OldAndyAndTheSea

Busy busy busy at the shop. Still managed to get some things done on the car though. Distributor "cap" mold. It suffered some damage, but still remains usable. Back at the clamshells. And some dash progress. I mounted the OEM metal framework, and proceeded to see what my potential options were for mounting the dash skin. Seems to be aligned properly. And it does appear to fit. Whoa. Cool. Once again, fender welting to the rescue. This will transition the flocking material to the defroster cover beautifully, if you ask me. Apologies for the terrible shots, hopefully you get the idea. After I made note of where the dash locates on the frame, it allowed me to plan out the first few tabbing locations. After the dash is attached to the frame, then, I can really make some headway. Lots to do before that happens though. It needs to lose some weight first. I'm fairly confident I will be able to retrofit the guts of the heater controls to the dash. That'll be cool. It should probably happen sooner than later, as it will become more difficult as things get mounted to the dash. Also infused another console today, in order to start building inventory. I'm excited to see how it turns out. The layup went well. Happy New Year all!

This evening was spent pulling the old dash out of the car. It's been a few years since I was here last. I had forgotten what a chore that can be. And, again, because I'm me. Mocked, big time. Apologies for the pictures. I tried to substitute quantity for quality. I believe it looks like it will fit. But I won't know for sure until I actually have it in the right place, bolted down. I absolutely LOVE the look. With the doors closed around you, it's a wild feeling; Totally surrounded by carbon. Just what I wanted. Now to engineer a mounting system, and a way to retain factory heat.. Hmm..... I think I'm gonna be here a while.

If you're indecisive, buy the harbor freight tool in the meantime. It's like 14 bucks. Comes with some inserts too. Also buy one of the wrench down types too, as they fit better in tighter locations. I find myself constantly using the smaller tool. I'm glad I have both, though. But if you have the space, the harbor freight installer (looks like a pop rivet gun) is capable of installing both aluminum and stainless inserts with relative ease.

Go to Syracuse. Head north on I-81 for around 50 miles. I'm dead nuts on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario. I'm an hour and fifty minutes from Utica.

Thanks! Yeah, you nailed it. As I mentioned, for being the first one, I couldn't have asked for a better result. I learned a lot through the process that any subsequent dashes will be noticeably easier. I'm pleased with the result so far. Hopefully it fits. And yeah.. This winter has been unbelievably kind. We had a dusting of snow for maybe 12 hours one day, weeks ago. Since then....nothing. And you know how much snow we get. Crazy. Thanks for the kind words. Thanks! I agree, the defects are not offensive enough to justify redoing it immediately. The flaws at least let people know it was made by a human. And I know Auto Meter is not a favorite brand among a lot of the car community, but I really like the look of them. I've toyed around with Speedhut replacements, but I really enjoy the white face, and simple design of the Phantoms. I know they aren't the crème de la crème, but they suit my fancy. Thanks for the praise. Some steps in the right direction. Fit the rest of the gauges. The mechanical speedometer will have to do for now, until I receive the electric. Roughly mocked in place. I haven't weighed it yet, but as you can see, with the gauges, it is still very light. Now to remove the old dash from the car.....I need to see the new dash in place.

More pictures....I can't stop. Haha Console mock up...because I'm me... And a shot of the back, as some people may be interested to see the "B" side. Excuse the remaining bits of peel ply and flow media (blue fabric/green mesh). I reached a breaking point, when pulling the part from the mold and stopped with those bits remaining. I normally work cleaner than that. What can I say? I am excited. Gauges fit beautifully. Almost like I knew what I was doing. That's all for now. I've got something to stare at. Happy Holidays, and a Merry Christmas to all! Spend time with those you love. Cheers.

