Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi Steve
I have a business that manufactures non woven PET needled 'bleeder' for many of the aerospace and composites manufacturers over here. We manufacture for Boeing, McDonnell D, Lockheed Martin and also Dallara. I'm sure we have a grade of air permeability PET 'bleeder' to suit your choice of resin. I would be happy to supply a sample 'FOC' sufficient to vacuum mold a carbon Elan front and rear mold.
I continue to enjoy your efforts and think your project is far more technically stimulating than the Leno Elan
PM me if and when you are ready and I will get my technical guys to help you sort out the chemistry.
Vernon.

Hi Vernon

Thanks for the offer, but being in the UK makes it uneconomic to purchace from you. I have a tame supplier (easy composites) over here that is pretty good.

I am happy that there is at least one person on here that appreciates my work I am sure that there must be a contract out on me for what I have done to the beloved Elan

My first attempt at vacuum bagging is in progress. So far, it looks OK, but the proof will be in the unbagging.

Steve, I think most of us are in awe of what your are accomplishing. Chapman is looking down at you and probably saying "go for it" make it lighter! The art of lightness.

Thanks, Glen.

Colin wasn't adverse to modifications if it meant lighter and faster. I like to think that he would be on my side of the original/modified divide

After approx an hour of careful struggling I finally separated the seat from the mould. Came out pretty good with only a little bit of tidying up required.

Original carbon fibre/fibreglass seat weighed 7kg. First CF attempt came in at 1.4kg, This weighs 742gms! I will be adding some reinforcement around the edge plus fixings and paint (so the mark on the front of the vacuum connection will not show. The one on the back I will sand out) but it should still be less than 1kg A pair will save me 12kg.

I added a black pigment to the epoxy gelcoat layer in order to hide the weave but it is still visible. A black spray coat should deal with that.

When I laid up the carbon fiber air dam/splitter and the interior panels on the last race car, I used a blue tint in the epoxy. When the sun hit them, the parts looked like fresh gun bluing. Made for a striking appearance.

prezoom wrote:When I laid up the carbon fiber air dam/splitter and the interior panels on the last race car, I used a blue tint in the epoxy. When the sun hit them, the parts looked like fresh gun bluing. Made for a striking appearance.

That's neat. Any photos?

That seat looks outstanding! Where do Learn this molding technique?

And will you be making copies for those of us who cannot fabricate with CF and want minimal weight?

David
1968 36/7988

Unfortunately, all of the photos of the car construction, and way too short competition history, were lost on a hard drive crash. Earlier this year, I finally cut the cord and sold the car, all spares, all the body molds, and everything associated with the car. I had reached the tip over point with the sanctioning body and had parked the car back in 2005. On the good/great side, parking the car is what got me into purchasing the Elan, because I just couldn't give up playing with cars.

I am currently making a buck and mold for the fiber glass carburetor air intake cover that gives more clearance to the rear carburetor air horns. Still have some of the blue tint, and some left over carbon weave. Might lay up one in carbon fiber for the Plus 2, as it is Lagoon Blue w/Silver top. An iridescent blue/black cover would look a whole lot better than the two K&N filters currently on the car. I have a spare back plate for the S1/S2, and am not adverse to using it on the Plus 2. One in the hand is better than 2 on the web

RedS4 wrote:That seat looks outstanding! Where do Learn this molding technique?

Thanks. This was my first attempt so, hopefully, subsequent attempts should be better.

YouTube of course

msd1107 wrote:And will you be making copies for those of us who cannot fabricate with CF and want minimal weight?

David
1968 36/7988

I have been asked that question a few times I am considering it but I don't think that the current quality is up to commercial standards yet. Also, I am happy to sit in a seat made by me but I am not sure about the personal liability if a seat fails in someone elses car.

If you have done fibreglass work then you can do carbon fibre. It is like working with the woven fibreglass mat, just more expensive.

stevebroad wrote:
If you have done fibreglass work then you can do carbon fibre. It is like working with the woven fibreglass mat, just more expensive.

But how does one go about the vacuum bag method? I have fibreglassed, but never like this...

A plus to working with epoxy over resin, is no nasty smell, and you can clean up with white vinegar. The worst thing that can happen is, you might wind up smelling like a pickle.

RedS4 wrote:

stevebroad wrote:
If you have done fibreglass work then you can do carbon fibre. It is like working with the woven fibreglass mat, just more expensive.

But how does one go about the vacuum bag method? I have fibreglassed, but never like this...

One of the hundreds of how to videos on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVD7C4Gu4so

I don't agree with the use of glue to hold the breather cloth in position. I would have thought that this could block the holes in the release film and restrict resin flow into the breather cloth. But what do I know?

stevebroad wrote:I don't agree with the use of glue to hold the breather cloth in position. I would have thought that this could block the holes in the release film and restrict resin flow into the breather cloth. But what do I know?

The usage of spray glue won't be a problem if you're not going to use too much of it.

When working with Resin-Infusion you're using special spray glue to fix every single layer you're putting onto your mold. All you need is a little bit more material and knowledge - Youtube is a good resource for the knowlege
The results are stunning as you get parts without any pinholes and with an almost perfect fiber to resin ratio.

dietmar