A&C Body

[David Parker]

I am making my way through the kit selection process...slowly. I have visited two manufacturers so far (Lone Star in Texas and Factory Five in New York) and have tentatively ruled both out because of concerns over how the body, doors, hood and trunk attach. I am now considering the A&C because I have seen in other posts here that they have a very thick and strong body. Before I travel to New York again to look at another factory (A&C) I was hoping to find out more from you.....(the A&C website is not as informative as I would like).

Can someone tell me specifically how the body attaches to the frame and more importantly, how the doors, hood, and trunk attach?

For example, on the Lone Star kits I was shown in Texas, the guide was very careful opening and closing the doors...to prevent scratching the paint. They attach to a thin bolted in cowl which apparently gives insufficient support. The body on the FFR is way too thin to suit me....they put their strength in a different type frame......but I not anxious to buy a body that flexes if you lean on it too hard. I have also seen older Cobra kits (>10 years old) and some have stress cracks in the fiberglass hood where it attaches. I am hoping to avoid all these problems by selecting the "right" kit. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[avanti-176]

David,
A&C makes a very nice body,one of the nicer ones that I have seen.They also will do a gelcoat that is very nice and can save considerable paint and bodywork costs.
If you want to bypass any problems and have the "right" kit
then it comes down to 2 choices IMHO......

1.Kirkham
2.ERA

These two companies make the nicest kits that I have seen and both companies are noted for their customer service.

Plenty of the other companies make perfectly good kits but as far as I can tell these two are the blue chippers (other than SAI of course but there have even been some questions as too Shelbys customer service)
I suggest you spend a couple hours perusing(sp?) all of the vast amount of info on this site and then ,when you are thouroghly confused make an educated guess.

Good luck,and whichever kit you choose I promise you you will have a blast.

Dan

[mj_duell]

Hi David,
I am a little bias of course because I own an A&C. The body glass is the strongest that I have seen. I have measured some areas in the glass as thick as 3/8 of an inch. There is no flex at all and does not need any support structure built to store it before attaching it to the frame. The quality of the gelcoat is also second to none. However, as far as door fit and truck fit I did have to do some shaping to make things fit just right. The doors are held on by very strong hinges that bolt to a think square tube cowl bar. The hood and trunk use the same hindges and are held to the body by a factory glassed in steel crossbar. The body is held to the frame with a combination of brackets and large rivets. If you make it to NY let me know. I'm about an hour and a half away from A&C and I would be happy to show you my car. Also I would have to agree with avanti-176's post if price is not an issue.




--Mike

[David Parker]

Dan, thank you for your input. I have a friend who is building an ERA (with no expense spared). It looks great. I haven't really considered the Kirkhams since they are all metal...but I'll look at them.

Mike, thank you too. Not needing a body buck is a positive point. I am glad to hear the A&C can get along without one. And yes, the gel coat sounds good to me even if for no other reason than that I will have to have less prep work done before painting the stripes and clearcoat…..and stripes I definitely have to have!

Is the cowl bar bolted onto the frame or welded to it? Can you close your door hard without scratching the paint?…not that you or I ever would but our wives might.

A glassed in steel bar to connect to sounds very good. What kind of brackets hold the body on?……(I cannot visualize a bracket) and do you have to buy some special rivet tool for the “large” rivets?…..or can you use a “normal” rivet tool like you would use to rivet in thin steel panels?

[Jim Werth]

Why don't you run up to B+B in Granby,MO and check out their cars. Since your from Texas it wouldn't be that far of a trip. Jim

[Toby]

David,
I also have an A&C, If you want to come to Shreveport you are welcome to check it out. I can't compare it to anything but a superformance as those are the only two I've seen up close, but, I like the A&C better.

Toby

[Toby]

David,
I also have an A&C, If you want to come to Shreveport you are welcome to check it out. I can't compare it to anything but a superformance as those are the only two I've seen up close, but, I like the A&C better.

Toby

[jim snyder]

David, When it come to quality A&C are not just a cobra body builder. These people are one the best in the fiberglass business, they build cars, swimming pools and 100's of other fiberglass products. THEY DON'T JUST SELL CARS,THEY BUILD THE PRODUCT. GO WITH A&C jim

[stevehaygood]

Dave,

I chose to build my own chassis, but I using a B&B body. B&B used to be LA Exotics and they sold their business. When the buyer defaulted on the pay-out arrangements, The original owners repossesed everything.. All the original body molds and fixtures were re-worked and they re-opened as B&B Mfg.

They are in a small town only 15 miles east of Oklahoma border and 15 miles north of the Arkansas border. I have been to their shop twice. They are well organized, always helpful and polite and never did I have a question that they couldn't help me with. I believe now too they offer gelcoat finishes. My body was excellent when I received it 5 years ago.

[Roscoe]

The A&C body bolts directly through the chassis. I've had mine on the road for over 4 years and 21k miles. The gelcoat can still pass for paint.

Roscoe