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Sun Aug 24, 2025 8:08 am

First carbon car made, just awaiting its shortened floorpan and then to choose the engine

Sun Aug 24, 2025 11:53 am

I gotta admit, I'm pretty jealous :?

Sun Aug 24, 2025 1:27 pm

Who is making these, how much do they weigh and what is the approximate cost--thanks Bob

Sun Aug 24, 2025 1:40 pm

Thanks for the interest
Made this myself, Cured in an autoclave using prepreg carbon fibre, I haven't weighed it yet but I can easily lift it on my own, its 1.4mm thick so really strong.
I already have the dash and engine cover made so just the doors and bonnet to do. I also have the speedster mould and should have the first one done fairly soon.
Price wise I'm not sure yet as I need to make the rest of the panels, its got to be more than the fibreglass car due to material costs but ill look at it when finished.
The quality is fantastic as its basically the ultimate process to make carbon fibre parts.

Sun Aug 24, 2025 1:57 pm

some other finished panels

Sun Aug 24, 2025 2:13 pm

Sun Aug 24, 2025 2:16 pm

GeoffHitchcock wrote: and then to choose the engine
Go Subaru turbo... it will be a beast.

Or if you have a large enough budget.... get a Polo engine.

Sun Aug 24, 2025 2:19 pm

Its such a hard decision, There are a couple of companies not too far from me who do Subaru conversions, a vw engine would be so simple but big money compared to the Subaru route

Mon Aug 25, 2025 3:34 am

wow! the moulding looks so crisp. are you using a standard short pan or a speedster clinic one?

Mon Aug 25, 2025 4:44 am

So I have a tube frame chassis already built but I'm also having a full shortened 61 pan built up, full air suspension, wilwood disks all round, freeway flyer box etc, I have the steel frame that adapts the vw pan to the body,I purchased the speedster werks business some time ago and im finally getting things put together.

As far as I am aware speedster clinic won't sell you a chassis on its own.

Mon Aug 25, 2025 7:12 am

GeoffHitchcock wrote: Its such a hard decision, There are a couple of companies not too far from me who do Subaru conversions, a vw engine would be so simple but big money compared to the Subaru route

Seems to me with parts available with a modern and great HP right off showroom floor it would be a no brainer to go subie........ Sort of like its a kit car though classic in design it's not a genuine 356 that needs to be all VW to be really authentic.... ITs kind like the Cobra though a 427 seem classic, there are lots of variation for power plants....

Mon Aug 25, 2025 7:56 am

To be honest we are a company who makes nice things out of carbon fibre, assembling a complete car will be a test but I need to build a pair of demonstrators showing different ways you could go, I think 80+ hp would be enough in something that is so light, too much could be a burden and get you in trouble im sure, I put a alfasud 1.5 engine in my volksrod years ago and at around 100hp at best it would be very light steering on takeoff.once my new floorpan arrives I will be on it and then hit the shows.
Thanks for your opinion, im after some ideas for sure, I take it the polo engines are mega money??

Tue Aug 26, 2025 8:53 am

Put a Type4 VW engine in it. 2 liters and it easily makes 100hp in Porsche 914 form with uber reliability

Tue Aug 26, 2025 12:05 pm

So there's a type 4 for sale on eBay uk. I did ask about it but its not a runner so a little bit of a gamble, my understanding was that a type 4 won't go straight onto a type 1 gearbox without some flywheel mods ?
I do need reliability as I want to be able to get to shows without the worries of breaking down.

Tue Aug 26, 2025 12:23 pm

Nothing wrong with a built up Type 1 engine.

A nice 1776 or 2110 will last a long time.

This is a 1915 I built for a customer, he has over 30,000 miles over the past 7 years.

This is my 2180, it has over 26,000 miles on it.. all trouble free.

Add a Sebring exhaust and it will look killer in 356.

Tue Aug 26, 2025 2:01 pm

I've had a Speedster for 25 years. There's very little new under the sun, but this...

well, this is different. Well done, and keep us in the loop.

Tue Aug 26, 2025 3:25 pm

thanks for the comments, ill be making a full carbon speedster next, I have the doors, bonnet and engine cover already done and they look awesome.

Wed Aug 27, 2025 8:07 am

A Type 4 will fit in its OEM pancake format without converting to upright. A couple of different solutions to the flywheel. The 914 215 mm won't work without lots of machining, BUT a bus 200 mm one will. Or there are bespoke flywheels.

The exhaust can be quite costly though.

I'm a fan of the T4 BUT the parts are costly. I'd personally opt for a Subaru engine, along with a Subaru 5 speed MT transaxle. Perhaps you could go the BECK SE route and mid-mount the engine?

Fri Aug 29, 2025 4:49 am

Vanagonsgoslow wrote: Put a Type4 VW engine in it. 2 liters and it easily makes 100hp in Porsche 914 form with uber reliability
GeoffHitchcock wrote: I think 80+ hp would be enough in something that is so light,
Absolutely! That right there is a bone stock 1.7L early type 4 engine. Then there is the 1.8L and the 2.0L.
GeoffHitchcock wrote: my understanding was that a type 4 won't go straight onto a type 1 gearbox without some flywheel mods ?
Wolfgangdieter wrote: A couple of different solutions to the flywheel. The 914 215 mm won't work without lots of machining, BUT a bus 200 mm one will. Or there are bespoke flywheels.
I used a '73 Bus engine and the only change needed was to machine the hole in the center of the flywheel to accept a pilot bearing. The type 1 transaxle has a slightly shorter input shaft. 15 minute job at a machine shop.
Wolfgangdieter wrote: I'm a fan of the T4 BUT the parts are costly.
This is not true if you are content to stay with close to stock! It's only true if you are looking for big horsepower. The OP is not.

I rebuilt 2 engines recently back to back. A type 4 1.7L and a type 1 1600 SP. The cost was virtually identical because of all the machining and repair needed to be done to the type 1 case. I was lucky enough to have a pair of low mile used heads otherwise this engine would have cost a lot more! The type 4, even though it saw a hard life in a Bus needed nothing done to the case and all I had to replace was one head and the camshaft. In fact I had enough money left over to buy a good set of used Webers and new manifolds for it.

Type 1 engines today are mile'd out, machined out and abused to death. Type 4s when you can find one... not nearly so much.

The end result was that for the same money the type 4 has double the grunt and will stay with modern traffic flow all day long with ease. I would not go back!
Wolfgangdieter wrote: The exhaust can be quite costly though.
This is absolutely true! There is very little selection out there for the type 4 and what there is... is worth a king's ransom. I bought some "U" bends and pipe and fabricated my own.

With the Subi conversion, the big bugbear is what to do with the cooling system in a car that compact that was never designed around a radiator. Where do you hide that thing where it can get proper air flow and effective cooling and not end up looking like a rolling junkyard?

A Bus has enough room to hide it all. A 356? Not so much!

Fri Aug 29, 2025 3:08 pm

If you're soliciting suggestions: 2276 or 2332 T1. Yeah, it's more expensive than a Subaru. It's also magical in the twisties.