Featured Customer: John Lyons
Every dream has to start somewhere, and John Lyon's dream of building his 1968 Buick Riviera into the fastest, best handling, and agile Riviera out there started when he attended his first autocross event. Customizing a big and heavy 1968 Buick Riviera to become a light and agile car is no easy feat! Besides the extensive chassis and suspension work, this "big girl" as John affectionately calls her needed some weight reduction.
“This project and my experience with composites began about four years ago. I did research and experiments to learn and fine tune my skills. It has been such a satisfying and fulfilling endeavor creating composite parts and panels that exist nowhere else than on my custom Riviera.”
约翰开始“削减脂肪”可以说是“t”he hood and truck lid as they were the heaviest body panels on the car. A mold was made from the existing parts usingblack tooling gel coatandpolyester molding resin. With the hood and trunk lid being so large and flat they were strengthened withLantor Soric® XFfunctioning as a sandwich core material, surrounded by3K, 2x2 Twill Weave Carbon Fiber.
The custom front bumper was more of a challenge because it was made completely from scratch. John started with a 2x4 and plywood frame onto which he pouredPolyurethane Mix & Pour Foamto carve and sculpt into the plug which he would use to create his final mold. From this final mold John has created a one of a kind bumper usingvacuum infusionto achieve an optimal fiber-to-resin ratio. But the most challenging parts to create were the front and rear fender panels.
Building off of the existing panels, John applied a layer ofChavant Autostyle Clayto sculpt and widen each of the panels by 2-1/4". The clay was then prepped, molds were cast over the clay plugs, and again usingvacuum infusionJohn created custom resin infusedcarbon fiberfenders. To ensure the beautiful cosmetic appearance of the carbon fiber remained stunning well into the future, John coated all of these panels withDuratec® Sun Shieldfor improved durability and to prevent UV degradation. Keep up the great work John!
