Rust_Bucket's FlyW8 1.8L Miata Based Build

[rust_bucket]

Then I don't understand it, but my potential passengers have objected to rumbling around town with copious amounts of loose wiring dangling around their ankles. - Silly safety geeks…

So I obliged them and fabbed up a contoured panel to close out the toe box and hold all the wiring inside the dash. I used some excess poster board to mock it up. Man what a slick tool. I'm going to keep a pack of poster board on hand all the time now I think.

The battery is still down there beyond where a normal person's feet would be. They'll just have to live with that.

[rust_bucket]

Then after that I fastened on the dash. I thought about using dzus fasteners but I didn't have enough on hand, but I did have a bunch of self tapping sheet metal screws and finish washers, so I did the pragmatic thing.

My dad has been fooling around with figuring out how to do damascening (or engine turning) I MAY hit him up and turn the dash. It might be rough on the eyeballs when driving away from a sunset, but why would one do that!? You should always drive off INTO the sunset, right!?

[oldejack]

Is it still possible to pop the lens off?
I'm thinking it might be nice to have a light shield inside the lens covering the top 1/3 of the horizontal face so it doesn't project glare directly upwards when in use.

[Tyrod]

My dad has been fooling around with figuring out how to do damascening (or engine turning) I MAY hit him up and turn the dash. It might be rough on the eyeballs when driving away from a sunset, but why would one do that!? You should always drive off INTO the sunset, right!?

I've never heard damascening used in that context before. But there are factory examples of engine turning on OEM dashboards. ie late sixties Trans Ams. I don't think you'd have any issues with reflected light. In fact, I believe engine turning was used to reduce reflected light on aluminum dashboards in race cars of the same vintage.

I tried it many more years ago that I'm willing to admit. I drew a grid on a piece of aluminum sheet and tried to do it with a drill press. It didn't come out so well. At the time I thought it would have been better if a person could chuck the piece up in some sort of indexable clamp and then limit the down force of the abrasive so that the depth of cut would be consistant. It could easily be done in a milling machine if the table was long enough to accomodate your dashboard.

As an aside, I saw a dashboard once at a car show that had a mahogany dash that was heavily polyurethaned then lightly engine turned. It was spectacular.

[rust_bucket]

Is it still possible to pop the lens off?
I'm thinking it might be nice to have a light shield inside the lens covering the top 1/3 of the horizontal face so it doesn't project glare directly upwards when in use.

Nope. it's a $3.00 unit and is basically disposable. Even before I bonded it to my trim ring, it couldnt' be opened to service the bulb. I'm not worried about glare. I'm not looking to 'light my way' I'm looking to:
1) comply with the inspection standard
2) give folks a visual indication that I'm about to back-up.

[rust_bucket]

I tried it many more years ago that I'm willing to admit. I drew a grid on a piece of aluminum sheet and tried to do it with a drill press. It didn't come out so well.

It's very tricky to get right. He's gone through MANY iterations to work out all the variables involved. We made some specialized tools on the lathe. He has worked out most the bugs. He is doing it with a drill press and a lot of patience. The pieces he's done so far have been pretty small. Taking on something like this dash would require a much larger mandrel and some additional planning to make sure things stayed lined up.
- This is a want-not-a-need item and it will be many months (if not years) down the road before I'd try it. I have plenty other stuff to work out to get plates on it.

[GonzoRacer]

Yo, Rusty-
About that "engine turned" dash thing... check out "MYTF's" build log, he did something like that, and it came out really nice:
http://locostusa.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=6245&start=45

Your car is lookin good-er and good-er, Bro!

[rust_bucket]

It was after 10:00PM before I got out to the garage last night so I didn't have much time to work. I'm slowly closing in on the hood. I'm going slowly and "creeping up" on the final shape so I don't make any rash cuts and regret it later. I opened the engine clearance hole to what I think is going to be the final shape. I'll have to see just how much rock I get out of the engine once I'm banging through the gears, but I'm leaving it like this for now.

