I am thinking doing the entire body on my 1983 Camaro in carbon fiber. Is this just a silly idea that shouldn’t be done? Im not too worried about the price. Also any recommendations for manufacturers, or manufactures to avoid? I’ve been looking at VFN Carbon Creations and Featherlite Composites

 

Just no. If I understand your intention correctly, you want to do a full carbon unibody. We're talking full on Ferrari type costs or HIGHER and it still would have many of the third gen failings. Not to mention that no-one with the manufacturing capabilities to do this would take you serious at all. I like my RS as much as anyone but this is just majorly impractical and beyond expensive. If you have this much money, go buy a real nice Lamborghini.

 

No not unibody, separate carbon fiber body pieces

 

VFN can do most of what I need I believe, they have most if not all parts in fiberglass and I seen a post saying they will usually do carbon if you reach out and ask.

EDIT: I’m mostly asking is there an major issues that will come along with CF specifically, I’m willing to take the hassle on lol. Hoods fenders and doors are readily available the rear body parts I haven’t found but I believe VFN will provide them in carbon I am going to reach out and ask tomorrow.

 

I guess if you remove a bunch of weight like that, you're going to need to change out the springs and rebalance the suspension for whatever it is you're doing with the car. Or you could just buy a corvette, very similar idea.

 

gotta change the suspension anyway

 

Look at Optic Armor to replace the heavy glass too.

 

This sounds more suitiable of a project of making the aftermarket carbon pieces and putting them on a tube chassis or something vs actually replacing the parts on a thirdgen.
Look up knight rider jump car. or something like that... those knight rider historians did a bunch of videos on it...
it was essentially a dune buggy frame / chasis with a rubber shell (yours would be CF instead) but that seems more like a suitable project for something like this.

I don;t think either a dune buggy or CF skinned thirdgen would be suitable for safe daily driving though.

 

what is dangerous about CF ?
Im learning, I am ignorant to things so sorry if I am wrong but when I search if it is safe it says it is just as safe or safer than steel, there’s crash tests with it and what not.

 

So what did VFN quote you for carbon panels? Can they do the rears?

 

I mean the skin like fenders and quarter panels are already kinda light... you can easily carry a fender. tail panel, door skin etc... etc....so IMO unless Im mistaken, you'd remove the light metal skin and replace it al with slightly lighter carbon fiber skin.... and you;d do all that work for minor weight savings. i'm thinking you'd have to remove the heavier inner / stronger safer structure to get any real weight benefits I think.

If you cut up the whole frame of the car though you'll have no structure of the car and the car would fold in a crash.



if you had some kind of light weight tube chasis or somethig though, that'd be a different story?

 

One thing to consider is that CF shatters into sharp shards and fibers when broken. Even if scraped, like the bottom of a fascia, spoiler or splitter, then can be razor sharp and slice you open in a most unforgiving manner. Where there is CF trim, like in a Corvette, GM even has warnings about handling it when broken in the owner manual.

 

for a brief few minutes i looked into carbon doors for my car. there is a company making them, and you can put the regulators and glass and such back in them. they are $5k if i remember correctly. that company also sells a carbon hood, and it is $4k. i decided i didnt need them that bad yet.

 

Honest question. Is carbon fiber panels lighter than fiberglass mat? Assuming they are the same thickness and use the same vacuum curing technique. I have very little experience with fiberglass and no experience with carbon fiber, but the woven fiberglass fabric doesn't seem all that heavy. I believe the resin is what adds a good portion of the weight. Where does the weight savings of carbon fiber come from? Less resin, the curing technique, or can a thinner panel carry the same properties as thicker fiberglass?

 

Carbon fiber is very strong by comparison and can be used in structural members. When used for body panels the finished product will weigh less than fiberglass. Both are a big weight savings over steel, but not a ton of difference between each other. I guess you could sell the carbon fiber idea by looking at percent weight change relative to fiberglass, but when you figure out the actual pounds saved you won't be very excited to spend the extra money.