Date:         Mon, 12 Jul 2004 15:37:49 -0400
Reply-To:     Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tim Demarest <tim.demarest@POBOX.COM>
Subject:      Re: Lightening the load
In-Reply-To:  <BAY12-F24JGpkeH9urk000217a4@hotmail.com>
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed

So... carbon fiber is light, but too expensive.

         Would fiberglass cabinets be lighter than wood?
         Would they be cost effective?

I was wondering about this when I had the kitchen cabinets out of my
Westie... it was just idle speculation (I reinstalled the wood), but maybe
someone on the list knows.

Tim

At 12:26 PM 7/12/2004 -0700, J. Harvey wrote:
>In the past months I've spent hundreds of hours making one-off carbon body
>parts and molds.  To replicate a Vanagon door while maintaining the original
>functionality would be so expensive you might feel sick.  I suspect doing
>all for doors would cost at least $20k.  The pop-top would be cheaper but as
>you mentioned the weight savings would be minimal. ~$4K
>
>The westy cabinents could be replicated at home by fabricating flat carbon
>panels and then using the original cabinents as templates (no molds needed).
>  You'll be hard pressed to do it for less than $1000.
>
>Carbon driveshafts are pretty common and cost about $1000.
>http://www.acpt.com/article3.html
>
>Great ideas but very costly.  -john
>
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