Guest Anonymous Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 I have identified a reputable manufacturer of carbon fiber body parts used in the race car industry. He is willing to make a CF hood for my 280. The price would be $600 plus shipping. It would have rounded edges (not cut), the hood vent openings would be included and the hood would have the mounting hardware brackets installed. Thing is, I would need to supply him with my hood (perfectly straight, by the way) for the mold. I'm ok with this but minimum orders of 8 also apply. This is too costly for me. Is anyone interested in going in on this with me? Please let me know. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 It would look nice, but that's a bit steep for me. If you get a few guys here to go in with you, post on the other Zcar forums as well and you'll have your magic 8. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 That sounds like a pretty fair price for carbon fiber, but for that money, I wouldn't want a stock looking hood, maybe something a little different---ram scoop or somthing , then I would definitely be interested. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 $600 is a bit steep but not having actually done one of these yet, I'm not sure how much time and matterials would be involved. However, keep in mind that the hood is the heaviest part on the Z front end sheetmetal... weighing more than two fenders combined. What do people think would be a fair price? Since Jamie T. and I are planning to make these, I'm interested in what the public thinks is fair for such an exotic part... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evan Purple240zt Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 CF hood is interesting and all, but I have a few concerns. 1) Hood hinges? 2) Will the hood sag eventually? Honestly, I am really not interested in having a CF looking hood. I would rather have a fiberglass one that I paid less for and can be painted to match my car. I would consider paying 300 for a hood if the occasion arose. Which it probabally wont. I would consider paying more if it had some sort of cowl induction to get more air into the compartment. Turbos run hot Later guys - Evan PS... I HAD a fiberglass hood but dumped it because it had no hinges and was dzus fastened on. Pain in the ass IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 $600. is actually a reasonable price IMO. The cost of the carbon fiber that I buy is $30./yard. The epoxy resin that CF requires is what gets expensive. $60./gal. for the resin and hardener. To get a glassy finish requires much more labor cost because you can't sand out imperfections, it has to be perfect the first time, unless you are going to paint it. Temperature is an issue, unless vinyl ester resin is used which has a higher heat resistance than epoxy or regular polyester resin. Vinyl ester will withstand about 100 degrees F. higher temps. Hinge mounts would be easy to bond onto any CF hood as long as you didn't use hood springs, which shouldn't be needed as the hood should weigh under 10 lbs. IMO, the ultimate hood would use carbon/kevlar fabric weave which is 40-percent stronger and 25-percent lighter than CF. Same price for the material at $31. per yard. Make it paint grade so that slight defects don't matter. Using a stock hood (or even a piece of sheet metal or thin masonite bent to the the curve of the hood)to lay-up on. Cover it with mold release (or I prefer thin mylar sheet taped down), a person could make any design imaginable. Scoops and vents could be formed out of carved wood or foam in any shape desired, taped or glued to the hood/metal/masonite, covered with a release agent, (wax/mylar/wax paper). The possibilities are infinite. After my conversion is complete I plan to make a GT40 style hood this way. If you didn't notice I am kinda excited about this project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 The hood isn't the expensive part. The mold is where the money goes for this stuff. I would expect a correct and perfect mold for this hood to cost about $5,000. Who's covering that cost? FYI... Hiten Patel already has a good mold and a couple complete carbon fiber hoods done for his EP 240Z. They weigh about 7 pounds without hinges or latch. Because of the mold cost, he sure can't sell them for $600 each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 20, 2001 Share Posted August 20, 2001 Hrm, folks are tossing around weights here.. I've GOT a fiberglass hood myself, one of the subtleZ units. Cost about $300 or so. Weight is 15lbs, stock hood is 30lbs. Folks, that's not all that heavy. I too wouldn't mind a CF hood but that's a bit too pricey. Kickn - you interesting in doing some CF? There's a few parts I'd like done that others might also be interested in. Some pretty simple (flat) others a little more complicated like door panels. I'd love to have a nice heater panel done in CF (sigh). If interested let me know and maybe we can work something out. IMO, post about this hood on ZCar. You might still find someone here interested in it but over there you'd almost certainly find a couple If it weren't quite so expensive (don't forget shipping!) and I didn't already have a 'glass hood I'd be interested... [ August 21, 2001: Message edited by: BLKMGK ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 21, 2001 Share Posted August 21, 2001 BLKMGK, yeah, I have toyed with the idea of making parts to sell, but am afraid that turning my hobby into a business would take all the fun out of it. With that said, making flat CF panels is a piece of cake. I am looking into having a local shop that cuts lexan with a laser into any shape you want cut some CF into various shapes for me. Ex. emblems, heater panels, door panels, gauge clusters, console panels, etc.. If that works out I will run off a dozen or so parts and then see if anyone likes them. FYI, the heater panel that you want is made very easy except for the slots for the controls. CF is VERY difficult to cut. That is where the laser comes in....hopefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted August 21, 2001 Share Posted August 21, 2001 My desires are somewhat simple I think. I want to do th edogleg flat pieces just behind th edoors inside - they're cardboard now. I want to do door panels but th ecurve at the top complicates this IMO. Lastly, th eheater panel. I'd actually liek that done much liek the stock one with a radio cutout and map light but flat where the heater controls go. I expect to put in Vintage Air eventually and would use their custom control panel instead of the stock Z setup. I often pnder a dash cover too but honestly I'm not sure how well that would work and it's a REAL complicated piece IMO. Heck, a complete console would rock too but that's also complicated IMO. If you ever decide to move forward or turn out a piece or two keep me in mind please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted August 21, 2001 Share Posted August 21, 2001 Thanks to everyone for their feedback. It looks like there might be interest for a CF hood but only if it is "special", i.e., has a raised cowl. I've asked my supplier to let me know if this were possible working with a stock hood. Relative to the strength of these hoods, they are very stiff. They will not sag. Another question raised was mold cost. I was qouted a number much less than $5000 as someone earlier had mentioned. This being the case I would pay for the mold and thereby own it. Future orders would be of a cost that would enable me to recoup the cost of the mold. Probably around $650 a hood if enough orders were obtained. Once I learn about the cowl option I will post a note to you all. Bye! Warren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted August 22, 2001 Share Posted August 22, 2001 One of my customers e-mailed this thread to me and I thought I'd throw in my $0.02, and attempt to do so without being flamed for advertising The mold for my Subtle Z (with its taller center tunnel) could easily be used to produce parts of any fiber and resin system combination. However, even though my background is aerospace, it has been a while since I have done exotic layups. Therefore, there would be a learning curve to climb before I could produce sellable parts. I could probably do this for a smaller minimum order (say three) at about the same per part price. However, there is a big difference between making a carbon fiber part that is to be painted and one that will be "visibly" carbon. Clear gel coats, or net-finish resin systems require a whole different learning curve. If any of you guys want to discuss this with me off line, I'll be happy to chat as time permits. I don't have much time to check the message boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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