Carbon fiber body panels for a ‘72

[Thaddeusrex]

this has been asked before, but it’s been quite a while, so updating. Does anyone have a source for carbon fiber body panels? Primarily the hood. I’m near 60 with bad shoulders, and military pressing that 85 lb. hood is for the birds.

Thanks.

 

[DirtDonk]

Friend had a beautifully done, carbon fiber hood made for his 71. As soon as the guy finalized the mold, several of us wanted to have it done too, and he mysteriously closed shop and disappeared.
Just our luck!

The hood was amazing and weighed all of 7 pounds. It was on a bronco buggy eventually purchased by member here MTfit.
There were some threads about it with some good pictures, but that was many years ago so it would take some digging.

 

[DirtDonk]

Sorry, that wasn’t pertinent to your discussion.
I meant to add that I don’t know of anyone that makes them for general use.
But I did hear of a couple of companies that specialize in such things for custom race vehicles, and such.
They would most likely still be the only ones, as Carbon fiber hasn’t reached the Early Bronco mainstream yet.
At least not that I know of…

 

[SteveL]

The hood shock kits help a little with the weight of the hood.

 

[DirtDonk]

Absolutely! And there you go.
Definitely a good answer in lieu of a replacement lightweight hood. Thanks Steve. Obviously, I should’ve thought of it myself!
Even fiberglass is much lighter than the metal, but one way to keep the stock looking construction, while getting rid of 85% of the initial lifting weight, and 100% the rest of the way up, would be a set of hood shocks.

 

[dylan5353]

I have a carbon fiber hood on my bronco, was planning on making a few more pretty soon. Its super stiff and less than ten lbs. If this is something people want i'm happy to start making. them. I'll try and get some pictures posted.

 

[Shimmy]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1757816625...d=link&campid=5335857059&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

 

[Thaddeusrex]

I have a carbon fiber hood on my bronco, was planning on making a few more pretty soon. Its super stiff and less than ten lbs. If this is something people want i'm happy to start making. them. I'll try and get some pictures posted.

Definitely interested Dylan! You made it yourself?! That’s impressive. Pics would be great.

 

[Thaddeusrex]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1757816625...d=link&campid=5335857059&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

Thanks, I saw that one actually, but there are suspiciously few details, and they don’t seem to be forthcoming with where it came from.

 

[Thaddeusrex]

The hood shock kits help a little with the weight of the hood.

Thanks Steve, yeah, I’ll do those if I can’t find the carbon fiber. I’d love to get all that weight off from way up high though. I’ve also seen hoods buckle in the middle with those, so I’d need to add more weight with supports. But that would be the top option, I agree.

 

[dylan5353]

Definitely interested Dylan! You made it yourself?! That’s impressive. Pics would be great.

Yeah made it myself. Used to be a composites tech and have been wanting to get back into composites as a bit of a side hustle. The next mold I’ll make will just be a stock style hood without a scoop. Here’s a pic of my hood.

 

[Dylan_Shaffer]

Yeah made it myself. Used to be a composites tech and have been wanting to get back into composites as a bit of a side hustle. The next mold I’ll make will just be a stock style hood without a scoop. Here’s a pic of my hood.

Also looks like I somehow logged into an old account, dylan_shaffer is my proper account on here.

 

[DirtDonk]

Side hustles are good. So let’s see what kind of interest we can gather.
I even have things for other cars that I’ve always wanted in carbon fiber, but never really thought much about it for the bronco.

 

[Thaddeusrex]

Yeah made it myself. Used to be a composites tech and have been wanting to get back into composites as a bit of a side hustle. The next mold I’ll make will just be a stock style hood without a scoop. Here’s a pic of my hood.

Wow, that’s just too cool for words. I like the unpainted look too.

 

[Dylan_Shaffer]

Alright guess it’s time I get started on a new mold!

 

[Thaddeusrex]

Dylan, how long will that take out of curiosity?

 

[Dylan_Shaffer]

I could probably have the first hoods done in 2 months with my current work schedule. Making the mold will take the longest, once that’s done the hoods are quick.

 

[Ether]

Any idea what you would charge? where are you? Oh... Cali

 

[Dylan_Shaffer]

Any idea what you would charge? where are you? Oh... Cali

Not sure exactly what I would charge, need to do a cost breakdown of all the materials, haven’t priced carbon in a few years. Definitely don’t aim to gouge anyone on price, especially fellow board members. But it would definitely cost more than a fiberglass hood. Not a super definitive answer but it’s all I got for now!

 

[Gsxr7000]

I would probably be in for a factory hood too. My bronco is the same color as yours and has a black hood on it now. Carbon fiber hood would look good.