That's a, uh, look. (Elise clamshell replacement content)

In reply to 4cylndrfury:

There are UV stabilized epoxies. Paint isn't required IF the proper resin is chosen.

4cylndrfury wrote: Isnt there a problem with most epoxies degrading in UV? Is clearcoat able to protect it from sunlight, or just from mechanical damage? I would assume someone has come up with a clear that also incorporates UV protection...

You have to use a special, UV-blocking clear coat to prevent Carbon Fiber from yellowing. Use of a good, UV-resistant sealant/wax also helps a lot.

Knurled wrote:

mad_machine wrote: CF is not more difficult to repair than 'glass, provided you do not care what the weave looks like. If it's under paint, it's easy peasy to fix

Unpainted CF is the modern equivalent of 1950s CHROME ALL THE THINGS. There, I said it.

Truth, but likewise, I don't hate it.

I'd put faux CF vinyl over the yellow panels. Not only would it look badass, but it's hard to imagine not getting laid as a direct result of this

GameboyRMH wrote:

Knurled wrote:

mad_machine wrote: CF is not more difficult to repair than 'glass, provided you do not care what the weave looks like. If it's under paint, it's easy peasy to fix

Unpainted CF is the modern equivalent of 1950s CHROME ALL THE THINGS. There, I said it.

Truth, but likewise, I don't hate it. I'd put faux CF vinyl over the yellow panels. Not only would it look badass, but it's hard to imagine not getting laid as a direct result of this

Handsome Rob said: There's not a lot a girl won't do on the passenger seat of one of those things

...granted, he was talking about an Aston Martin Vanquish, but the point is still the same

I guess I am in the minority here. I love CF for it's strength and light weight, but can't stand how it looks

The Elise is orange.

Brett_Murphy wrote: The Elise is *orange*.

Which is another reason it hasn't been painted. The price of Chrome Orange paint is eye-watering, even in cheap formulations. I used it on my Seven, and I'm glad I had very few body panels to cover.

I like the CF, guess I have some Boy Racer in me.

So how does the CF compare cost wise to fiberglass on these Elise parts?

Well, after the dumb berkeleying kid destroyed my rear clamshell, I think a used, broken but repaired one was selling for over three large plus shipping.

Mike wrote:

Streetwiseguy wrote: I'd add a foot wide strip of faux carbon fiber to the doors to join the front and back, and rock that all day long.

I'd thought about doing a carbon fiber wrap over some or all of the yellow, but I feared the real stuff and the fake stuff probably look really different when put side by side.

I worked on a customer's salvaged R8 that did this. Having a real/glossy CF part next to a fake CF vinyl wrap was tacky. Maybe there is a quality vinyl that matches?

Mike wrote: That's a lot of panel gap, right there. Honestly, most of the rest of the gaps look okay to me.

That's the first thing I noticed. Other side looks good though. Maybe it is just an alignment issue and you could split the difference.

On just the look alone, I hate it.

I haven't looked at prices lately, but you could get a similar car for the same price in 2007-2008 with a clear title, so I think I would keep looking.

In reply to camaroz1985:

I found one on autotrader, clean title at a dealer with 57k on the clock for $26k

Is it wrong that I want this...

The0retical wrote: If course how someone managed to hit a school bus yellow car to begin with is always an interesting conversation.

Based on the color and size of the car maybe they mistook for a speed bump

In reply to Schrödinger's Flight Service:

Go for it. The SE is a good car. Change the ROM in the ECU to S4s code and it will put some serious power down, over 300. I liked my Esprit (RIP) more than the Elise. Everyone else like the Elise more. If I was to buy another, I'd get an Esprit S4s. They will run with a V8 up to something way past any legal speed in this country. I thought about it after USAA SUCKS insurance finally (after 2 years) paid off, but said screw it, I'll just fix up my old junk.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

I had USAA insurance for over a decade and never had an issue with them. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you would've had issues with any insurance company not totaling out your fiberglass boat-car.

That's why so many Elises have salvage titles.

It wasn't the totaling out part. It was the "we're gonna low ball you ten large" part, and the "we don't return phone calls" part didn't help either.

Sky_Render wrote: I had USAA insurance for over a decade and never had an issue with them. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you would've had issues with *any* insurance company not totaling out your fiberglass boat-car. That's why so many Elises have salvage titles.

I had a HUGE problem with USAA after one of their insured decided my mint '85 MR2 didn't deserve to live. At the time it has a blue book value of $4.5k and they offered me like $500 take it or leave it. It took lawyers and almost a year for them to pay up. The fact that I had an appraisal done for my insurance only a week before is what saved me. Other than that I would have been stuck. USAA is the single worst insurance experience I've ever had, bar none.

Sorry, back to the scheduled post.

there is always the similar-to-vette-kart route, its got good bones for it

racerdave600 wrote: USAA is the single worst insurance experience I've ever had, bar none.

I would have to agree. Even dealing with health insurance companies is a pleasure compared to USAA SUCKS insurance. Their adjuster even told me to go hire a lawyer to deal with them. How bad is that?

Keith Tanner wrote:

Brett_Murphy wrote: The Elise is *orange*.

Which is another reason it hasn't been painted. The price of Chrome Orange paint is eye-watering, even in cheap formulations. I used it on my Seven, and I'm glad I had very few body panels to cover.

When one of my friends was having his Fox painted, he originally wanted a lurid bright green. Then he saw how much the required yellow pigment added to the cost of the paint.

IIRC, he hemmed and hawed for a couple years and then said, eh, I'm only having it painted once, and went with the green.

4cylndrfury wrote: Isnt there a problem with most epoxies degrading in UV? Is clearcoat able to protect it from sunlight, or just from mechanical damage? I would assume someone has come up with a clear that also incorporates UV protection...

Chevrolet did for the exposed carbon fibre on the C6 (ZO6, I think.) It was, at the time, quoted as being $60,000+ per gallon.

In reply to Keith Tanner:

I curbed my clamshell the other day and thought "So that's what expensive sounds like."

You can always just ad UV stabilized clear gel coat at $43 a gallon