I was going to take my steel hood and make a fiberglass version.

Replacing normal mounting stuff with pins, no hinges.

Car is pure race, does not need to be streetable.

Any suggestions or ideas?

I've been watching a guy on youtube do fab work and it looks like i can replace a few of the body parts with fiberglass. Mostly going to do sunroof, and hood.

 

I'm all for fabbing parts...part of the joy of owning any car...in particular RX7's...is doing your own wrenching and fabbing.

That being said...aren't there Fiberglass/CF versions of the FC hood already?

 

Yea, I think there are, but I am hoping to just learn a little. I also think it will be slightly cheaper. Because I'm not paying labor.

I'm also hoping to do a hood vent and make a good air channel for the radiator. I'll be making a pan(?) not sure if that's the term, but it will cover the bottom of the car to make the air flow better under the car.

 

I've tried to do it ..... it's not worth the effort. I'd get an aluminum hood, and then fiberglass a nice dash/gauge cluster. Large flat surfaces take a level of skill that almost no one has when learning.

 

Thanks for the input! I'm probably still going to try, because I am stubborn. And, I want to learn.

Anyone have suggestions for where to buy fiberglass the cheapest? Also, and suggestion of what resin to use, or information about the different combinations of mat / resin?

 

Fiber glassing looks a lot easier than it is. I'm all for doing it yourself as I have been doing stuff that way for the past 5+ years and learned A LOT. but on the other hand i have SPENT a lot.

honestly a hood is going to be a very tough project especially since its your first (judging by your basic FG questions)

Typically you would have to make a mold of the hood first, THEN make a copy in the mold.... (double the work)

I am not trying to discourage you as you seem stubborn (much like me haha) and will try it anyways. but just know it is NOT going to be cheaper especially with your trial and errors/failures. but if youre game for dumping money in the pot, its a great thing to learn!

uscomposites.com is you best bet for materials. call them and they will help you with any questions you have.

also fibgerglasssupply.com is also another good one.

to do something like a hood properly I would use resin infusion. but the cost of equipment and material is going to be $500+