Restoring my P1800E

[Burdekin]

Probably new. This is the one thing my wife is in charge of, at this stage it's going to be a Ferrari or Alfa red. Her theory is it's a sports car and sports cars should be red.

[hobbes]

Ah, I remember a question that I was once asked about what I knew about Ferrari's my reply "I know three things, they're usually red, very fast and I want one"

[Burdekin]

After posting I asked my wife what colour and she is lending towards an Alfa red at the moment, but plenty of time for her to change her mind another dozen times or more yet... ;-)

[Burdekin]

As I haven't found much info on fibreglass thicknesses and what materials work best etc for car body panels I'm going to do some experiments for different options for GRP layer options and have ordered the materials. Looking at strength, stiffness and weight. Will hopefully get this done next week and will post the results.
The 5 different layers options I'm going to test are:
450gsm CSM (chopped strand mat) x 4 layers
450 CSM, 300 WR (woven roving), 450 CSM, 300 WR
300 CSM, 300 WR, 300 CSM, 300 WR
300 CSM, 3MM COREMAT, 300 WR
300CSM, 1MM COREMAT, 300 WR, 1MM COREMAT, 300 WR

I'll then pick two to try on real panels and see how they go with regard to more complex shapes etc.

If anyone has a combination they think would work better let me know and I'll compare as well.

[tc]

I've plenty of experience with fibreglass panels, let me know if you need any advice.

Tbh the weight of the fibreglass your using will only effect the number of layers you need to use, if you use too heavy a weight then you'll find it hard to get it to bend around complex curves etc before you get resin into it. With 300csm you should only need about 3 layers to get a decent thickness of panel.

[Burdekin]

Hi,

Thanks for the offer and any experience and advice is always welcomed.

What I’m looking at is making P1800 front wings, front nose, bonnet, boot lid and rear diffuser out of fiberglass. So advice on what materials are best, thicknesses, how many layers to have, should any of these parts require split moulds, will incorporating the channel for the bonnet in the front wing cause any issues when pulling off the mould etc? I’ve read two books on the topic but there is nothing like actual experienced advice and getting my hands dirty myself and doing a few trials and experimenting. So if you’d be willing to take the time and go through maybe how you’d make a P1800 front wing that would be really appreciated.

Cheers,

Mitch

[tc]

No problem at all, I'm only glad to help. When you consider making a mould look at the actual part itself and see if there's any part of it that would restrict it from being pulled straight out of a mould (i.e. does it bend back on itself), if it has then you'll need a multi part mode.

[tc]

I'll sit and write you a how too later on.

[Burdekin]

I bought a Corsa electric power steering column today as I'm planning on retro fitting the car with electric power steering. Also bought a controller which sends two signals to the power steering ecu which replicates the engine signal and vehicle speed signal. The controller has a dial which you can adjust the resistance. I was looking at getting an aftermarket kit fitted but this way it's saving me a small fortune and I think is just the same parts. I'll post some pics of the set-up when it arrives.

My new brake discs arrived today, I won't swear but fair to say the front brakes are considerably larger. Will see how they fit tomorrow and will post some pics.

[Burdekin]

Pics below of my new XC90 335mm discs and AP racing CP6600 calipers for my big brake upgrade for the P1800. I did a quick trial fit with the discs this morning and they seem to fit perfectly. I've also attached a pic to show them next to the old disc just to get a sense of how much bigger they are. Planning on running 19" alloys and tyres something like 235/30-19 (DJS has given me tips for tyre sizes but they're at my work e-mail). I still need to decide on alloys that I like but have plenty of time to choose.