Northwind Composites - Status Update

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Danny-G
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Danny-G »

Price dependent, I'm in for a scoopless and scooped post lift.
Legacy777
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Legacy777 »

Yeah....regular users can not edit their posts in vendor threads.

I really like how the hoods look painted! The combination of carbon fiber & paint really looks good!
Josh

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James614
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by James614 »

Dammit, I'm probably gonna be in Japan by the time become available. I'll probably miss the boat on 'em :(

Looks amazing. What are those black tabs? Some kind of sleek hood pin?
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by cj91legss »

James614 wrote:Dammit, I'm probably gonna be in Japan by the time become available. I'll probably miss the boat on 'em :(

Looks amazing. What are those black tabs? Some kind of sleek hood pin?
Yes.
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by James614 »

Nice. I have a feeling international freight will be more than whatever these might cost. I might have a guy I can trust to stick one in a storage unit for me so I can have it when I get back. I'll jump through some hoops not to miss out on these.
jyrine
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by jyrine »

I'd be very happy to snag a post facelift one in Crimson with a scope. If any are still available that is!
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Legacy777 »

Legacy777 wrote:Yeah....regular users can not edit their posts in vendor threads.

I really like how the hoods look painted! The combination of carbon fiber & paint really looks good!

Lee,

Maybe I missed it somewhere in your thread, but the hood is not painted correct? In looking closer at the picture the color appears to be in the carbon fiber. Is that correct?
Josh

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yazmo
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by yazmo »

any news about this sunroof hood i would luv to get these
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by robertpaige »

Would absolutely kill to have you make a Kaminari style hood for our cars.
Image


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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by yazmo »

I know the question have been ask but no answer yet.
How much the hood you completed weight?
Northwind Composites
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Northwind Composites »

Sorry for the late response to all your questions - it's been busy :). Tomorrow I'm hoping to finish getting the shop setup and operational. I leave for a 10 day vacation late next week and am hoping to be putting resin to fabric when I get back - still working out a few material lead times but that's the current plan.

So here's the scoop on the hoods (pun intended) -

Weight
The prototype hood weighs, with hardware - 11.2lbs

This is the prototype and it has lots, emphasize lots, of clear coat - about 3lbs worth :). But it looks great! The base laminate weight, prior to clear, was approximately 8lbs and I believe I can drop that down to about 6-7lbs for the production all carbon hoods.

Weight and price will go hand in hand. The hood shown and the 6-7lb unfinished target weight is for an all carbon hood. Carbon is approximately 350%the cost of fiberglass per square foot of material and 40% lighter - and stiffer/stronger. Therefore, if your'e trying to save some money there will be fiberglass hood options as well though they will be heavier.

Cost
Right now I'm estimating around $400-$700 for a hood, unpainted. I'm still trying to get my local painter up to speed and dialed in with clear coating carbon. My plan, as like with the sunroofs, is to offer my parts unfinished so you can do it yourself, pay someone else, or pay the cost for my painter to do so. There are options we can work out on keeping cost down and gettin the aethetics that you want - such as a couple layers of carbon on the top and glass for the rest, all glass, all carbon, etc. Once I get the design really dialed in and settle on my resin for the hoods then I can figure out final costs.

Is my hood painted?
No, only clear coat. The top layer is a carbon/kevlar hybrid where they dye the kevlar red. The resin darkened the red some when it wetted out and it just happens to match the winestone really well - really well :). I have yellow/black, blue/black, and red/black options available. The material cost for the carbon/kevlar is the same as straight carbon but I will likely add another $5-10 for the option as kevlar owns any cutting tool it touches and is in general a bit more a pain in the rear to deal with :).

Style/Contour Options
Right now there is only one option - the hood as it is shown. I will work on making a plug that fills in the scoop so there is a scoopless option and I'll try to make another plug that creates a recess for a WRX scoop. These plugs do add maintenance to the mold prep/cleaning but I can probably make them work.

There will not be other significant changes to the shape. A pre-facelift might be available someday. However, keep in mind that a quality mold of this size uses around $3,000 of materials alone and a signficant amount of labor. If I were to build a hood mold and sell it, or if I were to buy from a tooling house, it'd be in the $6-8k range. I am hoping to break even on the mold costs for my current mold - I'm not charging the BBS guys a lot of mark up and such - I just really wanted a carbon hood for my car and it happens you guys might buy a couple to help offset the cost :).

