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WTB Carbon fiber hood and decklid

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panteradougpanteradougMember
Fiberglass over the engine compartment is going to warp all to hell because of the heat. A good example of that is the trunk liner.

If you don't use all of the fasteners then the heat of the engine will warp the fiberglass liner to the point of the the dzus fasteners no longer lining up.

I don't know about the front, but I do know from other vehicles that the fiberglass will warp in the heat of the sun like in Florida or Texas.

Just a consideration before you spend lots of time and money on these.
MT mike the snake (Guest)
I was just inquiring. Replacement carbon body panels is big with most other cars, like my last car, a Subaru BRZ.

I was just wondering if there was anyone making quality carbon replacement hoods and decklids, because you could save a LOT of weight right there!

Naked carbon gets really hot in the sun, but painted (especially white-like my car) it's less of an issue, and there's some UV clear coats out there that can actually keep the heat down on naked carbon parts.

The real difference is in the construction. If they are REAL carbon, pre-pregged, dry carbon parts, then they would be modern race car quality and impervious to heat basically.

Most aftermarket "carbon" panels these days are glass, with a layer of carbon on top to look like they are made of carbon fiber. THOSE, are no better than straight fiberglass in regards to heat and warpage and fitment.

I'd expect if someone DID make some REAL carbon hoods and decklids for our cars that they'd be pretty expensive, but OH so light, and OH so cool!
cuveecuveeMember
quote:
Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
Fiberglass over the engine compartment is going to warp all to hell because of the heat. A good example of that is the trunk liner.

If you don't use all of the fasteners then the heat of the engine will warp the fiberglass liner to the point of the the dzus fasteners no longer lining up.

I don't know about the front, but I do know from other vehicles that the fiberglass will warp in the heat of the sun like in Florida or Texas.

Just a consideration before you spend lots of time and money on these.


My trunk liner has never warped? Or...has any of the Corvettes I've owned ever warped! But then again I have never lived in Florida or Texas! But we do have Sun here in California!
panteradougpanteradougMember
Ron, who made it and do you have pictures of the fit. That's a large factor. This discussion is getting too generic I think?

Yea. The trunk liners will warp but so many guys just run them without the dzus in them, they don't notice or care anyway, but technically, yup they warp. Some more than others.

The deck lids warping depends on a few factors. Some of which are how thick it is, how cured it was before it was mounted, the pressure in the the hydraulic lifts, stiffness of the support spider.

It depends on who made them too. Bob Byers fiberglass is really good.



The steel deck lids CAN warp too on the thin part between the hinges near the roof. So it isn't just limited to the 'glass decks.

It depends too on how close a fit you want on the seams.

Who cares on a track car, right?


In all fairness to fit though, ever notice how much the back of the original deck hangs over and doesn't really match up right with the back of the fenders? You could fix that with a fiberglass deck in the molds.

I'll bet the Gp4 aluminum skins on the steel spiders don't really stay consistent either?



I'm working on a lift kit with a remote release button with Pantera-Electronics.

The original factory hydraulic cylinders are replaced by air presurized cylinders that look just like the fat original ones. Uses this little air compressor and you have a dash button to open it and an electronic lock release button on a key fob.

One tap of the button, then deck opens automatically and STAYS THERE until you close it.

What's good about this set up is it LOOKS like the original cylinders with the rubber boots and it places no pressure on the decklid or hinges when the decklid is closed. Doesn't come crashing down on you either.

Even when it is open it only "holds" the deck open. It doesn't apply more lift pressure than needed and stress out the hinges.


Works off a little "unique P-E control board".
Uses a two frequency key fob so you can use it with power door locks.

This would work nicely with a carbon fiber or fiberglass deck also since it is adjustable with a screwdriver for lift pressure.

It uses the stock mounting points for the cylinders so if you go aftermarket and want to use this kit you need those mounts on your aftermarket decklid too.


Should be done by May.

The front "boot" cover. Nah. Your on your own there.


The Pantera easily becomes a 12 second 1/4 mile car with a hot engine in it.

Unless you put 5.38 gears in it like Hall did, and get Mike Cook to suicide drive it, like they did with "Root Beer" it isn't going to go much faster anyway no matter how much weight you take off of it.
panteradougpanteradougMember
quote:
Originally posted by Kid:
Never seen any fiberglass part warped because of heat, not even fiberglass parts that touched exhaust tubes, like on my race bikes - burned yes, but warped...nope.

