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Alrighty, we're getting back into this. After some down time for various reasons I'm going to start bring back some of the parts that had been for sale previously with updates and improvements, as well as some new parts.
First will be the S1 center console (tombstone). To start I will only have the aftermarket version which has provisions for three standard gauges and a single DIN radio, an OEM one will come eventually. The ASA version is coming along well and with a couple tweaks will be ready for sale - I've had a PETG one in my car since last summer and it's done great. ASA is a UV light resistant cousin of ABS, and compared to PETG it has a 20C higher glass transition temperature of 100C (equal to that of ABS).
I do have a question for you folks though; would you rather the gauge cut outs are already there or are knockout blanks? I know this was suggested previously and I like the idea myself as well. The knockouts would likely be a four tab ordeal that would need to be removed with some side cutters. Alternatively I may be able to offer different versions with or without gauge holes, but then they would have to be made-to-order with a bit of lead time. If so it would be preset options, custom configurations might come later but I can't guarantee that. Here's a photo of the top half where the gauges will be:
If anyone who has bought parts already or may in the future, please let me know if you ever have issues. I have yet to hear anything so far, so I am inclined to think that they are still working well for folks. These new parts will also be made from higher temp materials, so the possible loosening that some of the original batch could experience in high temperature climates will no longer be a problem.
Last edited by Benjamin4456; 02-03-22 at 01:57 PM.
Reason: spelling
I must say your skills are outstanding. My thought on the openings that would be cool is to make the outer portion of the tombstone, and then have an inner section that is separate that has the three gauge openings and a single din opening (50mmx100mm I think). this way, it can be flipped. Or, a separate solid piece.
I have a 4'x8' Langmuir XR CNC plasma table I was thinking of making them out of aluminum or 16ga. My only issue is I need to assemble it. Oh, and learn Fusion360,
QUOTE=Benjamin4456;12504669]Alrighty, we're getting back into this. After some down time for various reasons I'm going to start bring back some of the parts that had been for sale previously with updates and improvements, as well as some new parts.
First will be the S1 center console (tombstone). To start I will only have the aftermarket version which has provisions for three standard gauges and a single DIN radio, an OEM one will come eventually. The ASA version is coming along well and with a couple tweaks will be ready for sale - I've had a PETG one in my car since last summer and it's done great. ASA is a UV light resistant cousin of ABS, and compared to PETG it has a 20C higher glass transition temperature of 100C (equal to that of ABS).
I do have a question for you folks though; would you rather the gauge cut outs are already there or are knockout blanks? I know this was suggested previously and I like the idea myself as well. The knockouts would likely be a four tab ordeal that would need to be removed with some side cutters. Alternatively I may be able to offer different versions with or without gauge holes, but then they would have to be made-to-order with a bit of lead time. If so it would be preset options, custom configurations might come later but I can't guarantee that. Here's a photo of the top half where the gauges will be:
If anyone who has bought parts already or may in the future, please let me know if you ever have issues. I have yet to hear anything so far, so I am inclined to think that they are still working well for folks. These new parts will also be made from higher temp materials, so the possible loosening that some of the original batch could experience in high temperature climates will no longer be a problem.[/QUOTE]
I must say your skills are outstanding. My thought on the openings that would be cool is to make the outer portion of the tombstone, and then have an inner section that is separate that has the three gauge openings and a single din opening (50mmx100mm I think). this way, it can be flipped. Or, a separate solid piece.
I have a 4'x8' Langmuir XR CNC plasma table I was thinking of making them out of aluminum or 16ga. My only issue is I need to assemble it. Oh, and learn Fusion360
Thanks for the compliment, and I like the idea as well. Having a separate piece might make things a little more fiddly, and you'd also see a very obvious seam, but the reversible concept would be pretty slick.
Also, per your request, I've modeled the steering arm stop. Finally a nice and simple part. Voila:
That one is a PETG prototype, although the final will most likely be black as well and made from polycarbonate.
The "final" version of the S1 tombstone is also completed. Curious if y'all love, hate, or are indifferent about the gauge blanks. The gap is 1.25mm, so much any smaller and you won't get a pair of side-cutters in there. Also good news on the seam; acetone solvent welding is truly impressive. I can say with high confidence that the seam will be just as strong as the rest of the part since it will quite literally become one piece. I've made a few test jigs that I've then glued with acetone and so far I have not been able to break them by hand.
Ha, since you are making them in halves you could offer mix and match putting the gauges in both places, radio on top or bottom, or maybe even be able to accommodate double-din. Although that would be four lines (top half, two options; bottom half, two options) that is probably more than you'd like to keep up with. If you don't NEED to weld them before installation you might be able to sell the pieces as a choose your own adventure.
