First year inspection lid clips

[cbudvet]

Hi everyone,

So....about a couple of years ago, someone here made some reproduction inspection lid clips (I can't remember who but I cant thank them enough). I just had one break and consulted my brother (design engineer) about making a replacement. He had two possible suggestions and I thought I would run it by everyone here. The first plan was to have him machine them out of a different type of plastic that in his opinion works and lasts much longer than the material these were made from. I can't remember what it was exactly. It was something called Delwin? (trade name) and he can have it made from a solid piece of material instead of using a mold. After talking with the shop guys, someone suggested using aluminum. My brother works for a big company and has access to water jets and all sorts of machines. He made a 3d cad model and the shop guys thought it was very doable. I don't have an idea of price but what do people think? Would aluminum hold up longer than a plastic type material or just go with the original suggestion of a plastic type? If anyone needs some, it shouldn't be any problem to make more. Just let me know. Hopefully he will let me know about the price soon.

carl

[JohnnyO]

Hi everyone,

So....about a couple of years ago, someone here made some reproduction inspection lid clips (I can't remember who but I cant thank them enough). I just had one break and consulted my brother (design engineer) about making a replacement. He had two possible suggestions and I thought I would run it by everyone here. The first plan was to have him machine them out of a different type of plastic that in his opinion works and lasts much longer than the material these were made from. I can't remember what it was exactly. It was something called Delwin? (trade name) and he can have it made from a solid piece of material instead of using a mold. After talking with the shop guys, someone suggested using aluminum. My brother works for a big company and has access to water jets and all sorts of machines. He made a 3d cad model and the shop guys thought it was very doable. I don't have an idea of price but what do people think? Would aluminum hold up longer than a plastic type material or just go with the original suggestion of a plastic type? If anyone needs some, it shouldn't be any problem to make more. Just let me know. Hopefully he will let me know about the price soon.

carl

I think you mean Delrin. It might be too brittle though. The originals were made from Nylon I believe and I would be interested in acquiring a pair if we could get them made out of a more flexible plastic. I might even be willing to help pay for production if it is reasonable and correct.

You probably got yours from Mike B. I have been in contact with him recently and unfortunately he does not make and sell them any longer. He had reports that a few had broken and doesn't have the molds any longer.

Mike sent me the below link.

http://forums.ctzcc.com/viewtopic.php?t=4665

This guy is selling them too.

I am also interested in reproducing seat guards and would like to guage interest in that for a group buy or maybe a vendor exclusive for MSA or Classic Datsun. I currently only have the passenger side so I would be interested in finding a drivers side sample in good enough shape to produce a usable mold.

I would be interested in the 3d cad model too if you were willing to give a copy of it up!

John

Edited March 19, 2010 by JohnnyO

[zed2]

Carl,

I think the clip needs to be made of some plastic/nylon material. I am experimenting with modifying some vehicle hood prop rod clips to find a solution. I have several NOS clips that I hesitate to use until a replacement is found.

Keep us apprised as you progress in your project.

Keith

[cbudvet]

John,

If I can get a copy of the cad drawing from my brother, you are more than welcome to it. I agree with you Keith, I wasn't sure if the aluminum would work. I would think it would be too rigid. I will keep pestering my brother for progress and material ideas. He and his wife are expecting their first child soon so he is pretty busy right now. I will post more info as I get it. In terms of cost, my brother gave me the impression that it wouldn't be a bulk deal and that each piece would cost the same no matter how many were made. We will see.

carl

[JohnnyO]

That would be great. I have been talking to injection molding companies here in Minneapolis and they would like a cad drawing of the item to give me a quote.

[Mike B]

Hi Carl,

Yes, I was the one that had the reproductions made. Sorry to hear they didn't work out. When I first made them, I gave a few sets to a couple of friends to try out, but apparently they just put them on the shelf and didn't install any, so I didn't get much feedback on them. I only sold a couple of sets to people on this site before I heard from one of them that they had broken one, but I wasn't sure if that was due to installing them improperly or a problem with the material. I installed a set on #237 and have had no problems with them on that car. Send me a PM with your contact info and I will send you a refund. That applies to anyone else that I sold a set to that needs a refund too.

As Johnny'O mentioned, we were discussing these clips recently, and I sent him the link to the CTZCC post about them. I don't know what they are made out of or how they will hold up, just trying to pass on info for another possible source.

As far as having more reproductions made, last year I loaned one to another member on this site that was going to look into making them out of another material, but that never went any where. I agree that the originals were made of nylon and that is the only way to go for making reproductions. If your brother can machine them out of nylon that would be great. Rather than have clips made out of aluminum, I think you would be better off just using later inspection lids with the metal clips built in, if originality is not a concern.

-Mike

[cbudvet]

Mike,

Don't worry about any kind of refund. I still feel they were more than worth it. I thank you again for the effort you made. I spoke with my brother this evening and he expressed some major reservation about using nylon. His experience with using nylon to manufacture small pieces and clips has been that they are extremely sensitive to the environment and become very brittle. He still feels that delrin would make a better product. Anyway, he is going to have a clip made and then we can put it through its paces and see how it holds up. I should have an answer Monday as to what kind of expense I will run into. More updates as events warrant.

carl