Derek

Had to do a little 3D scanning today so I figured I'd do the pillar mockup. Well actually I wanted to scan the pillar mockup so i came up with some other stuff to scan while I was at it! Here is my scanning rig. It's a Nextengine 3D laser scanner. It's a two part method in that it takes a picture and has a laser scanning device. It attaches the picture to the mesh as a texture. Here it is shooting the "Freekin LAser" on to the model. The model is on a turntable. It takes 360 degrees of scans and weaves them into one. Here is another angle. This is 18 scans done at 2 different heights with the texture applied. Just the mesh. Next I'll bring that mesh into my 3D design program and use it as a reference to create the surfaces that will be the pillar pod mount. Derek

Looks good Ryan. I cut my panels in exactly the same place. You can't see it and it makes it a lot easier to install. I also ended up not putting in the top screw on the relay bracket. I think the fiberboard panels are more flexible so they're easier to install. I guess the bottom line is if everyone is cutting the panels to fit maybe I should sell them already cut. Nice writeup. Derek Oh and it's amazing how a camera with flash shows all the ugliness under the dash. I knew my car wasn't a show piece but when I looked at my pics it looked like something out of a junk yard! I actually use a camera with flash to do my final inspection on patterns. I can find imperfections much easier.

Thanks guys. Well technically this is what I do for a living. I'm a pattern maker for the sand casing industry. The vacuum form patterns are very similar to the foundry patterns I do. Also this type of prototyping is an area that I work in as well. Before I was a pattern maker I did very high end stainless steel and aluminum fabrication for very wealthy people.... I'm much happier now! As far as the steering column covers. Maybe. I'll have to see how demand goes for some of this stuff. Derek

Allrighty then. Since i had so much fun doing my Kick panel speaker pods I decided it was time to start my pillar pod mount. I started out making a drawing of the pillar profile with a contour gauge. I then cut a test piece of the contour and pushed it in place. It took 5 tries to get a fit I was happy with. I then carved out a piece of plastic that was the length of the pillar. Here is a shot of the 5 profiles and the finished pillar blank. I heated the blank and clamped it to the pillar. Here is the piece after it cooled. It had a lot more twist in it than I thought. The I used an epoxy clay to pick up the top and bottom details. The top section will go up behind the sun visor mount. This will be the top attatchment. I'm hoping for friction and pressure to serve as the bottom mount. Then I carved a couple of basic pods just to use as visuals to get the placement. The finished mockup You can see the mount holes for the visor in the clay. This will come in handy down the road. Tune in to my next installment and you'll see how I turn this lump of plastic shizit into a thing of beauty! Thanks Derek

Looks cool rick Of course you know I'm biased towards these types of setups! Derek

95 F250 4WD Diesel extended cab. 258,00 miles! It's the one behind the red car!

If your having trouble searching for 2 and 3 letter searches you can use the google site specific search. Search You put in http://forums.hybridz.org as the search location. I have no Idea how long a lag it has for current postings but it will get you older info. Derek

Time for an update! I pulled and cut out the four sets. The first set is ready to get shipped to my first victim .. I mean customer tomorrow. I have a second set going out Monday so hopefully we'll know shortly how it's going to work out. I cut them exactly like the stock panels so I don't foresee any problems but I just want to make sure before I offer them up. Here's the finished product. I sprayed them with SEM trim black for Tyler but I don't know if I'll be spraying the production ones or not. I'm including a bracket to move the hood release cable up and away from the speaker. And as usual I've included the hardware. Time to start working on the pillar pod! Derek

Not to mention makes rental cars a blast! Derek

I bought an assembled 3.57 Megasquirt unit from DIY auteotune. I'm running it with EDIS ignition. It runs great and it's never let me down. I daily drive my Z. I paid careful attention to proper shielding and grounding techniques and I think that has made a big difference. I also sprung for magnecor ignition wires. Unless you have lots of experience building circuits or lots of experience tuning then I wouldn't try and bite off both. If you can't get it running right you'll always be wondering. "Did I solder the resister good enough" Just my 2 cents. Derek

