Carbon Fiber Parts

gabbett1

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 8, 2012
Messages
168
I'm looking for some feedback on who would be interested in carbon fiber parts for their C2 or C3 Corvettes.

I have the potential to produce high quality carbon fiber parts. Would probably start off with C2 and C3 hoods, rockers and anything else bolt on that would be simple. If there is enough interest, some day whole bodies. The group that would be making the parts for me have been working on and making carbon fiber parts for airplanes for over 10 years so their quality of work is very high. It would be premium parts, but you'd be getting your money's worth unlike a lot of the other stuff that appears to be out there for other vehicles.

With enough interest, I would also be able to offer group buy discounts for those that get in on the first line of production.
 
Last edited:
Pricing will probably be important. These cars aren't being raced like fox body mustangs, so volume/demand probably won't be high, especially if >> Fiberglass.

Just my opinion.
 
I'm not into carbon fiber stuff for the sake of weight savings or being 'cool', but an item that might be popular if the price isn't too much is replacement rubber bumper covers. I need a new front one but I'm not even considering a cheaper fiberglass one because it needs to be able to take impacts. The only other option for me is an old NOS OEM one that costs $1000 and while it is OEM polyurethane it is still 40 years old out of the box.....I probably won't be customer for you because this is going to happen within the next couple months, but I think others would be, again if the price isn't too awful high.

( http://www.vettemod.com/forum/showthread.php?p=126725#post126725 )
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately there isn't too much that can be done about pricing. The materials alone are very expensive. If you see a lower priced Carbon Fiber part out there it's either 1. not produced to high standards (could be weak and susceptible to temperature warping) or 2. It's not all carbon fiber.

Just for example, a hood for a C2 corvette would probably be in the ~$2,600 range. It would be extremely light and strong though. Roughly 12lbs and a solid part, not one that can flex when pressed upon like other part's I've dealt with out there.

I saw some C6 hoods for sale that were "carbon fiber" for ~$1,000 but the material alone costs more than that, let alone the labor. That tells me that it isn't all carbon fiber. They have to be using fiberglass in it as well.
 
Last edited:
I think the front and rear bumpers would be a nice part to make because they would give you some added structural support. Fitment would be my biggest concern. Making one fit every car would be very difficult because there is so much variation from car to car. This will be our toughest challenge, but being that they are smaller parts, I don't think they would cost too much. Probably about as much or less than that 40 year old original part.
 
Your prices are too high if $2000 for a hood is what you'd consider reasonable.

People looking for costly weight savings are competing, not a big field of c3's being raced.

A complete fox body front clip is $1600 in fiberglass and $2200 in carbon. Fox body hoods $800 in fiberglass and $1200 in CF. So your price is definitely high.
 
Your prices are too high if $2000 for a hood is what you'd consider reasonable.

People looking for costly weight savings are competing, not a big field of c3's being raced.

A complete fox body front clip is $1600 in fiberglass and $2200 in carbon. Fox body hoods $800 in fiberglass and $1200 in CF. So your price is definitely high.

I'll have to look at my numbers again and see if I did something wrong... I don't want to rip people off, but at the same time I would want to make the highest of quality parts possible.

Could you please link me, or at least tell me where you are referring to the Fox body parts. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
I picked this guy for a reference, because a lot of people say his parts are very nice.

http://schoneckcomposites.com

I just looked at the fox body pages for pricing.

Another Corvette CF part place is (c5 and c6): R K Sport. Looks like their custom CF hoods are around $1900. Closer to your price, but we are talking about C3's.
http://www.rksport.com/mobile/categ...ttp://www.rksport.com:80/category-s/1893.htm=


Don't let me stop you, I hope you prove me wrong and can make a viable business.

Not just C3's. I'd be doing parts for C2's as well. From what I understand, the C3 restoration market is starting to take off. Time will tell.
 
So I pressed my guys to go over their numbers again and sure enough, there were a few errors. Looks, however that a completed part would still be in the $2,000 (retail) range. It could be less and if we get to that point some testing will be done, but as of right now, we are thinking we will add an extra layer of carbon on the top for impact resistance. If we discover that it isn't needed then an extra layer of carbon not being used will bring the cost down a little.
 
Last edited:
So it looks like the first items we will look into making will be a one piece carbon T Top and a couple hoods. Any input on which ones you would like to see available?
 
So far our thoughts are to make the one piece carbon T Top, the '67 BB hood and a temporary '66 BB hood mold and hood for a current customer and a hand full of others that may be interested in that style. I haven't heard much from C3 people and what hood styles they'd like to see. I have an original L-82 hood and '69 BB hood (or also known as the LT-1 hood).

I know the L-88 is popular but I'd have to be able to get my hands on an original one in order to make it. I don't want to mess with molding off of aftermarket parts just yet until we see how fitment goes.

Edit: IF anyone were to happen to have an L-88 hood they'd be so kind to let us use. We are able to digitally scan the part for mold making purposes so the part itself will not be altered or touched by materials in any way. I'd be willing to make and give said person the first quality hood out of the mold for their own use or sale.
 
Last edited:
where are you located?

That's pretty cool pic you have there. Those kinds of cars I would think could benefit from our carbon parts.


I`m sure you have the best of intentions and I know Carbon Fiber is very costly but my lightweight fiberglass hood (24lbs) was built from my mold by 5 Star stock car bodies in Wisconsin for $160 and it is the nicest piece of fiberglass I have ever seen.
 
Top