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

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

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.

Edited December 15, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[FricFrac]

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.

 

Looking forward to the dizzy cap.  Will these be for sale?  I have a few clients with full sequential spark that would probably be interested in this configuration.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Looking forward to the dizzy cap.  Will these be for sale?  I have a few clients with full sequential spark that would probably be interested in this configuration.

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.

[FricFrac]

Go Andy Go! I wanna see this beast driving around

[Nelsonian]

Great updates, love to see the forward motion with all you have going on. I am curious as to the shorter bolts you used, as were they sourced locally or did you order them from somewhere as I am in the same boat with the same set up.

[1969honda]

Best source I've found for any hardware is Http://www.McMaster.com

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Go Andy Go! I wanna see this beast driving around

You and me both, man. You and me both. Haha.

 

Great updates, love to see the forward motion with all you have going on. I am curious as to the shorter bolts you used, as were they sourced locally or did you order them from somewhere as I am in the same boat with the same set up.

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.

 

Best source I've found for any hardware is Http://www.McMaster.com

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.

[Nelsonian]

Thank you guys with the Mcmaster heads up, as well as the Ace info.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

^^ 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.

Edited December 21, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

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.

Edited December 22, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

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!

Edited December 23, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[98blackbell]

Wow, talent and patience.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Wow, talent and patience.

 

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.

Edited December 23, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

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.

Edited December 24, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

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.

[tim.d]

Love all the updates!  Great work

[ryant67]

Excellent!!  I've never worked with CF, but that seems like a pretty great result for a first pull at something as complicated and large as a dashboard.  

PS:  Look at that green grass, loving this winter so far!  
 

[rossman]

Beautiful!  The defects give it character  I don't think I would notice them unless you pointed them out.  Oh, and dash deserves better gauges than Autometer. How about some Defi or Speedhut gauges?

 

Great job and keep the updates coming! 

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Love all the updates!  Great work

Thanks!

 

Excellent!!  I've never worked with CF, but that seems like a pretty great result for a first pull at something as complicated and large as a dashboard.  

 

PS:  Look at that green grass, loving this winter so far!  

 

 

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.

 

 

Beautiful!  The defects give it character  I don't think I would notice them unless you pointed them out.  Oh, and dash deserves better gauges than Autometer. How about some Defi or Speedhut gauges?

 

Great job and keep the updates coming! 

 

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.

Edited December 26, 2015 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[sicripp83]

hey andy

just starting following your posts, car looks great!     great work   im from the Utica area   where abouts are you