Bonnet Porn!

[Moderator]

I'm so excited about my brand-new custom-made carbon-fiber bonnet - from Preform Resources, of course - that I thought I'd post some snapshots even though I haven't installed hood pins on it yet.  I know I'm not the only one around here who has a new hood this year. Gentlemen, let's see them!


At less than 5lbs, this bonnet weighs over 20lbs less than the steel hood it's replacing.
I'm gonna need to adjust my front end lower again!


I had the old hood mounted on four pins - one in each corner - but Dave bonded two aluminum tabs onto the bottom of this bonnet at the rear. They slide into two slots I carefully cut into the car's body above where the hinges once were.


Here's the really cool view!

I forgot to take a snapshot of the underside, but it's interesting because from the bottom you can see the other reason this bonnet is so light... it's just a skin. All the structure for hinges, latches, prop rods, etc. has been deleted.

All the credit for the bonnet goes to <a href="http://www.preformresources.com">Dave Craddock, proprietor of Preform Resources, who makes REALLY NICE fiberglass body panels for MGs and other sports and racing cars</a>. Rumor has it that Dave will have a new website soon;)  


<a href="http://www.preformresources.com"></a>

[Bill Young]

Guys, this hood is a work of art. I was lucky enough to be there when Curtis unpacked it and I was amazed at the quality of the work Dave did on it. Curtis had sent him measurments of the stripe and paint codes and the color and strip placement were spot on.

[Preform Resources]

WOW, thanks a lot you guys it took us a while ,the part was made several months ago, the paint
was another issue, getting enough open time between layers of clear etc. i'm glad you're happy with
it Curtis, thanks again.
Dave Craddock

[rficalora]

Looks very cool - and 5lbs is amazing!  I like how you left the bulge unpainted too.

[roverman]

Yes Dave, a thing of beauty. I did ask about hood and rear deck for Jensen Healey. The Huffaker version weighs 18#. Let's chat. Cheers, roverman.

[Preform Resources]

Art, e-mail sent

[MGBV8]

Wow, how did I miss this?  Awesome bonnet!

[Moderator]

Thanks Carl!

---

I thought more people would post pictures on this thread.

For example... did everyone see the photos of Mike Moor's new hood that were recently added to the Photo Gallery?



Mike created his new hood by custom ordering an un-assembled RV8-style fiberglass hood from Dave at Preform Resources. Obviously, Mike cut a big hole in the hood skin. Then he glued the bottom (reinforcement) part on. I believe he and Richard made the center (filter housing) part from scratch.

[MGBV8]

Yeah, saw those pics.  However, I saw it in person at the Townsend V8 Meet. Awesome shaker hood!

[WernerVC]

I have an original hood modified with bulge from a mitsubushi eclips. It's just bare metal for the moment. Pics follow in a few days. Curtis, your hood looks awesome.

[motek]

Beautiful Curtis!


George

[Moderator]

Thanks guys!

Spring is here, so I'll be driving again soon. I finally got around to installing OMP aluminum hood pins. I discarded the cheesy sheetmetal screws and clips that came with the hood pins, and instead used stainless steel machine screws with quickly made aluminum doubling plates. The bonnet has a honeycomb core, and is about 3/8" thick at the hood pins. Here are a couple snapshots:

[Bill Young]

Nice work Curtis, love those type hood pins. Trying to get them on the new hood for the RV8 instead of the old style where I usually lose the pins as soon as I take them out. LOL

[Graham B]

Hi Curtis.

In reply to your appeal for bonnet porn, I have been working on a replacement steel bonnet for my Spitfire, I had a glassfibre bonnet originally on which I had made a scoop to fit over a pancake filter.

Early this winter I sourced a bug scoop and a steel bonnet with very rusty wings/wheel arches. Having replaced both wings, wheel arches and headlamp surround areas I then cut a big hole in the top to fit over the bug scoop. I then put a lip around the hole to add strength back and stop a lot of water running into the engine bay if it rains. The bulge to incorporate the top of the distributor is a genuine stainless steel hospital kidney dish!

Just got the time consuming bit now of getting it ready for paint.

Can't wait to get it on the road again, I guess it will look pretty awesome in your rear view mirror.

Graham

[MGBV8]

I forgot to take a snapshot of the underside, but it's interesting because from the bottom you can see the other reason this bonnet is so light... it's just a skin. All the structure for hinges, latches, prop rods, etc. has been deleted.

Curtis, still waiting for additional pics. Please.  

[Preform Resources]

Carl, the part was vacuum bagged epoxy/carbon with a nomex honeycomb core except the blister which is three layers of 3k carbon, then the aluminum tabs were added to locate it at the rear.
Dave Craddock

[MGBV8]

Thanks, Dave!

Is that bulge the same length & width as your Fg RV8 bonnet?  It looks like it has more clearance (deeper).  I'm trying to figure out how much headroom I would gain with a 14" air cleaner.

[Preform Resources]

Carl, no, the bulge is the same as our RV8 bonnet, Curtis' part was made from the same tooling. As for your other question,
I don't really know what engine/carb/F I combinations will work or not, it would be interesting to hear from some of the guys who have used the RV8 bonnet in their application.
Dave

[Bill Young]

Curtis, everyone knows that the bonnet on my Midget is just plain porn with that huge bulge. LOL All done in sheet metal and a gallon or so of Bondo almost 15 years ago.

[Graham B]

More bonnet porn!

Managed to get the fabrication complete and get the bonnet in primer, just waiting for some decent weather here in Blighty to get the spray job done.




Can't wait to get back on the road

Graham

[Moderator]

Graham, that's coming along great!  Way, way cool.

===

Dave Craddock has inspired me to try my own hand at carbon fiber fabrication, but on a much less ambitious scale. I figured it would be cool to have something "carbon" in the engine compartment to echo that first impression the bonnet itself makes. A radiator recirculation shield seemed like the logical choice. Its purpose is to make sure airflow goes through instead of around the radiator core. Here's what I've come up with:

Background, bottom to top: very quick prototype (with no top flange), MDF plug, and glass/polyester mold.


Carbon/epoxy recirculation shield (3/4" top flange touches bottom of bonnet all the way across).


My very first "advanced composite" part! I took lots of snapshots with intention of writing about what I learned. Dave's help was - of course - invaluable.

[roverman]

Nice work Curtis ! Carbon epoxy rocker covers would look so cool, eh ?  Cheers, roverman.

[Preform Resources]

Curtis, it looks great!!,,,,,,,I knew you could do it!
Dave

[djw090]

That looks great.

Only this morning I was thinking about replacing the side impact beams with ones made of kevlar when I reskin the door. The steel ones weigh a ton.