Heavy Metal! Part Deux - The Carbon Copy

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by Showdown

Mercx bicycles in Belgium has long used flax as a green replacement for carbon fiber (they forget the use of highly toxic resins but I digress) and has had phenomenal results.

I'll have to look them up.

I was going to menti4on the resin used. In fact even if you use flax fiber in the normal infusion process the amount of waste produced is rather phenomenal. This in the form of disposable peel ply, flow mesh, flow spiral,vacuum bag, butyl sealing tape, flexible hose for the infusion, mixing cups, etc. Not to mention the waste resin and excess material cut off the part after curing. IIRC for the skid skid plate I mix 585g of resin, and less than half of that ends up in the buyers hands. The rest goes in my garbage can.

I don't know that toxicity with the resin is a problem. Certainly the one I am using produces no fumes or vapor or even odour. There are bio-based resins, however, that could be substituted as long as the associated loss of strength as temperature resistance could be tolerated.

[KRLocke]

Color is mostly from the fiber, correct? Can you dye the resin?

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by oliver07r

Agree
We custom made Amber (917 honey style ) FG air scoops for our water cooled Sépia Brown 930 RSR and we love the look
Can't be seen unless you're under the car but we know it's there

I meant to say - the quality of this build and the attention to detail and the ambition of the plan (and ultimately the execution and finished product!) is just amazing!!!

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by KRLocke

Color is mostly from the fiber, correct? Can you dye the resin?

Yes - you can see the natural color of the cloth (white-ish) and the dyed resin before this part was trimmed.

The "917" FRP color from back in the was due to the coloration of the resin used (assume it was polyester?) and then the yellowing from age/heat once the part was made. It was really just the natural color of the material.

I'm going to add it to my ever-growing to-do list to order some dyes and do some experimentation... maybe Oliver07r will share some tips?

[Showdown]

I’ve used Mixol dyes in various projects I’ve had when resin have needed tints. Very nice stuff and blends well.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by Showdown

I’ve used Mixol dyes in various projects I’ve had when resin have needed tints. Very nice stuff and blends well.

That's a great recommendation, thank you! Looks like the yellow oxide would be a good place to start.

[KRLocke]

I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

[Jonny042]

I've been enjoying a bit of time away, some family visiting, and some spring cleanup. Oh and I do still have a job that requires my attention sometimes...

All that to say I've had little time to post, but have been occasionally cranking out some parts as time allows.

The pelicans who ordered these spoilers (the top two) have been waiting patiently... unfortunately one part came out slightly less than perfect so I had to re-make it. So far among buyers of this particular part it's a 50/50 split between paint and bare/clearcoat, but this buyer confirmed he wanted to run it as exposed carbon.



That leaves me with a "blem" part to sell! There are some slight disturbances in the weave from a momentary lack of attention while laying up the first layer.





I'm going to post it up in the classifieds shortly at a discounted price of $575.00 plus $40.00 shipping anywhere in the lower 49:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/1161288-spoiler-alert-carbon-fiber-mini-ducktail.html

I am shipping the other two out tomorrow so it's a good opportunity to get one without the wait!

[Jonny042]

It's been a minute or two since I posted an update - summers are short up here and it's tough to fit in all the various 2 and 4 wheeled activities I want to be doing!

Not to mention trying to maintain some forward momentum on the project and development of parts...

The Carbon Copy has sprouted a strange growth on its roof. A fellow Pelican (thanks, Brookieslayer!) has very generously offered his non-sunroof coupe for mold-making use so I've built a fixture for that. I may even document the process! Hoping to have a mold for a roof skin in a few weeks time.

Can't wait to take a cutting wheel to this... I may have found a home for the sunroof tray (thanks Pelican Classifieds!) so hopefully it can have a second chance at life!



Making a square box fit a round car...



Due to the flange required for the infusion process, the outer dimensions of the mold, for a given part, are quite a bit bigger than the part itself. Which explains the large size of the oven required for curing!

