"Vigilante 6.0 Vengeance" project
- Thread starter Jackal
- Start date
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Went to Harvey's Composites today and had a nice long chat to Craig, one of their technical dudes. He still has 90 square metres of Carbon Fibre at a special price. Looks like I will need 60 square metres for the complete body (that would be 3 layers, 2 layers then a 4mm foam and then 1 layer.) At the prices he quoted me I am going Carbon Fibre. I know Epoxy is used with it but he suggested that i go for a special resin and because the body is fitted to the spaceframe chassis and isn't really a structural part should be just fine. I will also do the dash and center console etc. with Carbon Fibre. I'm not going for the Carbon fibre look but will spray the car.
Cheers
jackal
Cheers
jackal
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Hey Doug,
Not an epoxy. Not sure yet what type of resin but he spoke about making it more rigid and less flexible. Not sure if it would be flexible with the 4mm foam layer inside because he showed me a sample and it was rigid as rigid gets! Anyway he said he will get back to me next week with suggestions how to proceed. I'll tell ya this though.... the resin for the mould is very expensive... No shrinkage though so I guess I'll have to sell hotdogs on Sundays and just buy it!
Oh yes. About the vacuum thing. Nopes. It is wet lay up. I had a sample in my hand today. Nice stuff.
Not an epoxy. Not sure yet what type of resin but he spoke about making it more rigid and less flexible. Not sure if it would be flexible with the 4mm foam layer inside because he showed me a sample and it was rigid as rigid gets! Anyway he said he will get back to me next week with suggestions how to proceed. I'll tell ya this though.... the resin for the mould is very expensive... No shrinkage though so I guess I'll have to sell hotdogs on Sundays and just buy it!
Oh yes. About the vacuum thing. Nopes. It is wet lay up. I had a sample in my hand today. Nice stuff.
Hello
I have read your entire thread and congratulate about all these efforts to built your own bodywork chassis etc etc !!!
You are doing a hudge work for a man alone in your master and as I did so many and molded these by the past I just want to ask you one question ?
watching how complicate body forms are will you have yet an idea of how you will organise all you molds sections ?
Normally when a master is so full of complicate area ;this master is done from time to time in section pluged one to another in order to be at end pulled off and molded separatly
This prevent to mold in too many sections and be at one stage or another
block by the impossibility of unmolding or whatelse issue
Do you intend once forms are to your request to laminate a very thin brand mat on the first filler in order to rinforce surface before to lay the last filler ?
You are doing a very nice project and from now will follow you with great interest
Bravo bravo again
keep on posting pics of your nice and hudge project
I have read your entire thread and congratulate about all these efforts to built your own bodywork chassis etc etc !!!
You are doing a hudge work for a man alone in your master and as I did so many and molded these by the past I just want to ask you one question ?
watching how complicate body forms are will you have yet an idea of how you will organise all you molds sections ?
Normally when a master is so full of complicate area ;this master is done from time to time in section pluged one to another in order to be at end pulled off and molded separatly
This prevent to mold in too many sections and be at one stage or another
block by the impossibility of unmolding or whatelse issue
Do you intend once forms are to your request to laminate a very thin brand mat on the first filler in order to rinforce surface before to lay the last filler ?
You are doing a very nice project and from now will follow you with great interest
Bravo bravo again
keep on posting pics of your nice and hudge project
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Thanks for the kind words. Yes the mould has been a topic of concern for me. Just last night I was standing next to the car and planning how I would be doing the mould. Haven't finalized my plans yet and I'm still brainstorming about it. I know I will do the doors, engine lid, bonnet seperate then cut them out and do the recesses. The vents are of concern.
cheers
Jackal
cheers
Jackal
Hello
At your point : when everything is ready with forms ,filler, last small sandings, painting a hard polyurethane coat and wax applied the best is to determine exactly where are bonnets , doors, etc, and start doing on these lines a wall perpandicular to the master, this gives you molds flanges where once molds are done and unmolded to start doing internal flanges or whatever recess
Vents can be molded first , then closed to a line and this insert can be molded with so when unmolding the plug insert remain on the hole and is extracted at the end ; doing this when you will want one part you will need to mold first around the insert then bolt the insert on the main mold and follow your laminating !!
Hope this helps ?
Otherwise when will be time to do mods you probably will fing smart solutions !!
At your point : when everything is ready with forms ,filler, last small sandings, painting a hard polyurethane coat and wax applied the best is to determine exactly where are bonnets , doors, etc, and start doing on these lines a wall perpandicular to the master, this gives you molds flanges where once molds are done and unmolded to start doing internal flanges or whatever recess
Vents can be molded first , then closed to a line and this insert can be molded with so when unmolding the plug insert remain on the hole and is extracted at the end ; doing this when you will want one part you will need to mold first around the insert then bolt the insert on the main mold and follow your laminating !!
Hope this helps ?
Otherwise when will be time to do mods you probably will fing smart solutions !!
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Couldn't get projector bulbs locally and with shipping from overseas it works out very expensive, so I went and bought two Nubira complete headlight units and 2 Ford Telstar complete light units (Both from a scrap yard for a couple of bucks) hacked them open and removed the projector headlights. So I have four bulbs that will go into my build.
