Bet you never dreamed you’d see a carbon-fiber how-to story in the pages of Car Craft! Don’t worry; we haven’t fallen victim to the import craze, and we’re certainly not going high-buck on you. We’re not totally clueless. We invested a total of $127 into this project, and we made some strong, light, and trick-looking carbon fiber panels in our garage. Care to read on?
There’s an aura surrounding composite panels that keeps them shrouded in mystery from most car guys. Certain composite-manufacturing processes do qualify as “black arts,” but laying up simple carbon-fiber panels doesn’t require an advanced degree or an enormous pile of cash.
We kept the panel design simple for this story because it was our first crack at fabricating carbon fiber. Learning to lay up flat panels is the best way to start because there’s no need for a complicated mold—all you need is a clean and scratch-free piece of glass. Guided by the information in this story, you can create a set of door panels or a switch/gauge panel for that sexy street machine in your life. Thanks in part to help from Ivan Nausieda (proof that younger brothers are good for something), this project turned out so well that we’re planning to make a carbon dash cluster for our Chevelle. We’ll be sure to show you that project in the future—provided we can make it look as good as these flat panels.
