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

[98blackbell]

I bought and received the distributor carbon fiber cover. Looks awesome. Will post pics in tooquick260's blog about the install when we get to that point. 

 

I am selling the house in Orlando and moving all our stuff to Savannah. tooquick is coming as well with his fleet of 4 cars. That move will be in the next month. 

 

Wife and I are moving onto the sailboat soon leaving tooquick with everything.

 

Good luck with the house project, similar to us. Going from 2200 sq ft to a 40' 2 cabin sail boat!

[1969honda]

Interesting house design, looking forward to hearing more on that as well as the Datsun.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

I bought and received the distributor carbon fiber cover. Looks awesome. Will post pics in tooquick260's blog about the install when we get to that point. 

 

I am selling the house in Orlando and moving all our stuff to Savannah. tooquick is coming as well with his fleet of 4 cars. That move will be in the next month. 

 

Wife and I are moving onto the sailboat soon leaving tooquick with everything.

 

Good luck with the house project, similar to us. Going from 2200 sq ft to a 40' 2 cabin sail boat!

 

That's awesome! I definitely approve. I imagine tooquick probably approves as well

 

And thanks for the kind words. I do appreciate them.

 

 

Interesting house design, looking forward to hearing more on that as well as the Datsun.

 

Thanks, it's a fun project to design. Lots going on at once, but I'm fairly used to multitasking at this point. 

 

Life, as you can imagine, has been busy for me these last couple weeks. But, I've made some progress on all of my projects, so that's good.

 

 

 

 

 

Car progress...

 

Still can't report much, aside from the fact that I've remade the door sill mold, and made the first real attempt at one of those today.

 

Revised Plug - crisper letters

 

 

 

#001 door sill - infused.

 

 

I'll see how that turns out tomorrow.

 

 

I haven't spent much time on the car itself, as of late, because my friend's 17' Boston Whaler was being worked on in my other bay. I did not want to have the car uncovered, even for a moment, while he was working/slinging fiberglass dust everywhere.....

 

Here's his boat, finally out of my garage. Some fresh bottom paint away from being splashed (hopefully this weekend).

 

 

So I too did boat stuff. Needed to play catch up with my Whaler, as some of you may remember from earlier...

 

Strippy strippy

 

 

 

Chris Craft red mahogany filler stain

 

 

...And some random coat of varnish picture.....I think this was three coats.

 

The first three coats of Epifanes varnish were thinned 50% with brushing liquid. Then the ratios were cut in half until about 15% thinned for the final 5 or so coats. Sanding with 220 between coats.

 

 

 

There are a total of 8 coats on the pieces now...I'll take more pictures once things are actually assembled.

 

 

 

 

Tiny house update - I've spoken with the zoning officer and everything seems to be in line and moving forward as planned. I anticipate receiving my town building permit on the 6th of April. Then I touch base with the county, and start building the slab. Freakin' sweet!

 

I took some time to clear the build site in the meantime...

 

Showing the lot, and my really weird boundaries. It's a non conforming lot.....that's about 9 acres. Since it is waterfront property, the 110' of frontage I have is what they use to determine conforming/non. I'm 10' short of the 120' minimum to make the lot conforming....What a stupid rule. haha. I wish there were exceptions based on lot size.... But no dice.

 

It's such a cool property. You've got the water, 4 acres of woods, and the 4 acre field portion, and trails/connected pathways to bring you anywhere on the property. You can walk from one end of the property to the other, with no one seeing you. I like my privacy.

 

 

 

 

 

For perspective, the doors will open into the woods, and lead into one of those pathways that brings you anywhere along the property. We are currently looking toward the carport side of the tiny house.

 

 

 

Now that Ryan's Whaler is out of my hands, I can remove the cover from the car, and actually (yes, actually) start to pick up where I left off: Getting that carbon interior together....Once and for all.

 

The time is now.

 

 

 

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Today was a good day. Produced a beautiful door sill. These will be available virtually any time.










And then I proceeded to make another one, but this time experimenting with colored letters.



We'll see how that one comes out tomorrow.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Colored letters are a go.. The rushed proof of concept worked well.

I'll be going white with my personal set.... Unless I change my mind.







This weekend is going to be spent solely on 240 stuff.


Next stop: Progress-town!

[1 tuff z]

Andy, thinking I need these for my 72 Fairlady!

[rturbo 930]

The colored letters are a clever little detail. I don't know if I would have thought of that myself for a carbon piece, but I like it!

