Is it Legal to Carbon Fibre a Landie?!

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gregat273

gregat273

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Okay, Here we go, you are about to enter the luney bin!

Is it legal, to create a Land Rover Discovery 1, out of fibreglass?

I am not talking about the Monocoque, just the panels, and maybe the floor, and while we are at it maybe the front wheel arch assembly.... Perhaps the roof

It is a crazy idea I know, and for the price of parts I could probably buy myself a nice Disco 2, I just want to know, is it legal?!

Also, if said stupid idea where to go ahead... is it as simple as registering it as a body change? Or would it need an SVO or whatever they are called like for kit cars?

Many many thanks in advance, and don't worry, the doctor is on his way to take me back to my padded room soon :rofl:
 
surely the roof is structural?

Other than that, can't see why not, loads of older cars have fibre glass replacement parts...
 
no issue as long as the seats and seatbelts remain securely fixed, if I was gonna do it i'd attach the seats and belts to the chassis then the body doesn't matter
 
Carbon fibre is not the same as fibreglass. Both are wonderful materials in their own rights but they have different properties. Don't get the two confused.

Also, don't get generic carbon fibre confused with carbon fibre laid up for a particular purpose. It's rather specialist material.

Now, how come Discos fail MOTs on boot floor welding if the boot floor isn't structural ?
 
gregat273 said:
Okay, Here we go, you are about to enter the luney bin!

Is it legal, to create a Land Rover Discovery 1, out of fibreglass?

I am not talking about the Monocoque, just the panels, and maybe the floor, and while we are at it maybe the front wheel arch assembly.... Perhaps the roof

It is a crazy idea I know, and for the price of parts I could probably buy myself a nice Disco 2, I just want to know, is it legal?!

Also, if said stupid idea where to go ahead... is it as simple as registering it as a body change? Or would it need an SVO or whatever they are called like for kit cars?

Many many thanks in advance, and don't worry, the doctor is on his way to take me back to my padded room soon :rofl:
Click to expand...
Yes, doing this is perfectly legal, you can get GRP body panels for most Land Rover vehicles. What advantages you would get would be doubtful. The GRP panels are not much lighter than the Aluminium ones but will cost a lot more. An SVA will not be needed as the body on a body-on-chassis vehicle is not classed as a major component, it is only worth 1 point on the SVA points scheme.
 
Cheers for the advice guys! Yes I reckon the comments RE the roof are probably correct, I know carbon fibre is AMAZINGLY strong but, let's face it, as much as I can learn online I probably wouldn't do a professional job on my first attempt at such a big panel

Yeah seat belts would have to be mounted onto the chassis, think most of the mounting points on the Disco 1 are direct to chassis/ monocoque anyway?

Martin1512, do you know the best places to get the GRP panels? I'd assume they would be a hell of a lot cheaper than the carbon fibre ones, might be worth looking at to see the price difference between buying the materials myself and buying the already made panels!

Once again guys thanks for the advice!
 
I have just brought all my panels for my 100" land rover ( tornado)
All the panels are made from grp, its good stuff and comes in what colour you want :) mine where from tornado motor sport,( basically from kyozen moulding ) and cost a fair bit.
 
SteNova said:
Seat and seatbelt fixing, no seats or belts no issue
Unless it goes so far it affects the body mounts and in turn the front seatbelt mounts etc
Click to expand...

That would explain it. Thanks.

GRP is perfectly adequate for non-structural use. Lotuses and Corvettes (as well as earlier Renault Espaces) have GRP bodyshells, and they're probably not the only things that do.

The fibres in GRP are not aligned in any particular direction and so the stuff is fairly amateur-proof. It easy to buy panels off the shelf but if you wanted to DIY, you could.

Carbon fibre is an entirely different deal. Yes, it's strong, but only if it's been built to be strong in that direction and there's a trade-off between stiffness and final strength. It can be laid-up by an amateur but it's tricky stuff to get right.

Some basic info here: The Knowledge :: Technology :: Carbon Fiber - Velocite | Carbon Bike Frames | Carbon Bikes | Carbon Wheels | Road Tubeless Wheels

(I once sat through a 1-hour lecture on the difference in performance between high-strength and high-modulus carbon fibre plastics. I'm that sad :eek:)

On the other hand, if all you want the roof to do is keep the rain off your head ...
 
L90 BCM, that sounds like a cool project, have you got a thread on here showing the build? Would be great to see what it looks like!

KeepDigging- Ah I see, I am guessing it is like the skinning they do on aircraft where you have to have each mat at a particular angle to the underlying mat?! The link is pretty good cheers :) Maybe GRP is the way to go then, and probably a damn sight cheaper, if only by a fraction...

It is an interesting idea... maybe it would be a sensible one after all! Wonder what difference the weight would make to my fuel economy.... hummm! Does anybody have any links for where you can get the completed panels? I will see what the price difference is and if it is worth having a go myself, I might start with something easy like the bonnet (I say easy.... we shall see!)
 
It's easy to lay up flat panels like a bonnet or roof. I have done loads of grp laminating in the past (garage doors, boats and various small yacht components)
The materials are generally fairly expensive but if you buy in larger quantities the price should drop a bit - have a look at CFS fibreglass supplies. Might even have a dabble at making a few bits myself ;)
 
Thanks Chawks! Yeah it was always going to be an expensive idea
I think it will remain just that for the time being, maybe in the future if I get round to buying a 90 for off-roading I might consider a bit more seriously
 
If you want to keep the weight down you need to look at vacuum bagging, this compacts the reinforcement and minimises the amount of resin so you end up with a stronger and lighter part. As stated above normal CSM fiberglass panels are no lighter than alu panels. Most high end composite outer panels are Carbon/Aramid hybrid cloth as this is tougher than just Carbon


I am just making some panels for my competition Land Rover, I am using Eglass and Diolen for the wings plus vacuum bagging. My thread is here http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/alrc-project-160626-33.html
start on page 33 but I probably won't be making the actual panels for a few weeks, I am still making the patterns and molds which is taking a while a I am an amateur like you.
 
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