The pattern/mold process generally uses all sorts of tape and gum and shoelaces, glue guns, crafting materials, and whatever works, to make the pattern with which to make the mold. It can be fun, and also frustrating, and either way is incredibly time consuming.



Now for an actual project update... I wanted to start with a 76 chassis. 77 and later had power brakes which added 15 to 20 pounds. By this time in the 911 production the last remaining ungalvanized panel was the roof. A small amount of rust is present on this one but easily rectified, and it's the only rust on the entire bodyshell! It also helps to start with a California car...

Making the mold pattern required removing the front and rear glass, it's also plain to see that the repaint was not really Ice Green Metallic. Close, but it's less green and looks more like a modern paint code from a Japanese Car.

[Uwon]

WOW, Jonny. At first I thought you had gone to the dark side and decided to build a Safari car. This CF roof would normally be an impossible undertaking for us normal mortals but not you. I tip my hat to you! Brookieslayer‘s car/roof is in good hands.
Cheers,
Johan

[AG81]

Very Very cool stuff Jon. I was thinking roof rack for a split second.
Following along as usual.......

[evan9eleven]

Originally Posted by AG81

Very Very cool stuff Jon. I was thinking roof rack for a split second.
Following along as usual.......

Why not a CF roof rack while he's at it!

[chrisbalich]

Jon,
I got under the LBDC this morning and looked at the CF skid plate.
It's dirty and has a few scratches, but no actual damage. Anyone that followed me to, from, or during Ruchlos 4 can confirm I durability tested the bottom of the car more that weekend than most Pelicans will over their entire lifetimes.
Very well done, my friend.

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by chrisbalich

Jon,
I got under the LBDC this morning and looked at the CF skid plate.
It's dirty and has a few scratches, but no actual damage. Anyone that followed me to, from, or during Ruchlos 4 can confirm I durability tested the bottom of the car more that weekend than most Pelicans will over their entire lifetimes.
Very well done, my friend.

Thanks, Chris! I completely missed this post (apparently I'm not getting notifications for subscribed threads).

Keep up the testing!

[Jonny042]

Fellow Pelican Brookieslayer, who is local to me, has one of the nicest non-sunroof tubs you'll ever see in restoration/restomodation and he was kind enough to offer it up for me to take a roof mold from.

Of course the roof needed a little bit of love beforehand. Perfect patterns make for perfect molds, which make for perfect parts! He's stripping the paint shortly so I needed to get this done!

[ToySnakePMC]

There are some really good mad Pelican scientists around these parts. Always enjoy the updates on your projects.
Patrick

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by ToySnakePMC

There are some really good mad Pelican scientists around these parts. Always enjoy the updates on your projects.
Patrick

Ha thanks! Glad you're enjoying the madness!

I got the mold back to my shop, and that prompted another round of wet sanding and polishing and cleaning up the "off part" flanges around the edges, trimming the edges, etc. I still need to cut some hand holes in the side flanges to aid in lugging it around.



Looks like it should fit in the cyberoven!



I've been wondering for a long time if the profile of a sunroof equipped roof is exactly the same as a non-sunroof car. I thought they might be a bit different around the sunroof opening but it would appear the profile is absolutely identical.







I'm hoping to have a roof skin made for the carbon copy in the next few weeks, but things may get busy all of a sudden. More on that soon...

[Jonny042]

The sunroof is posted for sale!:

https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/1163679-carbon-fiber-sunroof-panel-bolt-factory-style-replica.html

Also available to order:

Carbon Kevlar Protection Plate: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/1159997-fs-carbon-kevlar-protection-plate-1974-1989-a.html

Carbon Fiber Mini Ducktail: https://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/1161288-spoiler-alert-carbon-fiber-mini-ducktail.html

[Uwon]

Jonny, truly amazing work. I tip my hat to you to undertake this whole entire CF project with such outstanding results.
Cheers,
Johan

[Brookieslayer]

Originally Posted by ToySnakePMC

There are some really good mad Pelican scientists around these parts. Always enjoy the updates on your projects.
Patrick

Hey Patrick,

Good to see you are tracking the pelicans north of the 49th still! Hope all is well.