Carbon fiber on chassis?
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?
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