Hello all! I am new to this forum and I'm in the reading/planning stage, not even designing anything yet really. I plan on using a 3.0 liter 89-95 Taurus SHO 5 speed as my donor. It's on the porky side but they are 220 HP, 222 lbs torque stock and are EVERYWHERE (cheap and plentiful). I will try to concentrate on making the design simple, like using Fords suspension geometry in the front. I will not make a composite body, probably aluminum with simple curves. I will try to attach a concept version that I made a while back.

Instead of painting a chassis why can't I just put on a layer of carbon fiber? Benefits would include a rust free chassis, increased torsional and bending strength/stiffness, cool look, high strength/weight ratio, etc. The drawbacks: it would be impossible to inspect for cracks (although the metal would see less loads imposed, meaning cracks would be less likely), cost, it would be MUCH harder to relocate a bracket or repair something.

It would cost more, but not that much. The surface area of the entire chassis isn't too high. Also, you can subtract the cost of paint and use larger gauge (cheaper) metal for your chassis to achieve the same strength.

I may just be overlooking something. Opinions?