92 replies to this topic

[MAXR]

I'm happy that Jonnyboy can easily supply quality replacement Clams for the masses. There seems no point in making another copy of the original clams if they are underway & of good quality. Will you also be producing really lightweight single skin clams too or will you not be bothering?

[darronwall]

Sod all this! What's the cage like?????

[Stik]

So can Johnnyboy do carbon/kevlar ones I have no idea what the benefit is but it does sound cool so i wants it Seriously, i'm happy with either, i just want one that won't blister anymore...

[-JK-]

So can Johnnyboy do carbon/kevlar ones I have no idea what the benefit is but it does sound cool so i wants it

Seriously, i'm happy with either, i just want one that won't blister anymore...

Same here! I'm sure we can get together at least 5 people willing to spend these kind of sums on a quality clam that won't blister. You can easily spend that much on repairs before a respray with no guarantee that it will hold up. I did a poll a while ago and 60% of respondents (45 people) had suffered bubbling on their VX.

I'm still interested in knowing about any potential advantages/disadvantages with carbon/Kevlar. Particularly in terms of durability, repairability, weather resistance and weight. Anyone got any info?

[jonnyboy]

Max I can and do do light clams. The Exige front came out at 7kg (OEM 14kg) The rear I'll have to get some numbers on but because the light ones dont have a boot floor they are less than half the weight of OEM. What I would do with the VX is is take a full OEM spec mold with all the mounting ribs/boot floor etc and then basically you can have a clam made to whatever spec you like. So you can have a single layer VERY light clam or you could have a straight OEM version or anything in between. As I say the front clam will be ready in just a couple of weeks so you can have a products from that straight away. Does anyone have a rear clam we can borrow? We can probably start on the rear clam in about 8 weeks as I do have an Elise front which I have to get done first. If anyone subsequently really really wanted a carbon/kev clam I could let Max's guys have it. I'd probably have to have a chat with them to make sure it was suitable for them but I dont see any problem with that.

[techieboy]

Are you planning on making a mould for an NA and a Turbo rear clam?

[fezzasus]

Are you planning on making a mould for an NA and a Turbo rear clam?

Worst case, if he only makes a turbo one then it should fit the NA, just won't maximise the boot space.

[techieboy]

But would also mean a new boot lid to go with it.

[jonnyboy]

We'd have to give that some thought.

[fezzasus]

But would also mean a new boot lid to go with it.

True, but the boot lid is the easiest bit of body work to get hold of for the VX. Pretty much the only part which won't get damaged in a crash.

[Stik]

Same here! I'm sure we can get together at least 5 people willing to spend these kind of sums on a quality clam that won't blister. You can easily spend that much on repairs before a respray with no guarantee that it will hold up. I did a poll a while ago and 60% of respondents (45 people) had suffered bubbling on their VX.

I'm still interested in knowing about any potential advantages/disadvantages with carbon/Kevlar. Particularly in terms of durability, repairability, weather resistance and weight. Anyone got any info?

Well here's two of us already - are you interested in going ahead as soon as they're available?

Max I can and do do light clams. The Exige front came out at 7kg (OEM 14kg) The rear I'll have to get some numbers on but because the light ones dont have a boot floor they are less than half the weight of OEM.

What I would do with the VX is is take a full OEM spec mold with all the mounting ribs/boot floor etc and then basically you can have a clam made to whatever spec you like. So you can have a single layer VERY light clam or you could have a straight OEM version or anything in between.

As I say the front clam will be ready in just a couple of weeks so you can have a products from that straight away. Does anyone have a rear clam we can borrow? We can probably start on the rear clam in about 8 weeks as I do have an Elise front which I have to get done first.

What's the downside to the light clams? Presumably they're less strong? (eg. if some irresponsible person props themselves up against a light clam is it going to crumple? someone sat on the back of mine once, i nearly had a heart attack)

[techieboy]

True, but the boot lid is the easiest bit of body work to get hold of for the VX. Pretty much the only part which won't get damaged in a crash.

Maybe, though most are NA lids and the hinges for the turbo boot lid much less available.

In any case, I'd only ever want an NA rear clam (and in reality probably only an OEM one) if I ever damaged the car enough to warrant a repair. I wouldn't want to sacrifice any carrying capacity either.

[Baron Von Scubadaddy]

Hinged I want it hinged so I can change my engine every other week !

[FLD]

I have a rear clam with some minor damage that can go to be used. WRT lighter clams if its a straight wet lay then there will be no benefit in using carbon over using diolen or woven glass. The benefit in this case comes from using epoxy resins (expensive) as these aren't porous like polyester so dont suffer osmosis. Making it thin will mean its floppier. Making a cored clam would add the rigidity to the light weight but it will also add a big chunk of labour costs. To get the benefits from using carbon you really need to bag it (as a minimum). A vac formed and cored clam would be rigid and really light.....and really expensive. There's no reason why a JB clam could not be made with a foam core and a single layer each side

[FLD]

I should add that the moulds could be made with a bolt in section for the boot crossbar meaning a single mould for the clam with 2 bolt in pieces. There would be a need for two moulds for the inner boot though.

[techieboy]

And a prayer that the glue used to bond the boot section in place doesn't migrate through the clam and cause bubbling like it seems to on turbo clams.

[Mike (Cliffie)]

Lightweight front clam... Mmmmm.

[Stik]

Can someone explain the inner and outer skin stuff to me? I confess i've never seen the clam off the car but i thought it was just a single piece - are you saying there's actually two layers and a cavity between them?

[MAXR]

Well, it seems like I want a lightweight single skin (with rigid strengtheners), top hinged with gas struts, coupe backed, quick release clam with quick release rear wing pylons. I will design one, but I need a good quality 3D Cad model preferably a solidworks model or even a shitty DXF or any other 3D format....Anyone got one?

I can get access to a large scale 3D scanner to digitise the main hard points on my car failing this...But, it's a lot of effort!

[techieboy]

Any good? Don't know how much "under the skin" stuff you need (nor how much is contained in that model).

ETA: Scrub that. The rather critical rollover bar cover looks totally wrong to me and given you want a coupe conversion, I'd say that models a fail.

Lets all chip in for a clams on and clams off laser scan.

Edited by techieboy, 19 February 2013 - 11:15 AM.