Tass 928

Finall got a chance to throw it on the scale. It weighs 8 pounds. I no longer have a loose dash and console that I can weigh in comparison (I used them to make this mold), does anyone know the weight of the originals?

I'm very happy with overall result and weight.

puyi

The original should weight approximatevly 20 pounds.

Puyi

hacker-pschorr

WOW, How did I miss this thread???? Beautiful work!!!

For a track car you don't even need a pod. Just a removable panel to install gauges or a more modern digital screen.

I am very interested for my track car.

puyi

Ok I wonder how you made your mold? Did you manage to mould it in a one piece or is it a construction of different parts?

It seems that the external part of the FG dash board has been filling with polyester filler? Is that right?

I am in doing a dash board for my track project, but I decided to do it as simple as possible. I will not do it with the original look. I pursue 2 goal, weight under 2,5 pounds and less than 2 minutes to remove from the car.

Puyi

Tass 928

The dash shown at the beginning of this thread is not the actual mold. It is the "plug" used to make the mold. This tool is then covered in mold release agent, gel-coat, resin and glass mat. The mold is designed in two sections because the part does not have enough draft to pull straight from the mold. This parting line is located on an exisitng feature line of the origial dash so it easy to sand out any flash that result from the moldng.

Once the mold it complete, the original plug is discarded and the glass materials are applied to the inside of the mold to create an actual part. You can make the mold as sturdy or as flimsy as you want. It depends on how many time you plan to use it.

This mold would proably be fine for a couple dozen parts.

puyi

Any pictures of the mold?

Thanks

Puyi

Benton

Awesome stuff, Dave--I can tell you are a perfectionist! Just out of curiosity, if someone created a plug, how much would your guy charge to make a mold and subsequent parts? You can PM me/email me at mark@theninesource.com if preferred. I realize it varies, but for something on a similar scale to what you did. I was thinking along the lines of a track-oriented front bumper and fenders, but who knows if I would ever have the time to get around to something like that.

Weights:
Dash - 12.6lb
Pod - 3.4lb
Console - 3.5lb (empty)

hacker-pschorr

I like that idea for the nose, maybe even mold in a splitter??

A fiberglass nose would also give you a solid place to mount the OEM lights without the front cross brace.

Yes, some of us still have lights in our track cars

Tass 928

Sorry, no pics of the mold. I'll take some the next time I'm playing with this project.

Tass 928

Thanks for the weights !

The price for doing this stuff can vary greatly. Most of the work is in the plug, but the plug also must be designed with enough taper or "draft" so that part will release from it after curing. When this can't be accomplished, the mold has to be made in mating sections and the price goes up.

As for glass front race flares.....sit tight, I have started on them already. I have a set of Ott rear flares and I want something similar for the front.

Most important note I am not making any of this stuff to market or sell it. It's just an offshoot of me working on my own car. Once I have the parts I need, I'll turn you all on to the guy who did the actual glass work and my molds will be available to use. I don't want to run afoul of the r-list sponser rules or cause any heartburn with "real" vendors.

thanks
tass

G Man

I thought one of the vendors here ( Carl ) had made a one piece fiberglass front end for his race car. Not sure if he was offering additional units for sale or not.

G Man

Found it.

http://www.928motorsports.com/parts/front_clip.php

Tass 928

I'm wondering if Carl could lay-up just portions of the mold, like maybe the bumper cover section.

Unfortunatly, the fender sections of his front end are stock, not flared so it seems there would be no advantage in getting only fender side sections.

Tass 928

I'm going to have one more dash made for my own use and then I'm moving on to other projects. I'm going to leave my mold with Walter ( the glass guy) for a while and he has agreed to do a run of dashes for $400.00 each (shipping will need to be covered by the buyers). This will be a onetime group-buy at this price. It might be a long time before a large enough group steps up again. Five dashes have been spoken for so far.
If anybody would like to get in on this, please send me a PM or an email and I'll pass it along to Walter.

thanks
Tass

Mongo

My God that would look good wrapped in leather.