 

I hope you post your tiny house build here too (I'm assuming you will, but a little encouragement doesn't hurt). While I don't entirely understand how/why you would live in a ~250 sq/ft house - even my family's beach house is bigger than that, and it is TINY at about 700sq ft, and it doesn't even have an indoor shower - I'm still interested in seeing it take shape. Keep up the great work, man.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Andy, thinking I need these for my 72 Fairlady!

 

I'm thinking I need to make some more molds with the response I've gotten with these pieces. Uh oh. Haha.

 

The colored letters are a clever little detail. I don't know if I would have thought of that myself for a carbon piece, but I like it!

 

I hope you post your tiny house build here too (I'm assuming you will, but a little encouragement doesn't hurt). While I don't entirely understand how/why you would live in a ~250 sq/ft house - even my family's beach house is bigger than that, and it is TINY at about 700sq ft, and it doesn't even have an indoor shower - I'm still interested in seeing it take shape. Keep up the great work, man.

Sure thing! I'll definitely be sharing.

 

I mean it has a carport, so it is car related .......riiiiiight?

 

Thanks for the kind words. They always mean a lot.

 

 

So I made the trip to Progress-Town this weekend.

 

I did get a lot of things done, despite appearances...... Lots of wiring organization. I added provisions for my new gauges and relocated a bunch of wires.

 

 

 

Finally got the GPS Speedo installed, fired up, and calibrated. Dope.

 

 

 

I'm redesigning a cleaner pre fuel pump plumbing setup.

 

My original solution was comically bad.

 

And the beginnings of the new setup. I'm waiting on the stuff to finish that up in the mail. Hopefully that comes this week.   

 

 

-8an line leading from the tank to a Trick Flow 100 micron fuel filter, then to the pump through the 180 degree fitting.

 

It will be remarkably cleaner.

 

 

I have a few more wires to account for/run. Then I test and make sure each system works. Right now I think everything works, except the brake lights, and the blinkers. But I should figure that out as I continue through the loom...Hopefully.

 

But once the harness is set and works 100%, the dash can be installed without harness removal, unlike the OEM version. That should make this easier.

 

..Now to get to that point.

Edited March 28, 2016 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Pulled an audible; Went with red letters, at least for now.....Or until I pull the blue lettered set tomorrow...

 the aluminum powder mixture was not nearly silver enough - more like dull gray.





More Parts came in the mail....still waiting on lots though...

Fuel filter, LED gauge lights (hopefully these work), and a quick release for the Prototipo.






Whaler stuff: The boat is very close to "finished". I finally installed the threaded inserts into the deck, and am now able to mount everything for real.

Here they are, awaiting install. Notice the foot on the bottom of the insert, this is to prevent pullout, as this area is often in tension. Everything is taped to avoid adhesion.



Bed dem bishes in carbon, with a thickened epoxy/cabosil mixture. A drop of blue pigment will get the color close enough, especially considering you never see this area.



The tape helps provide a fairly smooth surface, essentially molding and excess squeezed out resin to the appropriate shape.

SO much better than screws!



I made some pieces out of plexiglass....These will be what everything actually rides on. These spacers will lift the wood console/seat off the deck by 1/4", Keeping the pieces dry, and preventing vibration against the textured deck surface - which is what leads to premature wear/rot.




.... sneak peak of that. Like I said. Pretty close to looking like a boat. Today should be a big day.





Tiny house: I have been approved for a permit by the town. I have one last little hoop to jump through before it is actually in my hands. Then I go to the county.

..Then I start building.

 More on that later...

Edited April 7, 2016 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[1969honda]

Looking great on all of it Andy! Keep it coming, really enjoy seeing your work.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

Looking great on all of it Andy! Keep it coming, really enjoy seeing your work.

I really appreciate that, thank you. Kind words like that really make this whole process all the more enjoyable.

 

 

 

More parts arrived. Those damned CV boots I've mentioned numerous times in the past, I finally bought them.

 

So I can take those apart, powdercoat the shafts, and assemble that portion of the car. Then the drivetrain is complete.

 

 

 

 

And some blue door sills. I still think I'm going with the red, but the blue is nice too.

 

 

 

 

Next step is to investigate the LED gauge light replacements. Hopefully they work.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

LED lights for the gauges work - Great!



 No more scalding hot traditional bulbs. And MUCH better light output, with significantly less draw. Win win win.

Very impressed with these little guys.







