Carbon Fiber Hood for lanos

[buddha102]

Does any1 know where can i get one here in the states?

cause the hood for lanos are heavy (in my opinion)

[PrecisionBoost]

custom made is probably your only option.... quite expensive... most likely over a grand if not more.

Most likely not worth the time and effort.

A fiberglass hood would be way cheaper to fabricate.... could probably get someone to do one for $750

With carbon fiber it has to be one piece ( or you will see it ) where as fiberglass can be done in multiple pieces.

One could find a very similar hood from a different car ( such as a civic ) and have it modified to fit yours.

This would be the cheapest way.... since they wouldn't be starting from scratch.

In this case it might be possible to get it done for something closer to $500 if you find a really close hood from another car.

[Rodd1s]

if ur brave enough you could probly attempt to make a fibreglass bonnet urself... might take a week (or 10), but wouldnt cost half as much as any bodyshop would charge.

[buddha102]

do u have any links for fiberglass? like what i need, how to start, etc?

[PrecisionBoost]

Always start with a budget before jumping head first into something like this.

There are basic supplies that can be purchased for a reasonable amount of money, but the key to a good product is in the mold.

That is to say you really need to make a good mold which can be very expensive.

If you can convince others to go in on a "group buy" of lightweight fiberglass hoods then you might be able to find a professional to take on the project.

So.... lets for example say the mold costs about $2000 in time and labor to perfect.

If you make 1 hood.... well.... it's not worth while.... if you make 10 hoods then that's just $200 per hood for the mold cost.

The hood itself is probably around $200 worth of parts and labor... so the break even point is probably $400 per hood.

If your making 20 hoods.... price could drop to $300..... 30 hoods... price could drop to $267


Making small parts are easy.... hoods are such a large surface area that you have to be worried about the mold changing shape or sagging.


All I'm saying is that you might want to consider the complexity of a hood before deciding to try and make one... you would be far better off starting with a smaller project and learning the methods required to make larger parts.

Just so you know.... I have been fiberglassing things since I was like 12 years old.... mostly fixing broken hockey sticks and small things.

I have done a few larger projects..... door panel and fender.... and I'm still not happy with the end result.

Fiberglass fabrication is a part of my manufacturing business.... so you could say I'm fairly familiar with what is required.

Speaking from experience..... it's quite a long process to get a good end product.... you could waist hundreds of dollars and come up with something that is completely useless in the end.

I don't mean to be negative..... I'm just saying that a hood is very large.... so if you screw up just one small thing you will have to throw out a pile of expensive materials and start again.

With a small part the size of your hand (roughly 20 square inches ) it might cost you $5.... so who cares if you need to make it 4 times before you get it right.

Now imagine a hood.... it's going to be something closer to 2500 square inches..... if 20 square inches cost $5 then a hood is going to cost you about $625 in materials.... and the labor might be weeks.

A mold has to be very thick and rigid with a perfect mirror finish on the inside surface.

You can't do it all in one shot.... it will get too hot (from the curing resin ) and warp the mold..... so you have to add layer after layer waiting to allow for cooling.... many times that means making a layer and leaving it over night before adding another layer... it might take 6-8 layers of fiberglass to make the mold completely rigid.

Oh.... the other fun thing about hoods.... technically you need two molds!!!

One for the outer hood skin and one for the inside pattern which adds strength.

Making a hood without the support frame underneath will be a disaster... the hood will crack the first time someone leans on your hood.... or it might flap up and down on the highway and explode into a million pieces.

[buddha102]

damn.... never thought it will be that difficult to make a fiberglass hood

thx chris, i'll stick with the OEM hood

[PrecisionBoost]

There are methods of making "one use" only molds.... many use simple cheap items such as plaster.

In the end you would need to have the ability to spay gel coat which is basically a colored resin.

Without gel coat it would be hard to get a nice finish off the one use mold.... and odds are you would have to do some work to get the surface completely 100% smooth.

Some people will simply peel off the steel top and attach carbon fiber or fiberglass to the factory steel subframe.

Problem is that the subframe is the part that weighs quite a bit.... the skin of the hood doesn't weigh much.

Most people that are doing this are going for the look rather than weight savings.