[Dr.G]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could buy lightweight carbon fiber replacement trunk lids for roundtails?


These are almost always in poor repair from rust and previous collisions, full of bondo most of the time. So heavy and usually opening becomes a fatigue of springs and weight issue.

I wonder if there's a shop around Seattle that could make up a mold? They make these in a variety of Southern California shops for Japanese cars.

Sure I could do it, but a good product needs a big vacuum to suck out excess fiberglas resin. With all the aerospace around Seattle there's probably somebody who could do a prototype.

The front hood isn't really a rust or damage issue, so it's of secondary importance. So any Seattle people or West Coast people have any enthusiasm for helping with shop suggestions? I could take mine down the coast, but it would be better to find somebody around Seattle.

 

[Dr.G]

Why should GTV people have all the replacement parts in carbon fiber anyway. That's not very fair.

I understand almost anything can be done if you throw enough money at it, and I admire Jay Leno and his restorations. But we want to keep this reasonable.

 

[Alfajay]

Yes, a roundtail, carbon fiber deck lid, that fits would be a wonderful thing. Not only are most existing lids rusted and dented, their counterbalancing springs are usually tired, making them unable to hold up a steel lid. A lighter lid would probably stay up.

However, making a mass-production lid that would fit everyone's roundtail might not be so easy. Not only the decklids get mangled by rear-end collisions - the surrounding bodywork gets bent as well. Now that these cars have survived fifty years of tailgating idiots, the metal around the decklid of almost every car has been re-shaped - and all in different ways. Heck, even when these cars were built in the factory, the guys on the production line probably had to tweak the lids to get the decent gaps.

If carbon fiber could be easily tweaked - like steel - fit wouldn't be an issue. Your bodyman could fit your nice new c.f. decklid to your individual car. But c.f. doesn't work like that - once you mold it, it's shape is fixed. So the surrounding body would have to be adjusted to fit the lid.

Duetto deck lids are one of the more challenging body panels to fit. That long seam, with a compound curve, really shows off any fit issues. A GT deck lid is about a third the length, so mis-matches between old sheet metal and new carbon fibre aren't as evident.

How about aluminum as the material for replacement roundtail lids?

 

[Dr.G]

Jay good points.

But my good point is for aluminum you have different and same issues, plus you'd need a press die.

With fiberglas carbon fiber a body guy, or yourself, can add or subtract without much in the way of special tools, without acessing the defunct Arese factory or Pininfarina factory and shipping over from Europe$$$$$$$$$$$$. Fitting aluminum would also require aluminum welding skills if you had to add material. I guess, but certainly don't know, the original trunklid press dies have long gone with the closure of the Arese factory.

What's nice about carbon fiber and fiberglas resin is all one needs is a good mold, and skilled people do this already on the West Coast. You are certainly correct most lids have been modified, but then again fiberglas is easily modified, more so than aluminum for most of us.

So I think you'd more easily be able to modify the lid. Not really different than working on you boat hull or car body if you have experience with that. But if I ever get one made, you are correct I'd never sell one without it understood buy at your own risk. Some people aren't very understanding of custom things, are they.

This would never be mass produced, nothing mass numbered about remaining roundtail spiders. GTVr's have us way outnumbered.

 

[Richard/SIA]

The big vacuum can be plastic sheet and a pump.
You will need two molds.
One for the lid and one for the support piece.
Then bond the two parts together while the exterior part is still in it's mold to prevent warping the assembly.

Your finished part will be 95% as good as the original so use a VERY good original to make the mold.

 

[Dr.G]

Yessiree, but we are going for better than original, not 95%, as in lighter and easily replaced when hit, so that's better. I've spent a lot of bodywork time getting my trunklid looking good, just as soon run around with a carbon fiber trunklid and put my original in the attic if it goes to RM Auction I'll put it back on.

It always time and money and I'm not retired yet. Otherwise I'd do it myself. I'm too busy right now.

 

[Craig_m67]

I'll have one if they get made, it took me three years to find a good Duetto rear trunk/boot lid ... and I had to bring it in from half way round the world. My car isn't anywhere near finished yet, but the idea of somebody running up the back of her in a low speed accident just leaves me cold.

 

[Jim G]

If you have a good original trunk lid. It can be used for the mold. Just use the vacuum bagging process and it will come out near perfect. YOu can use an old but good a/c vacuum pump to pull the vacuum.

 

[Dr.G]

Comments

I appreciate all the comments, but what we need are shop suggestions where we can get a product made.

 

[Jim G]

Heres one.

RC Fabrication - Custom Fiberglass, Carbon Fiber and Composite Fabricator Arizona, Short-run, Prototype and One-off

 

[TehKyosho]

Where I work, everything is carbon and made off of various mold materials. We have very good composite techs that can do this type of stuff if they wanted a side job. However, we use these guys when we aren't making the tools ourselves.

Carbon by Design - Carbon Fiber Design & Aerospace Manufacturing
Janicki Industries | Composite tooling supplier for aerospace, space defense, marine, wind energy and ground transportation industry.

 

[PSk]

Doesn't need to be made out of carbon fibre, fibreglass will do. It is not a structural component so a waste of money using carbon fibre for this job.

I used to have a fibreglass boot lid for a GTV, was excellent ... but I sold it.
Pete

 

[ossodiseppia]

Karen MacGowan has had a carbon fiber trunk lid on her roundtail race car for decades. You might reach out to her and see who made it.

 

[spiderserie4]

too much money and another part of the world, but someone must have made them in the past (ps: GFK is fiberglass):
GFK ALFA HECKKLAPPE DUETTO 1600 SPIDER RUNDHECK RUNDHECKSPIDER 105 105er | eBay

same guy has a proper one too, but is heavily bondod

 

[Craig_m67]

I'd like to make one, one day. I expect there will be a market for them at some stage in the future. Only so many round tails out there and pretty much all have been tapped in the rear. Took me three years to find a good straight original and it was 12,000 kilometers away - still worth it.

I'd use CF only to gain experience with the materials, and because it's terribly cool!

 

[Dr.G]

The roundtail is a design worth getting a carbon fiber, resin vacuum bagged trunklid for. One of the most beautiful car designs of all time.

 

[Hodgepodge]

I saw this old post but thought I would like to add a note that there ARE carbon fiber trunk lids for the S1 spiders. You can buy one here:

https://www.okp.de/xtc2/105/115-Spider/75-Sheet-panels/Rear-end/Boot-lid-Carbon-Duetto-Spider-1966-69-4-3-kg::21573.html?language=en

 

[Dr.G]

http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/spi...-1994/563586-duetto-bootlid-carbon-fibre.html
YESSIR, but Willie saw it first!

 

[Hodgepodge]

He's the one that pointed it out to me in another post. Just thought I'd add it here, too. I am probably going to order the steel trunk lid from them as mine has some rust issues high on the skin.

 

[spiderserie4]

I am probably going to order the steel trunk lid from them as mine has some rust issues high on the skin.

that'd be nice!....but from who?