Time Frame
Once I start making parts I will be focused on sunroofs and a few other things for other cars and such. I won't be making hoods for another couple months - my apologizes as I know your anxious :). I have taken this hood through two weekens of Auto-X with my car being dual driven. I've also been daily driving it. There is once distinct change to the core layout I need to make to alleviate a slight rub. However, I want a little more time to fully vette out the design before I start selling them incase I need to make any design tweaks. You may have noticed - these are not your standard China/Ebay construction and there is a lot of though that has gone into the reinforcement locations and ply layup.



I think that covers most of the hood questions - but let me know what I missed :). I appreicate everyone being patient as I get all this back up and running. I can say with certaintity that, God and life not withstanding, we'll have plenty of fun parts later this summer/fall/winter :). I have already paid the lease for the year so I've got things to do :).

*BTW, the next two big things I'll be making tooling for this fall/winter is a trunk lid and a splash gaurd/skid plate.

Keep asking questions and let me know what you guys think/want.
ride_child
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by ride_child »

i imagine the trunk lid is going to be for a post facelift as well?
Danny-G
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Danny-G »

Looking forward to the skid plate!
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by cj91legss »

Id love a 91 hood and a 92 trunk!

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Dominator
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Dominator »

Thanks for the updates Lee. Even though it's not going to fit my pre-facelifted car, I'm excited to see new products and manufacturers even considering our cars. Keep up the good work, it's been cool to see the progress of this project.
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Northwind Composites »

Howdy all,

It's been longer than I anticipated to get you an update. My wife and I got a two week vacation in a couple weeks ago and it took us a little longer to get caught back up on life than I had planned :).

That said, last weekend we got the heat room fired up and infused a test part to validate the new equipment. A couple small tweaks are being made this week and this Sat. I'm planning on getting some parts made. I had 15 yards of new carbon arrive yesterday, and assuming UPS didn't mess it up, it'll be getting cut and kitted later this week. I am still working on trying to get my new resin online - this is why I'm still holding out on pricing anything. That said, I have two gallons of my existing system due to arrive on Thurs. to keep things moving.

So hang tight, we're almost there :).

I don't know if I'll ever have a 91' hood - anybody ever know what happened to David Carter and his tooling? - but I'm already getting itchy for a trunk lid myself.

Next week I'll get some pricing put together for the sunroofs and start the waiting list for them. For the record, unless I have a part ready to ship - I won't take any money. However, I'm happy to honor the waiting list and any options that you request.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks guys!

- Lee
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by SILINC3R »

Trunks for preface I like it. Maybe so wider front fenders
kimokalihi
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by kimokalihi »

It sounds like he is talking about post face trunk lid Tony.
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by cj91legss »

Northwind Composites wrote:Howdy all,


I don't know if I'll ever have a 91' hood - anybody ever know what happened to David Carter and his tooling? - but I'm already getting itchy for a trunk lid myself.


- Lee

How am I supposed to sell everything I have to get a Carbon hood and trunk for my preface swapped 92ss?

:-(
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by SILINC3R »

kimokalihi wrote:It sounds like he is talking about post face trunk lid Tony.

Damn
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Northwind Composites »

Shamless post here :) - but incase everyone has been following this thread and didn't see the new sunroof buy thread - I do have these for sale now and the shop is up and running. It is taking way longer than expected to get my new resins up and running as the distributor is trying to get his stuff straightened out. Until then though I am still using the existing system. So good parts can be made, just my cycle time is still a little long.

Anyrate, just thought I'd let you guys know :).

http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=53959
LegacyT
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by LegacyT »

My glass is cracked so I'm looking at replacement options... First off, are these still available? I'm intersted in option 2 since I would still like to use the sunroof. Also, is there a cheaper option such as fibreglass? I intend to paint the part body color, so I dont need the carbon fibre appearance.
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by yazmo »

bump
Northwind Composites
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Re: Northwind Composites - Status Update

Post by Northwind Composites »

LegacyT - Howdy, and yes these are still available. I do not keep inventory of these at this point but they are still for sale and are made on an as-ordered basis. Regarding the possibility of making them cheaper, sure. I can work up a quote for you. Labor doesn't change but I am happy to adjust the for the raw material difference. The current configuration utilizes carbon on both the exterior and interior surface. I understand you are going to paint it body color so no carbon on the exterior surface. However, do you want carbon on the interior surface as well or will you be painting it too?

Please let me know if you have any additional questions or items I can help with. If you'd like to move forward with anything, my email is the best way to reach me - lee@northwindcomp.com .

Thank you,

Lee
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