|
Total from 2017
767hr
Jan 19 0hr
The year is starting very slowly. Purchased a set of low beam LED
projectors out of 2016 Ford F150 as trial mid December to see how big they are and if
they can be altered to fit different LED chip before holidays last year.
They had arrived just before Christmas but never had time to take good
look at them. Rough glance at them proved they they are much shallower
and lower then the HID projectors and it might be possible to swap the
3.4W LED chips for a 10W but some adaptor may be required for it. Larger
20, 50 or the 100 W COB LED chips are way to big and will never fit
properly under the mounting points nor the reflector properly. Though
the OE chip has fair amount of light so will have to try them at night
and see how they work and if they are acceptable. One good thing
is that those LED do not require any drive circuitry and can have power
fed directly to them, which is a bonus as the housing would be much
smaller due to the un-necessary electronics.
The other part that needs to be verified is to see if 2 of those
projectors can be fit side by side for high and low beams. based on the
preliminary assessment it may not be possible as they are just as wide as
the HID projectors and the 2.5 round projector just fits in the gen 3
head light. May try the LED and the round projector as combination.
Other option for those Ford LED projectors is to use them as fog lights
Jan 30 0hr
Purchased High Beam LED lights to match the Low Beams. As it turns out
the HB modules are about 1/4" smaller around the lens and the heat sink
looks smaller as well. normally this would be reversed but guess
engineers at Ford seen it differently. Bad news is that the idea
of 100W or even 10W COB modules will not work as the chips surface is
just to big to fit between the lens holding frame. Alternative is to
find other surface mounted LED chips like CREE with a very low lens
profile as the actual headlight lens does the focusing so how the light
is emitted from the chip is not of a great concern
Feb 09
0hr
The second pair of lights arrived. Just a rough fitting they will work
fantastic and worst case will use the OE LED chips. Idea is still to
have them replaced but with a small twist. More in headlight v4 section
March 11 0.5
Started making a buck to hold the new LED headlight projectors,
Unfortunetaly this will be positive part that will be made out of
MDF and wll have to make a negative form out if it first then make the
positive component.Good part of it is that it will be just a matter of
removing few screws holding individual pieces flip it to other side and
the opposite mold can me made out of same buck
March 17 1hr
MDF is a great material to work with and very easy to shape with knife
or sharp chisel. Aligned everything together and carved out all
indentations. Just need to make stand offs for high beam and upper
part to the share
March 24 0.5hr
Finished the stand offs for the high beam. Just need to
make up the upper brow to mount the per trim
May 1, 1hr
Taped off surfaces on the headlight plug with shipping tape hopefully
the plastic will be easier to separate from plaster then paper tape.
Added extra parting dividers and layed first coat of plaster. Hopefully
it will prevent shrinking and this way it will allow for adding inserts
to make the mold stiffer
May 2 0.5hr
Added couple more layers of plaster to make the plug thicker and allow
for sanding to get it into shape May 4 0.5hr
pulled wooden formers out from headlight plug and letting it dry to
harden it up and prevent from crumbling into pieces.
May 7 1hr
Started sanding down and preparing interior molds to make parts from.
May 20 3.5hr
started cleaning interior molds. Made some adjustments to outer walls of
instrument cluster and nose of it
May 21 5hr
Did some more sanding of the instrument cluster, its getting better but
still far away. Will have to make up some sort of plate emulating
circuit board so that mounting tabs can be made. Finished cleaning
interior molds, waxed them and assembled 2 outer kick panels ( speaker
buffles ) and main dash pad. Will have to cover with PVA
next and they will be ready for fiberglass.
May 22 1hr
Brushed PVA on interior molds. Missed glove box yesterday :( well next
time Re-measured mold for headlight frame. Will have to trim half
inch from the topside to shrink profile down
May 27 1hr
Sanded instrument cluster and primed
Jun 1 1.5hr
Reversed headlight wood plug for projector base, cut out all
indentations and reassembled. Build up filler for most just need to add
more onto the top to get some thickness. Will need to dry for a day or 2
and adjusted to similar dimensions as first
Jun 2 1hr
Removed from form and added few more layers of plaster to build up the
thickness
Jun 7 1hr
Sanded down back side to give symetry to left and right side and skim
coated to even up areas from belt sander Jun 8
1hr
put gel coat on outer and inner kick panels and dash. attempted to cut
out instrument cluster display board for making mounting tabs. Sanded
down head light projector mounts and primed. Will have to get work on
mount side to get details next in order to make parts/molds
Jun 15 2.5hr
Finally got around to lay some fiberglass. Made up the dash and driver
inner and outer kick panels. Small part of the mat drooped around glove
box so will have to re-make small part and stitch-in in place of that
fallen area. Run low on resin and will have to get more for other parts.
