217 replies to this topic

[Brams96]

I mentioned I picked up a dipping rear view mirror from the scrappy, it was from a late model Ford Escort. Anyway I removed Fern's one and put the Escort one on. I used one of those sticky pads from halfords as I put my mondeo one on with the same and had no problems. The mirror itself is the same width and height as a standard mini one just squarer around the edges. I will have to go for a night drive sometime and see how effective it is.
Another problem solved!

Edt: Forgot to add the pics

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Edited by Brams96, 22 October 2009 - 08:15 PM.

[Brams96]

Unscrewed the whole box, then extra-strength PVA'd it and screwed it all back together. I also measured everything, hopefully I can work out the volume. Anyone reading know of a 3D program I can draw this in to give me a volume, something I can draw a plan, elevation & side view and it put's it all together for you?
Tomorrow I will finish the last 3-4 pieces and glue them in then resin the whole inside. I might put fiberglass along the long joints for extra strength depending on how messy it all gets. Again more pics to follow when it is all complete.

[Brams96]

I drove Fern back home last night after the missus used it to go to work & got a lift home and the mirror works brilliantly, no shaking at all and it dips properly too. Sweet, night driving here we come again.

[Brams96]

Lastnight I finished off the sub box mdf sides and glued it all together. Today I put a layer of fiberglass over the inside where the longest jouns are for some extra strength. Hopefully tomorrow I can cover the rest of the internal joins with resin. I'm finding working with the chopped strand mat messy and it won't bend to the angles I have very well so I thought I might try some t-shirt material and see how that goes. I will take some pics of the finished product before I start to cover it and install it. Next thing is to figure out how I can pay for and get delivered the Sub without the wife knowing

[Brams96]

Got my front speakers delivered today. Alpine SXS-1757's, 50Wrms 6.5" components. Sweet! Now to start work on those custom speaker pods I've been thinking of, I just have to find a decent amp able to drive these and put out about 250Wrms bridged for the sub. I have my eye on 1 but need to keep it hush hush for a few days.

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•  Alpine_SXS_1757_Speakers.jpg   31.77K   8 downloads

[Brams96]

SUBBOX:
I covered the inside of the sub box with resin so it should be ready for a quick coat of black paint tomorrow just to tidy it up a bit.

SPEAKER POD:
After sitting in the car for about 10 minutes trying to figure out the best angle for the speaker I finally decided on how it should sit. It's really hard to hold a speaker and measure things at the same time!
So I cut out a new drivers door card using the old donor one (it was all broken & ripped) then cut 2 rings for the speaker to sit on. They are the same size as the outside diameter of the grill so it will all be flush when finished. I used 3 pieces of 8.5mm dowel cut to the right angle and length to hold the ring at the required angle and screwed them in from the back of the door card (drill 3mm pilot holes & use #6x1/2" screws). I ran out of time before I came to work but I need to stretch material over the frame and on to the door card. I might need to change it and make the pod as a seperate part from the door card as doubling the thickness of the base will give it more strength.

Edited by Brams96, 29 October 2009 - 08:42 PM.

[Brams96]

Not too much to show in the way of progress over the last few days.

I have painted the sub box on the inside with primer then black paint.
The speaker pods have had to be put onto a seperate board as I want to mount them differently than originally planned.
I now have 2 rims with two layers of filler primer on them so i can flat them down a bit and the colour coat them. Then I will start on the other two soon.
Tonight I will be working on my other little side projects:
- My own design wing mirrors and
- Testing out the rear lights with the LED strip lights in them.

I made the basic shape out of foam and have put 1 layer of cloth then 2 resin layers. Then I used filler and sanded the shape again and tonight I will finish sanding the final shape and fill prime it to smooth it out. I still need to cut out the foam and excess from the cack but I will do that when it is almost ready.
The rear lights I want to see if it will be possible to remove the bulb holder and have 2 strip lights instead, 1 for rear lights and the second to come on with the brakes.
And, off i go....

