RiF

😬 Just need the time for making the clams. I made wide track patterns 4 years ago but never got the moulds done. We are playing around with a new mould making technic for the other wings at the moment. If it is quicker then maybe I will make clam moulds after Xmas Fitting of panels. I know some customers have reduced the number of rivets to a minimum Although they do seem to still be ok I would recommend using the same number as Arch or a mastic adhesive to the chassis and then you could reduce the rivets a bit. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

No problems Andy 😬 Perhaps I should add "for a standard bodied Caterham with cycle wings Still got plans for clams and SV bits but other parts for the mass market needed first to pay the bills 😬 Interior panels: My 7 was the first, 4 years ago that we supplied panels for. It has 226 bhp and has shown no signs of any stress cracking and looks as good today as when first installed. Our interior panels have been supplied to many owners and I don't know of any problems including more powerful versions like the RSTV8. The material is thicker and more rigid than ally. It is based on a sandwich construction to improve rigidity of carbon/glass/carbon although full carbon could be made I personnally prefer this construction as it is lighter and more rigid than just carbon. Fitting of these panels properly is vital though. Pre-preg is a process. It was the ultimate but technology has moved on. The industry reckon you can get as good a properties with other newer processes. We have a modified process based on using pre-preg material manufactured by ourselves. Other owners have used thin pre-preg not moulded to the shape but put under stress to fit the shape or hand laminated panels. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 31 Oct 2007 13:54:47

It all depends on what is acceptable as a match. I know of customers with all 3 munufacturers carbon on and very happy. What exactly do you want to match? Also when was it made? The newer CC carbon does not match much but is made to a price! or profit . The majority of CC carbon up to say a year or two ago is a twill weave. It looks the nicest and that is our standard. This gives a diagonal effect of weave. CC's new products are made in a totally different system and this has caused many problems noted on past threads. It is resin transfer, causing movement of carbon and a lot more resin on the surface. Finish: Ours is a high gloss on most parts with depth of shine, our wings and shortly nose cone will have less depth of gloss but look almost the same as the original CC wings (still shiny just not as deep a shine as our other products that are more resin rich on the surface) Weight: Ours is similar to the original CC with wings, lighter than their new carbon wings and our parts are lighter for most other parts. Mog / Fluke have depth of gloss as I gather they use a gell coat (we don't). I gather most of their products are 1 layer of carbon and backed with glassfibre, this is why they are heavier. Any other info please ring me on 013873 75777. PS: Andy: What don't we make? We make almost every part now or very, very soon except headlights, just need to update my web site RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 30 Oct 2007 15:15:04 Edited by - RiF on 30 Oct 2007 15:17:04

No have not tried that gel coat. We usually blend our own. Don't forget that for every 5 degree increase in temp you roughly half your working time! RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Yes expensive ☹️, only thing is once we have god a system working it is not bad for QC. Many carbon manufacturers reckon if they get 50% ok then that is acceptable. Being an industrial chemist helps means we can tweek resins etc. For what you want to do just give it a go. It will do the job and should look better than other plastics anyway. Good luck. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

😬 RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

😬 MADE THE FIRST REAR WING 😬 this week. Not perfect but pretty good for a first attempt Also cracked making front wings after 29 for the bin ❗ Full carbon too. Twill 2x2 weave and finish is nice. Not 100% yet but not far off. Finish will look like the older carbon wings from CC. We will be advertising very soon. We are making new moulds in several different shapes for front wings and collecting the last few moulds (rear wing moulds) of K9 next week. If they are good then that will speed us up. The trials have been on an old rear wing mould of K9. Just I need more spare time Nose cones after that As to gel coat!!!! One of the tricks of the trade is to get a quality surface. To make it look really good and be correct resin to carbon in the laminate is not something I can teach via the internet. As you can see above, even for me it has taken 30 mouldings to get 1 good one. It is a very fine balance of adjusting everything, especially the resin. As to gel coat we would never use one if you want to see the carbon at its best. Sorry to be unhelpful but it really is a skill of trial and error untill you find the correct solution. Then a different mould can change everything, as can suppliers materials and the weather. Our wings are made under vacuum and that adds even more complications into the equation as we are finding out. As I said before, you can make a laminate but to get the standard that our customers require is terribly difficult. You might be better using polyester resins with the carbon as they are easier to work with and unless the part is structural it really won't matter. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

The main diffence we find in carbon is quality of surface finish. The only way we can tell is by moulding it. As a beginner you won't be as fussy as we must be for commercial sales. The other thing that of course will change price is the weight of carbon weave. Most of the Caterham parts from the different manufactures us 200 to 220gm/m2 woven cloth. You can get lighter and considerably heavier. As for advice It is a black art, trial, learn, try again. Resin consistancy and type will change everything. Anyone can make a laminate but strength, weight and finish is the art. Good luck 😬 RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

