ebrabaek Posted July 3, 2008 So Finally I round up the chickens and began the last CF part of my Z. This i am sure, will also proove to be the hardest one to achieve. The beginning can be seen here.. https://thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=653805 And the First CF thread here... https://thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=525008 After getting a great amount of input from fellow TT`ers....this is the way it will go. Tank to be made of two parts. A butom and a top. They will be fused together to form a whole tank. The botom part wil be made from a cast/mold from the original Z`s tank, wheras the top will be from a modified top part. I plan for it to hold between 4 to 4 1/2 gal. It will have 4 layers. Inner layer fiberglass...then 5 oz. kevlar....then two layers of 5.7 oz twill Carbon fiber. I will use por-15 as a tank sealer, to prevent de-gassing....just in case. The resin of choice is Silmar 249 from US Composites. You may wonder why Polyester instead of Epoxy??. This Polyester is a surfboard resin which, when dry is clear like glass. I have yet to see such results with Pox. Close but no cigar. It is more brittle (harder) than pox. but so far i really like it. Good UV protection as well. I am going to post as the project goes along. With that said here is the start. Took of the tank and waxed it. Then Layed up a few layers of Fiberglass for the mold of the botom. You may wonder why the bouble around the petcock???😛 Well that shows that even experianced duff`s make mistakes...I left the tank cap on...thinking that way nothing goes in there:bonk: well....as the resin cured, it heated up the tank....air expanded and blew a nice little bubble where i taped the opening for the petcock of:censored: 😢 ...but wait... dont panic. That is the beauty of CF...It can be fixed easy.😛👍 I will go over that later. Next...tomorow i am hoping...it will come apart, and i will make the botom piece. Enjoy Erling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lyzic Posted July 4, 2008 Nice....I'll be watching this one. I love this kind of ingenuity Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fttam Posted July 4, 2008 Nice....I'll be watching this one. I love this kind of ingenuity He gets my vote too.......rock on! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aaron_Silidker Posted July 4, 2008 Polyester resin is a very poor choice for a gas tank regardless of coating. Please reconsider for your own safety! I understand that it is very clear and great for cosmetic (key word is cosmetic!) carbon work, but experts would cringe at what you are planning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 Polyester resin is a very poor choice for a gas tank regardless of coating. Please reconsider for your own safety! I understand that it is very clear and great for cosmetic (key word is cosmetic!) carbon work, but experts would cringe at what you are planning. Well...Im not sure the experts can agree on that. Polyester...Epoxy....Vinyl Ester resins have about the same tolerance for gasoline......none....None of them reacts too kind to ethanol either. I know that there is some opinions out there stating that epoxy will withstand gasoline. None of the manufactors I work with agread on that. They all stated that as long as you use a propper tank sealer either would work. I submerged 3 pieces of CF in a gas can for 2 months. One laminate on poly...one with vinyl ester, and one with epoxy.... They all held together, but none of them good enough for this aplication. So I guess we shall see. Thank you for your warning though. Erling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 So today I Broke the botom mold of. It was inevitable that it had to be scored to get the two sides apart. Came out nice though. Just a little fixing around the tank stops and petcock area. That is hardening as we speak. Enjoy Erling 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sayZar1999 Posted July 4, 2008 I am so excited to watch this one, keep going!!👍 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
voodoo2535 Posted July 4, 2008 This is awesome:thumbsup:. Are you planing on keeping the stock shape or are you going to make it bigger? Defiantly take lots of pics I might wanna try this( well if I could afford th CF 👍 ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Metalhead201 Posted July 4, 2008 That's going to be bad ass, Can't wait to see what it looks like, when ur done keep the molds you have be able to make a quick buck or two selling tanks lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 This is awesome:thumbsup:. Are you planing on keeping the stock shape or are you going to make it bigger? Defiantly take lots of pics I might wanna try this( well if I could afford th CF 👍 ) I am planning to modify the top shell, building it up to....4 to 4 1/2 gal.....or so I hope. I plan to shoot each step of the way. Erling 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 After the piece is cut to size, it is waxed several times. Then the inner layer of fiberglass is layed. The three outer layers of KV, and CF will be layed underneath when I break the mold tomorrow. Enjoy Erling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tarmac Posted July 4, 2008 Looking good! 