More pictures.. Don't mind the fingerprints. The haze you are seeing is "amine blush". That will go away with a simple acetone wipe to the surface. It is the result of epoxy curing. Difficult to bond to if left on the surface. Anywho. On to the peekchas. Here are the two "worst" spots on the part. Like I said, not perfect, but on par with the console already going in the car. And knowing me, I'll make another stupid dash in the future, because I never seem to leave well enough alone... A little bridging. Where the fabric doesn't quite conform to the mold And a little distortion here. Luckily the hazard switch goes there, so it will hide that some. Nothing a cleverly placed label couldn't fix either Top - you can see how much the light coat of tinted epoxy helped darken the area to make flocking it easier. This area is where the most amine blush is, because this where there is the highest concentration of epoxy (the black surface coat, and the laminate underneath). And they all cured in the same day. It is easy to imagine why this byproduct of the curing process is so difficult to bond to if the excess amines are not removed. It also plays a mental game with the fabricators too, as you'll think it looks great. Then you bring it out into new light and freak out, thinking there's a blemish on the surface...only to realize that after a quick wipe down it looks gorgeous again. Then the final buff. OH the final buff, how I love you. Although, I don't have the correct speedometer, I'm going to do my best to mock up some gauges today. I believe the gauges are going to contrast beautifully to the carbon. I am much excite.

it's more of a sickness, if you ask me Somebody's closer. Quality wise, the first dash is on par with my good center console. It's not perfect, but it's definitely usable. I'd say 95% Being that this was the first, I honestly couldn't have asked for any better. I learned a lot during the layup. This opens the door for so much more progress....and work. Cool? I guess. Haha. More to come as it happens. Just wanted to get some pictures out to the world. EDIT: before cutting the gauge openings the dash weighs in at 2lbs 9oz.

Today was a big day. So, as I have mentioned in the past, the dash I am making will be two tone - like my door panels. The bottom half will be exposed carbon. The top half will be flocked. Here I have taped off a very rough line. The line stops about 1/2" short of where the actual division will be. Once I have the dash made and have figured out the attachment points, I will then tape off the final, clean, line and flock the top. A light coat of black, thickened, epoxy will guarantee easy coverage of the flocking material. It will also, vaguely, represent the finished (flocked) product out of the mold. Then the stress.. The first continuous piece is long and unwieldy. Getting that piece of carbon, from the cutting table, to the mold was a fairly tense moment....This is the absolute hardest part of making non prepreg carbon parts. Only a couple feet; felt like miles. Don't distort the twill now! That said, I am actually feeling fairly confident with how the layup went, despite the geometry....And being the first attempt at the new dash. Ready to build a bag. Man! I love me a good flange Bag down. Pre infusion (notice the lighter color of the blue fabric) Infused - notice the darker color Laminate looks clear. That's a good sign. I successfully made a dash! Hopefully it's usable. Also. Got my replacement Speedometer today...same freakin' problem. Sent the wrong gauge. Looks like I'll be returning this for the refund this time, and will purchase the gauge elsewhere. Boo!

In some sort of weird coincidence, every component I installed today had to be shaved or trimmed in some fashion. Started with the poly diff mount bolts. Those were still slightly too long. In retrospect, I should have installed them upside down, it would have given me the clearance. But... 20/20 as they say. Look at those damn paint chips! Tiiiight. Haha Decided to throw the rear sway bar in place. Here's the sway bar mount. It, too, had to be shaved. NOTE: I am using Techno Toy Tuning's mustache bar with Arizona Z Car's brace - I assume this is why they don't mesh, unmodified - proprietary designs, and all that. You can see where the corner was of issue here. (Upper left) Even the bushings I bought had to be trimmed slightly to fit..Sheesh! Looking nice and tidy now. Pictures do it no justice. Man I need a lift...among other things. I'm tired of crawling around. That's it for the day.

^^ I'd recommend installing the bolts upside down (with the heads down - opposite of what I did) as I still may need to shave my bolts like 1/16 to allow my cross member to fully seat. Other than that, they appear to be just about the perfect length. Wow. That was much more difficult than anticipated. Had to rip the differential back out of the car and started over. Finally, success on the second attempt. I still need to install the sway bar and the brace that holds it. Which reminds me, I need to order some end links too. A few more odds and ends, and the rear of the car is just about buttoned up. It's been a while since the driveshaft was hooked up. Feels good.

You and me both, man. You and me both. Haha. Thanks! The bolts are 1/2-20 fine thread grade 8 bolts. They are just about 4 1/4" long, and I bought them locally, at ACE Hardware. $2.40 per. Seemed fitting. Agreed. If I can't find it locally, I go to McMaster Almost finished the diff install tonight. Got hung up on the Ron Tyler mount bolts. One of the four went in. The other three will require some finesse to get them to line up; Not feeling like fooling around with that tonight, I'm tired. Teaser. It's times like this that working alone is no fun. One more set of hands would make this worlds easier. C'est la vie.