A fairy tale imo ;-)


Very, Very common on Shelbys. Hood springs warp them up about an inch.

When Shelby was in LA at the "LA Airport facility" they were having SOME issues on the unpainted hoods warping in the LA sun.

It's a good idea to take the pressure off of them.
M marsredMember
Mike,

Did you come up with some fast cash? Weren't you runnin' on empty?

Not sure why you came up empty on a search, the first four vendors I looked at all list hoods, at least. You may do better to just contact them directly and inquire.

PanteraParts:
quote:
Click here to contact us with inquiries or if you would like to place an order.


Hall Pantera aluminum hood skin: http://hallpantera.com/cgi-bin...lpantera-inc&pc=7363

PI Motorsports carbon fiber hood: http://www.pim.net/carbon.html

Precision Performance fiberglass hood and aluminum hood skin: http://precisionproformance.com/bodyparts.php
MT mike the snake (Guest)
No, I'm still broke! lol.

I was just curious about what was out there.

I've done my own fair share of composites work. I could probably splash a mold off a perfect front hood, I don't think I have the expertise to pull a mold from a rear decklid though.

Thanks for posting the links, I'll check them out.

Mike



quote:
Originally posted by MarsRed:
Mike,

Did you come up with some fast cash? Weren't you runnin' on empty?

Not sure why you came up empty on a search, the first four vendors I looked at all list hoods, at least. You may do better to just contact them directly and inquire.

PanteraParts:
quote:
Click here to contact us with inquiries or if you would like to place an order.


Hall Pantera aluminum hood skin: http://hallpantera.com/cgi-bin...lpantera-inc&pc=7363

PI Motorsports carbon fiber hood: http://www.pim.net/carbon.html

Precision Performance fiberglass hood and aluminum hood skin: http://precisionproformance.com/bodyparts.php
MT mike the snake (Guest)
My composites experience is also old school. I can vacum bag stuff all day long, but the newer pre-preg and liquid ingusion techniques that produce race car quality parts are WAY out of my league.

I was just curious if there were any composite hoods and decklids available.

After feeling how heavy those parts are, when I'm rich and famous it would be cool to run some pro-made carbon parts on my car, but that's more of a dream.

Probably a different car too lol.
panteradougpanteradougMember
quote:
Originally posted by mike the snake:
I see some offerings of aluminum hood and door skins. How would one go about installing aluminum parts onto the steel underframes?

Are they riveted in place and then bodyworked over? Glued in place?

Wouldn't here be some heat/expansion/contraction issues?


They are like a door skin. They come with a 90 degree bend on the edges and you have to roll them over onto the spider.

A door skin is one thing to do but something like the size of a decklid is not childs play. You need to build a table large enough to support it while you do the work.

Everything is so thin, you could TRY to spot weld it but you will likely distort the skin cosmetically by that.

If you use nothing but the crimp to hold them they will stay for awhile but the aluminum is soft enough to stretch eventually and they will move around on you.

Probably some type of an epoxy is the way to go. Don't know which one though.
Last edited by panteradoug
K kennMember
Is this for a 71 or very early 72? The decks are not interchangeable with later cars without significant work.

A shop near LA owned by Lilo Ben Zicron (has/had a Mangusta race car) made a 20 pound rear deck for my early (flat rear deck) 72 and can make more. He uses a material he developed called Barotex (http://www.barotex.com/). Planning at some point to have him make a light weight hood, but plan to have a large vent in it.

Ken
candy2862candy2862Member
Hello,
I am new to the forum and don't know if my post will come out OK ! The heat does not affect the carbon on a Pantera decklid ( and I knwo what I am talking about, I have used one on Candy , and it never suffered from heat like steel or alloy did...
quote:
Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
Fiberglass over the engine compartment is going to warp all to hell because of the heat. A good example of that is the trunk liner.

If you don't use all of the fasteners then the heat of the engine will warp the fiberglass liner to the point of the the dzus fasteners no longer lining up.

I don't know about the front, but I do know from other vehicles that the fiberglass will warp in the heat of the sun like in Florida or Texas.