Cheers
Jackal
P.s will post a pick what they look like. The nubira light has a bracket that will have to be cut but otherwise nice.
Cheers
Jackal
P.s will post a pick what they look like. The nubira light has a bracket that will have to be cut but otherwise nice.
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Here are some pics.
BTW. Does anyone know any thing about the company Chassisworks that went bust? There is a guy with the rights to sell the chassis plans for Diablo/Murcie etc. I am thinking of buying a set of plans.
Regards
Jackal
BTW. Does anyone know any thing about the company Chassisworks that went bust? There is a guy with the rights to sell the chassis plans for Diablo/Murcie etc. I am thinking of buying a set of plans.
Regards
Jackal
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Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Hey Doug,
I did my homework now. It is a Poly-ester which is about half the price of the Epoxy Resin. I would of just do a wet by hand lay up but have decided to go with Epoxy resin and vaccuum bagging. I save so much on material that it actually pays to buy the bagging system. I will save half of the epoxy or poly-ester used when vaccum bagging. I am just a bit worried how it is going to work around the side vents and front vents..... But I will get more advice from the dude selling it to me when I get there. He showed me examples of the vaccum bagging.... unfortunately all the videos were of flat surfaces! :shocked: and not complex shapes. Anyway still tim before I get there!
Cheers
Jackal
If you decide to go to epoxy and vacuum bagging it's advisable to think really long time before how you will engineer your molds (as written before) and also
how you will do your flanges molds in order to avoid to do too big vacuum bags that will include all mold and laminating!!
Again if you decide to built large flanges around the mold you need to use specific fabric and resin to do your mold ; if not they will leak thru the wall thickness and your vacuum bagging will be poor or desastrous
using vacuum process gives a nice good part when done properly and hawfull ones when all the process is not applied correctly
In your case ; don't worry there will be so much to do that when you will be in front of complicated parts your expertise will be ok because of so many simple parts have been done before !
Be aware too that vacuum molding needs to be at least in 2 people minimum !!
( and remember wifes are much more patient than us in closing carefully the bags and doing leaks cherch LOL)
how you will do your flanges molds in order to avoid to do too big vacuum bags that will include all mold and laminating!!
Again if you decide to built large flanges around the mold you need to use specific fabric and resin to do your mold ; if not they will leak thru the wall thickness and your vacuum bagging will be poor or desastrous
using vacuum process gives a nice good part when done properly and hawfull ones when all the process is not applied correctly
In your case ; don't worry there will be so much to do that when you will be in front of complicated parts your expertise will be ok because of so many simple parts have been done before !
Be aware too that vacuum molding needs to be at least in 2 people minimum !!
( and remember wifes are much more patient than us in closing carefully the bags and doing leaks cherch LOL)
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
Thanks for the great advice Mic. It is appreciated. Yes. The resin for the mould unfortunately is very expensive because of non-shrinkage capibilities. So it will be expensive but right. The quality of the mould will also be superior and more bodies can be pulled without damage. So I will go for that resin and the specs for the fibre glass for the mould. The bagging I will have to really work out carefully. I'm considering getting more plastic and cut it up for smaller areas, basically bag in a bag.... but I will really think it through before I get going and take the big step. I do have alot of time still so hopefully it will be as clear as water by that time instead of as clear as mud at the moment! :laugh:
Nice! What are you going to construct it out of? One thing I found when I was cutting and welding tubing for a chassis was the outside dimensions ERW steel tubing is very uneven. Making it necessary for each piece to be custom fit to make the end result square and even. Next time around I would like to get my tubing laser cut. I figure to make this work the outside dimensions of the tubing must be completely uniform though. I can see why ERW tubing would be less than uniform because of the welded seam. Is DOM tubing more uniform in nature? I'm thinking I'll use 4130 for most of it.
Jackal
CURRENTLY BANNED
:laugh: I really have no idea and because my welds looks like sheep shit, a friend of mine is going to do the chassis for me. His trade is welding so cannot go wrong there! Just wish he wasn't so busy at the moment so that he can get started!
BTW. All the DXF files are included in the chassis package so all the plans are there for lazer cutting (brackets, gussets etc.)
Jackal,
If you are going to the trouble of doing epoxy moulds and vacuum bagging etc, have you not thought about doing "resin infusion"???? This is when you lay all the plies in the mould exactly how you want them, no time restraints, then bag it up, put it under vacuum and then suck the resin through the layup. I have done some parts and they are very light/strong.
Maybe worth looking at, you will also use less resin compared to doing a wet lay up using epoxy by hand.
If you choose this route you will need large flanges on the moulds for all the sealing tape etc and also using multi piece moulds is not a problem, just run some silicone sealer down where the mould joins are to keep any air from being "sucked" into the laminate.
If you are going to the trouble of doing epoxy moulds and vacuum bagging etc, have you not thought about doing "resin infusion"???? This is when you lay all the plies in the mould exactly how you want them, no time restraints, then bag it up, put it under vacuum and then suck the resin through the layup. I have done some parts and they are very light/strong.
Maybe worth looking at, you will also use less resin compared to doing a wet lay up using epoxy by hand.
If you choose this route you will need large flanges on the moulds for all the sealing tape etc and also using multi piece moulds is not a problem, just run some silicone sealer down where the mould joins are to keep any air from being "sucked" into the laminate.