I also formed the flange on the driver side. I didn't have time for the passenger side.
I did a couple test bends to make sure I knew where the flange would end up relative to my sharpie marks. With this thickness of material I ended up with 0.075" to 0.100" off of the top edge of the sharpie line. I left a small gap so I can put a strip of one-side sticky foam down and compress it with the draw latches.

Speaking of draw latches, I'm still hunting for the right combination of features and price.

I really liked the simplicity (and price) of the Faucher latches mainlandboy suggested, (http://www.faucher.ca/1201_Compartment_Fasteners.html) but they have a $50 minimum and will only sell to businesses, no private sales.

I think I'll end up with something from mcmaster car.

[first350]

nice job on the hood - I always love functional holes in body panels!

[hassleweed]

Very neat!

[rust_bucket]

I finished the hood forming last night. It sits down nicely. - The one thing I haven't really made accommodation for yet is the 'air out' feature. I'm not a big fan of louvers and don't have a louver cutting tool either. The whole underside is open so there is a place for the air to go, it's just under the car where it can create (even more) lift. I think for now I'm not going to worry about it. I don't plan on driving this thing over 80MPH any time soon anyway.

I also cut a hole for the O2 sensor. I had been running up and over the side, but now there's a hood that wants to occupy that space. Unfortunately it had to be a BIG hole because the plug on the other end is even bigger than the sensor. the sensor just barely passes through if I twist and wiggle it lovingly. I need to find a grommet that will neck it down a bit so it doesn't look goofy rattling around in there.

From McMaster Carr I ordered some 1/8" neoprene for the hood to chassis sides and 1/16" for the nosecone and scuttle seals.

I also ordered the latches below. They were cheap and functional. I didn't really find any I liked better at a reasonable price so these will work just fine.

I also ordered some trim for the arches at the back of the cockpit. It's black hard plastic, one-side sticky bull-nose.

Then I ordered another rash of dzus fasteners to affix the tin on the front side of the scuttle.

And, last but not least I ordered a tub of blue Boelube to make my time on the lathe a little more enjoyable. If any of you have never used Boelube, you're missing out. It's a fabulous drill, mill, turn, and general machining lubricant. Lasts long, stays where you put it, doesn't stink, keeps the BUE at bay and is completely non-toxic and biodegradable. -Great stuff.

[carguy123]

I know you mentioned finding a grommet, but it needs to be sooner rather than later because you need to protect the edge of the O2 sensor wire where it exits the sheet metal. It's amazing how quickly simple vibration will cause that to cut thru to the wire and begin grounding it out.

[rust_bucket]

I know you mentioned finding a grommet, but it needs to be sooner rather than later because you need to protect the edge of the O2 sensor wire where it exits the sheet metal. It's amazing how quickly simple vibration will cause that to cut thru to the wire and begin grounding it out.

Thanks for pointing out the obvious.
The car is inoperable in it's current state. I think I have time to find one to my liking.

[rust_bucket]

I've been a travelin' fool for the last week or so and haven't been around to work on the car. I got the latches in, they're going to be fabulous. I also got the gasket material and some really swell bullnose trim for the rear arches. The double 'stick' tape was tape in name only... it would barely stick to itself! I'll bond it on with some construction adhesive and take some pics.

- I'm SOOO close!

[rust_bucket]

My weekend wasn't terribly productive. Unfortunately I spent the majority of my time working in the yard, ick.
I did however manage a few hours to get the 'bonnet' finished up. I installed the adjustable draw latches. I used some 1/8" plates on the backs to make sure I don't pucker the bodywork when I cinch them down. I also added the foamy sealant tape. It looks nice. I'm pleasantly surprised by how tightly it all fits together. The foam crushes down and forms a nice seal.
I also bonded on the bull-nose trim on the rear arches (which I now realize I didn't take a picture of before I left this morning…) It looks slick. I'll try to post a pic later.