More importaly need to make molds of that center console as it has been
sitting since last fall.
Jun 16 1hr
pulled parts from molds, couple areas need to be fixed were mat was not
pushed far enough. Looks like missed on couple releave corners for
mating purposes between outer kick panels and dash. Will have to do final
trimming and rid of the gel molds split leaks
Jun 17 2hr
Trimmed the kick panels to better shape at least where it meats the
firewall and floor board. Most likely they will need additional trim
once carpet goes in. Trimmed dash and it looks like after adding
the cap pieces at ends the overall width had changed where it needed to
be cut down by 1/4" at each side, kind of sucks cause have to finish the
sides now. Kind of made extra cuts around the mount flange around A
pillar where trim supposed to lean on however the dash slips in nice and
easy which may not be that bad of a mistake. Will have to do some fixing
around some corners where did not push the mat against the gel and gel
cracks off now. Secondly will have to make defroster and side vents
tubes under it to complete the dash.
Jun 24 1hr
Sanded/trimmed headlights projector holders and filled in air packets
and all the rough chisel marks and uneven surfaces. Hopefully can finish
it quick so that main holders can be made so that fenders can be
adjusted.
Jun 25 1.5hr
Sanded down projector plugs again, they seem to be fairly straight
though there are some air packet voids that will have to be fixed and
proportions on one corner of projectors needs to be made symmetrical.
Sanded down instrument cluster. Will have to see how the simulated
display PCB will fit and back fill. For now primed all 3 pieces and will
have to wait till primer dries.
Jun 26 3hr
Layed up 2 right kick panels and under dash trim piece on driver side.
Sanded down headlight projector holders and bottom of instrument
cluster. Primed all pieces. One more skim coat and they might be OK to
trim corners and finalize the plugs/molds
Jun 27 2hr
Resurfaced small areas on projector holders and bottom of instrument
cluster early in morning.
Trimmed panels from yesterday. need to get more resin to make parts from
remaining 5 molds and make a mold of center console and part of it.
Sanded the projector holders again, finally it looks good. However one
of the angles on one of them is bit off, debating if I should change it
to make it symmetrical. If I do that I may build up 1/8" of side wall on
low beam just to make it same to other side.
Sanded bottom of Instrument cluster to make it smooth. Its not going to
be seem but its a matter of knowing that it was done properly.
Readjusted display fitment and double it in thickness to make it thicker
and sandwidget between flat pieces to make it straight.
Jun 29 1hr
Rounded off corners on the projector holders, came out better then
thought and no air bubbles. Need to build up left side to make a bit
better clearance. Once that is done they are ready to make parts of.
Trimmed the display panel cardboard cutout and filled in rim around the
instrument cluster.
July 1 5hr
Waxed and PVA glove box skin and driver pedal trim, skipped on gel coat
as dash will be covered later any way. Leid up parts for both sill's,
both upper trims, glove box door and column trim. This leaves center
console to make molds off. Though can start making mounting tabs for the
outer kick panels and sills.
Trimmed off left projector holding palate and final sanding on both
sides to round off any missed corners and made all nice and smooth.
Cleaned up instrument cluster and filled in center so that the mold
would looks bit better and be easier to make the part. Bit longer over
all but it will be worth the effort.
July 8 3hr
trimmed last set of fiberglass parts, Parted instrument cluster
July 9 1hr
waxed instrument cluster and headlight projector holders
July 13 3.5hr
PVA instrument cluster and projector holders. parted center console,
removed steering column to get it out of the way, waxed and gel upper
center console and the projector and instrument cluster. Filled in low
area on dash pad with gel where gel did not bond to fiber mat.
