Genie floor

[macker1]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but i cant get into any other part of the forum.
I have a Genie WMP 392G and the floor and sills where cut out for chassis repairs (previous owner). the repairs are now complete.
Now after some advise on how to put the fiberglass floor sections back in,(I am ok with a welder ) but I have not worked with fiberglass before.
Any advice welcomed

[StewB]

Don't know much about the genie setup as I've not worked on one to be completely honest. I have however repaired & modified floors in other fibreglass vehicles. I'm guessing that you don't have any of the sections which have been chopped out to carry out the repairs? If that's the case then you'll need to either make the sections off the car & glass them into place or make them in situ - it all depends how complex the sections are. Making basic moulds is really straightforward & there is plenty of info available on the web to give a step by step guide of how to achieve this.

If you have the sections available then it's just a matter of chopping back & prepping the joints to patch the panels back in - it's quite straightforward if messy & time consuming!

The other consideration with the Genie from my limited understanding of the Marque is that the floor/body is actually used as a reinforcement for the chassis - on this basis the attachment points & actual design of the fibreglass will have an effect on this - it is easy to add strength using foam core to make box sections or ribs to strengthen the structure - it depends on how faithful you want the repairs to be in comparison with the original mouldings.

Happy itching!

Stew.

[macker1]

thanks for the reply, I think that i have most of the floor panels just not sure how to go about prepping them up, and what sort of fiberglass to use

thanks
Jimmy

[StewB]

I'd grind the edges to key the surface (angle grinder with a soft pad) for a 50mm band along the area to be jointed. Fix the panels where they need to go with some temporary fixing. I'd use some woven cloth cut into 100mm strips to lap over the width of the prepped area. Make sure you've got enough material prepped & lay it in place how you want it to sit dry. Take the trimmed material away piece by piece & arrange it so that you can 'paste' it with resin & reassemble it in position. As you put the layers on use a roller to get the air bubbles out & make sure there's plenty of resin to soak through the entire repair.

Prep is absolutely critical - it's really easy to get in a mess & create a lot of additional work. The prep also makes the application quicker which is important as the resin goes off quicker than you think!

Start with manageable sections & build up as you go as of you try & do it all at once it will go horribly wrong! Keeping the areas smaller also limits the risk of thermal issues (the curing process is exothermic so very thick enclosed sections can get surprisingly hot!

Usual Heath & safety of course - mask, goggles (especially when mixing in the catalyst - it's truly horrible stuff!). Gloves, disposable over suit (once chopped glass gets into fabric it doesn't come back out). Lots of cheapo brushes, containers etc as it's not generally worth trying to clean stuff up once used.

There is lots of info around.
Happy glassing, Stew.

[Gavin McArdle]

Hi Macker1
''Now after some advise on how to put the fiberglass floor sections back in,(I am ok with a welder ) but I have not worked with fiberglass before.'' quote
No matter how good you are with a welder, you can't weld fibreglass! Sorry - joke!

When laying the panels back in position you can secure them in place with small plates riveted or screwed to both panels. This will allow you to move them around to get the best fit before fibreglassing.Just apply new fibreglass to the gaps close to the plates, wait till it has set then remove the plates and fill in the gaps.

The body does not provide any strength to the chassis, it is entirely stress free but it is pop-riveted to the chassis to hold it in place. These rivets are along the top of the cill ladder, along the seat mounting bars and along the rails supporting the rear seat back, infact any where you think they might be needed. These rivets were originally then covered with fibreglass to hide them.

I believe there are pics and diagrams in the Archive CD available from Paul Clark (around £10 - £11) if you need anymore advice I should contact Phil Ivimey who may also have some pics.

Do not be afraid of fibreglassing it is quite easy once you have taken the plunge and can easily be cut out to start again if you make a mistake. Just don't mix up too much resin to begin with until you get used to using it as it goes off very quick.
Good Luck, Gavin

[macker1]

Gavin thanks for the reply (I could not get an ark when I tried to weld the fiberglass ) I will try to get hold of a copy of the CD
Thanks
Jimmy

[macker1]

This week I got down all the floor parts and laid them down in the car. To my surpise all the missing sections are there. Painting chassis next week before the final fitment.

[Gavin McArdle]

Not too much to do then!
Be on the road by Christmas??????
Gavin

[macker1]

which Christmas