Another Z to see the roads again...

[ETI4K]

So after final fitting, the internal supports are in place and the frame connectors fully restored - except for some bodywork for pin holes and some hammer blows I can't get out. 

My wife didn't seem too thrilled when I asked if she would mind holding a dolly on one side so I could hammer from the other.  I don't get it.  Oh well, she's the one missing the fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ETI4K]

As a very cool aside, I recently acquired a 3D printer.  This is a tool that I absolutely needed so I could make parts that are NLA.  Seemed like a good story.  Anyway, I needed a new boot for the wiper linkage.  Used the one I had, with bits missing, extrapolated where I needed to, and printed it using TPU (first use of TPU).  I tried it on for size last night; TPU is flexible, but it's not as flexible as the OEM part.  I thought for sure the new boot would blow apart as I stretched it over the end of the linkage.  Well, it held and the fit is nice and tight.

I haven't checked its fit over the motor yet.  I expect that one day I'll unearth it for the purpose of reinstalling it.  That'd be a good time to check the fit, I think.

   

 

   

 

[Patcon]

Very cool!

Might be a good idea to make a technical section for printer files and other pdf patterns and lists

[Jeff G 78]

That's awesome.  Is TPU possible with common consumer 3D printers like the Prusa?  Having the ability to print with TPU would be great for making NLA boots and formed elbows.  Most rubber parts are small enough to fit in a typical home printer.  I don't have a 3D printer, but several friends do and they make all kinds of cool stuff.

[dutchzcarguy]

7 hours ago, Patcon said:

Might be a good idea to make a technical section for printer files and other pdf patterns and lists

@Mike

As nice size 3D printers are becoming more affordable thats a good idea.  (although the media needed to make the part stays a bit expensive?)

[ETI4K]

@Patcon
Excellent idea!

@Jeff G 78
Absolutely.   Mine is a Prusa. The real "problem" is having to have the part in hand and it having to in fairly decent shape so it can be created in CAD.

@dutchzcarguy
Yes, a spool can be $75, based on material.  The Prusa slicer software calculates the cost of each part.  On a small per part basis, the cost is VERY reasonable.

[ETI4K]

@dutchzcarguyI looked it up.  The material cost to print the wiper boot in TPU is $0.76.  I may have spent an hour creating the model in Inventor, and the printer took about 4 hours to print it with supports everywhere.

BTW, the supports were a pain to remove because the TPU is so tough and layer adhesion is fantastic.  If I were to make another, I think I'll try using soluble PLA for the supports.

[dutchzcarguy]

58 minutes ago, ETI4K said:

print the wiper boot in TPU

First, thanks for digging in to it..

Then, I think the TPU is not very extensile like rubber.. if there is some material that could make for instance a rubber battery +pole cap, that would be very interesting.

How do you get the "data" from a part into the machine? I think the time to do that is what it makes expensive? And do you really need the part fisically? (the first time.)  

Later on when the parts data is on file you can make as many you want i guess..

[ETI4K]

There are rubber compounds that are harder/less flexible and softer/more flexible, to be sure.  I can only compare the TPU part to the OEM wiper boot (actually called a Joint Cap) that I have, and the TPU is definitely less flexible.  That is why I expected it to blow up when I had to sttrreetttcch it over the rod end.

The part has to be modeled in 3D CAD in order to get a file the printer can read, typically .stl.  That's why you need the part in hand.  Every detail has to be created and dimensioned correctly because the printer will create the part exactly as you define it.

If you were to create a rubber boot for the battery terminal, and you weren't trying to recreate something, then you could define it any way you wanted and the first print of the part would be the first realization of it.  To account for the less flexible material, you could reduce the wall thickness, or add a bellows to the model to allow for significant extension.  If you need such a thing, I'd be happy to experiment some.  You just have to provide the parameters/requirements to start with.  Maybe we can come up with something that'll make us rich 🤣. 

[dutchzcarguy]

1 hour ago, ETI4K said:

If you need such a thing, I'd be happy to experiment some.  You just have to provide the parameters/requirements to start with.  Maybe we can come up with something that'll make us rich 🤣. 

If i need that i would first ask the firms that provide parts like the battery, haven't done that lately..

I think that there are a lot of people thinking of something that makes them rich haha..  Maybe you could print some change say dimes and quarters?  😂

[ETI4K]

Next up to deal with is the battery support.  When I started this resto in '97 or so, I removed the battery support to repair that corner's sheet metal.  Had to replace several areas completely.  I'm not really sure what my thinking was at the time, but when I put the battery support back in I did an amazingly bad job and have never been happy with it.  So I cut it out again to correct it without any real idea as to how I would go about it. 

This is the only before picture.

What's significant is the tack welds I used at the lower support - specifically, I burned off(?) any protective coating when I welded it back in, thereby guaranteeing a future of new rust.  The angle between the inner fender and the battery support bracket is so acute, it will hold anything and everything and never let it out.  So, sand, dirt, leaves, insects, etc. are all guaranteed a place to stay forever - or least until the sheet metal rusts away again.

Upon removing the support, what I saw made me glad I did it.  When the car was sandblasted it revealed some good perforation damage.  Having had no other way to deal with the problem, I had applied mud to the rust holes in the support. 

This car has not been wet since 1997 and you can see new rust already forming around the rust holes.

 

 

After seeing what MSA wants for a new support (the better part of $500!), I decided to make a new one.  After taking that decision, I struggled with how to reattach it.  It seems the idea of welding in the area is asking for trouble.  So I decided to make it removable.  Two bolts in each of three flanges to permit easy access for cleaning (though infrequently) and any remediation of rust that may occur.  To further improve complicate it, I will use snap-in plastic nuts for the bolts to provide isolation from paint-to-paint contact, allow some air space between the parts, and eliminate the need for wrenching on each side of the fender. 

If I could cut square holes, I'd just order them from McMaster as individual nuts, but I ain't spending a couple of hundred dollars for a square chassis punch.  That means I get to print them.  Image below is concept.  I will make them a bit more rugged.  It's surely be no fun to be driving along with a battery dragging under the car attached by two cables. 😁

I should have the new support finished up tomorrow.  More to come.

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by ETI4K
Added a couple of missing words. Maybe I should proofread BEFORE posting.

[grannyknot]

That's a great idea, to be able to remove the battery support to get the sand that accumulates but the battery is secured to that support and also to the firewall by one screw.  Worst case scenario, the car stops suddenly in a collision that heavy battery will become a projectile. The hood may or may not contain it.