July 14 4hr
As somehow missed on the PVA step of the top of center console thought
probably for the better as it will stay attached bit better. and gel
coating corners of it yesterday. Did laid first mold part, once it cures
will pull the parting wax and PVA both sides so they can be done same
time. Will have to extend bottom though with cardboard and build
up packets with gel bit thicker maybe. Laid up the projector
holders and after they cure and pulling them out from plaster molds will
be able to trim and proceed with rest of the bucket. laid up face part
of the instrument cluster as well, top will be next.
Hopefully will be able to get to mounting the inside panels and
finishing the dash and moving on to the hinges for the hood and doors
soon.
July 16 1hr
Pulled all parting from all the molds. Tunnel looks good, will have to
extend bottom of the sides a bit just to give a bit of extra flat area.
Instrument cluster got couple chips so had to fill them up. not the
largest but something that its easier to fix now then the mold later
Jul 18 3.5hr
Pulled all parting cardboard from tunnel. Made up next parting for
instrument cluster and waxed all parts
July 20 0.5hr
PVA all parts
July 22 5hr
Big progress had been made, got both sides of center console molds laid
up. this will be close to 80% or more of interior panels molds done. All
that will be left is the B pillars, bottom part of the back firewall,
ceiling and a small upper trim around windshield that will have to be
made while the A pillar frame is removed and can be laid upside down.
Also laid secod part of Instrument cluster with just the bottom to be
made.
Now can move on to mounting doors and start working on adjusting front
fenders.
July 24 1.5hr
drilled holes on center console for bolting all parts together, trimmed
all the fuzzy edges and pulled molds of the plug. Cleaned up all left
over plug material from the chassis and molds. YEY time to finally other
things on the car now that dont have to worry about disturbing the
molds/plug. Waxed last part for instrument cluster, PVA next then gell
and layup fiber and resin for the 3rd mold piece. Will have to move on
the new LED lights to see what size they will be and mean wile start
working on the front fenders.
July 27 1hr
waxed PVA and gelcoated lower part of the instrument cluster
July 29 2hr
laid up bottom part of instrument cluster. stitched up gearshifter part
of center console plug in order to make the mold for it.
July 31 0.5hr
trimmed and pulled molds of the instrument cluster.
Aug 6 2hr
sanded and cleaned up center console, filled in voided with filler to
rebuild some of the chipped and problem areas when making the molds
upside down
Aug 14 3.5
Sanded down and did some cleaning of the center tunnel mold sides.
Filled in crack, bubbles and uneven surfaces.
Laid first layer of filler on shifter cover plug
Aug 15 2.5
More of same from yesterday. Molds are getting better. One longer day or
2 like today and the molds should be ready for making a part.
Sanded down shifter cover and filled in bit smoother layer of filler.
Will see how much more work will be necessary after its sanded down
tomorrow
Aug 16 3hr
Focused more on gear shift cover plate plug today as from yesterday
surfacing of the plug seemed to level all major surface voids and
unevenness with just small spots that will have to be fixed. So cut off
all the major extra areas of the original plug and left just actual
filler plate. Removed all foam that was in the way and surfaced all
areas of interest to make a mold.
Sanded sown sides for center tunnel and refilled small spots. I think
one more time and the molds will be ready
Aug 17 3.5hr
Continued on shift gear cover plug, sanded down and resurfaced and build
up some cornersfor deeper mold.
Finished center tunnel side molds YEY, need to wax them assemble and PVA
in order to lay up the part.
Stared to adjust dash support, sanded town and straightened so it would
lay flat on cross bar. Surfaced and will have to sand it down to see if
there are any major issues still residing with it.
Decided to build up instrument cluster front mold piece to give extra
depth for mounting circuit board. Wrapped making tape around and rougly
filled in perimeter with filler
Aug 18 0.5hr
Sanded down the face mold of instrument cluster. The tape did a fairly
good job containing the filler. Its fairly smooth but will have to
lightly skim surface just so that there will be less work after the part
is made. Trimmed mown height of the build up to 3/4 inch which will be
more then enough for PCB and any display mounts and surface cover silk
screen leaving plenty of space for final lens.
Sanding back side will tell if there will need to be any more filling
needed. Though will have to make flat indents on sides for SD and SIM
cards mounts for possible options.
