Fibreglass front end for 106's. Who would like one?

[Jon]

Hello,

I have the possibility of getting some fibreglass front ends made. I dont mean a possibility in a 'it's a dream kind of way' either.

The current plan is to make a mk1 complete front end, similar to minis and should save a load of weight. The front end will have a Rallye front bumper and standard wheelarches on to allow fitting of either rallye or xsi (or any other) arches. It will also have a standard 106 bonnet in there too.

To get to the engine you could undo the bonnet pins and take the whole front off.

The price of these would be £250, a complete bargain. Would i be right in saying thats less than a new Rallye front bumper?

Dont let the price put you off, these would be top quality. Unpainted obviously. There wouldnt be a huge amount of profit involved (none on my part), hence the price.

Apparantly these can be made in carbon fibre too for around £6-700. He wouldnt have a problem making these though but obviously costing a lot more than fibreglass.

The only problem is that we'd need 5 people to buy them. If theres a lot of interest then we can make the mould up. I'll have a chat with work and maybe work out some kind of refundable deposit thing?

Its possible nobody would like one, but I do! Hence the reason for this post!

Jon

[semtex]

ive seen a few on mini's jon , are they pretty rigid when bolted in then and what exactly would they include ? would it be a bonnet wings in one and then bumper seperate ? im only askin as im lookin at buying a fibreglass bonnet you see and was talking to neiul f the ther day about fibre glass wings

[Baz F]

I think john means the whole front of the car.Sounds ace to me.

[106rallye.co.uk]

just bolt on fibreglass parts or actual structural chassis parts in fibreglass?

bit more info on exactly what parts they are gonna be would be useful

[dynofiend]

id expect it would be a clamshell for the front end incorporating a one piece bonnet, bumper and outer wings.

Sounds like a good idea, but i seriously doubt that the wings will get any lighter made from fibreglass, and unless secured properly, the whole structure is gonna flap around like a goodun!

[semtex]

i think your right Matt , it would be a hell of a job too stop it flapping around and still make it easy enough to remove when you are working in the engine bay area

[Jon]

Basically the equivalent of this:

http://www.mini-performance.co.uk/Images/Red%20Hot/ABSFront.jpg

Non structural parts. As said, it'd be the bonnet joined to the wings joined to the bumper. you could affix it with 4 bonnet pins, 2 on each chassis leg (where the current wings bolt to, and a pair of clips down at the back of the wheel arches.

Hope that helps :)

[semtex]

spose you could have 2 on the front where the front vents are ( make brackets up on the frolower cross member that the radiator sits on , then 2 on top where the original bonnet mounts and 2 down the sides of the wheel archs like you say jon , id like too see 1 but i dunno about commiting to buy one

[dunc]

Good idea, and i can see where ur coming from. But like Matt said, i dont see much advantage over the std wings, and i think it'd be a hassle to take on/off all the time, as the wings go all the way to the bottom of the door.

Dont wanna piss on your fire, but i tink just a fibreglass bonnet is the best solution.

[Baz F]

Personly I think Its a good idea, even If simply for access to the engine bay. If i had a s1 Id have one Jon.

[semtex]

you dnt get many cars with better access to the engine bay than a 106 baz ,

[Baz F]

205?;)

[tyler]

I'd be up for one for a S2.

You may think it wont save much weight but think of it this way:

1 bolt doesn't weigh much but a 1000 do, and the same go's for all the wing, bumper, bonnet catch's, stays, hinges, fixings etc.
And why would the motorsport industry use something that doesn't work?

Tyler.

P's I had a Mini which had one fitted and that was fine.

[Stu_D]

Whatabout just being able to remove the top half of the wings with the bonnet, then having fixed lower halfs, but that wouldnt be much diferent to just a plain bonnet.

[semtex]

there would be a seam then aswell at the top stu would look a bit odd

[Stu_D]

Thats true, having it all in one peice may look a bit odd aswell.
Maybe just a removable bonnet and bumper would be better?
Whan do you realy need to remove the wings to work on any part of the car?

[semtex]

yup yer right stu id say bumper and bonnet would be best jon

[kenich]

Jon let us know if S2 versions come out chap!! ;)

[Gregg]

Think the important issue here would be how much weight can be saved. Fitting a fibreglass bonnet will save you about 7-8kg if you ditch the hinges and bonnet catch. I can't see there been much more of a saving given the lightweight of standard wings. But if obtaining fibreglass bonnets proves a problem you still be able to drum up some business for these instead.

[Dobber Sport]

sounds like quite a good idea, only problem i would have is if u have a bump u need to replace everything rather than each panal :o