Complete Corvette Front Ends - One Piece and Jig Assembled.
Hand Laid Versus Press Molded / Restored Versus Repaired

When purchasing fiberglass replacement panels you should be considering whether the part is hand laid or press molded.

In layman’s terms.

A press molded part is one that has been made from a sheet of fiberglass and resin that is pressed into a female mold by a male mold. The resulting part is smooth on the inside and the outside, just as GM originally made it. If you are restoring your Corvette and want that restoration to be as close as possible to the way it was originally manufactured, then press molded parts is what you want. You will achieve a higher appraised value for a Corvette restored with press molded parts, than one restored with hand laid parts. These press molded parts are the ones that NCRS wants to see on your restoration, with exception of original GM panels of course.

A hand laid part is one that had been laid up in a mold by hand. It has a rough texture on the inside and smooth on the outside. These hand laid parts are not what NCRS wants to see on your restoration.

If you are trying to restore your corvette in a less expensive manor, then hand laid parts will work just fine. Our hand laid parts are the best quality hand laid parts available in the industry.

Our Press Molded and Hand-Laid fiberglass panels are exacting reproductions to the original body panels. The fit of both Hand laid and Press molded parts are both very similar. All Corvettes from 1953 to 1982 were handmade and no two cars are exactly the same, therefore body panels made either way, will need to be custom fit to the Corvette they are being installed on.

Note: We have matched the exact original cloth weave used in 1953 production and all 1953 parts have fiberglass cloth layup to match original inside texture. 1954 and 1955 parts will be hand-laid unless otherwise specified. We carry a complete selection of all front fenders, lower and upper panels, hood surrounds, assemblies, headlight buckets, inner skirts, radiator supports and many other fiberglass parts to complete your restoration or repair.

Corvette Parts Worldwide has been in the Corvette Restoration business for 43 years. From Mechanical to Upholstery, Bodywork to paint, you can trust the advice we give you. Please contact the experts at CorvettePartsWorldwide.com if you have any questions regarding your specific fiberglass parts. 1-888-817-1444