I would probably shy away from that. Mainly because when I got it all done people would look at it and go "I could make one cheaper than that" and they'd be right. The kick pods are more sculpted and would be more labor intensive. I will say though I'm going to be exploring a pillar pod gauge mount as my next item. Derek

Happy birthday Jeff! Derek

I'm running Magnecore on mine and I'm very pleased. Derek

I don't know what the differences are. I do know that I'm only using the lower section of the panels on my car. It was easier for me to install by cutting the tops of the panels off. The only way you can see up in there is if you stick your head under the dash. Maybe someone with the knowledge will chime in. Derek

Thanks Nelsonian. Sorry datsun723. I doubt if I'll be producing these for the later models but you never know! Well I got the passenger side mounted and wired. The carpet cover was a real PIA to get shaped correctly. Man what a difference front speakers makes! Much better sound. I tested it out with the same song I've used since 1979 for testing out my sound systems....Comfortably Numb. You can guarantee that gets volume whenever it comes on! Well I'm might happy I followed through with this. It really cleaned up my kick area as well. Derek

Thanks for that. I had to band saw that very area out of the way to get the panel to slide up in place. Derek

Time for an update! Well I got the drivers side done including mounting and wiring. I happy to announce that the dead pedal issue is very workable. Not perfect though. I'm 6' tall and have 350Z seats in the car. This forces me to drive with a little more leg bend than I normally would and also puts my foot higher on the pedal than I normally would have it. I can't switch between the clutch and dead pedals by just laying my foot to the left like I was before. Now the funny thing about the human species is that the same skill set that allows us to comprehend driving allows us to adjust to things like this pretty quickly. Five miles in traffic is all it took. I don't even notice it anymore. Basically I just have to reposition my heal slightly as I go to the pedal. I also pulled the passenger side today and it looks like the first one is going to be a winner. I did a quick test fit at the end of the day and I'm pretty satisfied. Now for some issues. The carpet covers will not be on the production pieces. Nice idea but too much hassle for this size run. Also has a lot of potential for fit problems. I will cut the panels to match the factory fiberboard panels. This is the safest bet. Speaking of factory panels...I only have the passengers side. I just reversed it to do the drivers side. Does anyone have both of them out of their car and if so can you post whether or not there is a difference in the outline. I don't think there is but I want to be sure. Now for the pricing. I have enough plastic in stock to pull 4 sets of panels. These panels will be priced at $100.00 a pair plus shipping. I think this is a pretty fair price and weighed a few things to come up with it. Kick panel pods for new cars are in the $150.00 range. If you build your own you'll have at least $50.00 in materials and a couple of weekends labor. Now comes the tricky bit. I only want to sell the first 4 to people who are going to put them right in their car including the speaker install. Like it or not you'll be paying for the honor of being a beta tester. The only thing I'm worried about is how they fit on a car that has stock rocker panel covering. After we verify that the four fit then I'll do a larger run if there is demand. I think there will be as this is probably the cleanest easiest way to get speakers in the front. I can't guarantee that the price will stay at $100.00 but I'm going to try. Daphur280 Mutant Speed RS Speed Datsun723 Were the first 4 to ask about buying them. Sorry Chartoo I'm only doing US deliveries on the first run. If there is demand for a second run and the price goes up I'll still sell you a set at $100.00 US. Remember these panels only work in 70-73 cars. The only issues I can see on the first run may be the lack of a hole for something on an earlier car. Mine is a 73 by the way. I'll post pics of the passengers side tomorrow. Derek

Hi Jay I got my info from this site Vacuum forming I built it according to this link Table Read up and I'll be happy to answer some questions although I'm still learning. I'm not sure how deep a draw I could do and it really varies wildly according to plastic type and thickness. I tried to pull a piece of .030" Lexan over a piece as a test and it was a total failure yet I'm pulling .125" ABS over the kick panel with no problem. Not sure about the pricing yet. After I get everything worked out I'll do a full sheets worth (4 pair) and then come up with a price. Also a design note. I drove the car home last night with the panel installed and it still is too close to the dead pedal. I'm going to bring the speaker as far back and up as I can and call it a day. I'm sure I'm sacrificing fidelity but it's still too close. I may have to move the hood release cable up with a bracket as the cable is pretty close to begin with. I'd really like to end development on pull # 3 if I can. Derek

