Newbie looking for help.


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ab90
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Hi all,
Newbie from the UK here.
I have been thinking for a while about making some parts for my car, and how to go about it. I have watched some tutorials on Youtube etc and thought it was about time I gave it a go, so I thought I would sign up here to get some advice from the experts. I hope you can help.

I have a 1980's Porsche 911 with a targa roof. I don't use the targa roof, so I was trying to think of possible ways to create a sort of hard top shell from carbon fibre or similar to go over the soft part of the roof. I've included a picture of an example of the roof how it is now.


Could anyone recommend a way that I could replicate the shape of this roof to try and make this? Or am I being ridiculous?! My initial thoughts were to maybe lay some sort of plastic sheet over it and fibreglass onto that to give me something to build off to create a pattern and then to make a mould from.

My day job is designing injection moulds for turbine blades and other complex things, so I can visualise how I could make a mould for this, and potentially if I can make a good enough pattern I will scan it and get one of the chaps at work to CNC the mould into modelboard, but I am just struggling to figure out how I could make the pattern.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, or if I am stupid for even considering this please feel free to tell me that as well!

Cheers.


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MarkMK
MarkMK
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Skinning the whole thing is a possibility and the resin that EC sells is a good product to use

However, skinning is quite labour intensive when is comes to the finishing work and achieving a really good finish on larger parts can be difficult, unless you're thinking of only flatting things to a stage where you can have it professionally clear coated. There is also shrinkage of the resin to consider, especially on a part that will be exposed to plenty of sun so, ideally, you'd need to think about giving it an elevated post-cure to speed-up that process and it'll give you a more resilient resin surface to flat and prep. Added to that, you'll be adding a bit of weight and it might be desirable to lose a bit if the car is track-focused?

Unless you're minded to proceed with making a mould of the whole thing with a view to creating a carbon fibre copy, then perhaps you could think about replacing the main section with a carbon sheet and just skinning the side sections? Overall, though, the general shape doesn't appear overly complicated and it sounds like you have the design skills to create a supporting structure for the underside, if adding more strength to the roof is needed (have you a roll cage fitted already?). Perhaps some elements of the side sections could also be retained and bonded back in to provide the necessary fixings also? 

I only suggest this as with the stripping-down that you've already done, it looks like you're half-way to a mould-able original, so it seems that you'd only need a reliable coating on it to think about adding flanges and creating a mould?

Just a few considerations, but I appreciate that skinning can sometimes feel a bit of an easier route to achieving the cosmetic look you're after. As an initial project, skinning something of that size can be a bit daunting, though, so it'd be good to experiment on something a little smaller, initially, just to get the feel for it. Things like getting the edges neat without compromising the fit can be difficult, for example.


Edited 5 Years Ago by MarkMK
ab90
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Thanks for the detailed reply and the tips. You’ve given me lots to think about!

Regarding the surface finish, the plan was to only flat it enough as so it can be clear coated, or even painted or vinyl wrapped black to match the car.
The car has spent most of its life as a track car, but it is road legal. I’ve bought it as a project and I am making it more suited to doing both, so I imagine the weight that the skinning would add would be negligible compared to something like carpet, and it’s not a show car by any stretch, most of the panels are already fibreglass, so the finish doesn’t have to be perfect, and with this being my first attempt at trying this I’m not expecting it to be!

I’m fairly confident I could make a mould, but with it being my first attempt at any type of carbon fibre, I wanted to use some basics to get something that works that I could potentially make a mould from in the future.

It does have a full roll cage, so the supports I wanted to add weren’t to stiffen the roof, more to make the panel itself stiffer as currently it flexes quite a bit if you don’t hold both sides when you pick it up which makes it difficult to put on or take off.

I’ve looked on the shop, and do you think the large skinning kit would be enough for something of this size? Or should I buy separately?
GO

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ab90 - 6 Years Ago
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