My next idea would result in needing to weld. If you made the radio/gauge section modular you might be able to sell it is radio/gauge, six gauges, and double din. This would reduce the inventory lines but increase pieces to three instead of two.
Ha, since you are making them in halves you could offer mix and match putting the gauges in both places, radio on top or bottom, or maybe even be able to accommodate double-din. Although that would be four lines (top half, two options; bottom half, two options) that is probably more than you'd like to keep up with. If you don't NEED to weld them before installation you might be able to sell the pieces as a choose your own adventure.
My next idea would result in needing to weld. If you made the radio/gauge section modular you might be able to sell it is radio/gauge, six gauges, and double din. This would reduce the inventory lines but increase pieces to three instead of two.
Either way, I'm excited.
I'll definitely look into making it modular, my only concern is that it will really pronounce the seams. It is on the list though, so we'll see what happens.
Anywho, it's been two weeks so I figure I should give some sort of update.
I had a nearly finished product but then on final assembly I just wasn't happy with it. The issue was the accuracy of the underside layer due to needing support material - it boils down to the part being too thick and adjusting the model would be a Band-Aid. Soooo... these last couple weeks I've been completely redoing my printers. The stock one got all the upgrades from the "original modified" one plus more, and the modified one got brought into the land of dual extrusion. The reason for dual extrusion is it will allow for water soluble support material which gives me the possibility of nearly flawless supported layers. This printer has been mostly operational for the last couple days and I've been fine tuning it. Dual extrusion brings with it a few new issues to deal with so getting everything dialed in is taking a little time, but I'm getting close with results being promising so far. While I have no awesome photos to share just yet, take my word that the results are impressive. Note that this isn't some crazy new tech by any means, it's just new to me.
No date on anything yet, especially given my track record so far. I am waiting on a couple more parts so by Monday everything should be in my hands barring any unforeseen complications.
Time to slowly resume this whole ordeal, and to start off I need some opinions from you folks.
I've updated the design and material for the various bolt hole cover clips to be stronger and more temperature resistant, but this meant using a slightly more grey material and changing the print setup. The biggest visual change is the surface finish of which we have three choices; glossy black, satin black, or a sort of light textured finish. I personally lean towards either the satin or the textured, but I want to hear your folk's thoughts on the matter - I will only end up offering one finish for the time being. That said, no matter what the finish is they can all be sanded and painted just like normal ABS plastic if so desired. Also note that the final clips will be properly centered; in the photos I just have the faces sticky-puttied to the console.
Overview:
Option 1, glossy:
Option 2, satin:
Option 3, textured:
Note that the satin finish will be the most "grey" of all of them. It's all the same material, just how they reflect the light makes it look grey in comparison. Let me know what you all think and I'll get these into final testing.
In addition to the bolt hole cover clips, I will soon have the steering bump stops available as well. They're just getting road tested for a little while longer and then they'll be up on eBay. Other parts are in the works too (looking into the possibility of glovebox hinge replacements among other things), but no timeline on them at this time.
If you could make the texture one with a texture 50% more fine it would be perfect.
Unfortunately that's not an option I have. The surface finish is determined by the material/finish of the build plate and I only have those three (textured, glossy, and satin). Fine textured PEI build plates aren't really a thing anyway, although it would be nice if they were.
Two parts are now up for sale. Not exactly exciting stuff, but I've got the steering bump stops and the glovebox latch/light switch bracket live on eBay now. No links of course, but you can find them by search terms or by my woefully creative username "Benjamin4456".
More things will be added as time goes on here. My main focus had been the center console bolt covers, but I just haven't been happy with the results, specifically in terms of the tabs. Because they have to fit both the early cars with just plastic center consoles and the later ones with "leather" padding, the tabs either fit loose on the plastic or too tight on the faux leather. No wonder the OEM ones always get loose and/or break off... For the time being I'm putting those aside and shifting focus to the window crank covers because those are far more consistent across vehicles. I know I had them for sale before, but I'm updating the design to be a little more durable.
Soon to return will also be the hatch screw cover plugs, as well as new hood bump stops and some other little things. The console tombstones are now officially on the back burner due to time constraints, although I may begin offering a "blank slate" version for the series 1 cars in not too long, we'll see. In order to properly produce the fully featured ones in the quality that I want, I need some equipment that I don't have enough of an incentive to buy yet. I have no intentions of putting out "meh quality" products in the time being.
Anyway, if you are in need of some steering bump stops or maybe a glovebox latch bracket (let's be honest, you probably are not ) go check them out on eBay. For the most up to date info you can also follow my seller page, but I will always post info and new products here as well. The pricing structure has also been updated with "free" USPS first class shipping to keep things simpler, and bulk quantity discounts have been increased. Compared to before it's actually cheaper for you and me, without much of a hit to delivery time, so it's a win-win for all. Priority mail service is still available at a small additional cost.