Aug 19 5.5hr
long day but very productive.
face of the instrument cluster spacing all filled, sanded, waxed and PVA,
ready for part making.
Dash cross bar support, all sanding finished, waxed and PVA, ready for
part making.
Center tunnel console, all sanding is finished, waxed, assembled and PVA,
ready for part making. Thing thing is huge, probably as big as rear
quarter panel if not bigger.
Gear shift cover all sanded down and primed. Will probably give
another coat of primer and sand it down really smooth as this will be
final surface for the part and wanting to make it out of carbon fiber so
the fit has to be perfect.
Sanded down kick panel parts, will focus on trying to make up a way to
mount them and see how the dash will look like with them. Will have to
device a firm way of mounting inner sill covers as most likely people
will sit on them when coming or getting out of the car.
Aug 21 0.5hr
Gel coated front part of instrument cluster and dash bar support
Aug 23 1hr
Laid up fiberglass on last 2 parts
Aug 24 1hr
pulled parts from molds and trimmed. Dash bar support will have to get
trimmed but most likely will have to wait till the center console is
completed. Instrument cluster face looks fantastic. Just need to do the
rest of it now.
Sanded down gear shifter cover primer to see how smooth it is. Also
sanded down outer corners to mimic rest of the console and not having
square corners. Had to fill in a bit as transition between primer to raw
filler was not smooth enough.
Aug 25 0.5hr
Sanded down the filler smooth and gave a gentle round off on some other
corners. Primed again.
Aug 26 0.5hr
Sanded gear shifter trim, she looks beautiful. Next.. making
a mold
Aug 30 1.5hr
Trying to complete the instrument cluster shell, Started building up
bottom mold to have recess in it for removable plate to access internals
of the cluster. Had to fill in hole then chipped away while making
shell mold. Will use bottom of the plug again to make access door
as it has the contours for it marked in it. Hoping that filler will dry
up today so that it can be sanded and primed as prep for making mold
over weekend.
Started shaping plate that will be placed inside the door shell where
hinge will be bolted too. It will serve as hinge mounting base and to
which internal door frame will be welded to
Sep 2 3.5hr
Washed A pillar covers and dash bar support. Finished lower section of
instrument cluster door indentation. Trimmed front part of instrument
cluster part, most likely will still need some more adjustment but at
least it will not try to cut into hands. Sanded down dash cluster plug
bottom, unfortunately it still needs bit of filling so that will have to
wait to be molded. Made up parting for wheel opening on fenders so they
can be adjusted for better fit of the wheel and head light and
contouring etc etc... Waxed instrument cluster and PVA. next time
will gel coat and lay up fiberglass
Sep 3 0.5hr
gel coated instrument cluster and gearshift cover. filled in A pillar
trim chipped gel, will have to fill in couple more times due to
gravity
Sanded down bottom of instrument cluster to make door mold
Sep 7 2.5hr
laid up fiberglass on instrument cluster and gear shift cover and
extension to front fenders.
Will make normal fiberglass cover/trim for the shifter however I think
that will have to be remade :-/
Sep 8 0.5hr
pulled parts from molds and they look great
Sep 9 0.5hr
Trimmed shifter trim molds and looks great. Also trimmed and ground the
instrument cluster. This thing will be NICE. Will have to do bit more
grinding and fitting so the 2 part mate properly and especially that
there are 2 very thin corners that need to be worked with.
Sep 13 2hr
Parted bottom of instrument cluster plug to make up door cover mold for
the instrument cluster
Decided on fixing headlight plug ver3 and making a raised outer
perimeter so that there will be extra space to cover marker/turn lights
and affixing main lens to it
Sep 15 4hr
gel coated center console and instrument console cover. Laid up
fiberglass on the cover and center console. This makes the last largest
panel besides roof liner and possibly inner panel for engine lid though
that might be done in 3 sections.
Sep 17 0.5 hr
Pulled parts from molds
Sep 18 1.0hr
Trimmed all parts
Sep 20 2.5hr
cut down to shape back plates that go inside of door frames where hinges
will bolt up to. Fully welded right door hinge and drilled a pilot
hole for grease fitting.
