Fiberglass vs. aluminum cockpit
 

Folks:

I'm in the research stage. I haven't decided on which kit to go with, but I like the completeness of the Hurricane kit. I'm wondering about a fiberglass tub cockpit (Hurricane) vs. alumimum panels (Factory Five and others). What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system?


Thanks,

Both are really nice cars from good manufacturers from what I have both seen and drove. The biggest thing I noticed was a substantial temp increase in the within the footwell of aluminum, but I am certain that can be compensated for some how. There is an owner of both an aluminum F5 and a Lonestar (fibreglass) and driving it, you feel a substantial increase in temp and footwell size. I do not know what the difference in footwell size is between a F5 and a Hurricane. If you are big guy with a pretty good foot size, you will need to know this too. There are pros and cons to each, but the best thing you can do is get in one, put your feet on the pedals, and pull yourself out. Footwell was a major consideration for me after seeing some people literally pull them selves (or fall out) of their car after long rides.

They are both excellent cars.

Good quality glass bodied cars are generally sealed better. FFR cars are great however they require a bit of planning if you want an air tight seal. I know several FFR guys that say this often. Glass inner panels are bonded or laminated to the body so air leaks, water leaks, engine heat, and cold air are blocked at all points. Carpeting does help this issue, including noise, with FFR cars however they are still not 100% sealed. Of course I am not trying to upset anyone, FFR cars are great they just require extra effort to seal up all areas. Look at a FFR car at points where the body and foot box areas meet there is usually some type of insulation or something inserted to seal up the car. Of course if you are going to use the car on the track weight might be a larger concern and that would differ between manufacturers.

Good luck,
Jeff

The biggest thing I've seen is the install of the aluminum on the FFR seems like never ending drill,rivet, drill,rivet! The fiberglass also needs riveting and I added more rivets than called for but the install time was far less. (I've built both)
FFR has a smaller footbox (at least on the MKII) than the Hurricane. My Hurricane is actually a little too big.
Larry

I have found after building two cars - one a scratch built with aluminum panels and one a fibergalss kit body with fiberglass cockpit, that the best solution is a comination of both! Install the fiberglass first because it is easier to seal, then add aluminum panels where it shows, like in the engine compartment. If you can leave an air gap or other insulating method between the 'glass and aluminum, so much the better.

I think Hurricane offers the best of both worlds here. The ease of installing a one peice fiberglass tub which seals much better and then dressing the engine compartment up with heatshielding and then aluminum panels on the firewall. It's a complete deal and I think gives you the best of both worlds.

Cheers,

I have built an FFR and am building a Hurricane now. I love the aluminum of the FFR (actually enjoyed the riveting...weird eh?) but was swayed by the completeness of the Hurricane kit. In the end, the cockpit is mostly covered by carpet so I figured it was no big deal. I am sure the fiberglass is more heat resistant and more sealed than aluminum but that wasn't the reason for me. I wanted a donorless build and Hurricane won me over.

The FFR footbox is not the greatest. If I had to do it over again, I'd modify the gas pedal side aluminum of the foot box so I can have a wider berth. The pedals at this time are too close and I have only 2 pairs of shoes that will fit fine w/o accidentally hitting the throttle on the way to the brakes.

I'm a smallish size ( 5'7") with size 9 shoes.

And yes, there are far too many air passages in the riveting of these panels. I used a lot of aluminum sided matting (similar to Dynamat) to seal up some of these areas but there are still areas I need to address. They're not too important for a car like this but I will say a one piece cockpit sure sounds a lot easier to work with; I probably could have cut out about 5-10 hours of drilling/fitting/riveting I suppose. Still, I enjoyed the build.

The only donor parts that eventually made it to this car was the T5 tranny, and T-Bird rear-end w/knuckles, fuel tank, and pedal box. Front knuckles came off a 2000 Mustang as did the brakes. Everything else was purchased from various vendors such as Ford Motorsports, Summit Racing, Jegs, etc.

Hurricanes look to be a good way to go. Pricing is reasonable; at the time I ordered my FFR, they had not decided on the IRS at that time so I passed on the Hurricanes and I had invested a lot of knowledge gathering on FFcobra.com so it was hard to change. No regrets though.