I've been multi-tasking a little since the bolt covers are ending up so tedious (more info below), and I'm wondering if anyone would like to evaluate and provide feedback on some throttle cable firewall mounts for custom throttle cables.
These are based on an updated version of the firewall mount I made for my EFI conversion last summer. They are designed for 6mm throttle cable sheaths, although they can be carefully drilled to a larger size if needed (no larger than 8mm), and are made from carbon-fiber reinforced nylon. I'll ship a couple units to two individuals so long as you can provide me with detailed feedback. I don't expect these to be in much demand at all, but it's a nicety for anyone working on a setup where the OEM throttle cable can't be made to work. The updated design will be ready within about a week, so I'm just seeing if anyone is interested for the time being.
Moving on, I swear I am trying to get some console and window crank bolt covers made up as they are some of the most requested parts, but man alive are they more difficult to perfect that one would think. Small, thin tabbed components are not particularly well suited to 3D printing. I mean, they work, I'm just not happy with them. For context, here's perhaps a fourth of my test units (note that I broke the tabs off intentionally in testing). Each one had to print for forty minutes and then let the solvent weld cure overnight.
I should also mention that the hood bump stops have failed due to the inability to source a suitable material. I've tried a few different rubber-like materials and none perform well enough for the bump stops. Funny too, because they seem like such a simple part. They look and act just like you'd want, but they just don't hold up - they compress and wrinkle, although they do technically "work". There is a company in Austria that may have a viable material, but due to a number of things I'm shelving the hood bump stops for the foreseeable future.
Lastly, I'm doing exactly what I said I wouldn't do nine days ago and have resumed work on the SA console plate - I've made some good leaps forward in the dual extrusion system to where it's nearly production worthy. For an example of why I've been so set on dual extrusion, and for these parts in particular, here's an example of the underside (supported print area) and how different the surface finish and therefore accuracy are with using dissolvable support vs build material support. I'll also attach a shot of a mock-up OEM "lower" (bottom half) that was printed with my improved dual extrusion setup (surface finish not final). For some context, the part in the image below takes ~15 hours to print, and it's less than half of the console. On a related side-note, I've also modeled the SA fuse cover.
Happy to say that the window crank bolt covers are now once again available. The design has been updated from the one I sold some time ago to be more durable and heat tolerant. They also look better in my opinion.
At present, six sets are up on eBay, although they'll be replenished as supply drops. Note that they now come as sets of two as opposed to being sold individually.
How about a 1/4 NPT OD to M11.5x1.25mm ID bushing for these aluminum radiators? As many know finding a radiator for 1979-1983 with the FMOC is impossible unless getting these "cheap" chinese aluminum radiators. The quality is OK, but the top low coolent sensor is the wrong size.
I bought a M11.5x1.25mm tap, but the 1/4 NPT brass bushings are just too difficult to tap with such a tight tolerance.
How about a 1/4 NPT OD to M11.5x1.25mm ID bushing for these aluminum radiators? As many know finding a radiator for 1979-1983 with the FMOC is impossible unless getting these "cheap" chinese aluminum radiators. The quality is OK, but the top low coolent sensor is the wrong size.
I bought a M11.5x1.25mm tap, but the 1/4 NPT brass bushings are just too difficult to tap with such a tight tolerance.
Say that's a great idea! I'd have to make sure they'd hold up, but I'm inclined to think they'd work quite well. My car currently lacks a coolant level sensor for this exact reason.
I've unfortunately backed away a bit from the 3D printing side of things recently due to other obligations - my printers have only run maybe five times in the last couple months. When I have a chance I'll certainly try it out, but that may not be for a while. If anyone else reading this thread with the capability would like to, please do so. It would be a great part to have available.
How about a 1/4 NPT OD to M11.5x1.25mm ID bushing for these aluminum radiators? As many know finding a radiator for 1979-1983 with the FMOC is impossible unless getting these "cheap" chinese aluminum radiators. The quality is OK, but the top low coolent sensor is the wrong size.
I bought a M11.5x1.25mm tap, but the 1/4 NPT brass bushings are just too difficult to tap with such a tight tolerance.
Update - Had a Mechanical Engineer friend take a look at this. He says the tolerances are too close and the inner and outer threads would touch each other. The only solution for these new rads with a 1/4 NPT bung on the top would be to not use the low coolant sensor and ground out the wire or find a sensor with a 1/4 NPT thread that is a one wire.
10-14-21, 05:13 PM
) go check them out on eBay. For the most up to date info you can also follow my seller page, but I will always post info and new products here as well. The pricing structure has also been updated with "free" USPS first class shipping to keep things simpler, and bulk quantity discounts have been increased. Compared to before it's actually cheaper for you and me, without much of a hit to delivery time, so it's a win-win for all. Priority mail service is still available at a small additional cost.
