Sirpent "Z"

[Sirpent]

Hey John were you at with the electric windows motors/regulator setup? I see a number of guys in the US of A have had good success with using the stock regulator and the SPAL universal kits.

 

Got to be a better way then this though, something like a factory setup with an integrated overcurrent setup or limit switch (to detect when the window is all the way down). This is another one of the hundreds of projects I have thought of, hoping someone solves it before I get around to it (hint hint John, ha).

 

Guys I'm going to be going with the Commodore set ups, and I promise that I will make up cut templates so if anyone else wants to attempt it they can just follow some simple templates.

 

The problem with using the original Zed regulators is that the mechanics of the winder mechanisms are so old and in many cases worn that retro modifying them for motors or conversion kits is just fixing half the problem IMO.

 

At least with the Commodore set up, they are cheap and plentiful, Ive found them for $69.00 new a piece and will probably buy a spare set for future spares.

 

Once I finish the consoles, (Stay tuned I'm almost there and will post updates soon) then I will probably move onto these pretty quickly.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Sirpent]

Started looking around at what I could use and modify to produce the centre console fascia.........

 

The wonderful thing is that so many items today are mode from plastic and if you look carefully enough you re bound to come across something that has the intricate well fitting forms you need, in my case I needed something to fabricate the fascia from and also something that would act as the bed in which it sits, low and behold, I came across an old Compaq PC case I was going to turf and the front fascia gave me some idea's, the following is what transpired.

 

As soon as I get the gear shift bezel I will be able to lock up the front surface and fabricate a support panel to mold into the new fascia.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Sirpent]

and

[Sirpent]

Finally

[NZeder]

looking good - can't wait to see the finished product

 

So with the Commodore power window thing are you going for the second type that zzzzed post (#375) ie just the up and down setup? Looks to be a very simple setup - guess this is why manufactures are moved to this setup over the cross/scissor type setup.

 

I see a number universal kits for that up/down setup for flat glass setups. So will be interesting to see how this turns out - I was not thinking about running power windows - however your work you have shown has made me re-think this. So I am watching this space

[Sirpent]

Hey thanks Mike.

 

No I will be doing the scissor conversion for the simple reason that the Zed's doors are old school and the window frames are not a fixed mono build which means that you need to adjust the hell out of them to get a proper body seal.

 

That said, a torsion wire set up wont give you the ability to be do whats needed while the scissors will and also are more forgiving when it comes to vertical misalignment and if this is going to be a mod others want to undertake, this will be the easier more efficient method.

 

Hope that all make sense.

 

Cheers

 

John

[NZeder]

perfect sense 

[Sirpent]

Centre Console Gear Shift Fascia now almost done, obviously an access point will have to be cut out for mounting of the gear shift bezel etc.

 

That will the determine where the reinforcements will go on the underside, next is to set the surround of the fascia in black into the centre console and weld that into position.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Sirpent]

First trial fit of the 3 pieces together in the car, some tweaking to do but overall alignments are good 

 

Cheers

 

John

[MaygZ]

John,

 

it's time to stop playing with the 'pretty' bits and get the monster motor in   

[Sirpent]

John,

 

it's time to stop playing with the 'pretty' bits and get the monster motor in   

 

 

No here yet Masser, but Igor promise that when monster here he do many pics also

 

In mean while Igor like playing with melted toxic carcinogenic polyethylene, Igor get big buzz from fumes.

[MaygZ]

[lightmaster240z]

Are you planing on put in a can cooler in to the console as well ?

[Sirpent]

Are you planing on put in a can cooler in to the console as well ?

 

Nah Bruce,

 

We can leave that for your version, I even deleted the ashtray and I'm a smoker, but we can leave that in your also if that's your option 

[lightmaster240z]

Cool you have made me think about do one myself. God i need a job. I will have a chat on Friday about it

Bruce 

[Sirpent]

Bruce,

 

Tell you what (even though the rest of you will probably roll your eyes and ask does he have to?) I will bring the pieces along to show you what was involved.

 

Cheers

 

John

[lightmaster240z]

Bugger the rest it all good in my book 

[Sirpent]

Into the home straight now, matching and refining alignments, doesn't look like much but a SH*T load has been going on as far as bringing all these components together.

 

Cheers

 

John

[benny]

lookin good john!!

[Sirpent]

Wasn't sure whether to call this post

 

"Because I care I share"

 

or

 

"Well may you say God save the Queen because nothing will save your dash"

 

Anyhow pictures paint a 1000 words and I'm sure these will interest some, this is my dash, which looked nice in previous candid post pics and anyone would have been pretty happy with it in their car, however I needed to do some mods to it and intend to have it eventually re-trimmed in "Alcantara Suede" so it was time to peel back the years so to say.

 

This dash was reconditioned by the Dashboard Doctor in 1992, in 1994 it went into storage, do the sums, 2 years in an every day driver and then 16 years in an underground car park, didn't move an inch nor get any direct sunlight.

 

Now I'm not having a go at the good Doctor, in 1992 they were the best at what they do and I was very happy with what they sent me back, no complaints, and materials may have changed since then so I'm not even sure if this is the standard any longer as far as repairs, but in case it is, and you have had a dash done this way, this is what you may be expecting in the coming years.

 

Structurally the pad is in bad shape as a candidate for even a trim in Alcantara, and I will need to fix it so that it has longevity, this time I will be doing the repairs myself and am currently looking at different materials and techniques as to how to do it, what I'm hoping to end up doing is coming up with a DIY solution rather than just using fillers.

 

So just thought I would share.

 

Cheers

 

John

[Sirpent]

:-\

[salty]

Johnno, that looks to be "bog"? and the black "cover"  you peeled off is what? leather, vynil, plastic?

[Sirpent]

Johnno, that looks to be "bog"? and the black "cover"  you peeled off is what? leather, vinyl, plastic?

 

Buy the man a cigar !

 

Yep bog it is, and then they vacuum form a new skin over the top using a sheet of vinyl, that's the actual process, there is no adhesive in between new and old surface, just the vacuum shrink effect so peeling it off is pretty simple.

[salty]

so, where is the top vac formed to?just the top section or all of the dash?

[RBZ 260]

believe it or not they still use the same technique John.  Well the guys here anyway.

 

What i did with mine is  gauged the cracks lot wider till healthy looking sponge/space invider style foam is reached. Than filled it with u guess it with expanding foam.

 

Sanded it into shape.  than fiber-glassed the top half. sanded, filled as u will a car body. painted it two pack primer. it all worked fine but it did have one flaw.

 

with large gaps i suggest u insert a 3-6mm rods or wide mesh inserted as deep as possible into the original foam. this should stop the separation between old and new and keep it in shape.

 

alternatively make a fiberglass mould of a good dash.  than no issues of cracking or getting out of shape. 

 

sorry if none of that made any sense. got a bit of a headache