Fabrication and Assembly of a Graphite Fiber Reinforced Plastic Vehicle

The following paper has been prepared to describe the procedures used to fabricate and assemble a lightweight demonstration vehicle, built under contract to Ford Motor Company. G.F.R.P. (Graphite Fiber Reinforced Plastic), the specified material for the major body components, made it necessary to combine state-of-the-art aerospace manufacturing methods with current automotive prototype technology to ensure successful completion of the project.

Major areas of emphasis include; master tooling aid development, high temperature epoxy molds, component fabrication, component subassembly and body assembly. These areas will be discussed in detail, along with the completion and final assembly of the lightweight vehicle.