Offroad-Express

So I did a search to see if any of you had said they had a fibreglass bodied 40.
One person did - but she has not logged in for about 5 years!!

So - what can you tell me about going fibreglass? How much can you have before getting certified?

The dodgy critters that resprayed my wagon before I bought it seemed to have bogged it all up and hoped. Fast forward a few months and their are a few bulges in the paintwork....

Rust never sleeps

A full fibreglass tub would be ok if its got a good cage to protect you. Fibreglass can become a big mess after a couple of rubs against trees etc. if you have the coin theres a place in the usa that make an alloy tub. Last time i looked fibreglass tub is about $5k

my mate had a full bodied fibreglass cruiser about 10 years ago, everything squeeked, everything rattled, everything moved and the doors didnt close that well..... but it didnt have any rust in it

Mnc has gone the fibreglass way. Holla him or he'll spot this thread eventually.

Yeah, my black truck with the lexus in it is 100% fibreglass (every body panel except the rear upper half door which I haven't found yet). The ORE thread name is FJ40 Project (and its very very old)

Best feature - No rust and light weight.

Worst feature - As Marty said, the fibreglass parts dont seam to line up as well and flex alot.

4WD Fibreglass sell the tubs for just under $6k and have them on trademe regularly (or just look them up and give them a call).

Dont know on the cert yet but the fiberglass tubs are steel reinforced in all the structural areas (assuming you buy one from a reputable manufacturer).

Hope that helps???

I wouldnt waste my time or money on a fibreglass tub, I had a full fibre glass tub and as the others have said there weak, crack, break, squeek and rattle, plus they dont have factory mounting points for things, which means either using rivnuts which come loose or bolt and nuts which are a pain in the arse. Thats just my 2c

Thanks to you all for your replies.

I priced up going full fibreglass and there was not much change from $9000 +GST.

Had not thought about the squeaks and rattles and stuff, but a good point and well made. The lack of mounting pints etc had crossed my mind and was scoring high on the f&*k-around scale. Rivnuts are great - for a while.

And then when you see a couple of the tidier 40's currently on Trade Me are priced at $8 - $11k...

I figured if I set myself a budget I can probably get the rust as it is at the moment sorted professionally.
Lacking the time and inclination to do it myself - plus the truck is too high to fit in my garage!