Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Nate and I came up with a replica fiberglass 250 GTO Ferarri fiberglass dash to "splash" a mold from. The replica dash is the one that the stripped Datsun dash metal frame is utilized with the stock gauges and switches......... I found a webpage where you can obtain a template for white 280 gauge faces for $7.00 e-mailed to you web page ........Due to all the angles incorporated into the design,the dash required a two part fiberglass mold.. We had built a rather complicated fiber glaas hardtop for his Vello Rossa ( web page Yahoo Photos) out of about 4 seperate molds................ With the dash it was time to go "two part" mold making with our fiberglass education. We had been using electro plated galvanized roll sheathing from Home Depot in our fiberglass work. We decided to obtain some 5 inch wide roll sheathing and bend it in a sheetmetal brake to a 90 degree bend for the parting medium.......... At Home Depot, we discovered an 8 foot metal 2X3 inch piece of thin angle used in roofing which was ideal for our purposes.............. A customer overheard us inquire about clay and a customer handed me a roll of plumber's putty that was coiled with many seperable strings of clay. The clay is used to seal the minute gap between parting line medium (2X3 roof shething angle) and the mold buck (dash)............. We waxed the dash and applied parting film, trimmed the metal angle to fit along and around the middle of the dash, screwed it onto the dash with #8 self tapping 1 1/4 inch sheet metal screws and filled what gap there was with plumber's putty............ Layed a thick layer by brush of "no wax" white tooling gel coat on to the wax prepared dash and angle sheet metal. We immediately began laying hand shreaded fiberglass mat on to the white gelcoat.......... An additional mixture of white gelcoat was prepared to wet and saturate the glass fibers. I feel the continued wetting and saturation application of the gelcoat to the fiberglass fibers makes for a dense packed top coat that is later easier to work with. Gel coat is essentially a durable surface to sand,work and paint ........... After switching to the fiberglass resin,the resin stays white from the gelcoat residue in the mix contianer for a few more mix applications. Eventually after many layers of glass fiber and resin, a uniform frosty green tint radiates from the fiberglass lay up...The green tint signifies that the fiberglass lay up is "thick enuff"............. We only laid up one half of the mold up to and on the thin sheet metal angle with all fiberglass edges outlined with 2 inch 3M masking tape to protect the exposed surface of the dash interior from unwanted resin or gelcoat. I "cracked" the "half mold" off the dash the next day. Filled all the screw holes with bondo and prepped the dash for the other half of the 2 part mold. There was no leakage of resin or gelcoat to the other half of the dash with the use of the plumbers putty. The inside of the first half of the mold was flawless and smooth. The thin sheet metal angle did it's wotk and provided an excellant 3 inch horizontal parting line flange around the entire dash. Sunday, we will lay up the second half of the mold on the dash with the already finished first part of the 1/2 mold secured in place onto the dash by pony clamps......We will use the first mold's 3 inch parting line flange to mate and make a second parting flange for the second half of the dash mold. I took some pictures but will have to wait to get the film developed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Sounds great! Keep us up to date as you progress. If you decide to make more I might be interested in buying one from you. BTW that white face guages that guy is sell are available free online. I'll look for the link and post here if I find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 280 Zone .. you mean I paid $7.00 for what I could have got free....online for white face gauges. Somebody is getting $50.00 for a finished set on eBay year around on a weekly basis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inZane 240 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I too found the template for free somewhere on the web. I can send it to you if you like for comparisons sake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 InZane: ljohnson97438@yahoo.com or Larry Johnson 38225 Place Road, Fall Creek, Oregon 97438 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Way to go! That is a great way to do things that don't have curves. Another way to do this is to use formica cut to size and hot glued into position. This is a really great way to set up flanges on something that has compound curves. You would also want to hot glue wood blocks to the backside of the formica for support. The advantage is that the hot glue will pop off as will the formica when your done. Then you can mold release the rest of the part plus the new glass flange. You don't even have to remove the first half of the mold. The other thing I like to do is to put what I call, "keys" into the flange. A key is a raised peice that will leave a indentation on the new flange. For examlpe, imagine a cone shape with the point ground off. That way, when I lay up the glass flanges, they will have guide keys to help them line up again and again. The bolt holes that a lot of people use for keying flanges don't last as long because the holes get sloppy over a short time. When you get your new dash boards done, be sure to post pictures and prices here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Britt.. I just may try the "keys" tomorrow.I was considering the bolt holes. A few years back, someone was making and selling GTO 250 bodies around Salem. They had a finished red one. You ever come across these folks. The roll roof sheathing and the roofing angle work great. I never saw this used before and came up with it by trial and error. I knew absolutely nothing about fiberglass fabrication a few month back. I am ready to build a 280ZX or 300 ZX custom car body skins now (LOL) Need a handheld electric roving chopper and a paper cup gelcoat gun. Plans to make fiberglass Zee door panels and some 240 bumpers.... some spoilers,flares.......BTW by trimming I got the roofing angle to wrap around the corners with a slight overlay with the opposing corner pieces. I maybe able to curve the angle sheathing with snipping out pie pieces to make a bend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Here is the link. http://www.newtier.com/graber/z-car/gauges.html just download them. I have done this conversion. I would guess a full completed set might be worth $40 to some people, But if I can do it myself I have more fun. If you have any questions on how to do the conversion just drop me an email 280Zone@cox.