Started fixing some non bounded gel coat on A pillar trim
Sep 23 4.5hr
sanded down A pillar trim pieces. Sanded/grinded down high areas
on center console. Looking at it. the side packets may need to be cut
out and made removable at the sides may not deflect far enough to drop
it onto the frame. Will have to see how it will work once the back is
trimmed to fit window regulator in
Oct 8 3hr
Ground/sanded 99.9% of main dash underside and gel coat fix areas just
to clean up all of the sharp fiberglass points and higher build areas.
Its already much easier to handle it. Will have to grind very small
areas on outer edges by A pillar in order to fix the outer edge after
cutting it off in order for the dash to fit in. Cut down to size and
pre-fit supporting structure under the dash so that it will rest on top
of the chassis cross bar. Sanded down A pillar trim and to see what else
needs to be re-work and fixed on it. However will have to wait for the
dash to have its support fixed and mounted so that the A pillar trim can
be adjusted to final shape.
Oct 9 1.5hr
To continue with the dash. Since there are 2 spots that need to have
some flat surfaces reworked so to make it bit less difficult decided to
extend them while the 2 parts are still separate rather then trying to
squeeze hand in to lay up the flat surfaces. This way it will be just
but joining with overlap glassing and it should be so much easier.
Covered up ends to refinish them and make 90' angles for cross bar
mounts. This should locate the second part much easier as well.
Oct 11 2hr
Got couple hours of prep work today. In order for the center
console/tunnel cover to sit properly on the frame, flanges need to be
made on the cover piece. So after aligning and making sure it will sit
nicely and sit closely to the dash lines where marked flat to the
chassis. made up flange partitions on one side of the tunnel and now can
lay some fiberglass and hopefully bonds nicely with the tunnel cover.
One problem, the side packets are deep, deep enough to interfere in
installing and removing it. Will have to do something to fix this. May
have to cut them out and make removable packets that will be fastened to
the sides. Looked at a way to mount the inner kick panel extensions,
Don't really like to have visible fasteners so may have to fasten on the
joint like fingers like.
cleaned up template for the headlight rev3 to make the lens stand off.
it seems like there is 1cm of difference in upper circumference between
left and right side. It does not seem like a lot but its enough to
wonder. Gel coated some of chipped off edges on A pillar trim and dash.
Will try to lay up fiberglass on the tunnel to make the flange and fix
the dash tomorrow.
Oct 13 1.5hr
laid up fiberglass extending bottom part of underdash support and end
caps for top dash part. Will need to prep and join them together.
Once that is complete can get front mounting done and start working on
defrost duct. Laid up fiberglass on one side inside of the tunnel
(center console) to make up support to lean on chassis. Will have to do
same on other side next.
Oct 16 1.5hr
Pulled parting from tunnel and forms from dash parts. Trimmed and
scuffed raw fiberglass on end caps so that they can be gelled and
surface finished. Will need to remark other side of tunnel, part it and
lay fiberglass to complete support for it. Cut off inner part of
the side packets as it was hard to put the tunnel on the chassis and
even harder to take it off. Will have to see if its worth having those
packets and if so will make them removable to make things of installing
and removing that part easier.
Oct 19 4.5hr
Fastened top of dash to bottom with straps straps making sure it alligns
with support cross bar.
Ground down remaining areas so that then can be used to overlap
fiberglass on top then grinding down flat for smooth surface finish.
Parted second half of center tunnel as prep for laing down support
flange
Oct 20 1.5hr
Laid fiber glass on the dash, center tunnel and left fender as prep for
adjusting outer arch just like right side
Oct 21 1.5hr
Trimmed fender from excess fiberglass and ground surface for better
filler adhesion. Removed all straps from dash and ground down all
remaining areas on bottom of dash. Due to location of small section
around instrument cluster it will have to be done in 2 parts.
Trimmed center tunnel, however when test fitted it does not align
properly and titar totters on the chassis. One good part about it is
that first flange was made bit to low as it rests to high so will have
to trim that down and effectively lowering it. One bad thing about it is
that the flange might be too thin so will most likely have to build up
thickness.
Oct 23 1hr
laid up fiberglass patching on bottom part of dash. Hopefully it will
not grind through and it will be just a matter of surface finish of
those joints and on to a small section around the cluster.
