Luna: The cause of, and solution to, all of my problems

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

The vacuum pump at work is currently down for maintenance until Tuesday, so I have had some time to work. Well...not on the center console mold, but anyway...


I cleaned up the front wheel wells (not that you can tell from the pictures) and actually assembled the front.



While doing so, I removed, and powder coated, the tie rod ends. Now they are ready for the alignment, when that comes.




Before:



Cleaned:



After: (TERRIBLE PICTURE)




Both sides assembled! I love how easy the adjustment on everything is. You could play around for days dialing in the suspension tune. Yay!








Oh yeah. First new seat arrived.




Just sitting there.

Of course...I still have to fabricate some stuff to make it bolt in place, but what else is new?



No more squish between the seat and the door!






And now the 280 gets the old seats! Cause big Pimpin'.

Going back out there now. Lets see what I can make.

[1 tuff z]

Andy, which Sparco model did you purchase?  Do they allow you to use a sub belt [5th/6th point harness]?

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

David, they are the R100, the entry level reclinable street seat. 

 

They do not support the use of a sub belt, unfortunately.

[tooquick260]

Looks good, what are you doing with that?

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Been busy, makin' dat money.

Here's a quick update bringing us up to date.

I've decided that until I source out, or make, an oven large enough to powdercoat my valve cover, I will opt for the ceramic engine paint one more time.

That said, I refinished my intake manifold.....Again.









While I was at it, I took the throttle linkage apart, and did a little coating.




Then I installed my new 440cc injectors and my -6an O-ring fuel rail, replacing the stock barbed injectors and subsequent rail, which went to the 280zx. (Both Pallnet - Thanks again!)





Version 2.0






And a random center console plug progress pic. What the heck am I doing?!

 

 

Looks good, what are you doing with that?

 

 

 

I'm making a plug of the center console to make a mold to then make carbon fiber versions for my car.

 

That's just expanding foam, essentially Great Stuff, that I filled the back with after I closed all the openings in the top. This is mainly more surface area for bonding the flange shown here, being clamped in place, but it does add a bit of stiffness, which is nice when making parts. When under vacuum, you don't want the molds flexing about.

 

 

 

Once I have the flange fully attached, I begin making the plug fair. Once it is, I frekote (Pam for composites) and pull a mold off of the plug.

 

From that mold, I'll make my carbon console(s).

 

This is a small project I'm doing in my spare time at lunch.

Edited October 3, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

This is what I did to make the Sparco R100 seats fit the 240z chassis.

 

What you'll need:

 

- 240z (or your particular car's) OEM seat sliders

- Drill + bits

- 8x 8mm x 1.25 bolts (roughly 3/4" in length)

- A 6 pack of your favorite beer. (you'll thank me for this)

 

Okay, to start....

 

First I removed the stock carriage bolts that mounted the sliders to the Datsun seats. A good smack with a hammer will pop them right out.

 

 

Here's another shot. With the bolts removed.

 

 

In order to mount the slider with the handle, I lightly (heh) tapped the following rail with a hammer, so it can be fully seated. The spring mechanism will make contact with this metal rail/support, if you do not.

 

I'm pointing at it here. The 1/8" round stock.

 

 

Once that is tapped down slightly, the OEM rail will now seat fully against the mounting points. 

 

Next, I used the stock carriage bolt hole at the rear of the slider as my first mounting point.

 

 

Once that bolt was mock tight, I marked and drilled out the new hole to mount the front of the slider. Once again, I'm pointing at the area to drill out.

 

 

And drilled.

 

 

NOTE: You will want to offset the hole slightly, to match the offset of the original mounting point, as shown below. This is important so you don't get severely limited travel due to the slider hitting the bolt head.

 

Also, you will lose SOME travel in the slider mounting them this way. (roughly 1 inch each direction, but that is negligible, at least in my opinion.)

 

 

Bolt that puppy in place. I found that I had to start with the rear bolt, as when I tried to start the front bolt first, I was not able to access the rear hole (due to the 1" limitation in slider range)

 

Tightened the rear bolt first; then the front.

 

 

 

 

That was the hard side. Now repeat the process for the other side.

 

 

 

 

 

Once both rails are securely mounted to the seats, it's time to fit the seats to the car.

 

A small dab of never seize on each of the OEM mounting studs will provide easy reference for where to drill once you get it placed where you want it.

 

Mine looks pretty haggard, due to a previous eBay seat install, but mark your holes, and drill them out (I was able to use 2x of the stock holes, and drilled two of my own)

 

Now is the time to slot the holes as well, to fine tune the adjustment.