Round Two Re-cut the pattern today and did another pull. Got the plastic hotter and got much better results. I also cut out the profile with my CNC router as opposed to the broad axe I used last time. It fits really good but of coarse I didn't extend the carpet cover far enough. Here is a shot with my size 10 steel toe on the dead pedal Not a ton of room but I'll get used to it. I'm going to run this back and see how it works under the trim panel. I also need to do a better job on the transition so it follows the weather strip welt. This is as far as it's going to get for a week as I just got a rush job on a pattern. I'll drive this around and see how it works in use. I'm not planning on doing a pod for the 6" right now and probably never. It's tight with the 5 1/4" so 6" would be really tough. A question for the people interested in these. Does the carpet cover appeal to you or would you prefer it matches the stock fiberboard kick panel. Thanks Derek

My recipe for comfort. 350Z seats (or equivalent) Spray on sound deadener Dynamat style deadener Closed cell neopreen Aluminum backed jute mat Aluminum sandwich air cell insulation Full carpet kit Vintage Air A/C kit Spal power window kit Spal central locking system Rostra servo driven cruise control Good sound system Tokico Illumina shocks. For me this has been a great combination. I keep the shocks firm around town. A little less when the wife unit is with me and all the way soft if I'm on a road trip. I'm 51 and I can do a 3 hour stint at the wheel and feel like I just got up from the couch. My philosophy for my build was "make it comfortable and then buy as much horsepower as I can afford". Unfortunately I ran out of $$$ before I could get the ponies!!!! Don't under estimate the value of creature comforts in improving the overall drive. Derek

Hi Jamal He needs the early style because that's the only one that will work with my EDIS adapter kit. Derek

We Have Liftoff!!! Here is the maiden run. You can see the plastic starting to droop. And after the suck job. I'm totally happy how the first pull came out. The plastic was too cold and I needed a clamp on the front of the frame to keep the vacuum sealed but that's minor stuff. This is after I did a hack job on the band saw. I wasn't too concerened with pretty cuts as I was just interested in the basic fit. When I cut the production pieces I'll use my CNC router so I'll have more control. And now for the moment I've been waiting about a year for! Now for some observations. Man my car looks shitty from this angle The pod is too low. It clears the clutch pedal no problem but it's crowding the dead pedal too much. I tried to keep it as low as I could for fidelity reasons but I drive more than I listen so up it goes. I need to totally rework the carpet cover. I have the right radius but it comes out at the wrong angle. I also need to reshape the area where the yellow china marker is so it will follow the rocker. I'm also going to extend it rearward so it meets the metal trim. I have to redo the base plate. The step downs on the front and rear are too narrow. By the time I cut back the radius I had no flat left. That's why there is a gap in the front. At least the pod is right! All in all I accomplished everything I was hoping for and I think I established a good enough base line for the next one. Derek

Thanks guys Yes if this works out I'll be producing a few extra for sale. Derek

Well I've been wanting to set up a vacuum forming rig for a while now and figured making some kick panels would be a good way to get started. First thing I did was model up a stock kick panel and a 5 1/4" speaker. I cut a test blank of the kick panel to check the fit and then basically took an educated guess at the speaker placement. Then I modeled in a pod. I have a full carpet set in my car and the green section at the bottom will come out and cover the inner rocker, Kind of like an extension of the black trim plate. I made it bigger then I wanted and I'll trim it to size. The panel is designed to contact at the front and back and the rectangular depression towards the top. This will allow a 1/8" air gap behind it to act as a wire chase. I made everything bolt together so I could easily modify it plus the pod and rocker piece are symmetrical so I can use them on both sides. Here's some shots of the pattern -plug - buck whatever the hell you call it when you vacuum form. I'm making the parts out of 1/8" textured ABS plastic. I have no idea if this is going to work or not but it's an awful lot of fun! I should have the vacuum form stuff finished tomorrow and hopefully the first pull will be Friday. Cross your fingers. Derek

Like this? This is Roger Berry's Z Wolf. Derek