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Fiberglass body back from Line-x..UPDATED PICS!!

73k5blazer

73k5blazer

End the H1B Program!
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UPDATE: Getting there, doors/tailgate assembled, roll cage on, dash/pedals/brakes/steering column all installed.

Here some bad pics of my US Body Source fiberglass body back from the line-x shop. I had the entire thing done, inside and out. BTW, it's GM indigo blue, but it's hard to tell in pictures.
I'll take some better ones when it stops snowing and I can push it outside.
After 4 years of cutting/drilling/fabbing/reinforcing/fitting/swearing/bending/beating on this body I can finally start final assembly!!!! 4 years down, xx to go....

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holy crap, how much did that cost? I hope you have a friend working at a Line-X or something... lol! Wonder how much it weighs compared to a steel body. In any case, looks great, post more pics when ya can! :)

j
 
jekbrown said:
How much did that cost?
Click to expand...
Do you really want to know?
Compared to a paint job, it was about the same.
I wasn't looking for a show quality paint job, but anything above a maaco $500 special starting reaching the Line-x range. And I hate paint. It gets scratched, you have to maintain it. And this glass needed some fine body work (read $$$,because I've tried body prep for paint work, and I have no patience for it)to look decent, Line-x just covers all the up!
 
so did you have to make some type of mold for the fiberglass to get it to look like a balzer??
That is awesome, I wonder what it weighs also:D
 
The body came from US Body Source in Florida. They make all kinds of fiberglass auto body parts.
The price of glass seems to have gone up quite a bit since I bought thing. The Blazer tub is $1200 more than what I paid.
I weighed my K5 before I dissassembled it, it was 5500 lbs. The glass body is significantly lighter (four people can pick it up easisy, it took 6 at a struggle to lift that metal tub just high enough to clear the chassis and set it down on the ground.
But, add a roll-cage, air tank, 400 lbs of line-x (he said it took almost a whole 55 gallon barrel of material, I saw the barrels, they had 435 lbs stamped on each one). It's still less, the question is by how much. My friends and I have a pool on how much it will weight when done.
My bet's on 5000 lbs.
 
Thats awesome. I feel the same way about paint, but dont think I can "invest" that much into the K5 right now. Im gonna destroy the paint I have now, and then rhino line it. Mine will have to stay steel though b/c I have a clean rust free body. With body armor, probably weigh 6,500 to 7,000, but Im not that concerned about weight. Got good brakes. Nice job.
 
A couple of questions:

1. The doors don't have the full frame around the top and look like a 73-75 style. Are you planning on having a full removable top on it? Did you already cut it or did you Line-X it first, and then plan on cutting?
2. How much of a pain was it doing all the holes? I notice on the website it says that you have to cut everything yourself.
3. Are those doors from the same company or doors you had?
4. Did you get the front clip from the same company?

I'm wondering if this might be an option for those of us in California that are going to be screwed with the new smog law going into effect in Jan. 05. All 76 and newer vehicles will have to be smogged every two years forever. No more rolling 30 yr. extension. I want a full cab enclosed rig so I bought a 76. I'm wondering if I bought the 76 style fiberglass body and put it on the 74 frame I have, whether or not I can register it as a 1974 Blazer, or perhaps a 74 specialty vehicle. Then I can do whatever I want to the engine. Might be worth looking into.
 
That is awesome! Maybe that is the way to go for my kids. You said 4 years??? Why so long? Super nice though.
 
Desert Rat said:
1. The doors don't have the full frame around the top and look like a 73-75 style. Are you planning on having a full removable top on it? Did you already cut it or did you Line-X it first, and then plan on cutting?
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1. The doors are the 73'-'75 style. My Origican K5 is a 1973. Actually I had two '73's, both rusted beyond repair. I bought new steel doors, and cut them to match my old doors, before Line-x. (It's best to try to get everything you can possibly get cut/drilled done first, then Line-x.) I then cut out the OEM door reinforment, and carfullly welded it in place in the new doors.
Desert Rat said:
2. How much of a pain was it doing all the holes? I notice on the website it says that you have to cut everything yourself.
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2. PITA. Hopfully it was all worth it. Every hole and opening has to be cut. It doesn't look like it, but theres alot of holes and openings on a body. ALOT! The roll cage supports were a big time consumer too.
Desert Rat said:
3. Are those doors from the same company or doors you had?
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3. US Body makes fiberglass doors, but I looked at them and decided for steel doors because the glass ones you would have to cut out everything, and those doors have lots of little weld nuts in them, and a track, and I didn't think it possible to get a good working door (window roll-up, door locks..etc) with thier glass door.
Desert Rat said:
4. Did you get the front clip from the same company?
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4. I did get the clip from US Body. It's thier 1 piece tilt front clip. I didn't take a pic of that yet.

Here in MI, there's no SMOG law anymore. They used to have one in tri-county Detroit area (which I'm not in anyway), but they did away with it. It was all corrupt anyhow.
 
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cybrfire said:
Why so long?
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Time my friend, time. I started in '99, I think, then in 2000 I had a baby, and along with that, all my free time. I have more time now, that my daughter is 4!
One benefit to taking so long is I'm able to spend more $$ on it, because the spending is spread out over time. Kinda like a really poor mans lay-a-way....
There's only one big expense left for it, and that's the engine. I'm planning on the HT383 GM Crate motor.
It should go alot faster now too that I don't have to think about how I'm gonna do everything. It should just be straight assembly, I already had all the big things (doors/gate/cip/dash/pedals/airbox/top/wipers/cage) assembled once for fitment.
 
73k5blazer said:
400 lbs of line-x (he said it took almost a whole 55 gallon barrel of material, I saw the barrels, they had 435 lbs stamped on each one). QUOTE]

i'm not calling the guy a liar but i worked at a line-x for a short while, and 2 55 gallon drums of material (iso and poly) will do about 16 average spray ins. that right there probably took half of the material and the place i worked at would've charged you $1800 at the very least!

interesting if they got the color real close to indigo blue, line-x doesn't provide you with a very good color selection to begin with, but then again this wasn't the best shop.

you made a good choice though, line-x is some really tough stuff!
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He said it took about 6 8' truck beds of material. He charged me $2500. (I've been saving!) I did do everything, doors, gate, front clip, and body tub, topper and 3 or 4 smaller misc. pieces (trans hump, tailgate access panel..etc..), the tub was done inside and out, and the underside included, and I told him to cake it on the bottom just incase US BOdy didn't get all thier wood reinforcement encased in the fibeglass. The top was done inside and out too.

I really like it, I already banged a few parts into it, and you'd never know! I think it was a good choice.
 
still curious on a dollar figure for the Line-X. :)

Im going to have a metal s-10 cab done... lot less sq ft to cover, but Im just wonderin what kinda $ Im gonna be lookin at..

j
 
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