That means I can continue with the dashboard wiring. That was one of the last steps before I can install the dash.

Neato.

Edited April 9, 2016 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

How time flies.....Apologies for the lack of updates, all. My life has been extremely busy as of late, and my projects have suffered....

Right after I finished the Whaler and got that out of my garage, another big job fell into my lap. That's been my last month...

...but I'm finally getting caught up with all ongoing pay jobs, and should be back on the car this next week.

I've received a bunch of remaining odds and ends in preparation for some free wrench time. So despite the car being covered and sealed up tight, as to prevent dust, I've been trying to make progress in any way I can.



So here's what I've been up to...



Finally mounted the door sills.






The illusive Australian fitting....




...And after two fuel filters, I finally landed on one that fits beautifully. Shown with some brand new flow matched RC 440 cc injectors.




Finally got around to buying a real GReddy blow off valve - something Ive been meaning to do for quite some time.



And an impulse buy - a Lonewolf intake manifold. Normally about a grand to procure, but I found it for about half that, so I couldn't help myself. It'll sit on a self, horded away, until I find a use for it.





....some composites stuff, albeit boat; figured some people may care to see.  



High performance trimaran repair - last ongoing job at the moment. Hoping to finish it up Monday/Tuesday.





In primer, currently awaiting final fair a flat black stripe to be sprayed.





I've been building carbon parts for the 8 Meter sailboat I'm racing on throughout the summer. Here are a few of the odds and ends I've made for the boat, as it undergoes an extensive refit.

Instrument cluster and companionway hatch






Tiller and miscellaneous components...






It has been a fun project...But I'm glad it's coming to and end.



..I've been spending most evenings out on the water in order to decompress from my current busy work schedule. It definitely helps.




And playing around, making a gift for my business partner's birthday....



should look cool in carbon.


Well I'm off to Toronto tomorrow for more 8 Meter sailing out of Royal Canadian Yacht Club, Saturday and Sunday. I'll be out and about the city in the evenings, if there are any locals around, hit me up, maybe we can grab a brewsky.

If not, look for this boat out in the bay.

[supernova_6969]

hey. 

the LED setup you did for your gauges, are you simply cutting the original wires and replacing the bulbs with 12v LED?

 

thanks..

 

s

 

ps; oh!  the door sills look great.  are you planning on powder coating the screws black to make them disapear?

Edited June 3, 2016 by supernova_6969

[ryant67]

Are the LEDs dimmable? 

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

hey. 

the LED setup you did for your gauges, are you simply cutting the original wires and replacing the bulbs with 12v LED?

 

thanks..

 

s

 

ps; oh!  the door sills look great.  are you planning on powder coating the screws black to make them disapear?

 

Thanks! And yes, I simply wired the AutoMeter bulb holders into the OEM position, and used the following bulbs. Just remember- polarity matters, so if they don't work one way, spin the bulb, and it should turn on.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Partsam-PC194-instrument-Panel-Socket/dp/B00KV7WSVQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01

 

Beats the shit out of Autometer's 10 bucks a bulb, that's for sure....

 

 

And yup, I am going to be using black screws to finish them [door sills] off.

 

Are the LEDs dimmable? 

 

For my setup - no, they are not dimmable. I looked into potential pulse width modulation, but I decided I wouldn't ever use it (I also deleted my stock rheostat years ago).

 

I've heard that the stock rheostats may lessen the voltage, making the LEDs dim, but that isn't true, proper, dimming.

 

On and off is good for me, and they seem to be a very appropriate, readable brightness.

Edited June 3, 2016 by OldAndyAndTheSea

[rossman]

Looks great!  I really like the threshold plates.  I'm in wiring hell with my car too  

 

You must have young eyes.  That blueish LED tint would drive my eyes bananas at night.  

 

Also, that intake manifold looks VERY familiar.  I sold one just like that years ago.  I even placed the sticker in the same location.

[RebekahsZ]

My parents met thru sailing.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

i04

[rturbo 930]

Knew what it was as soon as I saw the thumbnail. Congrats! I have an '88 IS coupe, and if I were to get another it'd be a sedan. I just hope you have better luck with yours than I did with mine. First motor was in bad shape when I got it, had a rough idle and burned a bunch of oil, ultimately it spun a bearing. Swapped in another motor, all new gaskets and seals, and it STILL idles badly, and is now making the same rod-knocking sound that it made before.

 

Check out r3vlimited.com if you haven't yet - probably the best E30 forum out there.