It's always been my intention at some point to reduce the weight to improve performance. I still want the car to pass an MOT, so things like airbags will have to stay. I also want to save the heater, but i'll be removing the air con.
I plan to use carbon fibre extensively, this will involve making moulds of original parts, skinning certain parts & also designing custom parts.
I will be shortly investing all the equipment & materials needed to make moulds & composite parts. Where ever possible will be using a DVP vacuum pump & resin infusion process, this is one of the best ways to get an excellent finish. Ultimately Prepreg is what I'd like to do, but the largest cost would be the curing oven & at this moment in time I'll have to much initial outlay.
If this project goes successfully I plan to make & sell high quality parts a lot cheaper than what other online companies are charging.
I will start by making aesthetic items such as interior trim, wing mirror covers & any other item on request . Then hopefully move on to weight saving parts such body panels, door cards, brake backing plates.
Over the past few days I've managed to remove most of the cab & boot interior. I also removed the roof because the roof motor was screaming every time I used it. As you'll see by the photos the reservoir had almost run dry.
I have to say "its a pain in the backside" stripping out the interior of a Z4. My body has been in all shapes, especially removing the hood. A few times I lost my rag. The worst was trying to get the bolts out of the roof U bar that are located in the boot.
One thing I did discover was a small patch of rust in the driverside footwell. The course was one of the screws that hold the exhaust heat protection cover. They are spot wielded to the under body & that one must have failed.
Here are a few pictures of the strip down.
A few handy tools
Started on the front dash first
Then moved on to center
Had a bit of chew behind the seats
I plan to use carbon fibre extensively, this will involve making moulds of original parts, skinning certain parts & also designing custom parts.
I will be shortly investing all the equipment & materials needed to make moulds & composite parts. Where ever possible will be using a DVP vacuum pump & resin infusion process, this is one of the best ways to get an excellent finish. Ultimately Prepreg is what I'd like to do, but the largest cost would be the curing oven & at this moment in time I'll have to much initial outlay.
If this project goes successfully I plan to make & sell high quality parts a lot cheaper than what other online companies are charging.
I will start by making aesthetic items such as interior trim, wing mirror covers & any other item on request . Then hopefully move on to weight saving parts such body panels, door cards, brake backing plates.
Over the past few days I've managed to remove most of the cab & boot interior. I also removed the roof because the roof motor was screaming every time I used it. As you'll see by the photos the reservoir had almost run dry.
I have to say "its a pain in the backside" stripping out the interior of a Z4. My body has been in all shapes, especially removing the hood. A few times I lost my rag. The worst was trying to get the bolts out of the roof U bar that are located in the boot.
One thing I did discover was a small patch of rust in the driverside footwell. The course was one of the screws that hold the exhaust heat protection cover. They are spot wielded to the under body & that one must have failed.
Here are a few pictures of the strip down.
A few handy tools
Started on the front dash first
Then moved on to center
Had a bit of chew behind the seats
Loughborough
