hakhawks cosmos e36 coupe

[Minuki]

This is fucking awesome. Love the airbox!

[hakhawk]

did some filling and sanding during the week to flatten out the main sections of the airbox that will be seen, more for aesthetics than anything (the deep areas where its still not smooth will be cut out for the trumpets, so i didnt spend much time on them)



then today i put the second layer of cloth on

to darken the filler incase any of it shows through the weave, i mixed some graphite powder in with the base layer of epoxy



then laid up the cloth, looks like i got all the gaps covered this time, and not using any peel ply, will just hand sand it once its cured





ill go back over tomorrow and see how it went before deciding if ill do another layer tomorrow or next weekend

[hakhawk]

so i realised today, that its been exactly 12 months since i completed the motor swap, in that year ive put over 20,000km on it, had a few ups and downs, but i dont regret one single minute!!

[hakhawk]

cheers, i cant wait myself!!

looks like a busy week of work ahead, so probably not many updates til at least next week, so heres todays update to tide you over

so this is how the sheet of carbon turned out. perspex side was really good, couldve used a touch more epoxy. glass side was ok, but not as good, i either didnt have enough mould release, or it wasnt quite dry enough, and definately needed more epoxy. the cloth is fully soaked, but isnt dead flat. not a big deal due to where its being used, but good to know for future attempts.

overall, happy with the outcome for my first go.



the shape wasnt as important as the size of the sheet, as it has to be cut to shape anyway. it will be moulded inside the airbox, so the filter has something to seal against. once i dissolve the foam, i can work on the final shape/size



and for curiositys sake, this is 2 layers of cloth being flexed, only 1 days cure, so will probably harden some more

[edirty6eddie]

Excellent craftsmanship. Can't wait to see the finish product of the air box!

[hakhawk]

depends how complex it is, and which way you want to make a mould, internal or external. that or you could get lazy and just wrap the original box with a sheet of carbon for the look

[anth]

How hard would it be to make a copy of a regular factory 2 piece airbox (Nissan panel filter style) out of carbon? If you had a stock one to use as a basis?

[hakhawk]

Nice work mate, enjoying seeing the carbon process in a diy way. How much would one pay for cf sheets like those?

its certainly fun working with it, i paid ~$250 for a 1m x 6m length

[anth]

Nice work mate, enjoying seeing the carbon process in a diy way. How much would one pay for cf sheets like those?

[hakhawk]

mass pics update, because i like pics

so the peel ply and bleeder fabric was a pass and fail. turns out one needs to apply it very cleanly. it all came off no worries, but it left many funky wrinkled bits that need to be smoothed down/filled before i put the next layer on. some areas i didnt even get the peel ply to touch



i cut the excess off around the filter area, mainly so im not left with bulk that will be harder to cut later on



unfortunately with how the airbox was mounted, i seem to have missed one area with epoxy, so need to fix that



and there were some spots where the carbon seperated, leavng holes, so will be more careful laying up the rest



so i did some sanding, and hit the airbox with some left over epoxy after i laid up 2 sheets of cloth on some glass to make a backing for the filter to sit against inside the box(no pics, because its wedged between glass and perspex, and has weight on it)



close up of the bits i wasnt sure how theyd turn out, this is where the inlet will bolt to the main box

[hakhawk]

progress

first layer on, took some work, couple stuff ups, but it IS the first later, and my first time using carbon fiber cloth



then some peel ply, this soaks up some epoxy, but will peel off no worries afterwards(so they say). i may have stuffed up with having it bunch up a bit on the top there, but will see what happens tomorrow



and some bleeder fabric, this soaks up the excess epoxy. im also using it to try and hold the cloth in place while it sets, as some areas didnt want to stay in place




overall, im happy with how todays work went, but tomorrow will tell the real story :p

[hakhawk]

^cheers. i was looking at pics of the brake res and coolant res the other day, and i want to buy new ones, but theyre soooo expensive. not sure what ill do with them

got the box shaped and taped up, its been layered with some mould release, just gotta organise some bits and pieces to start mixing the epoxy and lay up the first layer of cloth.



messed around with laying the carbon on the box today, just to see how easily it conforms

[Kinghorn]

Sweet! Love your e36, one of the best I've seen so far and love cleanliness of the engine bay. Goodluck with the carbon air box on the cheap, seems like it'll turn out great.

[hakhawk]

final test fit today, had to cut one section off for better clearance to heater hoses, and only 2 spots that ill slim down before the first layer of carbon fiber goes on.

happy with where it sits, and how it feels sitting there. bit more clearance around strut tower now, ill be doing the inlet section after the main section is done and test fitted to the car in carbon form.



bit more clearance around the strut brace now, and i should get away with the original throttle cable bracket



and heres the main area i had to cut some out of. before cutting, it pushed against the heater hoses at the firewall. ill smooth this out a bit at work, so laying the carbon on is easier



oh, and my carbon cloth and stuff turned up the other day

[Oxer]

looks fucking awesome, cant wait to see the end result dude.