👍 I still think you should go with a internal bladder, seeing as your doing a 2 piece mold it should be no problem to install. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xrltim Posted July 4, 2008 Since you are going to the trouble you might as well do at least two or three tanks. The material won't be that much more and you can tweak them slightly for different results, then pick the one you like the best to keep. I'm sure you'll be able to sell the others here if you want to. I'm so interested in this I can't tell you. I have not found an aftermarket tank that doesn't look like Shiiitt. ( in my opinion ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 Looking good! 👍 I still think you should go with a internal bladder, seeing as your doing a 2 piece mold it should be no problem to install. I would do it...except getting the right size to fit the final tank would be hard. Unless I could send out the tank ( in two pieces) and have them custom form a bladder???? I would dig that. The tank shape has yet to be developed...😛 I will build up the top mold with urethane foam....like I did with my fromt faring/windshield. So till I start sanding the foam....I really dont have a clue....well....maybe...a little. I even thought about thermoforming a plastic liner after the two piece shell. Seems like the por 15 is the best alternative. Enjoy Erling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ebrabaek Posted July 4, 2008 Since you are going to the trouble you might as well do at least two or three tanks. The material won't be that much more and you can tweak them slightly for different results, then pick the one you like the to keep. I'm sure you'll be able to sell the others here if you want to.best I'm so interested in this I can't tell you. I have not found an aftermarket tank that doesn't look like Shiiitt. ( in my opinion ) There have been a few e-mails...👍😛 I looked around as well, but all ways ended up back where I started....Make my own. All my eggs is in one basket how ever like Aron stated...polyester dont stand up too well to the chemical implication here. So sealing is a must. Folks at por 15 stand by their product, and say it will do fine. Enjoy Erling Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aaron_Silidker Posted July 4, 2008 Well...Im not sure the experts can agree on that. Polyester...Epoxy....Vinyl Ester resins have about the same tolerance for gasoline......none....None of them reacts too kind to ethanol either. I know that there is some opinions out there stating that epoxy will withstand gasoline. None of the manufactors I work with agread on that. They all stated that as long as you use a propper tank sealer either would work. I submerged 3 pieces of CF in a gas can for 2 months. One laminate on poly...one with vinyl ester, and one with epoxy.... They all held together, but none of them good enough for this aplication. So I guess we shall see. Thank you for your warning though. Erling Find a fuel with ethanol in it and try again. I worked with CF in college, and spent time with people who used CF for fuel systems in a small open wheel race car. Polyester is no good. Epoxies are considered the most resistance to fuel permeation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ty_gto Posted July 4, 2008 Looks like you have a good handle and knowledge of this. I work for a composite shop that makes race car parts ( http://www.gospitzer.com/06composites.htm ) and we make 2 piece carbon fiber puke tanks for alcohol dragsters. We make them with epoxy resin and vacuum bag them with realease film. We have absolutely no problems with product failure even running oil and alcohol in them when a car hiccups. We have not ever used poly resin but i would think that you wouldn't have any troubles if you sealed the tank! Looks good! I am no expert this is just my 2 cents. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MarksFriggin Posted July 5, 2008 I'm looking forward to seeing this tank progress. Thanks for posting the pics ebrabaek. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sausy Posted July 5, 2008 awesome idea but por 15 and fiberglass will not hold up to the gas .I have fixed a old greves fiberglass gas tank for a guy 3 year's ago with a gas tank sealent kit from napa auto part's store good luck can't wait to see it Share this post Link to post Share on other sites