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G2 (Glasspar)
Encyclopedia
The Glasspar G2 was a sports car body first manufactured by Bill Tritt
in 1949. It is no longer built today. It was the first production all-fiberglass
sports car body built by an American fiberglass manufacturer. A few were built as complete cars (in limited numbers) but most were offered as a body, or body/chassis kit.
The Glasspar G2 was born in 1949 when Bill Tritt helped his friend, Air Force Major Ken Brooks, design a body for the hot rod
Ken was building. The car consisted of a stripped down Willys
Jeep
chassis with a highly modified V8 engine mounted on it. Bill Tritt, at the time, was building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California
, factory and he convinced Ken that fiberglass was the ideal material for the hot rod body.
Tritt made sketches of a body and, with Ken and his Ken's wife's approval, proceeded to make the body plug and mold for a low-slung, continental-style roadster
. A year and a half later, with a great deal of trial and error, the body was finished, set on the chassis and christened the Brooks Boxer in mid 1951.
Bill Tritt had a keen interest in boats and cars. Before the World War II
, he studied marine architecture and boat building. He worked for Douglas Aircraft's Production Planning and Illustration Departments during World War II, and by 1945 had built a number of catamaran
sailboats. In 1947, John Green, a yachtsman friend, paid Tritt to design and build a racing sailboat in the twenty foot range. Fiberglass seemed the logical construction material, and Otto Bayer of Wizard Boats was enlisted as laminator. The boat was named the Green Dolphin, and four were built. This was Tritt's introduction to fiberglass-reinforced plastic
(FRP). By 1947 he was building small fiberglass boats, and built the first ever fiberglass masts and spars for sailboats. This company became the Glasspar
Company and moved to larger quarters in Santa Ana, California
, in the early 1950s. By the mid 1950s, Glasspar was producing 15 to 20 percent of all fiberglass boats sold in the U.S.
The Brooks Boxer was an immediate success when shown at the 1951 Los Angeles Motorama along with three other early fiberglass cars: the big Lancer, the small Skorpion, and the Wasp. Only Tritt's car went on to be the first production fiberglass car. The Boxer mold was then modified and used to produce the beautiful Glasspar G2 sports car that year.
About this time the Korean War
was raging, and Tritt was having difficulty acquiring polyester
resin for his cars and boats. The Naugatuck Chemical Company in Naugatuck, Connecticut
, after seeing the Boxer, sent Glasspar plenty of Vibrin resin and an order for a G2 sports car to promote their product to the auto industry. Naugatuck's G2 was modified and named the Alembic I and was shown at the Philadelphia Plastics Exhibit in 1952. Life
then featured the car in a story, as did the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and many auto trade magazines. The Glasspar Company then went public and sold stock to raise capital.
Bill Tritt also designed and/or built fiberglass car bodies for Blanchard Robert "Woody" Woodill, Strassberger Motor Company, British Singer Car Company
, Willys, Kaiser, Volvo
, and Walt Disney
. His last fiberglass car design was the Ascot which the Glasspar board of directors rejected in favor of staying with the core business of boat building. Tritt left Glasspar shortly afterward.
Disneyland, in Anaheim, California
, was building its Autopia
automobile track and commissioned Bill Tritt and Glasspar to build the fiberglass car bodies. They were small, single-seat, self-powered cars using Briggs and Stratton lawn-mower type engines with centrifugal clutches. The cars were originally designed to use aluminum wrap-around bumpers provided by Kaiser Aluminum
, but later changed to the more suitable steel.
Bill Tritt
Bill Tritt began working in Glass-reinforced plastic in 1948. He founded Glasspar Corporation in 1949 due to his keen interest in boats and cars and his belief in fiberglass as a material....
in 1949. It is no longer built today. It was the first production all-fiberglass
Fiberglass
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...
sports car body built by an American fiberglass manufacturer. A few were built as complete cars (in limited numbers) but most were offered as a body, or body/chassis kit.
The Glasspar G2 was born in 1949 when Bill Tritt helped his friend, Air Force Major Ken Brooks, design a body for the hot rod
Hot rod
Hot rods are typically American cars with large engines modified for linear speed. The origin of the term "hot rod" is unclear. One explanation is that the term is a contraction of "hot roadster," meaning a roadster that was modified for speed. Another possible origin includes modifications to or...
Ken was building. The car consisted of a stripped down Willys
Willys
Willys was the brand name used by Willys-Overland Motors, an American automobile company best known for its design and production of military Jeeps and civilian versions during the 20th century.-Early History:In 1908, John Willys bought the Overland Automotive Division of Standard Wheel Company...
