Re: Repairing '55 Clipper seat panels

Posted by HH56 On 2017/7/3 11:30:29

I believe some repairs have been thin fiberglass or sheet metal reinforcements right around the areas prone to breaking. I think the downside to that approach, aside from the size of the repair area, might be the original piece doesn't seem to bond well to the fiberglass in some cases so the repair doesn't work as intended.

I wonder if there is enough room for something more substantial that would spread the stress over a larger area -- maybe completely fill the top of the panel. Perhaps something like a thicker acrylic or aluminum filler piece with a contour that could go inside the panel and would fill in the hollow area that gets all the flexing and cracking. Screw that in separately from the panel and then mount the panel over.

If there is enough room, something like that possibly could be shaped to utilize original screw locations and also attach somewhere else with maybe a minor modification or addition of secondary screw mounting plate.

If someone has photos showing the existing mounts and panel damage maybe some suggestions for other approaches would come forward.