Oct 27 3.5hr
Ground down all the fiberglass to a flat surface on bottom of the dash.
Made couple holes again cause of how the edges where curving up ... ahh
more patching. ground off larger areas so it hopefully material will
sing down into cavity and stuff some filler into the holes so hopefully
it will fill in this time.
Cut off the flanges on bottom of the center console and ground off small
area on center console support. No more titar toting, dropped the front
part down a bit too and still holds to standing on top of it so it will
still be solid and not break. Thou it is one of the heavier pieces on
the interior aside from door sills. Cause front part dropped, the
dash is laying down bit better too. Also trimmed bottom of the console
hopefully flash with floor so it does not hang low to ground any longer.
It still will have to be trimmed in final stages of upholstery so that
carpet would fit under it.
Noticed that the tunnel section of chassis is starting to get some
surface rust due to the plug making and the fact that it was
stripped from primer. It will have to be addressed next time before it
goes any further.
Sanded down A pillar trim from couple surface chipped gel coat area
refills.
Slowly interior is getting completed. Will have to look into finalizing
belt mounting and figuring out door latches so that next summer B pillar
trim and back firewall area can be finished and floor can be welded in.
Nov 2 1hr
Got out for a bit today and plugged up all of the small holes on bottom
of the dash. Put some weights on flat surface to push the material in
and fill up the holes so it would go deeper and on corners put tape on
to force the material in as well.
Well, it looks like it may have worked but will find out for sure after
grinding flatter.
If it works will fill in top area around the dash and start defrost
ducts and try to fasted to the window trim.
Sanded down and primed headlight buckets v3. Will finish those and make
a mold and parts out of it to see how they will look like and compare to
the LED version 4
Nov 5 1.5hr
Laid up last part around instrument cluster making fully bonded dash.
Also added extra layer on back mounting face of the dash as it was thin
during original lay up. Will have to grind all the surfaces now however
from the looks of things it may look OK. Next step will be the defrost
ducting plug. Initial making of it will tie up the dash however after
that it can be surface finished and mounting points can be made so that
it can stay in position.
Sanded down lip on the headlight buckets. Will have to figure out
perimeter of the lens and move onto bottom part of the lip hopefully
will be still able to make a mold of it this year and possibly pull part
from it
Nov 10 0hr
Went out to recyclers to pick up few parts. Did not felt very well and
cut the day short. However picked up interior dash harness and glove box
latch and handle so will try to figure out may be how to make mounts for
it and move on with making the inner tray part. Thinking about it
as ripped out entire dash at wreckers, should had picked up HVAC parts
and see if any of it could be adapted. Maybe first will try
to figure out how big of a cavity I have to work with and look for parts
that will fit there.
Nov 11 1hr
Got around to grind down last fiberglass lay up. It turn out pretty
good. Next Will start figuring out how to mount it and rest of the
internal panels. and surface finish the dash along getting instrument
cluster bonded together.
Dec 8 0hr (3)
Did some exploratory investigation for steering wheel wire harness and
why there are so many wires there. As it turn out, ignition combination
switch has single power feed cable and 4 switched output cables. Which
is very normal provided that you need accessory, run, switched run and
starter switched power. There is a plug to the coil spring for steering
wheel controls/air bag and a key reader coil for security and last is
small 6 pin plug for stick switches ie. turn signals, lights and wiper
control. Well that's where things are getting bit dicey. I know why its
done this way, and the answer is simple wire reduction as you would need
close to 20 wires between those 2 switches. So Honda (Acura) put in a
small controller getting all those signals into a small PCB fed it into
a controller and spit it out on a CAN bus. So now the couple
questions are. Should I keep that steering column and its controls or
look for a different one and replace the hole thing. Or should I use the
fuse box/control module and adapt it. Or should I reinvent the wheel and
build a propriatary controller and replace the one that is in the key
stock and accompany decoder at other end to split proper signals out.
Dec 31
Another year gone again. With only 139hr this year on the time
clock still made a relatively large amount of work though not as much as
wished for. Most of the work was on the interior of the cabin with
majority of panel parts being made.
Missed on major goals of mounting doors and window regulators, making
hinges for front trunk and making them operational. Plus would have
liked to make inner panel for rear deck lid.
Total
906. hr
|