😬 yes buy new RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

20 euros sounds far too cheap. Although manufacturing demands are catching up with demand the price has only dropped by £1 to £2 m2 depending on distributors /manufacturers. Even trade for quantity at the moment is more than 20 euros. Sounds like stock clearance somewhere. We buy a specific carbon, then woven by one company to give us our requirements. There is a lot of junk out on the market that will not give quality products (so we have found). Kevlar has continued to be cheaper than carbon. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 19 Oct 2007 18:59:20

You can call me on 013873 75777 or e-mail me on easiclad@tiscali.co.uk RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

carbon stone protectors have some seconds Might be willing to sell my BGH gearbox (see my web link for my build where it has the gear ratios) up graded to latest spec and 270bhp ability 2 years ago. Total mileage is 9000, about 5000 since rebuild due to syncro on first problem from new. Price? I would get BGH to check it over included in the price. Stillin my car at the moment 😬 90% road use and 10% careful trackday (I am always the slowest ) RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Yes the SV and CSR are the same aeroscreen Sorry to see you go Ben ☹️ RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

The car was made a few months ago so they may of improved? As to the other debate 😳 I think a search on BC will bring up both sides of the old arguement. I know what Brent and I think RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Brent, I felt in that mood I have not stirred up anything for a while 😬 One of our customers showed me his new R400 just goes to show how good the robots at Arch have been for years Get a Race chassis made by Arch, who cares where the handbrake is, we never use them except for an MOT 😬 RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 5 Oct 2007 15:58:35

RiF ones don't. Fluke don't but they are very heavy and made of mostly glassfibre. CC front and rear have been seen to mark. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

But the welding looks crap!!!! Robots?? Someone needs a new programme for them I too have a Duratec and had all the panels powder coated on the inside. No problems but it depends on how it is panelled. I have seen new cars with woobles down the side, before an engine has even turned a key!!!! CC stopped powder coating the insides of engine bays as they found sometimes it will make the woobles worse. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Most customers have not had a problem but one or two have if the cage is very tight to the bodywork. They have reduced the leg length a bit and fitted it directly to the scuttle. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Sorry to hear you are sell ☹️ Hope you will stay in the Club. Good luck RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Will depend on the colour too. Some need more coats to build up the colour (as we have just found out ) RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

for SP Components. Would NOT use certain other companies. If you want to know why then e-mail me with a phone number RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 21 Sep 2007 13:50:47

Oh, you have not got long but as you say better to know now. Good luck RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

All very interesting Paul, a fasinating thought? We have looked at so many options but never fungi!!! Definitely food for thought for us. Anything is possible. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

Yes this has been a stange problem on certain carbon composites Norman has had serve problems ☹️ with his carbon and this is extremely strange baring in mind we did all the R&D at his house. The main problem was with a new resin system that we opted to use for the bonnet and the 2 front side skins. It was a high temperature rated resin system that gave us a safety margin. This has been attacked by water but only certain water????? Our resin supplier did accelerated tests and so have we and could not replicate the problem. We had one other customer with some very light markings that would polish out. We reckon it is something in the water in certain areas. It is not acid attack, it is not bad curing, it is not inferior resins, it is not uncured amines on the surface. I know of others (with Caterham carbon not ours) that have holidayed in France and suddenly had the problem after years of no problems in the UK The water can be rain or tap just to add to the confussion We have now been running test samples in several different locations around the world to test UV and rain attack. The conclusions are that certain resins are more resilient than others to UV and water attack. Special coatings/protectants don't work!!! Tried many from the USA that cost me a fortune. Regular polish with plastic trim spray (silicon based) are the best, Mer bumper polish is the worse (although great initially it accelerates the problems later). Best advise is spray with plastic trim spray regularily and advoid France and Belgium We have now changed our bonnet and front side skin resin system (hence the delay in supply of bonnets and panels) and are using the same system I used for all my interior panels on my car (pre production materials). Our normal carbon is pretty good but Norman has seen some marking even on that but so far knowone else has around the world and there is a lot of parts out there now in all different conditions. I have seen the same effect on all different manufacturers carbon and made by all processes. The white marks are attack of the resin and will eventually degrade with more water and UV, the rate will depend on many factors but if it is light don't panic, just polish and protect. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON

I have stainless rivets if you need them, they are what I used. RiF Driving one of the first Duratec 7, and building CA07BON for Henrietta 😬 😬 😬.for pictures of 7 and carbon andCA07BON Edited by - RiF on 3 Sep 2007 19:14:31