Page 113 of 144 FirstFirst ... 1363103111112113114115123 ... LastLast
Results 1,121 to 1,130 of 1431

Thread: 1st Nova & the unregistered one

  1. #1121
    The gauge support is now glassed to the main dash, and recessed sections bonded in also. I've also added the tabs for the gauge binnacle surround to screw into.






    It all needs a bit of a tidy up, but most of this front section is hidden by shiny OEM dash inserts so it doesn't really matter.

    I don't like screwing just into fiberglass as after a few times of "put-on / take-off" it chews through the fibreglass and doesn't hold, I prefer to do it properly with metal fixings. I'm still waiting on some metal U-Clip connectors and nut fasteners to turn up as the first supplier cancelled after 2 weeks and refunded the money...grrrrr (why advertise if you don't have stock).

    Last edited by islandman; 27-05-2020 at 01:59 AM.

  2. #1122
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter***
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,138
    Blog Entries
    1
    Very nice mate, agreed that those clips give an quality OEM feel.

  3. #1123
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter***
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    East Riding
    Posts
    2,304
    Its all coming along nicely, If you still manage to get over in July at least you know you will get 2 weeks where you can do nothing but stay at home and work on the car whilst you self isolate :-)

    Dirk

  4. #1124
    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk View Post
    Its all coming along nicely, If you still manage to get over in July at least you know you will get 2 weeks where you can do nothing but stay at home and work on the car whilst you self isolate :-)

    Dirk

    Haha....it had crossed my mind, but I would need to travel about 80 miles to collect the car to take it to my parents house, and don't think that would be allowed as my name isn't Dominic Cummings!

  5. #1125
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** Peter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Estepona, Spain
    Posts
    4,483
    As I am rebuilding the E30 I am very familiar with those clips, it has dozens of the darn things.
    The opinions expressed in my posts may not be made in a sound mind and should be taken in the spirit intended, Jack Daniels is fine. Autism isn't something you get or can be 'cured of', it is the way we are wired, differently.

    http://ukhozi.page.tl

  6. #1126
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** Peter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Estepona, Spain
    Posts
    4,483
    Quote Originally Posted by islandman View Post
    Haha....it had crossed my mind, but I would need to travel about 80 miles to collect the car to take it to my parents house, and don't think that would be allowed as my name isn't Dominic Cummings!
    Well, he said it's OK. Trouble with UK, it's not LAW, so bendable, unlike here.
    The opinions expressed in my posts may not be made in a sound mind and should be taken in the spirit intended, Jack Daniels is fine. Autism isn't something you get or can be 'cured of', it is the way we are wired, differently.

    http://ukhozi.page.tl

  7. #1127
    For those that have followed my thread this last 6 months you will know it’s been a long and at times frustrating road making this latest dash for my second Nova. I thought I would reshare a summary of the process as I’m almost done for now.

    First was taking the pieces from the Subaru Legacy dash and trying to roughly mate them with a rear of a Nova dash. This involved shortening the width, then adding back vents and general hacking about



    After roughly placing the two together I had to go about shortening the center section (including cutting the fake wood inserts), and getting out the PU foam to join the two sections together then shape them to blend them into each other. I also repositioned the screen vents to the center as the dash was now narrower.



    Then it was remaking the center section so that it was shorter and the new lines matched the style and profile of the rest of the dash (Balsa wood comes in handy for shaping). More blending and reprofiling of the sides also, as well as making gas ram reliefs on the sides as I’ve noticed on most cars they seem to rub the dash.



    Then out came the PU foam once more to lower the passenger side area to allow for HVAC and other gubbings to be hidden underneath. This was followed by filler, lots and lots of sanding (grr…I hate this stage), and finally painting the buck (not by me). All of that just to get a buck (that would be thrown away) for a mold!



    Next up was making cardboard and plastic flanges, followed by gelcoat and fiberglass. This was repeated six times in total for the 6-part mold. Last was adding some wooden batons to the mold to actas a stand, then taking the mold peices off the buck for inspection, cleaning and polishing



    Then the mold was put back together, waxed and PVA’d (not enough unfortunately) and the gel coat and fiberglass of the final part was laid down. It is a relatively light weight part as I didn’t do so many layers as I need to take it as part of checked baggage back to the UK, so weight allowance was a consideration. Finally, it popped out the mold with little drama, but some areas of the mold I had to fix stuck to the part.



    Next was making the brackets for the internals and also making some structural parts to hold the dash together and the gauge binnacle mounts etc. Finally giving it a bit of a polish as I had to fill some sections with filler where they stuck to the mold.



    Overall I’m reasonably happy (but not totally), the part will eventually be covered in Alcantara cloth with some double stitching to give some detail on the front area.



    Some U-Clips haven’t turned up from the delivery man yet, so I’ve still got to go back and fit those. I also have ordered a 2 DIN android radio / GPS etc.. so have to see if I can make that fit. Its slightly larger than the space used by the two storage / switch areas.



    I’ve got a small strip of the fake wood I was going to file down and epoxy below the storage areas, but figured I best wait till the new flat screen android unit turns up and fit that first as the size will differ.

    Some sections where I had to fill the surface with gel coat / filler don’t color match totally even though I added the same pigment in. It’s not really a big deal, but I know I’ll use the car before the dash is covered which is why I tried to match it.



    I also need to do some more work on the passenger side dash vent aperture as its too snug and could do with widening slightly to make it easier to trim later. I’ll start trying to sort out fitting the various vents and other stuff underneath the dash next.



    This better bloody fit in the car after all this work!.... LOL

    Last edited by islandman; 07-06-2020 at 11:31 AM.

  8. #1128
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** Peter's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Estepona, Spain
    Posts
    4,483
    LOOKS FANTASTIC. that is a great skill you have there I so do NOT get along with fiber glass, that's why I make mine first fix in wood.
    The opinions expressed in my posts may not be made in a sound mind and should be taken in the spirit intended, Jack Daniels is fine. Autism isn't something you get or can be 'cured of', it is the way we are wired, differently.

    http://ukhozi.page.tl

  9. #1129
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter***
    Join Date
    Jul 2012
    Location
    London
    Posts
    2,138
    Blog Entries
    1
    Mind-blowing stuff mate - superb result.

  10. #1130
    ***Euro-Nova Supporter*** BlueNova's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    St Andrews, Scotland
    Posts
    3,110
    Great piece of work... I can only imagine what the equivalent labour cost would have been, not to mention the eventual carriage to the UK.

    Quick query given that you’re with vgy.me for image hosting ... how do you manage to upload the smaller size photos? Every time I post a photo link it comes out full page width

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •