That looks so good.
I think I speak for the collective in saying that we admire your dedication and perseverance
Jet
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That looks so good.
I think I speak for the collective in saying that we admire your dedication and perseverance
Jet
Obviously I didn't spend time on the car this week given the events in Houston, but by today everyone I knew had power and water, so I spent a little time body working the drivers sail panel. My focus was only from the door to the point of the flying buttress on the outside for now.
SailPaneltoDoor.jpg
SailPanelPartialPrimer.jpg
I also 3D printed a backet to hold the R1 headlight in place while I build a surround for it. This bracket will get bonded to the bottom of the fender and the light will hang down from it.
R1 Bracket.jpg
R1 Bracket Attached.jpg
This week's video:
I realized that I missed a segment explaining how the parts actually get from the printer to assembled pieces the car. So quick video to close the gap.
Work has finally picked up and I've not had nearly enough time for the car lately, and it's getting worse. About to start 7-days a week 12-hours per day until late May. The passenger side was printed, glued together, skinned in glass, bonded to the drivers side, and got the first coat of filler. I did a better job gluing and glassing on this side, so much less filler and sanding. Still have to sand smooth and add some more filler to the backside of the whole structure.
PrintedandStaged.jpg
FrontQuarterView.jpg
BackQuarterView.jpg
Backside.jpg
I also 3D printed a bracket that I bonded to the underside of the hood for the lights to mount to. Now I'm working on 3D printing a panel to wrap around the lights and fill the hole between the stock light size and the smaller Yamaha units.
LightsMountedWideView.jpg
LightsBracket.jpg
Hopefully I can get back on the car in June.
Well June came and went, and so did July and most of August, but I'm finally getting the project off of hiatus and working on it again. I had planned to finish the targa top when I got back on the project, but ever since I made the clamshell it is always in the way. You can tuck two fenders, a hood, and a nose in 4 different places and it's not that big of a deal, but when you put them all together permanently, they take up a ton of space. So I decided the best place to store it, is on the car. Car already takes up space, so it's a good solution. That means I need to make the front hinge and a latch assembly. I'll be mostly duplicating Art's efforts found here:
https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...l=1#post380606
With the following exceptions:
- My gen-1 nose doesn't come with the braces that extend from the radiator support out to the nose, so I'll be having to make everything by hand instead of chopping up a FFR part.
- Instead of using a tightfiting hoop with a grease zerk, I'm using a tube with bearings on each end.
I spent some time trying to make the brackets by hand, but it was a huge time sink. Without a mill making brackets with slots for adjust meant just looks like crap when I do it. So I decided I'm going to have the brackets laser cut. I decided to 3D print them for mock up to make sure they are correct before I spend money on having them laser cut:
Brackets.jpg
The rectangular plate bolts to the radiator support, and allows for adjustment front to back. The other one will get welded to the tube with bearings, and then bolts into the slots on the rectangular one, allowing for adjustment up and down.
LeftSideInstalled.jpg
The tube I'm using is actually a closet clothes hanger rod. It's what I could find locally that was a good fit for the bearings and was not galvanized. A 1/2" steel rod through the bearings will attached to the "wings" will go out and grab the nose at each front corner. The wings are what I hope to make progress on next weekend. Once those are made (because I think I'll need some plates cut for them), I'll have all the metal plates cut at once.
FullFrontal.jpg
I got my brackets from SendCutSend in today. Awesome service if you need something laser cut. I uploaded them on Monday and they were here Friday. Deburred and vacuum sealed to boot. I also got the bracket that will mount to the nose fabricated. It sits on the bottom edge below the headlights, and has an arm that reaches up and attaches to a stud that will get epoxied to the flat section on the one between the light and the bottom edge.
BracketsCut.jpg
NoseBracket.jpg
That is as far as I got today, because when I went to back the car out to give myself more room to work in the garage, it wouldn't start. Electrical gremlins have crept in. I promise I am 100% certain I haven't touched anything in the car since the last time it ran... literally, I've been working too much to touch the car. But I do know the battery tender gave out, and the battery drained down to 2.3V. I put in a new battery but no joy. When I turn the key to ON or START the fan comes on at 100% immediately (almost like in test mode), and I've got no combustion. Not sure if it is from lack of fuel or spark. I can't connect to it with ROMRaider or the Aurdino to get a feel for what is going on. I thought for sure I had fried the ECU, but I pulled it and put it on the bench and RomRaider talks to it with no issues, so there is a wiring issue in the car causing the problem. I check the grounds as the manifold, frame, and ground bar, they are all clean and tight, so I'm a bit miffed. I guess I will start unplugging engine harness plugs one at a time until I find something hat makes the fan stop running at 100% and see if I can find something wrong in that harness. Perhaps something got pinched or melted last time I drove it.
Last edited by Ajzride; 09-04-2021 at 12:02 AM.
I hate to say this, but check for rodents as well. I had my truck parked at work one day, near a field and came out to a car that acted all sorts of crazy. The buggers chewed through a number of wires and the car needed a whole new wiring harness. Fingers crossed this is not your situation.
Thanks for the tip. I live in the middle of a pretty large and new neighborhood. So no fields, trees, or other typical homes for rodents around. Certainly still a possibility, but a low percentage. I looked all around the engine compartment and the front area yesterday looking for obvious loose grounds or grounded things that shouldn't be, and didn't see any signs of rodent damage, but it could be on the bottom. I'll find our more on Friday when I get to play with it again. If it is something that bad, then I'm biting the bullet and changing out for an aftermarket ECU while I'm rewiring.
Last edited by Ajzride; 09-04-2021 at 07:04 AM.
So, it cranks but does not fire?
Not sure if you remember my posts a while back where I thought I killed the ECU by shorting the alternator lug to ground. I spent a hell of a lot of time chasing EVERYTHING. In the end, it was the first step in all the diagnostic procedures....fuel.
Do you have a gauge for fuel pressure and do you have something north of 40 when the key goes to ON? I can hear the pump run and then load up as it pressurizes. Not sure what you did for a fuel pump and plumbing solution, but the FFR supplied pump does not have a large enough bulge/barb on the end and easily slips off (gets pushed off)the hose.
Same as your story, drove the car for a while (hours over the course of weeks) and into the garage to park it. Did not turn the key again for a while and while sitting in the garage the fuel pump was squeezed out of the tubing. This literally coincided with the short while I was wrenching on something very minor. A pressure gauge (which I now have) would have saved me countless hours and stress. I could hear the pump running and fuel flowing so I thought it was good, but it was just blowing the fuel around the inside of the tank rather than up the discharge tubing to the engine.
As for the fans, I too experienced this to some degree. At times they do not come on at start up and other times they come on instantly. I really have no explanation for that. Perhaps it remembers some state from shutdown or something. Also, if the battery went stone dead as you say the ECU lost its brain and is starting off fresh so, all bets might be off until it runs a bit and relearns things.
Good luck in the hunt, hopes this helps.
Before...ziptie was completely inadequate
IMG_6664.jpg
After....pretty sure it is not going anywhere now. It is also a lot more linear and drops into the tank easier.
IMG_6669.jpgIMG_6670.jpg
I managed to track it down today. After all of my exotic stuff and pulling the ECU and making a test board…. It was just a blown fuse on the Coach1 panel. It was the one supplying 12+ to all the sensors in the engine bay. #facepalm.
Thanks for all the pointers guys.
A CEL (Check Engine Light) will often trigger the fans to come on and stay on at start up.
If your battery was disconnected or dead, the ECU must relearn the cam and crank sensor relationship. It usually takes an extra revolution to start.
I turn off my battery every night, so this is normal for me.
Any chance you plugged in the green connector?
Do you have multible wires connected to the battery? Maybe you misses one.
Bob
Last edited by Bob_n_Cincy; 09-07-2021 at 10:31 PM.
818S #22 Candy Blue Frame, Front Gas Tank, 2.5L Turbo, Rear radiator, Shortened Transmission, Wookiee Compatible, Console mounted MR2 Shifter, Custom ECU panel, AWIC soon
My Son Michael's Turbo ICE Build X22 http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...rts-818S-Build
My Electric Supercar Build X21 (on hold until winter) http://thefactoryfiveforum.com/showt...e-Build-Thread
Bob, looks like we posted at almost the same time. The issue was the fuse on the 12+ that daisy chains it's way around the engine bay powering all the sensors was blown. Test mode was definitely not on, that was the first thing I checked.
I used to kill the battery every night, but I found that the car ran like dies every time I coast to a stop unless I did the long re-learn procedure every time I reconnected the battery, so I bought a battery tender and started leaving it hooked up. I think I'm going to put a cutoff on my keyless entry system, that is probably the only parasitic drain on the battery.
Last edited by Ajzride; 09-08-2021 at 06:32 AM.
Aj, on the topic of fiberglass, I do quite a bit of that, creating panels and bodies from pre-formed sheet, tube and my inventory of interesting shapes.
Reviewing some of your posts I see glass mat but not cloth. The physical properties of cloth is different than mat or chopper gun. Cloth offers more strength especially in tension.
If my patch is to be thin I use cloth exclusively, or thicker applications, the cloth is the top layer.
My entire Dino body is made this way, because it was the major structure in it's original application. Backdraft Replicas layer cloth in the wheel openings to improve stiffness.
I prefer the smoother texture of cloth.
As a convenience cloth is made as 2in tape by the roll. The edges are finished, so no loose fibers. Perfect for joining edges. I get 50 ft rolls from Composite Envisions in Wausau WI. #F-514-2
I use epoxy exclusively, again for improved physical properties, also from Composite Envisions, I think their resin is common to their carbon fiber.
I also use PlioGrip panel bonder to pre-bond and gap fill, it is thick and does not run.
I joined two hoods and a body panel together last week and the gaps were up to 10mm wide. I lined the underside with high-end duct tape and squirted Pliogrip into the void. Next day the duct tape pulled-off; glass cloth tape on the outside and cloth tape and sheets on the inside.
BTW at the recent Iola show I bought a high speed (13,300rpm) course Strip it Disc for stripping paint. A VERY coarse scotch bright-like fiber. It removes gel coat very well.
jim
Thanks for the input Jim, I do have some cloth that I use when I'm making final pieces. Most of what I'm making right now are bucks to have molds taken off of them.
Aj, sounds like a business venture.
Local company Speedkore builds replica bodies in carbon fiber.
https://speedkore.com/
Referencing a recent article Speedkore make plugs and/or molds with NC cut aluminum or carbon fiber molds for strength.
Lots of dinaro.
jim
I reviewed your thread and see your Mustang resto-rod. Back in the day I raced Mustangs, including the Trans Am when it went to GT specs.
Shelby edit_edited.jpg
Last edited by J R Jones; 09-09-2021 at 11:10 AM. Reason: photo attachment
Well right as I got started on the car again last fall (after a crazy year of work), my oldest daughter convinced me to take on what turned into a much more massive project than I thought it would be when I consented to it. She wanted me to make family halloween costumes since it was her last year trick or treating (She turns 13 this year and thinks she will be too old to go). I had no idea what i was getting myself into trying to 3D print all of the costumes, but it took every night, weekend, and even some lunch breaks to complete. The good news is I learned a ton more about 3D printing that should make the next round of 818 parts much better.
In the process of pulling this task off I ended up adding two more printers so that I can have different setups and not have to change nozzles and media so much (quick nozzle change setups are just now coming onto the market, and were not really around last fall). I now have one focused on large prints (400x400x700), one focused on small prints (200x200x220), and one focused on flexible prints which can do fairly large objects as well (400x400x450).
Small Printer.jpg
Dual Large Printers.jpg
I needed a place to put all of the printers, so I built the white table that the small one is sitting on out of an old bookshelf, and then I decided to build myself a new desk and move the table I had been using (which was oversized for a desk) to house the two large ones.
That meant I got to build myself a new desk, so I learned some woodworking for the bases and concrete and epoxy work for the top:
Desk.jpg
The end results is the kids were really happy:
Pepper Potts.jpg
Jane Foster.jpg
Iron Man.jpg
Avengers.JPG
After Halloween, work got really crazy again and I spent most of November - February in Lexington, KY.
But I'm back home now and it's time to make some progress again.
I really want to finish the Targa top, but I'm trying to figure out how to do all that body work and sanding without covering my neighbors cars and houses in body filler dust. The dust collector I have pulls plenty of suction, but the shrouds I have are not doing a great job of funneling the dust into it. So I decided to make more progress on the nose while I contemplate that problem.
I can't find the pictures from it, but I did get the hood hinge all welded together and functioning over Christmas break and now the clamshell is not in the way. Problem is now that I can't drive the car for fun around the neighborhood because the nose flops around and bounces like crazy. I began thinking about how I'm going to secure it, so I started with some hood bumpers at the front and rear where FFR has you place the hood pins. This stopped most of the bouncing and flopping, so score. Now I am working on latches, I'll probably have something very similar to Art to hold it down. Once problem I'm having is that it tends to slide side to side, so it is going to be really hard to line up where I want to epoxy the hooks for the latches. I wound up clipping a laser level to the garage door, and using to align with two marks on the frame that were a measured center, so that I could draw a center line down the entire front half to the car. Once I had center for the frame and body panels, I drilled a hole where the hood and cowl meet and stuck a long bolt through to hold it all centered. This is just temporary and will be closed up after the latches are installed to keep it all in place. Hope to get the latches designed this weekend.
Laser.jpg
BodyLine.JPG
CowlLine.JPG
Unicorn.jpg
My mustang came from the factory with a hidden latch, and I tossed it in the garbage and put in hood pins because I thought they looked cool. My 818 that comes with factory hoods but I'm going to throw them away and build a hidden latch? How much of a contrarian am I? I decided that hood pins do look cool, just not the ones that FFR sent. I bought some of the same quick-latches like I used on my mustang. They always make me nervous because I've had someone who used them and they let go at 70mph, ripping the hood off and causing a repaint of the hood, cowl, and roof, plus a new windshield. I have a safety chain on my mustang just in case. But since I've convert this into a clamshell, the wind can't rip it open, so I'm not really worried about it.
Hood_Pin.jpg
Hood_Latch.jpg
The next thing I tackled was gluing back in the pics of the nose I had cut out when trying to make the accord lights fit. Actually went back together better than I thought it would. A little starbond superglue with accelerator to hold in place, then a few layers of fiberglass on the back to strengthen it up. Just have to sand off DuraGlass now.
I had to re-do the 3D printed brackets I had designed for the Yamaha lights, They looked great in the clamshell all by itself, but when I went to put it on the car, they hit the radiator support. They are now moved slightly out and forward. I also redesigned them so that I can fully mount the lights from the back side, and have the front closed up really tight around the light.
Pass_Light_Hung.jpg
I used some thin cardboard to build a structure to glass around, just to get things close so that I could try to now down the shape:
Surround_Phase_Two.jpg
I glassed that from the back side
Surround_Phase_Three.jpg
Once that was fully cured, I pulled all of the cardboard out and cleaned up the edges and started on a final shape. I wound up using pottery clay from Hobby Lobby, and I was really impressed with how well it worked for the job. I just jammed it up all around the light, then used a piece of 1"x3" 18ga plate to sculpt it into shape. Once I was happy with the shape, I covered it all with packing tape and applied the glass. Still waiting on that to cure now.
Surround_Phase_Four.jpg
You'll never regret doing the clamshell .
It's only taken five months, but I finally have both lights roughed in. Now for a whole lot of finesse to get it looking right.
IMG_7912.jpg
IMG_7913.jpg
IMG_7914.jpg
About 3 months ago I decided I never drive my 65 mustang because it is under the cover and getting it out gets me all hot and sweaty before I can go enjoy it. I decided since I'm going to get all hot and sweaty if I work on the 818 anyway, I should put it under the cover and put the mustang in the garage. So the 818 has sat under a cover for 3 months without moving. Today I decided I wanted to take it for a joy ride around the neighborhood...... Turns out sitting in the south texas heat for 3 months does a number on a project car. Zip ties melted, some of the off brand weatherpack style electrical connectors were melted, and any of the 3D printed body panels that hadn't 't been skinned in fiberglass yet were destroyed. I was able to replace the connector on the fuel pump that melted, fix some of the zip ties that were allowing the wires to hang down into the pulleys, and replace the 3D printed steering column spacer that had melted (I had already printed a new one in a high heat PETG material), but the car still stays in open loop, the throttle is in limp mode, and I have about 5 codes (O2 sensors, throttle voltage, MAF voltage low.... no telling what else is melted and needs to be fixed.
Just a PSA to you guys, make sure all of the stuff you put on your car can handle the heat.
Zip ties and weatherpack connectors melted?! I did 3D print some stuff for the interior from PLA, which I always use. Some of the parts did distort even though the temperature was not Texas hot. Printing with PETG now. Turns out that PLA has a pretty low distortion temperature. Run it under hot water from a tap and it will get all soft.
Build page (The Bolton Build): https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/show...ton-Build-818C
Wow! Melted just sitting in the hot sun? Guess there are some advantageous to living in the cool Northeast!
The electrical connector was not melted like it was in an oven but it was definitely deformed enough to not make good connections. The zip ties you could tell had stretched and sagged. The PLA looked like a melted candle. It was 101+ for about 12 straight days in August and its under a waterproof car cover so it doens't breath at all, probably acts like a greenhouse letting heat in and not out. I'm guessing the temperatures inside cover probably got over 250 degrees. I'm using a waterproof cover instead of a breathable one because there is no paint to mess up, and obviously lots of open electronics on a partially finished car. I may have to rig up some kind of exhaust fan though to push hot air out during the summer.
I thought the targa top had survived the heat since it had been skinned in fiberglass, but apparently the glass wasn't thick enough to save it. I had to remove the targa to replace the MAF and the whole targa just crumbled into pieces. I'm left with starting over or buying a hardtop from FFR. I've checked and they have one available, and I'll be in New England for work next month so I will probably bite the bullet and buy it.
Well the guys on Mike's thread got me all motivated and I vowed to work on the car even if it was a107F today.
The good news is it was only 105F... at least in the shade according to the temperature probes on my smoker, I'm sure it was closer to 120F in my tent because it holds heat in:
Temps in the Shade.jpg
Working Tent.jpg
I did indeed wind up buying the FFR Coupe top after my 3D printed one melted and fell apart. I found myself on the east coast for work, so after I got off on Thursday afternoon, I drove up to Providence, getting there about 1AM. I got up at 7:30 the next morning to hit the Home Depot and buy some 2x4 and ratchet straps, and was at the FFR shop when they opened on Friday morning. I was in a rental Dodge Ram which only had a 5' bed, so I used the 2x4 to build a frame to support the top, strapped it down with ratchet straps and duct tape. I had checked my 18V driver and skill saw on my flight up and used those to construct the shipping frame in the parking lot of FFR. I pulled out of FFR about 9:30AM Friday morning, drove straight through to somewhere in Virginia just north of Knoxville, caught about 6 hours sleep and drove all the way home to Houston on Saturday by 8PM. It was without a doubt the most brutal drive I've ever made, back to back to back 16 hour days on the road. Oh and that Dodge Ram sucked, most uncomfortable seats I've been exposed to in years.
Loaded 3-4 view rotated.jpg
My first priority was to remove the hideous roof scoop. I plan to make a louvered hatch piece to let heat out, and I will be bringing air in by adding large scoops to the quarter windows.
I started by cutting out the section that protruded above the rest of the roof line, then used play sand to fill in the recessed groove in the roof. I used tyvek tape to then cover the entire roof (which was now perfectly smooth because the sand was being used to fill in the recess), and laid 3 layers of fiberglass on top of the roof. That became a reverse mold for me.
I lost all the pictures from smoothing the top using sand and making my reverse mold, because that work got done back in March.
Today I flipped the roof upside-down and cut out the entire recessed section. After flipping it back over to secure my mold in place, I put it back upside down again and layed my fiberglass in from the bottom.
Scoop Removed.jpg
Once that was done and I had turned it back right side. up and removed the mold, I needed a 1/4 coat of thickened resin on the top to handle a sag I somehow wound up with in the middle section. That really confused me because upside down a sag would have been a peak.. but it's there now and has to be dealt with.
Scoop Delete 3-4 View Rotated.jpg
Scoop Delete Back View. Rotated.jpg
Scoop Delete Front View Rotated.jpg
Tomorrow I need to sand off some peaks and blobs that I introduced while screeding the resin, then I can hit it with a skim coat of body filler to smooth it all out.
Wow! AJ that’s inspirational! Glad you got back into it.
Kit #361, arrived 10/2015, still in progress
818C highly modified, corvette suspension
Estimated completion summer 2023!
1989 turbo Supra 5 sp
2017 Tundra
I put seven hours in yesterday, I had a range day with the church this morning but thought I would get five hours in after lunch.
60lp4m.jpg
It took about an hour to realize that the heat took too much out of me. I got one more layer of thickened resin on and that was it. After looking at the roof today in good light, I realized that I had gotten the sag out yesterday, but I actually need a peak, so I am working on building that up. Hopefully I can hit it early Friday before it gets too hot.
I got out early and put a gallon of thickened resin on the roof and used a shaped piece of wood to give the roof a perfect crown. After that kicked I managed to get two rounds of body filler smoothing the resin and was basically down to block sanding when the heat got unbearable. I wasn’t ready for wet sanding but I was sweat sanding involuntarily. I knew the tent I erected to keep the sanding dust off the neighbors cars would hold heat, but dang it is hot inside there. 120 degrees by 11:30AM.
IMG_9932.jpg
Maybe I’ll try working after the sun goes down a few evenings during the week.
And I thought it was hot in Florida along the gulf coast! My garage has a mini-split system and allows me to get some of the humidity out, and maybe lower the temp 10 degrees when it’s 92-95 outside.
Interesting mod to the coupe roof. Are you concerned at all with the extra weight at the top of the car going in with all that resin?
818 "S"pyder delivered 11/27/20, using 2007 Impreza 2.5l NA donor. Work mostly being done by my son Liam...body work and paint being done by dad (that's me)
MK3.1 #6583RD, built from 2008-2019, sold 11/2011
I have thought about flipping it over and removing a lot of the fiberglass from the inside and then add one more layer of mat for strength. But then again I'm building the car as a comfortable cruiser, definitely going to be a heavy weight:
#facepalm
db04c5d9a37707ea716176dc2826eb2c.jpg
The coupe roll center vs the roadster would naturally be higher but the additional weight added by AJ’s roof mod wouldn’t be noticeable unless the car was pushed to its limits as in race conditions and then probably only by a professional driver. As a street car, the difference would be negligible. Swapping the boxer motor for a more conventional I-4 engine would have a similar effect.
The best thing about building an 818 is that you can mod to your heart’s content without feeling you are violating some sort of guidelines as one would have by building a replica of an historical car such as the cobra. I’m anxious to see AJ’s final vision for the car.
Kit #361, arrived 10/2015, still in progress
818C highly modified, corvette suspension
Estimated completion summer 2023!
1989 turbo Supra 5 sp
2017 Tundra
I have built FRP body parts and assemblies using pre-formed sheet, tube and rod sections bonded together. Where contours are required, I use wood fixtures. I lean towards epoxy material for strength and thin section.
About 50% of this example is fabricated that way.
jim
apr 17 002.JPG
Probably need one more revision to get the shape perfect. These will bolt on with a second panel from behind the window that has the funnel to feed all the air to the A2A-IC.
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IMG_9956.jpg