At Home Mechanic

I prefer that my hobby car, a 1987 Honda CRX Si, run as powerfully and efficiently as possible. In the pursuit of maximum performance I have carefully stripped the car of air conditioning, comfy seats, and some sound deadening. My hobby car is not a comfortable car to ride in; no one in the family suggests that we take it for a short trip to the store, let alone a long leisurely drive in the country. But my hobby car is purpose aimed at being as fast and efficient over the road as possible.

With these goals in mind I have removed much more than I have added to my hobby car. But I have just added a piece to my car that reduces weight and (dare I say it?) adds a measure of beauty to my car. I recently removed the heavy steel hood of my car and replaced it with a beautiful custom-made Carbon Fiber hood. Additionally, this new hood also replaces a section of plastic bodywork that had never fit correctly and had marred the graceful lines of the car's front end. So by adding this Carbon Fiber hood I reap the double benefits of lighter and sleeker.

Carbon Fiber is a miracle product that is one of the collateral benefits of the Space Program, along with Tang, Space Food Sticks and Velcro. Carbon Fiber is similar to fiberglass in that is a cloth fabric that is imbedded in resin, but the resulting materiel is then baked at great heat to harden it. The resulting product is lighter and stronger than regular fiberglass.

But there is also a danger with mounting a Carbon Fiber hood on my hobby car. I run the risk of being associated with the backward ball cap wearing, street racing wannabe,
Sport Compact Car crowd who are so slavishly devoted to the street racing movie The Fast and the Furious. Commonly found hanging out in the parking lot of the local burger joint, the cars of this crowd are decorated in the height in “tuner” fashion with large wings, huge shiny wheels, stickers and stripes. But the single most important feature is the hood on their cars, which is most likely not the same color as the rest of the car’s body. This is the type of "enthusiast" who has most thoroughly embraced the Carbon Fiber hood.

I have found that my heretofore nearly anonymous hobby car has begun to draw the unwanted attention of every Boy Racer in town. They will pull aside my car at stoplights and challenge me to a street race, a very dangerous and stupid thing that I have preached against tirelessly. But I am willing to tolerate the challenges from the mouth breathers and knuckle draggers driving recklessly on the local roads to get the weight savings and sleek style that my new hood gives my car.