 

 

Once the holes are drilled, it is now time to bolt the seats in.

 

 

 

If you haven't housed your six pack by now, it's now time to sit back and enjoy the spoils of your hard work.

 

 

 

 

I'm pleased with the fitment of these seats. My old seats were WAAAY too wide, and would squish on the door panel. These seats give me plenty of clearance in that area.

 

As some have mentioned the B pillar does eventually become an issue if you intend on sliding the seats at their max travel. But, I've found this easily remedied by adjusting the back of the seat to compensate. I also intend on running a roll bar, so clearance behind the seat is important to me.

 

 

Hopefully this helps someone.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Small update

Waiting on some parts for the 240... Mainly a new lightweight (12#) steel flywheel for the car. Once that arrives, I can start to prep to put the engine back in the car. That's exciting.

While I wait for my parts, I have been slowly making progress in regards to the carbon center console. The plug is now in Duratec. The fairing process can begin.






Not much, but that's all for now.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Another small progress update.


Touched up the block, ignore my engine hoist valve cover, the engine can basically go back in the car any time. Hopefully real soon.




Prototype console plug, as of today, is complete. Applied the sealer, and the release agent.

We'll see if a mold comes off of it with no problems. If it does...oh man!

I can taste the carbon...Mmmmmm fiber.
















More to come, as it happens

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Slowly 'plugging' away at it.

PREFACE: apologies for the long boring update, it's kind of hard to document what I'm doing without explaining it a little first.

TL;DR: I successfully infused the mold.

So with the release agent on the plug, first, I applied the 'surface coat'. This will be the mold's finished surface, once it's pulled from the plug.







Once cured, then comes the fabric.

Most of my parts are created via infusion, a slightly more complicated process (briefly explained below). But it allows for much nicer parts.

So the dry fabric is lightly tacked to the surface coat.

Templates were made, and a kit was cut, prior to this point.

 



A couple layers 6oz glass...

or as some know it: "boat cloth".











Followed by four layers of 12oz glass.










Okay, so now that the dry fabric is in place, it's time to start building the bag.

First the 'tacky tape' is secured to the perimeter of the plug. Area shown below. This is what the vacuum bag attaches to.






Then, since we want to remove all of the "process stack" (plumbing) from the finished part, I put down some peel ply. This material is specifically designed to release from finished parts.








Then, flow media, or as some call it "turkey bag" is affixed to the peel ply surface. This is essentially nylon screen material. Its function is to promote the flow of resin, allowing the material to disperse easily. (less surface area to travel, blah blah yada yada..)







Vacuum line is run along the perimeter of the part.

In this particular infusion, the flow is known as "Eccentric". Meaning that it resin will feed from the center of the part, and infuse outward, toward the vacuum line, located outboard.

It varies in size, but it is just plastic conduit material.








Now for the resin feed...









Once all that garbage is in place....Then the bag gets built.









Under vacuum.








With infusion, the vacuum bag must be PERFECT, meaning no leaks ANYWHERE. Leaks equate to pulling air THROUGH your part.

Air = (really bad) weak parts

So, as you can imagine, there is a lot of room for error in these steps. One stray fiber accidentally under the tacky tape can ruin a bag and drive you nuts in the process.

Luckily, I'm The Man, my bag was good.

This was also a test of my plug, as I did not know until this point if it too had vacuum integrity. Clearly, it passed. Otherwise, this update would NOT be happening. Haha.





Once the bag checks out, it is now time to begin the infusion.

For those that are unfamiliar with the process, infusion uses the atmospheric pressure to "push" the resin through the laminate. The atmosphere weights a lot. So when you remove the atmosphere from the vacuum bag, you create a huge pressure differential. All of that weight conforms the bag and laminate to the plug form.

Resin is continually moved through the laminate, only keeping what is necessary, until the resin gels.  The rest of the resin either makes its way into a trap, to protect the vacuum pump, or gets stuck in the lines of the "process stack".

A sacrifice in cost (plumbing, resin waste, etc..) but the benefit is a superior laminate, when compared to most other processes. Highly consolidated, and lightweight (no excess resin).

Plus, you never get resin on your hands. I like my hands clean.

 


Here's a picture of what the flow front looks like, wetting out the laminate. It's just finishing up here, as you can see the resin has made its way into the vacuum line.






Fully wet out. (took around 20 minutes)









And finally, here's an overall view (albeit terrible) of the setup. In the far view, you can see the vacuum pump, hooked into the plumbing. In the foreground, controlled via a valve, is the resin feed. Hopefully this makes sense.




