I have made these CF "A" pillars for my 2 cars. People have expressed interest in me reproducing some for their car as well.
Not to mention the cost of material but the labor for a premium class A finish seems cost prohibitive for 914 owners.
I would like to know if there is a big demand for CF "A" pillars and if so what the community feels is a good selling price?

Mike

Beautiful. I have no idea of the price. Can you sell them cheaper if the final polish is done by the buyer?

The problem with CF is that people will bitch and moan about every small imperfection in the alignment of the fibers while trying to low-ball you on the price.

I know of several larger aftermarket FG parts suppliers that stopped making CF parts altogether for just that reason.



Those pillars look great btw.!

Yes,
The problem with the final finish is, any resin rich areas must be sanded out to the CF. If it is not all removed before Auto clear coat it will yellow over time.
We have all seen that and it is not attractive. For the layup I use a UV surfboard resin but they all yellow.
I have tried various ways to seal the CF of all pin holes after sanding but it takes many steps of fill and sand before the final gloss and polish.
Any pin hole will not cover with a gloss coat.
I could sell them unfinished but I would hate to see or hear about it weeks after the sale.

Yes Andy and thank you.
Looks great but is this example scrap.
If you look at my example in the photo you can see a burn through the first ply where the fiber is running 180 from the 1st ply.
I was chasing air bubbles.
I don't need bitch and moan. Top Quality takes $$$. Spot on.

Man, I hear that. I hope this can work out for everyone

...honestly, $400+ a pair. For $100 additional, a guarantee to not go milky within 6 months

Most folks also don't understand the difference between the "types" of CF...

I used to do candy paint jobs for a friend in the late 70's - I was 5 at the time

I was pretty good at the deep coats with Candy Apple, Gold Pearl Coats, Emerald Greens, and ghost flames...

No one ever thought I did the "perfect" job for them. I spent more time refinishing and polishing, sometimes laying on over 18 - 20 coats.

I haven't done a custom job in 25 years and I won't. Unless of course someone pays me $500K and signs a contract that says it's good when I SAY SO -

Again, bad as they sound and look, a good EULA that covers the fabricator's butt is the best path...

fuch em!

if they want a perfect finish they can wrap it with the cf vinyl shit!

this is a hand fabricated part and should show inconsistencies on pattern and finish.

charge a fair amount for how much time you put in to them.

Wow! Those are niiice!

I'M IN...

I want intentional imperfections that we can all be proud of.

And sign the damn things as well.

Of course, my liquid analgesic accompanying my favorite college team may have something to do with my positive mood

If you're up for making a C/F 'skin' targa top, I might be interested in one of those. I have a Rennspeed fiberglass skin which is definitely lighter than a stock top, but not by much, and it's a crude piece. A C/F top could be lighter, stiffer and cooler looking...

I could do it for that. I would not even need the $100 extra and I would give it a year before you can't see CF. So far, I have a year and no yellowing.

Wingnut, after a pack of cold ones, it may be a good time to sell you a set of 30.

Someone was asking about this long ago. For the track stiff and light is what you would want.
The "A" pillars have the WOW factor but I don't know if they are any lighter than stock?
For the targa top unidirectional cloth would be the way to go, very stiff and thin = light.
Ribs on the underside would help stiffen the car and a twill top ply would give it the WOW factor.
Again it is only $$$.

Could you imagine a black and yellow weave top on a Bumblebee??

BOOTIFUL.

I'd be interested

Ah, But at what price?

I think that is something you would have to figure out. I don't know your cost of material or the time it would take to make this, but if you figured that out and let us know it would be a lot easier to know if it is something we could swing. Are you thinking 500-1000 or would it be more?

Is that hawthorne, FL???? Are you open to any trades?? I'm doing the CF on my 76..

I am in Ca. and open, Do you have GT rockers?
What CF parts are you doing?

As far as the targa top goes, I have considered doing a "skin over" on my stock targa. I would in fact be adding weight and not much stiffer.
That may be about 6 to 10 months away. I will give it more thought at that time.
For the race guys, I am sure it would take an all up remake with hard mounts. To get full benefit of CF, It should be bagged and run in an autoclave. Big $$$.
The clave would also take out all the micro bubbles that will show up as it is going to gloss coat.
I know guys that are doing RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) that swear by it, to get the air out, but there is still the excess resin problem. That is medium $$.

