Carbon fiber hood
- Thread starter jww426
- Start date
ill get right on it
daddywad
Well-Known Member
Carbon fibre hood available here in UK
mark
mark
Rek
Well-Known Member
Really? Where from?
Mrglasscar.com used to offer lightweight fiberglass body bits, hood and trunk lids included. Looks like his website is shut down. I would think his molds if still around could be adapted to carbon fiber part production. Perhaps someone here might have more info.
http://www.mrglasscars.com/section1-2.html
works for me. Hope he's not out of business. Been meaning to order this some time:
http://www.mrglasscars.com/section1-9.html
CF is very very $$$. Dont see a market for creating those in CF. You can always get a fiberglass hood and do a CF vinyl wrap on it.
works for me. Hope he's not out of business. Been meaning to order this some time:
http://www.mrglasscars.com/section1-9.html
CF is very very $$$. Dont see a market for creating those in CF. You can always get a fiberglass hood and do a CF vinyl wrap on it.
Me Glass aka Skip , you Gota call him.
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Rek
Well-Known Member
OK - who would be tempted by a carbon fibre hood and/or trunk (bonnet and boot on this side of thr Atlantic) - inner and outer. Think of the weight saving. It might be possible if enough people are interested.
I am happy to see
I am happy to see
Rek
Well-Known Member
....sorry - hit the wrong button. I am happy to see who is out there to consider fabrication, which will be cheaper with more numbers.
I wud buy a carbon fibre bonnet, boot lid x2....
The original parts will go into storage..
The original parts will go into storage..
I have a family member who is in the business of designing resins and cocktails for various CF applications and I've been floating this idea by him ever since seeing the ring brothers CF mustang on Jay Lenos garage.
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I think Shanon had a CF hood... it sure is light
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Rek
Well-Known Member
One of three videos about making a hood and trunk. Seems that the mould is over half the battle - its not a priority for me but I will do some digging for prices if there is any interest beyond one other.
Honolulu
Well-Known Member
Just watched the first video w/o sound (I'm at the office). Let me say that as a surfer/fiberglasser of some decades experience, the video makes it look easy... it's not. While it does cover the required steps, there's a lot of hand/eye coordination and technique there that one doesn't get from a video. One point I'd make is that properly wetting out fiberglass mat takes a lot of work, and ALL of it has to be done before the resin sets. If you get caught halfway when your resin starts to gel, the whole shittaree goes into the trash.
I also wonder about why he's not wearing a respirator while working with all the resin. For the polyester resins I most commonly use, a good respirator with appropriate cartridges is an absolute requirement. Epoxy resins are 100 percent solids and don't stink as much, but for some they provoke an extreme (potentially life threatening) allergic reaction. For the unfortunate few, sensitivity seems to increase exponentially - the first batch gives you an irritation, the second hospitalizes you or worse.
A backyard neighbor tried several times to make a 'glass hood for his 55 Chevy. Each time, he told me, the product warped to the point of not being useable. Possibly if using an epoxy resin that doesn't have such high exotherm, it might go better but even epoxies give off substantial reaction heat which has to be dissipated (thin layers better). The mold needs additional stiffening - I would suggest several closely fitted wood ribs perpendicular to the mold surface.
I want to think that for a car hood, one might not need both top and bottom pieces, or for it to be hollow. Shanon may comment on how his hood is assembled.
'Nother thing... fasteners. Pins don't require much, but attaching a hinge as per original construction offers more chances for nightmares, or the requirement for a top/bottom section where the hinge assembly is to connect.
Anyone wanting to try this should start with some very simple shapes to inexpensively discover the pitfalls of trying to make a mold, then trying to make a product.
And BTW, before anyone goes into this, I'd suggest the first order of business is to discover the difference between carbon fiber and fiberglass. IIRC it's about a factor of ten or more, if you can get it. Kevlar is also possible but may not like to wet out well.
But is sure is tempting to have a go...
I also wonder about why he's not wearing a respirator while working with all the resin. For the polyester resins I most commonly use, a good respirator with appropriate cartridges is an absolute requirement. Epoxy resins are 100 percent solids and don't stink as much, but for some they provoke an extreme (potentially life threatening) allergic reaction. For the unfortunate few, sensitivity seems to increase exponentially - the first batch gives you an irritation, the second hospitalizes you or worse.
A backyard neighbor tried several times to make a 'glass hood for his 55 Chevy. Each time, he told me, the product warped to the point of not being useable. Possibly if using an epoxy resin that doesn't have such high exotherm, it might go better but even epoxies give off substantial reaction heat which has to be dissipated (thin layers better). The mold needs additional stiffening - I would suggest several closely fitted wood ribs perpendicular to the mold surface.
I want to think that for a car hood, one might not need both top and bottom pieces, or for it to be hollow. Shanon may comment on how his hood is assembled.
'Nother thing... fasteners. Pins don't require much, but attaching a hinge as per original construction offers more chances for nightmares, or the requirement for a top/bottom section where the hinge assembly is to connect.
Anyone wanting to try this should start with some very simple shapes to inexpensively discover the pitfalls of trying to make a mold, then trying to make a product.
And BTW, before anyone goes into this, I'd suggest the first order of business is to discover the difference between carbon fiber and fiberglass. IIRC it's about a factor of ten or more, if you can get it. Kevlar is also possible but may not like to wet out well.
But is sure is tempting to have a go...
Rek
Well-Known Member
I wasn't planning on doing it myself - just getting someone like the guy in the video to make them. Him or someone like him, and spread the cost over a few of us.
Not much interest though so I will kick this into the long grass.
Not much interest though so I will kick this into the long grass.
Might look pretty good on a polaris car. Hmmm. If it came out less than perfect you could always paint it. On our cars I might leave off the spring torsion bar on the hood. That piece seems like it would add a lot of stress to the hinge points.
use hood struts
thats what im doing
thats what im doing
Agreed on the spring. A quality hood would still use the hinges but the spring would not be needed. There is plenty of room to build up the material and add an aluminum plate to mount to the hinge.
There is a company in oregon that does amazing modeling, mold making, and glass work. I believe that most of their cars are fiberglass, but the mold process is the same and they do carbon bodies also (see pic). They make the most incredible "spank all of the competition" AWD racecars. I have been following their progress since "DP1" was just a 3D model. After a few years of competitive racing, they are already on the podium at pikes peak. Sadly I can't imagine that they have any capacity for a handful of e9 hoods. They may have a good contact though...
If you want to geek out for 8 hours, read through their website:
www.dpcars.net
30lbs... Looks like Stohr / Dauntless racing did the fiber body for them using the DP mold.
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