I googled the product number on the back, seems like MST is manufacturing them now under the name "Time attack",
$220 a wheel currently in this size so I'm feeling pretty good about our purchase.
I googled the product number on the back, seems like MST is manufacturing them now under the name "Time attack",
$220 a wheel currently in this size so I'm feeling pretty good about our purchase.
I had ordered orange transparent PLA a few weeks ago so after the first test print for size and shape accuracy, I tried for the real thing.
Transparency is pretty decent, a low powered flashlight shines through just fine.
However, the outside itself looks very dull in comparison to the original. I sanded it down with 2000grit sandpaper but it looks worse honestly. I also used headlight restorer to no avail. I'm considering spraying some hi-gloss clear coat on it, any thoughts?
Picture below is unsanded but again, it doesn't look any better now.
I also ordered pure clear PLA which only arrived last week. So I printed the reverse lights yesterday.
This plastic was far more brittle but I think the overall look is a little nicer. Removing all of the supports was a JOB though.
Usually with 3D prints, the supports come out in one or two big chunks, as you can see, these came out in about 1000.
Finished print here is already acceptable in my opinion, but if the clear coat makes the Orange look better, I'll probably use it on the clear as well.
Nice work!
We used to "clear" sanded plexiglass edges in the Air Force with a torch .... there was a fine line between making it turn clear and start to bubble ... keep the torch fairly far away ... no idea if it will work on PLA ....
Thanks TurboFource, I think a torch would destroy PLA but I hit it with the heat gun and it cleared the sanding marks but just sort of went back to dullish. Spraying it with gloss clear made some improvement but you know, meh.
defects aside, they work!
You can see that the left side reverse light is the one I printed and it needs to be "greyed" out. (The last bulb section is for the license plate lights) but that's what spray paint is for!
i think they'll look decent from 20 ft and that's all I can hope for from this car, so send it!
For some reason the turn signals are not working though, relays click, hazard button does nothing, hazard and turn at the same time clicks faster, fuse is not blown.
I'll get the meter out next week unless someone knows the magical fix.
Also, with the lights just about wrapped up, MoRe BoDy WoRk!
Started by filling in the tops of the door, They were not as flat as I'd have liked but 2-3 coats of filler is acceptable.
Then on to the last major section of bodywork (for now)
Bottom of the rear fender flare never matched up with the rest of the body so back to the FAD system.
I started out with a pretty aggressive flare here but my brother rightly poo-pooed the design. This side of the car was also bubbled out more than it should have been so I tore it down and sanding the whole thing down lower.
Attempt number 2
And glassed in. I still need to remove the whole body from the car and get the back side.
But first, Copy. Paste. Right side done.
And that about covers the holiday progress, well, I did do one more thing.
No backing out this year, we bringing it!
Looking good :D
I think the printed lens looks fine and the flares are great!
In reply to More Tools Than Sense :
Oh hell yeah! See you at the Challenge! That's looking really good.
Totally excited to see this in Gainesville.
Excited to go! My Brother and I have been talking about it for at least a decade.
Well, even after many layers of paint, the light from the license plate bulb was still shining through, Maybe beer will help!
I cut and glued the aluminum into the lights, it helps a lot but there is still some light showing at the top and bottom, I'll get around to fixing it later, or maybe I wont.
But with the tail-lights at "good enough" it was time to move up front.
I was able to score 4 round headlights for $8 total, now I just needed a way to mount them.
Back to the Printer Again!
This is version 1, or maybe 2. It had some trouble since it was too thin where the rear screws go in so I ending up making it like 5 more times.
But at around a $1.00 a print, NBD mate.
I think that's version 2 on the left and version 3(?) on the right. I didn't get a picture of the finished ones apparently.
And lastly for this post, I'm a good bit of the way through the rear hatch as well.
I started out with these panels I made to fit each corner of the hatch. (Man I am doing a lot of design/ 3D printing for this)
Next, I cut some strips of wood from an old shipping crate and thinned them out on the table saw.
Parts were temporarily glued together with resin and some small patch panels of fiberglass.
I forgot to thin down one of the sides before I glued them all together so I had to break out the router as well.
Next step is to fully wrap it in fiberglass and then sand it smooth with body-filler.
Well that's all for now, It's been quite cold in Maryland this winter so I've been taking the kids skiing - while I can!
This is just getting better and better.
