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This discussion is going to be invaluable - bouncing ideas off of each other gets us all thinking.
I'll try to finish up the rest of the test pieces today. We are actually getting rain today (first time in about a month!) so dry time will be slowed considerably.
Someone suggested a method for testing the strength of the fiberglass: narrowing the pieces until they fail - I don't need to be too precise, but I do need to get a feel for how this stuff works. I like the 8 loom fabric much better than the regular woven stuff. The 3oz E-glass is 8 loom, but it is easily buckled and forms bubbles. I'll use it for things like the diffuser fins on the underside, etc. It softens up in the wet glue and it will hug into tight corners pretty well. So with the E-glass, I'll probably end up using mostly the 8.9oz 8 loom fabric - it is available in a much wider roll than the others and it also costs a lot less.
If the S-glass is significantly stronger, then I'll use it on the underside of the chassis and on the areas where the subframes bear - though obviously those areas will need metal reinforcing plates and sleeves, too. The inside of the front and sides around the passengers, maybe too?
Vacuum bagging is probably not a possibility on this first iteration. My work space is very cramped and crude and I don't have space for a pump/compressor. And until I get some crowd funding, I can't think about building onto my garage, or any big tool purchases. I still need to finish shaping the left side of the car and the hatch door needs some attention - and hinges for the hatch door are going to be needed.
I need to buy the windshield and the wiper arm assemblies, to get them fitted.
So far, the edges of the fabric are the only part that sheds fibers. And the roughened foam really causes havoc with the surface on all but the 10oz regular weave E-glass. It is rather stiff compared to the 8 loom fabrics; which "drape" and conform much more readily. So useful things and more challenging things about the fabrics I've tried so far.
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