[Brams96]

I measured the volume of the sub box last night and was suprised to find it was only 16ish litres. I'm not sure now it will be big enough for a 10", I might even have to drop down to an 8" which I don't really want to do. It's either that or put the 10" somewhere else which I don't want to do either. Dilema!

I finally put both the speaker pod rings onto the mounting base and got them lined up properly, so all that's left to do now is cover them, fiberglass, filler, smooth, filler, smooth, prime, paint, fix to new door cards, wiring, mounting and testing. Not a lot really!

[Brams96]

Awesome!!!!

I just re-checked the required volume for the Sony XS-L10S slim sub and it is 0.57 ft³ = 16.1406 L so perfect as that is exactly the volume I have.

I love it when a plan comes together!

[Brams96]

Well I have the main part of my mirrors complete, (I know they wont be to everyones taste) I just need to tidy them up and sand things down until they match perfectly. (See pics)

The 2 rims I have sanded down and filler primed look ok and I'm happy to colour paint them after a tin prime.

The speaker pods are coming along. I have them fiber glassed and about to shape them with filler after I attach the pockets. Once they are smoothed off I will finish the door cards and put it all together.

I have two weeks off work so I want to get the door cards finished the stage 1 exhaust & manifold/carb changed over and the mirrors finished too.

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Edited by Brams96, 06 November 2009 - 03:06 PM.

[Brams96]

Bloody paint cans! Pulled the lid off the Plasticote primer from B&Q lastnight and the spray nozzle can off to, hey no probs just put it back on right, WRONG. After putting it back on it proceded to spray half out th nozzle and half under it so I end up with big paint drops on my wheels! Had to wait for it to dry then sand it backagain. That can went in the bin, it was brand new as well!
The speaker pods have the second coat of filler and will be sanded later on tonight and the mirrors are just about complete, I just need to level off the edges of them then I can drill the holes for the mounting brackets. I will colour spray the wheels tomorrow, I'll probably end up with 1-2 coats of colour and 2-3 of clear coat.

On a different note, I noticed some paint bubbles in the drivers A-panel & 1 small bubble in the passenger B panel, so I will have to take care of that before it takes hold, Lucky I bought some proper colour top coat the other day.

I couldn't find the exhaust mounting brackets and rubbers today so will have to order them from mini spares, hopefully they will be here by tuesday.

Edited by Brams96, 08 November 2009 - 02:52 PM.

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

looks good

[Brams96]

Been quite productive today.

Sold the mini shell so the garage is now free.

- Replaced the soft rubber front subframe tower mounts with solid ali ones. Lots of mucking around to get the bottom bits in!
- Removed the old exhaust, manifold and intake manifold.
- Put the new refurbed intake manifold & carb on & new gaskets (has an AAA needle)
- Put on the new 1 7/8" exhaust and 3-1 manifold, just need the rear mounts to complete it and tighten everything up
- Drilled 6 1" holes in the standard air box for better air intake.
- Painted the flapper part to the air intake.
- Final sand smooth of the mirrors and speaker pods and filler painted them,
- Colour painted the rims, front in the morning and backs this evening (in the garage with the heater on now)
- Put rust killer on the inner wings and inside the flitch panels. (Hopefully that will slow th rust down)

If the parts arive tomorrow then I will be finishing off the exhaust and trying to get it to run properly. I hope my amp from ebay arrives soon

[Brams96]

No progress just a set back today. I went for the last colour coat on the rims today and it's all gone pete tong! The paint blistered and crackled in a lot of areas on both rims. I think it might be down to the fact that both the rims and paint were cold and maybe the previous coat hadn'e dried completely. I've got them inside now to keep them warm and dry the paint so I can sand the affected areas down and respray them.
Hate it when that happens!

On a positive not I have painted the mirrors with one coat of black and the speaker pods I have done 2 coats of quick silver to match the body work. At least they are dry.

Attached Files

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Edited by Brams96, 12 November 2009 - 08:21 AM.

[Big Guns]

Great work on a very interesting project mate! I'm going to follow your progress. I'm not doing as many mods as you but I might pinch a few ideas non the less. lol
Cheers....Dave (Aussie at heart)