EOI: BJ-II street-legal vented bonnet

[Orion]

Hey guys,

Based on some suggestions and research I have been doing over the past month or so, I wanted to guage interest among the BJ-II owners out there as to who would be seriously interested in having a street-legal fibreglass vented bonnet?

I have placed this is in the "Bodykits" section as an EOI because I want to see if there is any credible interest before going any further. If there is interest then I will create a new thread that will deal with the final participants, payments etc. Until then, here is some information on what I am thinking of:

This is company I am talking to at the moment:
www.blitsbodykits.com.au
I would like to remain the point of contact between the company and the interested people. I think that things will run much smoother if you post all you questions on here and then I can go back to them with a single list, and then post the answers up on the forum

Here is the vented bonnet that would be produced:
http://javascript:popupWindow('http:...f92ed916')
(The one shown in the link is carbon-fibre but the one that would be made would be fibreglass)
More pics:




Costs:
I have received a price from the company to do a one-off bonnet and it is many $$$$. They have come back to me and said that they can significantly reduce the price if they get an order for 6 or more identical bonnets. I was going to wait and try to firm up the price a bit more but I will quote the rough price I have been given so as give you guys all the information as I get it.

The price that was given to me was $770 per hood. However, it is important to note that this price is one that they consistently give to anyone that asks about their hoods. There may be some additional costs down the road for little things such as having to use genuine latches rather than generic ones. At this stage this price can be used as a guide but it is in no way fixed and it will only change in the upward direction.

If a group buy were to go ahead, it would require a 50% non-refundable deposit from all participants before work could begin. The remaining 50% would be paid on completion of the hoods. I was originally thinking of having all the hoods painted in order to deliver a finished product but have since decided against this in order to keep the initial cost low and to give the individual the choice of whatever finish the want.

Timeframe:
This kind of thing is going to take time. I'm sure there will be a lot of questions about the product and a bit of research needed. Let just set an imaginary timeframe of having the deposit ready by say the end of July.

The company has also said that it will take at least 6 weeks to produce a batch run of the hoods. The company would also need a stock hood in order to cast an initial mould. I think that if this ever got off the ground, it would take a good 2 months from when all the deposits are received to when the hoods would be ready. This means that the hoods would be completed by the end of September.

Other stuff:
- no GENERAL debate about fibreglass hoods being legal. If you have a question about the legality of this particular hood, on this particular car from this particular company then ask - if not, then there are already about half a dozen other threads that you can post in to re-ignite that
- this is limited to BJ-II owners only - no other car models can be included. However, anyone is welcome to make constructive comments
- at this stage I will open this up to interested people from states other Queensland. I will look into the possibility of shipping inter-state in terms of legality first and if it is fine then the cost of sending the hoods.
- the design of the hood is not likely to change in a significant way. I do have an alternate design in mind but it would take a mountain of support for the alternate design to make me want to change

Cheers!

[marcs_sp20]

Im interested, but probably not until mid July (tax time! )

The bonnet looking to be made up looks good, but I dont know if the Evo6 look-alike that 2brag & now foxeen has/had on her SP20 would entice other buyers?

Do the bonnets need external bonnet hinges to be mounted? Will we need a mod plate for the bonnet at all? I know Blits bonnets were the first to be certified as "road legal", just unsure on the whole legality of having it on the car..

Cheers
Marc

[Orion]

I sort of figured that if everyone could put down the deposit before July, then the second half of the payment could be covered by tax refunds . The time frame could be extended a bit further if necessary - it is only a guide at this stage.

The design is what it is. I dont really want to open this up to a vote because there will never be a agreement on one design. If this one doesn't get interest then I will move onto another.

The legality of the hood is something that I will be investigating in great depth in the near future. My standards for legality (at this stage) would be an ADR sticker, mod plate, as well as some correspondence from a relevant authority (e.g. Queesland Transport or federal agency that handles ADR compliance) saying that they are aware of the company and yes their bonnets are fine. This is what I will be aiming for - not sure if I will get all of it but I will try my best.

For the moment, please assume that there no issues with legality, ADR-compliance etc - I will look very hard into this and provide updates. At this point please just indicate whether you would be interested in the bonnet.

[Ice88]

If theres no issues with legality then im interested, would like to know how much it will be though

[Orion]

Originally Posted by Ice88

If theres no issues with legality then im interested, would like to know how much it will be though

Now highlighted in the first post to make it stand out some more

Basically, assume that $1,500 will cover everything you need. I expect that there will change from this figure but I dont know how much. I would rather set the price expectation high and then come in with an actual cost much lower. I dont want to make everyone think they will get one for a certain price and then come back and say they are actually two or three times more expensive.

