Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Stack Exchange
Motor Vehicle Maintenance and Repair Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [body]

The part of the vehicle which surrounds and encapsulates the drive train and occupants. Is usually made out of metal, such as steel or aluminum, but can be made of fiberglass or even plastic. Can be referred to as the "skin" of the vehicle.

Materials used to create bodies include but are not limited to various metal allows, plastic, fiberglass and carbon fiber. The body often has properties of safety, aerodynamics, insulation and sound proofing incorporated into it.

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What are the pros and cons of fiberglass body?

Fiberglass is a prominent material for building boats. It's well-tested and durable. Over the years, there have been few attempts to adopt fiberglass as in automotive industry: Glasspar G2 - a 1950 car with all-fiberglass body Chevrolet Corvette…
Koder
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What is an "A pillar"?

I hear the term thrown around a lot about the A pillar or B pillar ... What are these and of what importance are they? Are there any other pillars in a vehicle? Do all vehicles have all the pillars?
Pᴀᴜʟsᴛᴇʀ2
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How much protection do grill guards give?

My wife was just rear-ended by some woman who was "tired" (her claim—in fact she was more probably texting) and not paying attention. This did a lot of damage to the rear end of our Honda Pilot. This is the third accident my wife has been in in a…
iconoclast
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What is the adhesive used to attach the gasket to the hood?

The Gasket that seals around my hood has come loose. There is the residue of an adhesive on the painted metal and the rubber gasket. What is this likely to be?
2NinerRomeo
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Slight deformation of rear bumper

After a low-speed parking lot encounter with a brick wall, the rear bumper on my e36 m3 has about a 1" gap from the body panel right above it, on the right wheel-well. It looks as if someone facing the right wheel grabbed the bumper and twisted it…
user502
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Rebending a bumper

I've got a '99 Ranger which ran over a metal sign post. Squashed the post (we did notify the people responsible for the post). The only damage to the Ranger is a slightly bent chrome bumper. I'd like to re-bend the bumper if its easy enough. Has…
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Metal rubbing metal padding

I had a grommet inside my Tacoma tailgate that was guiding the opening rod from the handle to one of the side locking mechanism but messed up its housing in an accident so I can't really fit a replacement. So now the metal rod is macgyvered on with…
amphibient
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What does it mean if there is "Bondo" under the trunk mat behind the spare wheel?

This picture is from underneath the trunk of my car: As you can see, it seems like there is some "Bondo" on the edge behind the spare wheel. What does this mean about the history of the car? What kind of damage or other reason could have caused…
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What are your main concerns when getting your car wrapped with custom-patterns?

Let's say you're getting your car custom wrapped. What would be your top concern when hiring someone to do the job? This would be a key area to filter when picking a service provider. Thanks in advance.
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Re-attach roof rack rails

I put a table on the roof of my 2000 Subaru Forester. I was a little too enthusiastic tightening the ratchets on the tie-down straps and the front of the rail which attaches to the roof pulled up. Any recommendations on how to fix it? Glue?…
Damien Sawyer
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What is this material under car carpet, can I remove it?

Here is a pic of underneath my car carpet (civic vti 1999). I was thinking of getting rid of the carpet however I noticed a black rubber type material which gives off it’s own smell. I notice this material also exists in the boot. I was actually…
James Wilson
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Selecting a body for a sleeper

More specifically how do you determine whether a car's chassis can support the weight of aftermarket parts when building a sleeper. For example can you fit a v8 into a car that originally had an inline-4 engine?
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