[project] The Ultimate Track 205

[Batfink 201]

vacuum bagging a one piece clamshell might be interesting. I personally would not bother as the panels will be painted.

[Cameron 16]

Yeah just gonna have to wet-lay it really.

[alexcrosse 124]

finish on matts manta clam is good enough and that was wet

[Cameron 16]

Exactly. You can get a perfectly fine surface finish with wet-lay, I've done it several times! The only difference bagging (ha) makes is when you want to have unpainted carbon parts, then it's important to get out all the little micro-bubbles on the surface.

[Batfink 201]

The main advantage of the vacuum bagging is there is less distortion of the weave. You can get a good result with wet lay but if you disturb the weave direction you can get a little cloudyish spots as the light hits it at a different angle. A gel coat and spray is so much better really.

[Gavin Waddell 18]

Hey cam

 

Really interesting read, i think this is going to be one badass 205. You way of doing things is second to none, just looking at you pics is inspired me to spend more time working on mine. when reading through your posts i saw you where going to undertake the making of a 551031-025.carbon fibre clam shell which is also going to be a lot of fun, especially if you do a wet lay.

 

Here's a little story when I was about 20 I wanted to work in f1, so I spoke to what was to th head of the composite department at Jordan and he told me " want a job in f1 go and work as boat builder to get some experience", so that's what I did and have been for the past 10 years. Started off at the bottom and worked my way up, and I have seen a lot of differnt parts get made from wet lay up to prepreg, infusion, auto clave stuff.

And as with other people on this forum have given me advice about mechanical stuff I thought I might give you bit of advice about the dark art of composites

 

And the best advice I could give you for your clam shell is: make a good old mould with some nice sturdy wooden bracing so when you release the would you can sit it on the floor and it won't move ( will try and find pics to show what I mean)

 

Also it is good to post cure all your parts in the mould, this is so the resin cures fully, if not the first time you put it in the sun it will start to post cure( and this could warp the part).

 

Have you thought of infusing your part. Infusion was created to replace wet lay up. You lay your fibre in the mould the dry, baggit, then add the resin. It means you can take your time to lay up, even over a couple of days if you have to.

 

These are just a few things that popped into my mind when I saw you wanted to make clam shells. I don't want to sound big headed or pretentious In anyway. Just want to help a fellow enthusiast

 

If you want to ask any questions feel free I would be happy to help out. I would even come and help you make it but i live a bit far away ( Switzerland)

 

Gavin

 

 

 

[Gavin Waddell 18]

Hey cam

 

Really interesting read, i think this is going to be one badass 205. You way of doing things is second to none, just looking at you pics is inspired me to spend more time working on mine. when reading through your posts i saw you where going to undertake the making of a 551031-025.carbon fibre clam shell which is also going to be a lot of fun, especially if you do a wet lay.

 

Here's a little story when I was about 20 I wanted to work in f1, so I spoke to what was to th head of the composite department at Jordan and he told me " want a job in f1 go and work as boat builder to get some experience", so that's what I did and have been for the past 10 years. Started off at the bottom and worked my way up, and I have seen a lot of differnt parts get made from wet lay up to prepreg, infusion, auto clave stuff.

And as with other people on this forum have given me advice about mechanical stuff I thought I might give you bit of advice about the dark art of composites

 

And the best advice I could give you for your clam shell is: make a good old mould with some nice sturdy wooden bracing so when you release the would you can sit it on the floor and it won't move ( will try and find pics to show what I mean)

 

Also it is good to post cure all your parts in the mould, this is so the resin cures fully, if not the first time you put it in the sun it will start to post cure( and this could warp the part).

 

Have you thought of infusing your part. Infusion was created to replace wet lay up. You lay your fibre in the mould the dry, baggit, then add the resin. It means you can take your time to lay up, even over a couple of days if you have to.

