Steve Curtis sharing some of his carbon fiber work...

Email address: crpreplica@aol.com

The whole body is made from carbon fiber and epoxy resin. The estimated weight of the whole body is 50 lb. according to the weight of the epoxy resin, hardener and carbon that we are using. This does not include any of the steel cage that the body mounts to. With epoxy although the material is 5 times as expensive you end up using five times less material. The labor is much more intensive though as working with it is a much more precise process.

The photos I have sent of the molds prepped in white are actually what the molds look like after we have brushed on the white surface coat. This takes time as it cannot be sprayed on and must be done in 2 applications. We apply one coat along the entire area that we can lay-up in a day and when that tacks off we add another coat. We then add the material and the epoxy resin and squeegee it out. One of those panels takes a solid 8 hours to lay-up.

I enjoy working with this material as it is almost odorless. The mess is minimal and I don't get itchy from flying strands from a choppergun or from the chopstrand (e-glass). Also I don't have to coat the whole mold at one time. I can do separate panels of the mold then bolt the mold together and bind them at the seams. Seeing as there is Zero shrinkage with the epoxy, there is no lift problem. Doing the lay-up this way with polyester resins is impossible as your glass will lift and even if it doesn't you will for sure have seam lines wherever you add the new sections.

I am mainly dealing with original Diablo owners at this time so I will only be taking inquiries at this time for certain parts. Once this car is complete and showable I do plan to build turnkey vehicles but stay away from kit sales as much as possible. I will not be selling this body in kit form however. I want people to really see what I personally have the ability to do. I don't think they will be disappointed. I didn't do the glass work at the old shop nor did I do the welding so this time around I will stay small if possible and do most of it myself and stay very specialized. I have learned the hardway about the kit car business and If I do start back up I am going to do it right. I definately don't want the same stuff happening all over again that is for sure.