Who owns the Attex Molds

[AndyL]

i think a reverse mold will be the way to go here...you are correct jeff about the bodies. everything i know about attex is from reading the board and my own research. in 1976 they switched to HDPE from ABS. i'm looking for a 1976-newer attex body in any condition.

it can be in any condition as i am going to cut it up a little and do some patching...i'm pretty handy at stuff like that. The upgrades i would seriously consider so far are:

1. Making the body accept rectangular headlights and the round part for the headlight would be smooth with the top.

2. possibly filling in the nose piece as part of the body, although i personally think it's nice to remove it of one wants to mount a winch..then again you can make a brush guard...this one is open

3. more clearance for larger tires. (this will also give better legroom.

4. a little something different on the back end so it can use real tail-lights like the max or argo or mudd-ox, etc.

5. maybe a different engine cover eventually, that could give a little more room to store items in.

other suggestions are more then welcomed. if i ever get my hands on a body that i can work with, i want this project to have input from the board and make it our own!

[AndyL]

this could also turn into a big project too...it would be good to find a way to fund this project...i know there's been talk about attex skid plates to protect current abs bodies...

is there enough interest if late-model attex skid plates were made? they would wrap around all the sides of the bottom.

[jeffery9076]

would love to see the skid plate come up and actually have cut outs for the flanges/ my next abs body i plan to fix is tortured in the flange area and every corner would love to see (molded to fit skidplates)GOOD IDEA even a possible bottom replacement cut out weld in and of course it would have to be above the flanges

[AndyL]

jeff by flanges you talking about for the axle bearings? i think a skid plate is a better idea then making the bottom part to cut and replace...either an entire new lower tub or a skid plate that fits over the old one...that would be easy to make one of those, and that can help raise funds to make the reverse molds for the attex upper and lower bodies. anyone else?

[Joe M]

Richard had the molds and was planning on producing bodies, if he could get enough interest. He was taking $100.00 deposits from individuals who wanted bodies. I believe he said he needed twenty people, but he never got that many and scrapped the plans. I talked to him about a year later and he said that he sold the molds, but never said to whom.

[George]

Andy, I had a long talk with Matt O. last winter about doing what it is you want to do.

He figured anywhere from 60 to 80 thousand dollars to do a production run of close to 100 complete bodies. Making any fewer would not be much cheaper as you have to buy the HDPE by the ton.

He also said that you'd probably get about a dozen bad bodies before you "got it right."

He figured a mold maker could make new molds for about $15-$20 thousand. The nature of the forming process and the molds are such that they can only be used for a handful of production runs before they begin to fall apart.

He also told me that HDPE shrinks upon cooling. If you use an existing body as a mold, you actually have to cut into quarters so that the mold will be slightly larger (by inches) than the original dimensions.

I'd buy one if you have more luck than I did.

[Amphiman1]

Any thoughts to high impact fiberglass ones?

[AndyL]

I thought of fiberglass since it is a lot easier and cheaper, but it weighs a lot more. Opinions on fiberglass?

George, I talked with Matt last Monday. You probably know more about it than me, so I will take your advice on it. HDPE has an appromate shrink rate of 3-3.5%, so a 56" wide body like a max has to be about 2" wider.
Asfar as colors though, you can buy precut sheets In standard colors that are ready to go. You can buy them individually instead of the ton. And of course, black is the cheapest. The biggest expense is the labor cost of thermo forming and some cost of making molds. I'll see what connections I have as a friend of my family was the owner of Jayco travel trailers, so she could point me in the right direction. But those of us who are handy carpenters and metal workers can make this happen. I know a few people who could assist with that too. This is definitely a long term project though.

[AndyL]

Any thoughts to high impact fiberglass ones?

This has actually been on my mind since you mentioned it amphiman. how durable is the fiberglass compared to HDPE or even ABS? I would imagine it to be durable, but probably nowhere near the same strength. I mean, we have crazy attex people on here jumping them (i would join in too once i get one), so do you think it would hold up to all the beating? what about a skid plate made of fiberglass if it is that durable? i'm just brainstorming a bit here lol.

[lewis]

Hydo Mike has a thread showing how to do a skid plate. There is another approach to this by finding a donor bottom. Now this will not be a easy task but it can be done. The ABS responds pretty good when heat is applied. My plan is to heat and cap the bottom of my tub with a destroyed tub. The lower bottom of the tub is in pretty good shape.

doner tub.JPG

It is in its initial stages right now.