Just a consideration before you spend lots of time and money on these.
panteradougpanteradougMember
quote:
Originally posted by Candy 2862:
Hello,
I am new to the forum and don't know if my post will come out OK ! The heat does not affect the carbon on a Pantera decklid ( and I knwo what I am talking about, I have used one on Candy , and it never suffered from heat like steel or alloy did...
quote:
Originally posted by PanteraDoug:
Fiberglass over the engine compartment is going to warp all to hell because of the heat. A good example of that is the trunk liner.

If you don't use all of the fasteners then the heat of the engine will warp the fiberglass liner to the point of the the dzus fasteners no longer lining up.

I don't know about the front, but I do know from other vehicles that the fiberglass will warp in the heat of the sun like in Florida or Texas.

Just a consideration before you spend lots of time and money on these.


Beat me into submission...beat me to a pulp...teach me a lesson I will NEVER FORGET , BUT post some pictures in doing it! OH and welcome aboard! Big Grin
candy2862candy2862Member
I started racing with the Candy car in Europe in 2006 or 2007. Back then , the car was equipped with steel hood and steel decklid. After a race in Spa, I remember clearly to see bubbles in the paint of the decklid, just like an omelette when ready to eat ! Or a cooked steak on a BBQ !! ! Because of the engine and exhaust heat. When it cooled down, the paint went back to its place , and it was OK. It was quite impressive though ! I managed to buy a carbon hood and decklid to save weight, and this phenomenon never occured again, probably because the heat dissipates faster through carbon than steel .I have no other explanation. Since then , I met with the owner of a small workshop who now produces carbon and fiberglass decklids for me at more affordable price than the Swedish factory. But it is not finished for a street car. It is aonly a quest for weight saving. However, it could be modified to be adapted for a street car .( fittings, ...) . When I say carbon, I mean real carbon, not fiberglass covered with a carbon look film. The rear decklid weights a little more than two kilos, while the front one is about 1.3 kilos... Talking about a serious diet compared to steel ! Since then, the car flies . See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs4ytQ6GrYc and enjoy !
accobraaccobraMember
I have both on my car which is right now in preparation for paint ... I think Comp 2 and I have compared notes and both agree the decklid for the rear new ...need work for the proper fit ... presently mine is being reworked on both sides because the fit is horrible ... the front hood seems to fit almost perfect ... i didn't by it from a vendor i purchased it thru a CF dealer in Calif.
joulesjoules"Racing is Life, anything before or after is just waiting" - Steve McQueen
There is a company in Reno, NV called Prototype Concepts that lays up the decklids and hoods for most of the vendors. I have visited in the past and was very impressed by the projects they had going at the time. Maybe worth a call to see if he can do a full CF decklid or hood.

http://www.prototypeconcepts.com/

I believe Wilkinson and Larry Stock use this guy and have their own independent molds he works from.

Julian
G gt4peterMember
I think the price from the PI decklid is verry good, we are able to do those deckilds with honey waves and a cf spreato coat, but not under 1500.- euros . The finish from PI looks like hi Quality , I am sad that there is no Producer here in europe for this Price. ..
Hi Pat ! pls. If possible send me more informations from your decklid, maybe there is a Chance to adapt it, that it works for the street? :-)
candy2862candy2862Member
quote:
Originally posted by GT4Peter:
I think the price from the PI decklid is verry good, we are able to do those deckilds with honey waves and a cf spreato coat, but not under 1500.- euros . The finish from PI looks like hi Quality , I am sad that there is no Producer here in europe for this Price. ..
Hi Pat ! pls. If possible send me more informations from your decklid, maybe there is a Chance to adapt it, that it works for the street? :-)

Hi Peter,
The only technical difference between our racing fiberglass and carbon hoods and decklid is that there are no fittings for the hinges affixed on it, like the "street version". In racing , they are simply laid flat on the car, and affixed with rubber straps or aluminium pins. Of course, it can be adapted for a street car, but my guys at the workshop are not equipped to do this.
This said, I agree that PI decklids and hoods are really looking great, and come " ready to mount" but when I wanted to order some for my street car last winter, they were out of stock.
panteradougpanteradougMember
I think I saw Hammond drive from LA to Denmark over the polar ice cap in one of those Lamborghini SUV's? Jeremy had chosen to ride on the back of a whale?

I think that was the last episode that Clarkson was on? He told the Producer to shove it after that one?

You could ask them for the route. It probably would be cheaper than shipping it to Europe?

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