Jeep
Jeep
Jeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler . The first Willys Jeeps were produced in 1941 with the first civilian models in 1945, making it the oldest off-road vehicle and sport utility vehicle brand. It inspired a number of other light utility vehicles, such as the Land Rover which is the second...
chassis with a highly modified V8 engine mounted on it. Bill Tritt, at the time, was building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, factory and he convinced Ken that fiberglass was the ideal material for the hot rod body.
Tritt made sketches of a body and, with Ken and his Ken's wife's approval, proceeded to make the body plug and mold for a low-slung, continental-style roadster
Roadster
A roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
. A year and a half later, with a great deal of trial and error, the body was finished, set on the chassis and christened the Brooks Boxer in mid 1951.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he studied marine architecture and boat building. He worked for Douglas Aircraft's Production Planning and Illustration Departments during World War II, and by 1945 had built a number of catamaran
Catamaran
A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...
sailboats. In 1947, John Green, a yachtsman friend, paid Tritt to design and build a racing sailboat in the twenty foot range. Fiberglass seemed the logical construction material, and Otto Bayer of Wizard Boats was enlisted as laminator. The boat was named the Green Dolphin, and four were built. This was Tritt's introduction to fiberglass-reinforced plastic
Fiberglass molding
Fiberglass molding is a process in which fiberglass reinforced resin plastics are formed into useful shapes.-Mold Making:The fiberglass mold process begins with an object known as the plug or buck. This is an exact representation of the object to be made, and can be made from a variety of different...
(FRP). By 1947 he was building small fiberglass boats, and built the first ever fiberglass masts and spars for sailboats. This company became the Glasspar
Glasspar
The Glasspar boat-building company was started in 1947 when Bill Tritt began building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California fiberglass shop.-Origins:...
Company and moved to larger quarters in Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
, in the early 1950s. By the mid 1950s, Glasspar was producing 15 to 20 percent of all fiberglass boats sold in the U.S.
The Brooks Boxer was an immediate success when shown at the 1951 Los Angeles Motorama along with three other early fiberglass cars: the big Lancer, the small Skorpion, and the Wasp. Only Tritt's car went on to be the first production fiberglass car. The Boxer mold was then modified and used to produce the beautiful Glasspar G2 sports car that year.
About this time the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
was raging, and Tritt was having difficulty acquiring polyester
Polyester
Polyester is a category of polymers which contain the ester functional group in their main chain. Although there are many polyesters, the term "polyester" as a specific material most commonly refers to polyethylene terephthalate...
resin for his cars and boats. The Naugatuck Chemical Company in Naugatuck, Connecticut
Naugatuck, Connecticut
Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury, and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, which has its own post office, Straitsville on the...
, after seeing the Boxer, sent Glasspar plenty of Vibrin resin and an order for a G2 sports car to promote their product to the auto industry. Naugatuck's G2 was modified and named the Alembic I and was shown at the Philadelphia Plastics Exhibit in 1952. Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
then featured the car in a story, as did the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and many auto trade magazines. The Glasspar Company then went public and sold stock to raise capital.
Bill Tritt also designed and/or built fiberglass car bodies for Blanchard Robert "Woody" Woodill, Strassberger Motor Company, British Singer Car Company
Singer (car)
Singer was an automobile company founded in 1905 in Coventry, England. It was acquired by the Rootes Group of the United Kingdom in 1956, who continued the brand until 1970...
, Willys, Kaiser, Volvo
Volvo
AB Volvo is a Swedish builder of commercial vehicles, including trucks, buses and construction equipment. Volvo also supplies marine and industrial drive systems, aerospace components and financial services...
, and Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
. His last fiberglass car design was the Ascot which the Glasspar board of directors rejected in favor of staying with the core business of boat building. Tritt left Glasspar shortly afterward.
Anaheim, California
Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...
, was building its Autopia
Autopia
Autopia is a Disneyland attraction, in which patrons steer specially designed cars through an enclosed track. Versions of Autopia exist at Anaheim, California, Disneyland Paris in Marne-la-Vallée, France, and at Hong Kong Disneyland on Lantau Island, Hong Kong...
automobile track and commissioned Bill Tritt and Glasspar to build the fiberglass car bodies. They were small, single-seat, self-powered cars using Briggs and Stratton lawn-mower type engines with centrifugal clutches. The cars were originally designed to use aluminum wrap-around bumpers provided by Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum
Kaiser Aluminum is an American aluminum producer. The company was founded in 1946 by American industrialist Henry J. Kaiser. Kaiser entered the aluminum business by leasing, then purchasing three government-owned aluminum facilities in Washington state. These were the primary reduction plants at...
, but later changed to the more suitable steel.