bonding strips. So it does happen over time.

Either way.. I doubt very much my 62 will see any 'gaffs' over time because I used quote 'a cheap' HL. In fact, I feel just the opposite. Last... 99.9% of the public would never know the diff if I should ever go to sell the car... if it is a PM or One-Piece nose.

Hope this gives some more food for thought.

ChrisBlair

Those are good points. It's important to bear in mind that although press mold is used in industry, a skilled craftsman can produce equal or better results by hand, The time/wage equation is not a factor outside of the work place, and many times a press mold (like the ones I played with) produces "good enough" results....it all depends on what the acceptance criteria are, and if a flaw is in the mold...it is in everything made by the mold. So, hand labor is almost always present anyway.

But I still wouldn't want to lay it up....what a messy smelly PITA that can be.

arubajohn

Everyone knows that CI or Corvette Image is no longer the same company, the same people, or the same location? I would be happy to share the details of a recent experience privately..Over the last 40 years I have glued together more cars than I can remember. I like to think we know what we are doing and what to look for in quality parts.

58n65

Has anyone ever heard of this company? - Corvette, Front End, 1958-1962 – American Sports Car

Jake Morgan

https://stingerfiberglass.com/

Closed its doors recently

58n65

Thanks for the info! I didn't go to their front page, just saw the front clip in a search and clicked on the page.

dcamick

I will say this:

I ended up with a PM Front Clip and BB Hood from Coffman Corvettes. I was told by my meticulous Corvette Builder in Erie Pa. that they were near perfect panels. My Panels were possibly the earliest produced panel out of Ohio. So they may have been pressed by former Employees of CI. I do not know. I do know that employee(s) came to Ohio with the equipment. Maybe I got lucky!

I would like to hear what you have to say!!

58n65

Isn't this a one piece install by NCRS members?

Tom DeWitt

Steve, I would say PM is the way to go. If you could DELIVER in a reasonable time you would dominate the market!

ifitgoesfast

Good thread

Hand Laid is more expensive and takes longer in the finished end-product.

Press Molded is cheaper and faster in the finished end-product.

csherman

Pressmolded all day long
If your building a high end resto mod - as a builder, as a shop and as an owner
Hand laid = cheap
If you went cheap on the body - what else did you cheap out on ?????
Hand laid / chopper gun parts are inconsistent in thickness
They are easier and cheaper to make and they look it from the under side - rough with glass strands everwhere
I just ripped off a hand laid nose and installing a PM nose
I dont use hand laid parts and I wont install them
Cheap looks cheap
Chris
TiN Restorations
Plano IL

csherman

True
One of the employees that worked for Corvette Image - moved to Ohio and is the assembler for Coffman - I dont know the person but was told by Lori and Jerry that he is very good at what he does
I recieved a PM nose for a 54 we are doing and quality is the same at what it was in Oregon.
Chris
TiN Restorations

58n65

That's why I was questioning the one piece install by the NCRS members in the video I shared a few posts ago. Maybe it just appears to be a one piece, hand-laid front end. Not sure since I've never done one.

DynamicCorvettes

Here's how the non NCRS do it.

65GTO

Note; I see a bit of discussion about 'chopper guns' above in the same breath as 'Hand Layed'. 'Hand Layed' glass weave or mat into a comparatively structurally very strong, seamless, homogenous one-piece nose, verse el'-cheapo 'Chopper Gun blown' fiberglass strands into a mold are not even close to being the same product. Be it a Corvette nose, a boat hull, a fiberglass part, etc, people should not use the terms interchangeably, or understand them to be, and most important... understand (insist on knowing prior to purchase) what one will be getting as a construction method.

65GTO

Too bad. I had worked with them for other parts in the past. Always enjoyed talking to the owner about my needs. Anyone know the 'skinny' on the reason ?