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Re-edit...Thanx 280 Zone. That is Steve Graber's Vello Rossa site.The dash we are making the mold from is basically the same except in the steering column housing area.The Graber dash has an opening at the steering column housing and this dash gauge panel is enclosed... I tried before to download the gauge templates from the website but get this "Adobe" Error parsing voucher and the download will not complete.I do not know what that means....re-edit Thanx for the eMail with the 240 gauge attachment but it will not open either due to "error parsing voucher" You could drop what I know about computers in a thimble full of water and the info would float for weeks without hitting a shoreline.Could you possibly eMail Nate at : velorossa@hotmail.com a template of the 280 Z gauge face Thanx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 thanks for sharing this project with us 'hybrid freaks'. keep it coming. Great job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 You guys are gluttons for punishment! First making a top and mold from scratch and now a dash. You do realize that I sell the dashes, too, right? Ah, for the good old days when I too had more time than money... I'd be interested in hearing more about the GTO replica manufacturer from Salem. That's a new one on me. I've been trying to do a little bit of work on the GTO Replica Register site ( www.gtorr.com ) and this info would make a great addition. There is also a new contact form there and I'd love to have info from you guys on your cars. I'll cross post into "who's building." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Pictures of Dash on Yahoo in 3rd album web page I dusted off this cheap digital camera so a person can get an idea the shape of the dash.The dash will have some merit since it will be lighter weight and if installed correctly very easy to remove later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 Looks like a Simpson dash. Is that one you got from me, or did you get it from Jim Simpson? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 LOL ! John I am not saying where that dash came from but I did just list your webpage to Indiana Z for his Stable Works GTO with the suggestion that he contact you for a dash. I also have an unfinished Blue Ray GTO purchased from JIm Simpson. When we get around to making the Tomahawk dash my only excuse is uh...... about the only one that got away from a Tomahawk is the one Dan Juday reportedly tried to store in his safety deposit box. Nate must have partied all night and we did not get the final mold lay up on the dash done today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 I'm just curious...doesn't really matter. I'm getting more enjoyment out of hearing you guys talk about the trials and tribulations of making molds than I would get out of the profit of selling you a dash:) Plus, the fact that you are describing the excruciating detail provides a disincentive for anyone else who wants to make their own stuff instead of buying from me. So, I probably owe you a beer or two! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 27, 2003 Share Posted January 27, 2003 John..there is always great value in learning how to build something and great satifaction in the finished work. All this fiberglass work on my part will cease shortly and not resume regetfully for about two years. In two years,my interests could wander elsewhere.I would encorage you to develope an "updated" Vello Rossa on the 300ZX or even 280 ZX. Thunder Five has an interesting (roadster) take on the new series Shelby Cobra based upon old style Cobra and Daytona (Ferrai influence).. Keep the Ferarri lines and mystique.. and the 300 ZX will provide another platform for a window of opportunity for fiber glass skins.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted January 28, 2003 Share Posted January 28, 2003 I have seen photos of the Factory Five "Cobra Daytona Spyder." I think it's the best looking front-engine, rear wheel drive car I've ever seen. An awesome semi-original adaptation of an existing design. I like the idea much better than attempting to copy a design. I've toyed with the idea of adapting a kit to a 300ZX or some other platform. However, as you can see on my NEW FAQs page ( http://www.kitcarz.com/faqs.htm ) it's very expensive to reprototype and retool, and the 300 is not a very good donor platform. If I were going to do such a retool I'd eliminate the unibody altogether and start with a purpose-built chassis like that built by my friends at Precision Design ( www.calspyder.com ). It's already set up for a small block Ford, has real front suspension (double a-arm), and could have a late-model Mustang IRS installed. Now if one of you guys wants a really cool car, buy one of their chassis and let's talk about me prototyping a body for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 We layed up the other half of the dash mold today. Will get some more pics out when I crack the mold off tomorrow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 The lower dash mold was cured so I cracked it EARLY. Looks good! A little leakage from the lower mold gelcoat to the upper "real" dash side and the wax was a little thin on the upper part after the first mold was removed but I got it scrapped off the real dash. It will not be hard to lay a copy up inside the two mold pieces. I will trim the excess lower part mold flange overlay so it will center (key) itself to the upper mold flange (cheap trick). The two mold pieces join tight and straight back together with the pony clamps even without any trimming on the new lower flange's excess overlay of fiberglass... What is interesting is that the upper half mold "copy" when produced could be modified as an upper half cap only GTO 250 dashboard which would still put the entire gauge pod behind the steering wheel and leave the glove compartment intact and in use. I think this approach would be easier since the GTO dash will be a PITA tedious to install and mount using only the OEM metal frame with no glove compartment. I could fit the upper half mold to one of the spare "take-off" dashs' and see how it aligns for a half cap GTO 250 dash installation. The Tomahawk dash is a half cap with wrap around ends that bolt in with the OEM glove compartment. Maybe adapt the GTO gauge pod to the Tomahawk dash with the three little gauge /clock holes filled in (or left open for more gauges) We may wind up with 3 separete dash models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Yahoo Photos web page Photos of finished 250 GTO fiberglass dash mold and side by side comparison of the GTO and seldom seen Tomahawk Z dash.Last photos in 4th album... What I am considering doing is adding the 250 GTO dash pod to the Tomahawk dash cap to make another dash and mold. The Tomahawk fiberglass dash has provisions for the OEM glove compartment and defroster vents and is a slip over cover while the no frills spartan GTO dash requires that the entire Datsun dash be removed from the OEM steel frame. If the holes for the 3 side gauges/clock were left intact on the Tomahawk dash the added on GTO pod would allow for Tach/Speedo plus other gauges.I envision an engine turned stainless or aluminum gauge face plate in the GTO gauge pod. The GTO dash advantages are that it is light weight and could be removed easily but a PITA to install.The Tomahawk dash is a simple slip on while the GTO/Tomahawk dash would require a little work to mount gauges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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