[02-KQ-LASR]

its looks like a simmilar style to the ones that jetspeed make. sp@nv had one on his car.
i know i cant buy one, but good on ya orion for trying to organise this, its a very good idea!

[Orion]

I have been thinking a bit more about the price and how to make this more affordable for everyone.

I think that it would be better to organise this without painting. I see this being beneficial in a number of ways:
- if there interstate people that end up buying one, it means that should any damage occur during shipping (not expecting this but you never know!) then it is easier/cheaper to repair
- sending unpainted bonnets means that people are able to choose their own colours, paints, finishes, custom airbrushing whatever (they can pick whatever finish suits their taste and budget)
- it would also mean that the cost of the bonnet would broken into three smaller payments (deposit - final payment - spray painting) instead of two larger payments (deposit - final payment)

Let me know what you think guys!

[Mad Mat]

i'm interested mate

[D Valerius]

i may be interested i have to decide what direction my mods will take where they stop...

[chicaboo]

Originally Posted by D Valerius

i may be interested i have to decide what direction my mods will take where they stop...

Will a BJII bonnet even fit your car?

[marcs_sp20]

Its a BJII

[chicaboo]

Well FMD, it is too! Don't ever use me for a character witness.

[scott b]

although not interested in purchasing, and i apologise for interupted the thread, but what makes a vented bonnet legal or illegal?
(this can be deleted if it is against anyones wishes to be here)

[D Valerius]

Man i have to update the pics with the new lowness,

[Orion]

Originally Posted by scott b

although not interested in purchasing, and i apologise for interupted the thread, but what makes a vented bonnet legal or illegal?
(this can be deleted if it is against anyones wishes to be here)

The question is a reasonable one and I'm glad you raised it.

It's not the fact that the bonnet is vented that people (or police) start to question its legality. I mean look at WRX's with the big scoops for the top-mounted intercoolers - and a range of other vehicles have openings in the bonnet for various cooling effects.

It is more about the type of material that is used to construct the bonnet that causes issues. The standard metal bonnets absorb a fair bit of the impact in a head-on crash situation - and will usually deform/buckle/bend as one single piece. Fibreglass and carbon-fibre bonnets have different structural properties and the common perception is that these bonnets will shatter and/or splinter creating shrapnel that could cause damage to the car occupants and/or bystanders.

****NOTE:
There will be no discussion about whether this is the case or not, or what is legal in which state etc. I was simply answering Scott's valid question.

As for an update, I will clean up the first post tonight and make some amendments to the way I see this happening (if there is enough interest). I will also include some more images of the bonnet in various painted forms so that everyone can better see what it would look like. I will also fire another email off to the company about what process they go through to make the bonnet "legal"

Watch this space guys!!!!!

[scott b]

Thank you very much for the answer. Helped me out as I now know I can put vents in my standard bonnet for cooling purposes. I will see what happens, but thanks again for answering that

[70NYD]

allso on the legality note, i would like to point out that certain rear facing vents are what make the bonnet illegal due to the posibility of oil getting on to the windscreen in the case of engine faliure. this being said i am not questioning the design at hand as the vents are fairly forward to clear the engine and actually cool just the radiator and exhaust like they should
looks awesome and i wish we had a option like this for the BA
good on ya orion

[Orion]

First post updated. I have written things a bit more clearly, quoted the initial price given to me (not the final price) and linked in some more pictures of the bonnet on some proteges.

So far, interested parties are:
- Orion
- Mad Mat
- Marcs_SP20
- Ice88

[Orion]

Response from Blits Bodykits regarding legal documentation:

each bonnet is numbered and registered to each vehicle I have to have the vehicles vin number and rego and I give the details to the transport department I give you a letter with your details on it and to show that our bonnets are to federal standards and engineer approved and if anyone in the transport or police department can contact us and we can send the relevant details to them , this means that you don't have to have a mod plate.

As for the bonnet itself it has to fit using the original mounting points and catches so we will have to make sure that the bonnet catch is provided along with any other bolts i.e. strut connectors and hinge bolts so to all intents it should look like it came from the factory not some aftermarket part that shouldn't be on the car.

We can get an adr number if someone would like to donate their car to be crash tested and then written off tome this seems a little expensive if it is not totally necessary they have given us the approval tO make them without doing this as we are now a registered transport approved workshop.

[Orion]

The process for making the vented bonnet will require taking a mould of an OEM bonnet. I have been assured that the process does not damage the original bonnet (well, they have only ever had one issue before) as long as it is reasonable prepared - I can get details on this later.

Are there any Brisbane or Gold Coast peeps that would be able to lend their bonnet for the mould? I would imagine that it would only be for a day or two but I can check if required.

Also just got this regarding transferring (on-selling) the bonnets:

the bonnets are transferable just need to update the details with us and get a new letter that's all

Cheers.