Aluminum and Carbon Fiber Door panels / the bait, Anyone interested? Options

[forrestkhaag]

Among other projects I am going to fabricate aluminum door panels and then do a Carbon Fiber overlay for visual effect. the primary goal is to have a bone flat panel that secures door pockets, arm rests and stays flat in sun rain and sea wind.

I am not sure what a set should take in time and materials to fabricate / but i am nearing completion of the CF backpad mold and owe the doner of the tin to make the mold the first vacuum bagged take-off in FG and CF / then I will make mine for my car and move on to the door panels.

Any interest out there?

a few old pix to inspire others to complete the conversion to a 6. Mine screams at 4K and after break in mileage is achieved on Friday next, the MSD gets a release to,...say,...6K..then to the max in the balanced build........

a few pix of my original 71 rust free acquisition for 3K in Seal Beach festooned with duct tape interior...

The kid that sold it to me in a BofA parking lot stole his parent's title from a dresser drawer, signed his name over (his dad's name too).... took the cash and ran away to the nearest drug emporium....

A year later I found a business card with his (dad's) name on it in the tunnel. I called the to tell him of progress / and it was the dad in person.

He understood the work and value I put into it and let the issue of his kid's forgery go / I offered two grand to cover potential loss (and to help with rehab for the kid) but he asked only to see it when "finished".... It is like a painting. Its never finished...........

But the blue collar dad is a real Man. In california, he could have sued me with a no-questions-asked attorney / a dime a dozen in this place and ready to rock and roll the dice.

Sidebar: My lovely wife and I just returned from a property acquisition visit to Scottsdale and are in the process of purchasing another property there that will include multiple garage spaces set up for lifts and 914's...... Hence, I may get sidelined on a few 914 projects until close but the ideas are bubbling......

Memories of all of those 911's along the way and that 996 C4S and then the 993 are fading fast - what with the 914-6 3.0 in full crescendo just behind the right ear....

The conversion (with the undying help of folks like Perry K. and Rich J. and Bob A. and Steve and his lovely daughter, and Kieth914, and Larmo, and the missing but soon to return Gregory and Mikey, and Dr. Evil, and Jim, and the guy at Pristine Motorsports that sold me a 1K 3.0 "core complete with everything to the clutch (accept the fan shroud...big deal), and,.well the list goes on and on.

If anyone out there needs help getting to the finish line on a 6 conversion, I will help if I can. The reward is in the doing of it.



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[Tom_T]

I know a lot of the racer/AX types will pull the door panels & just use plain AL sheet panels in that duty, which can be easily be cut by hand with a power jig/recip saw.

However, you might want to also offer them to the racers pre-cut & edge finished better than they may do in their haste, but without the holes for any armrests, window handles, etc. IIRC 914 A&P &/or 914Rubber does the CFRP &/or 914R style door panels.

The donor ex-racer 74-2L shell I got for my 73's resto/repairs had some pretty rough cut AL ones the POs used for NARA racing.

Hope to see your by-then broken in 6 build next Saturday at the OC Concours in Fountain Valley's Mile Square Park.

Good story & good luck with the AZ property.

Cheers! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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[sb914]

I'm in!

[Harpo]

Aluminum & carbon fiber are not compatible and will corrode. Why not just carbon fiber?

David

[jmitro]

Why not just carbon fiber?

probably the cost of CF weave would be my guess.

to Tom T's point....if you do all aluminum, a bead roll around the edge or through the center etc would keep it from being too flexy. I'm guessing most racer types that use a self made AL panel don't bead roll it

[Mark Henry]

Aluminum & carbon fiber are not compatible and will corrode. Why not just carbon fiber?

David

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To do a CF inlay on aluminum you would need some kind of buffer like a rubber gasket.

[Vysoc]

I am interested in the door panels.
Where did you find the six CF engine tins?

Vysoc (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

[drem914]

I am interested in the door panels.
Where did you find the six CF engine tins?

Vysoc (IMG:style_emoticons/default/flag.gif)

I think he fabricated them himself, like his tunnel access hatch.