Not another Mustang restoration thread.

John,
Go with the gal. of CPES but I feel you will need more.

I've never seen aluminum or SS wedges. Cast iron yes and they were made in two sizes. Give Jim a call and see if he has any. What's the matter with some nice White Oak wedges? The only difference is you need to drill a hole for the lag after you get the alignment set.

Gary S wrote: Remind us what is going under your glass pan?

Marine plywood treated with CPES Gary. I don't know of many other options. It worked good for you, right? I view yours as the gold standard.

Thanks Pete, I understand the concept. I can re-use mine, just thought it would be easier to tap on a metal wedge and avoid the wedge crush factor when tightening the bolts, and dimension changes with humidity. It probably has minimal effects though considering some of the misalignment I have seen without noticeable ill effects. If this was your Atom or launch I would think differently about any changes, but no one really takes these plastic boats seriously.

The other option I can think of is get a sheet of Coosa. Light, easy, and no need to spend the time on CPES, cloth, epoxy ect. It may be easier and faster for me.

We used a really nice quality mahogany marine plywood in our Cuda. Great stuff, very solid and 11 plys. I've since seen some boats done with Star Board, which I was unfamiliar with, but seems like a very good alternative.

I have never seen coosa and have always thought too late about asking Joe or Tim to bring a piece with them some time. Do you have to finish the edge that you cut off? Nice thing about a Mustang is that you have short spans to cover over,I think the biggest ones are right in front of the seats. It may be easier to use it when all said and done. Can you get it around here easy enough John?
Pete I think your right it might be red oak. I have/had tons of ash,when it's missing the bark you can tell it's ash by the ash bore tracks! None on this and the grain structure is just different than ash- that and it has an unusual smell when first cut that I have never noticed with ash.

Nice info on the oak wood.
Gary, The Coosa website refers to Total Plastics with many locations, one is in Elk Grove. I called them some time back and it involves a shipping charge, but they can have it delivered it to your house. I think it comes in 10 or 12' lengths too. It's been a while since I called over there. .

I'm a huge fan of Coosa, but with wood stringers below, I don't think I would bother with the expense. It's easy to work with in terms of cutting (normal wood working blades cut through like butter), and it doesn't warp, crack or need CPES- but it's not without prep. It's a foam and glass impregnated composite, so it doesn't hold screws all that well. You'd want a layer of cloth on each side to help with that. I also put an additional layer of mat on top for impact resistance. Definitely a forever solution but it's not a quick-and-easy one. There may be other composite options to consider with that in mind, but I am not familiar with them.

In the name of cost effectiveness and ease of installation, it's probably going to be hard to beat good old exterior ply, if you're good with CPES. Marine is nice stuff but isn't needed for a simple floor. Pressure treated may be an option if you want to avoid all prep... I can't speak to how it will hold up (especially any exposed end grain), but it's worth exploring.

John, we covered the floor up with vinyl flooring. We had used AC exterior fir plywood for our last floor and wanted to use something better. This was the only marine ply I could find and it was nice stuff. Far stronger than fir plywood and 11 plys, very dense. It was a lot of work and wasn't cheap between its cost and the added epoxy, but makes for a nice floor. Check out Star Board. I'd consider it the next time.

TRBenj wrote: It is not built like you think it is. .

Then tell me what you feel is different. BTW, I have seen Coosa!

^^exactly^^

In looking at the cross section, I think there are some sheets of woven glass in the sheet layup as well, in addition to the glass fibers throughout. One downside I'll mention is how itchy any resulting dust can be. Cover up!

This is the blade you need to use for ALL your composite cutting requirements

....or if you can get your hands (mine is similar) on one of this bad boys it will cut thru 1/4 fiberglass without batting an eye and will trash a part in a heartbeat if you aren't careful. The 3M rep gave me one to try out and for the shop to use but since its the only we have I have it under lock and key and the guys have to come to me to get it and I'm VERY selective as to who uses it.

Joe, I believe this one is 4" in Diameter..... I'm trying to find the exact one I have in the 3M catalog. Chuck it up in a arbor for air 90 grinders or straight grinders. I took it home to cut the glass in the 72 and it cut through the floor like a hot knife thru butter with a 30 gal air compressor driving it. It's the bomb!.... Funny thing, I forgot to bring it back to work and one of the few guys I trust to use it needed it and asked me for it...... Ooops!

While the floor is up you can add nailers for the seats. I'm surprised you or anyone hasn't said anything about the Star Board. Seems like its easy to use and is rot proof.