04.30.09

Polypropylene Welding

Posted in Assembly, Batteries, Design, Sub Frame at 3:37 am by Administrator

This is my first attempt at welding plastic. What I discovered though is the technique is more like hot gluing, only on steroids. I used a table saw to cut the polypropylene sheets. I learned a very valuable lesson. If these sheets are in the saw blade long enough to get hot, they will melt and adhere to the blade causing the sheet to be pulled forcefully from your grasp and flung to wherever. I would highly suggest the use of a battery powered skill saw for cutting the plastic. The saw is easier to control.
Next came the welding. As you can see in the pictures I used picture frame clamps to hold the box. The box turned out pretty good. Since I will be using Gel Filled batteries I will not be enclosing these boxes.

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04.27.09

Taking Shape

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 8:07 pm by Administrator

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04.25.09

Ewweee Goooeee

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 11:43 pm by Administrator

Here is a series of pictures depicting the foam shaping process. I couldn’t do any more as I had to go to work. I will use the pieces of foam which were removed to fill in the obvious spots that weren’t filled by the activated foam. I may even be able to use the foam that happened in the cup…

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04.23.09

Bright Eyed and Bushy Tailed

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 4:55 am by Administrator

Today I lined up the right headlight bracket and bolted it in. This picture shows the final setup which I am happy with (after much trial and error) I have other pictures of the setups which I was not satisfied with but this one is very positive.

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04.19.09

First Layup

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 6:16 pm by Administrator

This is what it looks like after it is sanded and shaped. The glass is laid up and the contour becomes smooth and ready for gel coating. I will finish the housing in the same fashion once I have the Lenses for measurement. The Light is in there just to see how it fits…Hmmm… not bad

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04.15.09

One Headlight

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 7:03 pm by Administrator

As you can see the process works. Now all I have to do is sand, glass and, I will have a winking Evie. Then it’s to the other side. Todays the 17th and I did some more work on the light housing. In order to put fiberglass over the foam it is necessary to first coat the foam with a mixture of epoxy and glass bubbles. The last two photos depict this

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04.08.09

Holes

Posted in Assembly, Body and Fender, Design at 8:00 pm by Administrator

Over the last week I cut the out the “headlight holes” and have been designing a way to hold the headlights and still be able to adjust them. Since the lenses, which are being manufactured by Eddie Dixon of SEW CREATIVE INC, Thank You Eddie, will be glued on and, the system will be enclosed, I decided to use the light bar or rather, The part of the light bar which housed the lights in the first place and modify them to fit my car. The Photos below depict the progress. I will be adding to them as I go along. My plan is to attach brackets onto the Taurus Light Bar pieces and create a box in the cavity which houses the light. The lights need to be aimed so that all they will need is fine tuning once they are installed. Once the lights are pointed in the general direction, the light itself will be removed and the mount will be taped off. I will next fill the cavity with foam and once it is set up I will carve out the headlight housing and create a lip for the lens. The Lenses which Eddie is making are an exact replica of the piece I cut out. They will conform to the lines of the body. The housing will, of course be glassed over and made sturdy as an airplane wing before the lens is glued on. Thank you Burt Rutan

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04.06.09

New Headlight Lens Design

Posted in Body and Fender, Design at 7:58 am by Administrator

Today I decided to design the look of the headlights. I had some serious artistic karmic influence from two of my friends, Tom and Patrick. I was drawing and we were reminiscing
It is wonderful to have the support of your friends. This is the outcome. These pieces will be cut out and used as molds for the actual plexi glass lenses. The oval shaped object in the middle photo is the light fixture I plan on using for the headlights. It is the headlight system out of a 96 Taurus.

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