My "A" pillars are compression molded, I may try a vacuum assist with the compression method to help draw out air. BTW the CF "A" pillar weigh is 6.5 oz, stock is 11.5 oz.
I can track my time and materials but Wingnut stated customer satisfaction is a serious variable that I can't predict.
One manufacture stated to me that "maybe 1 in 5 parts come out really good". Is that 4 unsatisfied customers or 4 scrap parts?
Construction method is determined by use ( race or bling ) and demand.
I hate to see a CF part with excess resin oxidize after a month in the sun. That is the milky, chalky or yellow that you will see on the kids street cars.
I love to see a Lamborghini or Maserati part that will not loose its luster. Here is what the Maserati guys are thinking http://www.maseratilife.com/forums/modern-...arts-coupe.html

Mike, those look great, excellent work. I think that if you state the imperfections upfront and offer some discount, you will sell 4 that are not really good.

Vacuum bagging should be easy and give you more even pressure on your mold. Most of the bubbles will be forced out by the vacuum. Make sure you use the proper breathable fabric with release agant to help the vacuum equalize.

Vacuum bag with heat lamps is how we did it on the helos I worked on No autoclave there.

Before bagging the part to the outside mold line there some other tricks I want to try.
First I want to try bagging the IML inserts with the part, in the mold. The other trick may eliminate the bag all together.
I also have an oven cure Bio resin that is nice to through in the oven at 130 deg. for 10 min. and you have a part. It starts a little amber but if there is no resin rich areas with a light sand just to the fiber, your good.

Thanks for the help.

These are nice, but I recently found some NOS originals !!

Installed do they cause glare when turning corners from the sun?


Personally if it doesnt make my car go faster or more comfortable Im not really interested . If I WAS in the market, I would make them myself (a second for you). Especially with that high of a pricepoint. You probably have ~ 50-100 just in materials to make one good set, then probably 10+ hours of labor..

So you really need to charge a good amount here.. But IMHO for A pillars I wouldnt ever pay more than 100 for the set, no matter what the material.



Just giving you the CSOB perspective

Your CSOB perspective is very much appreciated. Honestly, I feel the same so I made them myself and here I am thinking about making a set for you.
Your cost numbers are not far off ether. To boot, stock A pillars seem to last forever. You may be able to find a nice used set on ebay for $10 each?
For me, I had to adapt the 914 dash to fit a Subaru cluster so I made the dash from CF, the A pillars just completed a natural flow.
The glare was a concern on the dash and it started out a mat finish. Then gloss and still no glare. A pillars are tilted down so very little sun even hits them
For other they just dig the look of CF, Functional or not. I have to say, I do feel the CF in my car gives it the feel of a more exotic car.
Then again I am still cleaning my car with Ajax and Scotch Brite so I need all the help I can get.
Your point of view is well taken, thank you.

Anyone have a photo of these installed?

I like the idea of carbon fiber, but it would have to be a whole look. Aka, CF a pillars, Bpillars, door pannels, trim, ext. Then suede dash, steering wheel, seats, ect.

However when that look is done, yup that would be one heck of a 914 interior!

Glad your here creating some items and hope you can get your products to the people! You are the people this community needs to keep interest alive for this car!

BTW, Consider selling your bad one's as well for material costs plus a little labor. Im sure lots of people would love to get their hands on real carbon fiber bits, no matter how bad they looked (And yes I do see the default on your picture).

This could help you ease some of the production loss's. Obviously better examples can be sold for more, but still at a severely reduced cost.

Have you thought of CF bumper tops. AFAIK, the rubber tops are NLA and they would look cool as hell. Also, I'm not clear on the yellowing issue. Are you saying that it will not yellow when done correctly? Finally, if this is doable what would the estimated cost be? TIA

Anyone seen my cat? It seems to have gotten out of the bag.

This is a FG bumper top. I never considered CF because I like the rubber look here. I also have the FG rear.
Estimated cost is prohibitive.

Oh, and this car should go on sale with in the next year so it should help put a value on the CF extras.Click to view attachment

...and a CF horn pad

Just saying...it would look cool...

CF door boxes with matching CF flip-up elbow pads with leather inserts and foam backing.

The yellowing is from the UV rays degrading the resin. I have had very good luck if all the excess resin is sanded off and quality UV inhibiting Auto gloss is sprayed on.
I don't know how the big boys do it but this seems the only way i have come up with.
If anyone has a Audi R8 they park out on the street in Arizona let me know how the CF is holding up.