That's what you're looking for, clarity in the laminate. All you can see is the fabric's 'binder'





That's a good sign. No air, Baby!




Now, as long as the draft of the part is acceptable...It should release.


Tomorrow is the moment of truth. Time will tell!

[ryant67]

Very cool, can't wait to see how it turns out.  Quite the process!  

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Very cool, can't wait to see how it turns out.  Quite the process!  

 

Thanks. It can be very rewarding work.

 

 

Proof of concept. Roughly trimmed. Apologies for the god awful pictures. It's dark everywhere. EVERYWHERE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Untrimmed weight was 640 grams. I forgot to reweigh after trimming, before I walked out the door.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not quite production quality. While the twill conformed in one piece,  it is inconsistent in spots.

 

 

A couple problems.. mostly user error, some geometry based.

 

But, It works in carbon, with some tweaking.

 

 

 

That said, however, I'm going to make a new modified mold in order to improve quality control, reduce layup difficulty, and subsequently speed up the process significantly. While simultaneously incorporating different options depending on the application.

 

Lots to think about, but I have a plan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as the car is concerned.....Currently testing my brake line fittings, and fighting a leaky fitting at the proportioning valve. Once I remedy that, I can start thinking about getting the engine back in the car.

 

 

Next up. Test fit in the car. Yay!

 

 

Edit: more console pics. Mocked.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Random weekly update...(Ignore this if you are reading the 'Revised Center Console' Thread).

Designing a gauge pod to fit atop the new clamshells I am making. Shaping the plug by hand. Using EPS or expanded polystyrene foam.









Ignore that it comes in contact with my stupid dash cap. I don't anticipate that being there much longer.



Steering wheel clearance



And I pulled the clamshell molds today. Appears I'll be making some of those Monday.





Also made another console. This time spread tow carbon instead of twill to test a new mold. No compartments. Works.

[tooquick260]

Looks good. Can you make an extra one for me?

 

I will pay!

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Once I have something I'm proud of selling, then I will definitely let you know.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

 

Here's my Christmas Carbon Update.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy holidays everyone!

 

Hopefully everyone's Z gets what they want this year.

 

Cheers.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

I'll be going back to composites work tomorrow....Til then..

Update:

Bought some 280z 27 spline stub axles to replace the weaker 25 spline axles that came in the 240z. Thanks again Adam!

So, I've started cleaning and powdercoating those.








Today, I'm going to continue with where I left off.

 

 

EDIT: Continuing where I left off. haha


Continued cleaning/sandblasting of various components.

Rear differential stuff......43 years of grease caked on there. Nice.





Go Go Gadget sandblaster!




















Feels good. Beer time.
 

Edited December 30, 2014 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[whatnow123]

Wow those stubs look good!

Had I known I might have sent you mine for nice clean up and shower !

 

I'm happy you got them in good shape!

 

Adam

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Thanks Adam! Yeah, they cleaned up real nice. I can't wait until I can start assembling everything again!

 

 

 

Here's the random update so far.

I redesigned a new insert plug, because I wasn't thinking and the first one sucked. Haha.

If it weren't a blizzard out, I'd probably have that in duratec before the end of the day...Maybe the weather will let up...



Figured out the mounting points for the ashtray. ABS plastic extrusions are bonded to the underside. Threaded screws go into the ABS.

Ignore the obviously modified portion of my ashtray. My brake proportioning valve sticks up through my console, so that's why it is cut. (also the main reason I made this console to begin with)

Also note, this is the first console version with the messed up twill. It's the guinea pig. Good enough to cut holes into!







Mocked in the car.









Lots of things are still happening.

And who knows? maybe a non composites related update here soon...One can only hope.

Unfortunately, composites don't make 'er go!

[Drift Boss]

Sweet awesome build man. I just read threw it.

[TheSaturnV]

Too slick how the know and slide cover have worked out.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

....Still snowing. This was yesterday. Today was worse, if you can believe it.

 

Finally had a productive couple of evenings in the garage. Operation leak stop was in full effect today.





Powdercoated the last remaining brackets that run along the transmission tunnel. Figured, while I had it apart to redo the lines....might as well.









And I received Eastwood's flaring tool. I absolutely love it. LOVE it.





Line goes in...



Flare comes out...





So that allowed me to easily redo some abysmal flares.

This one was the worst offender. I just remade this whole section of line.  



Magic. Redone.





And now, after hooking all the lines back up, with a full master cylinder....I wait.....and watch....

Paper towels at the ready.






C'mon big money!  Big money, big money, big money! No whammies!