Identifying "hand laid" 1968 fiberglass

[Coralsnake]

Original "hand laid" fiberglass was used on very early 1968 Shelbys.  Probably only cars built before 15 December.

Here are some tips on identifying it:

Usually a greenish color. Mounting studs are in square blocks that are bonded with a red glue. The same glue used on GT500 KR hoods. They also have a rough textured back. The most common hand laid part is the lower valence. Most likely AOSmith had not completed the mold and was forced to use several hundred of these parts.

If you dont see these features, you are dealing with a reproduction.

[Bill]

On a certain, early 68 prototype I inspected at Volo back in the mid 1990's, I remember the backs a little rougher on the front end then what your attached picture shows. Had a ton of Polaroid pictures I took at that time, but sadly, lost them in a house fire back in the late 90's.


Bill

[98SVT - was 06GT]

The parts are not truly "hand laid". They are made using the chopper gun process. True hand laid is made using sheets of mat glass and a top piece of glass cloth to give a smoother surface and one that can be squeegeed to remove excess glass. In chopper gun work there is a spool of glass that gets chopped up in the gun and sprayed with the resin into the mold. It has a much higher content of resin than hand laid and often cloth is laid over the chop to give a nicer surface and squeegee out excess resin (reducing weight). Since the chopper gun glass is sprayed on it has an uneven look and thickness where the handlaid is laid up in even layers it has a consistent thickness.

[Coralsnake]

Factually correct

AOSmith did actually refer to them as "hand laid"

[98SVT - was 06GT]

Factually correct

AOSmith did actually refer to them as "hand laid"

Most big shops did that. It was faster to spray in the glass and resin substrate than cutting and soaking individual pieces of mat to make the layup. Small/limited production places didn't spend the money for the gun and associated system expenses and ended up with a true hand laminated product.

[gt350shelb]

this is center of lower valance from my car  more glass mat  than chop gun method