Would be going faster if you took part in the time honored tradition of child labor instead of taking them skiing, but you do you :D
Are the headlights just clamped in place? Can you adjust them?
It's been quite cold over here on the Eastern Shore too! Garage temp is awful...
Outstanding!
This is my not-so-dark-horse for the Overall win at the Challenge this year. So much good attention to detail.
In reply to Piguin : Would be going faster if you took part in the time honored tradition of child labor instead of taking them skiing, but you do you :D
My 9 year old is usually game to help out in the garage but his fiberglass skills are dog-s***.
In reply to TurboFource: "Are the headlights just clamped in place? Can you adjust them?"
Yup, quick and dirty. The front face of the fiberglass is pretty close to aligned, I think. If its off by a little I can shim them, if it's off by a lot, another reprint or 2.
In reply to golfduke: "This is my not-so-dark-horse for the Overall win at the Challenge this year. So much good attention to detail. "
This is the kind of high praise I do not need to hear. I just hope it still runs after the weekend is over.
I'm thinking I'll only be able to get 2nd in class again this year.
In other words, my money is also on yall!
In reply to More Tools Than Sense : thanx for the reply, I want to do something more streamlined you did on my car.
I was thinking of making a closed cell neoprene gasket that could be compressed for headlight alignment.
You fellas are making me blush with all these compliments. But back to work.
Lots more little details to get done before the weather warms up and more tuning can take place.
First off I finished up the front turn signals with a super simple dome shaped lens.
The rear portion was slightly more complicated because I had the stock bulb socket with it's twist and lock function, so it took me a couple of tries to get it just right. But still easy enough.
On car and functioning, probably less than 2 hours of "work" time (print time not included)
In the background I'm sure you can see the rear body was pulled off, this was just to make finishing the bottom of the fender flares easier.
I also needed to repair a spot where I cut out the inner fender too aggressively and add blocks back in where the rear windows mount up.
Next up we decided to actually read the rules to this challenge thing. Turns out the battery setup wasn't gonna fly.
First off we needed a safety cut-off switch. Mounted up high so it's accessible even with the passenger seat installed.
Also, since I moved the battery from the stock location (and removed all the things that used to be around it) We needed it to be enclosed.
Bring in the free filing cabinet sheet metal!
Maybe the hardest part of this job was carefully peeling apart the stock battery clamp in a way that I could reuse it after shortening the positive cable.
For the top, I cut up the lid from a broken rubbermaid container and welded 2 halves of a washer onto some mazda hardware.
Quick easy, tool free access, fully sealed box.
I was able to reuse the battery tie down I had already made by just shortening the bolts a bit, but I didn't take any pictures of that.
And for the third tiny job of this installment. Little plastic sticks.
These particular sticks are the same depth and shape as the body line on a Miata door.
The first one got installed when I had a small amount of body filler left over, the others got installed when I had a small amount of fiberglass resin left over. Top layer of filler pending.
And speaking of body filler, I don't think I've ever gotten to the bottom of a can before, and certainly not the gallon size.
I'd be proud of myself if this didn't mean I need to add more dollars to the budget. A budget which is slowly getting very close to it's limiting factor...
At least there's not much left to do, right?
I can mark off Battery and cut-off switch!
This project is the perfect Challenge-level mash up of fiberglass, 3D printing, and beer can origami that defines this generation.
maschinenbau said:This project is the perfect Challenge-level mash up of fiberglass, 3D printing, and beer can origami that defines this generation.
Perfectly well said, but with some old school/new school power going through it.
Love this whole build and thread so much. I've found PLA to deform pretty quickly in the sun on a car, or with an incandescant bulb near it. I'm happy to send you some translucent PETG in clear and orange if you want!
This Crinkles is so much better than Ruffles.
Wow. This is the kind of berkeleyery that makes this place so amazing!
bbbbRASS said:Love this whole build and thread so much. I've found PLA to deform pretty quickly in the sun on a car, or with an incandescant bulb near it. I'm happy to send you some translucent PETG in clear and orange if you want!
I was just thinking about this and I appreciate the offer. But for budgeting purposes I'd still need to account at full price, I think. So I can just order the two rolls of PTEG, thanks tho!
In response to everyone else, you have to stop giving me so many compliments! You know I made it a hardtop, my head won't fit inside the car anymore!
"Gurney Bubble" time!
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