As with anything I make - if people want it, I'll certainly make it for others. Ugh. Epoxy never came on Friday. I blame the holiday season. So no dash progress.. But here are some pictures of the current progress, bringing us up to date. Molds scuffed When hand laying, without vacuum assistance, fillets made of thickened epoxy, like these, along tight corners will greatly assist the fabric to lay without causing a void (air bubble). 6x layers of 6oz glass, and 2x layers of some scrap 5.7oz 3k carbon twill. Same applies here with the clamshell mold. Popped Clamshell mold - is beautiful. Distributor cover - to be determined You can now see the advantage to having the plug attached to a flange. No worries, one extra step and it should come out Monday. Should being the key word there. Got a few packages in the mail. Gah! Wrong Speedometer. The box was properly numbered, however the contents were not correct. The replacement is already in the mail, due Tuesday, and I have sent this one back. Even I know there is such thing as too much carbon. Back to Amazon with you! Luckily their return policy is so easy, it's borderline pleasant. Some blood for my differential. And some shorter bolts for the GM polyurethane mount. I kinda want to see it in the car. Let's see what I can do about that.

Epoxy should be here later this week, that's when I intend to infuse the dash. In the meantime, I began making the molds for my distributor cap, and a revised clamshell top section, as I am going to delve back into that project next. (Haven't forgotten you, Marcus ) Plugs. Surface coat. I'll hand lay the molds tomorrow since they are small, simple, shapes. Time to order the next bunch of parts.

Thanks! Hopefully will have some result this week. Finally was able to put some time in tonight. It's long overdue. The rear differential is just about ready to install. I just need to decide if I want to do anything in the rear of the car, work wise, before I install it, as it takes up a fair amount of space. Also need to purchase slightly shorter bolts than what are pictured. They are excessive, I just wanted to see if everything would go together correctly. It did. Great! I need to sit down and order the next few parts to keep the project moving forward. With the Holidays and such, I've been neglecting my duties.

Update: YAAAAS!!!!!!!! Mold turned out beautifully. Pulled so easy. You can compare to the first, flange-less, mold in the background. This is going to be much simpler. Plug survived, unscathed. Applied the release before I left. Sealer on the left (FMS) and the release agent on the right. Some cool stuff is about to happen....hopefully

Just another day in paradise. More of the same. And some cover gasket action! Just need to modify and install the new mount, then it can go in the car. Woot! Then my attention turns to the CVs

So I finished the mold today. I hand laid the remaining layers of glass, and used some carbon to beef up key areas. Since it had been longer than 24 hours since I laid the "skin coat" I thoroughly scuffed the surface, in order to promote adhesion. Cured epoxy leaves excess amines on the surface, known as "Blush/Amine blush" - this often leads to failed bonds, if the work surface isn't thoroughly prepped. And awaiting cure.. Monday I will see if the mold was a success. Please. Please. Please. Hopefully my time was well spent. Hurry up and wait.

Thanks so much! Trying to do it "right". ....a little composites progress. Hand laid the first couple layers (or "skin coat") of 6oz fiberglass onto the mold's surface coat. Ugh, I HATE hand layup. If you'll recall, a couple months ago I claimed that I would eventually make a classier cover for my distributor. We'll I finally took the time to make that plug. Terrible picture for those that don't remember...Here's the current setup. Blah blah Yada yada A little more work, and it will be ready to mold. A couple more days, then the mold(s) should be done - if all goes well, that is.

I've refrained from commenting thus far, simply because I was speechless. I have since found my voice. This is truly awe inspiring.

Decided to powder coat my finned cover. It was painted, by the previous owner, with some nice high quality paint. I almost left it, but the only way to be certain there aren't any hairline cracks in the aluminum is to clean away any coatings. So I blasted, inspected, and subsequently powder coated the cover its new color - machine gray. The contrast with the black is going to be nice. As I bought it. Stripped. Gray. I can dig it.

New seals Installed C'mon cover gasket!

Did a little cleaning/prepping this evening. Tomorrow I install the new seals and the driveshaft/pinion flange. Then, once I get my rear cover gasket, the diff can go in the car. Then it's on to the axles! I need boots.

:cheers:

I won't get to finish the mold until, most likely, Friday..... But I applied the "surface coat". next step: lay up about 60oz of fiberglass to the surface coat.