 

These are just a few things that popped into my mind when I saw you wanted to make clam shells. I don't want to sound big headed or pretentious In anyway. Just want to help a fellow enthusiast

 

If you want to ask any questions feel free I would be happy to help out. I would even come and help you make it but i live a bit far away ( Switzerland)

 

Gavin

 

 

 

[Cameron 16]

Gavin, thanks very much for taking the time to get in touch! I would definitely appreciate a discussion with you on moulding and lay-up etc; I have a little bit of experience with making pattern composites from making a carbon bonnet a few years ago but I could certainly do with the advice of an expert.

 

I would say PM me about it, but actually I think it's a discussion that would be perfectly fine to have on the thread as it's totally relevant and means other people may get the benefit from it too. If you're ok with that then feel free to bombard the topic with information!

 

I guess the biggest thing I need to know about is making the master mould; the plug should be fairly simple as I'll just be moulding onto the original bodywork (albeit with arch extensions and the panel gaps smoothed) but making a multi-piece female mould will be tricky and I have no experience of this.

 

I'd happily pay for your flights over here if you wanted to give me a hand by the way.

[Batfink 201]

post on this thread. I intend to make all my own panels for my car so its a good read! How do you post cure DIY without a big oven?

[Cameron 16]

I guess that just means you need to leave it in the mould a bit longer?

[brumster 135 1 Cars]

When I'm making my dashboards (there's another one in the mould right now for someone!) I crack it off of the mould 2 days after lay-up, and let it rest in there for a further 5 days (with some gentle heating at this time of year, granted). This was how I was always told to do it - not sure if that's all we're talking about here?

[kyepan 291]

i've seen some home made autoclaves on t internet, mostly insulated boxes with hot plates in the bottom. 80-120 is a low temp resin .. temp.. also prepre can be bought to cure at this temp. Not saying you have / should clave, but it's certaintly within the remit of someone who can build a sturdy heatproof box with some suitable heaters in it.

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

We have claves big enough to do your clamshells too cam, and ovens to post cure for you Remember we did Indy car chassis back in the day... all you could ever need to make your car at one place

[Gavin Waddell 18]

An auto clave is generaly a large tube which is then pressurised to 3 bar inside, this gives a part with very small porosity between the layers of carbon. Kyepan what reckon you saw is a home made oven.

[Vili 18]

Or sauna.

[Cameron 16]

We have claves big enough to do your clamshells too cam, and ovens to post cure for you Remember we did Indy car chassis back in the day... all you could ever need to make your car at one place

 

Stop it you temptress!

 

I'm going to wet-lay them first, maybe I can move on to proper autoclaved parts at a later date.

[Gavin Waddell 18]

Cam

I will put some more info once back a home currently on holiday in Thailand. will try to do a kind of step bu step guide explaining different processes along the way .

 

Gavin

[Cameron 16]

Awesome, I really appreciate it.

[johniban 59 1 Cars]

Theres a lad on one of the vw forums that made all his own panels with home built moulds, a mk1 golf race car

 

http://forums.forzamotorsport.net/blogs/turn_10s_forza_motorsport_blog/archive/2008/12/04/2119198.aspx

Edited February 9, 2013 by johniban

[Cameron 16]

It's the weekend!

 

Today I was going to do the door bars, but forgot to take my drawings down for them so set about finishing the front end instead.

 

I took some "selfies" too, as I love pictures of welding.. the light always looks awesome.

 

 

Front end finished:

 

 

 

 

So then I moved the engine slightly further forwards, to improve the rocker cover / spark plug access a little bit, but more importantly to get a bit of clearance between the oil pump and the engine mount (once it's in place).

 

 

This is post-move, it was very tight before!

 

 

More to come tomorrow.

[Cameron 16]

As promised..

 

I didn't do too much today as the weather was s*ite, so made some nice little jigs to get the diff in place.

 

 

Then, err.. got the diff in place.

 

 

 

 

It's not much in the grand scheme of things, but something about that seems pretty bloody awesome.

[Lan 24 1 Cars]

so how long is the queue to see this monster when your done?

[Rippthrough 98]

That engine looks lost in there, you'd better swap it for a V8

[Cameron 16]

If you're offering me a Judd V8 then I grudgingly accept.

[TT205 42]

Piccs not working for me