Jerry Feather

Thanks, Hilton. I think that is all Sage advise.

However, one of the things I have found in designing and developing these kind of things is that each phase is kind of dependent on the design and development, to finalization, of the previous element or phase. In this case the inner half of these liners is the backbone of the project because they are going to be the foundation of the whole liners when installed. That means that they must be designed to completion including mounting, so that the design of the outer half of the liners can take place within some semblance of certainty or within some fairly rigid set of parameters.

The inner halves are going to be common to all of the cars!!!! That means that they need to be designed to be mounted into all of the cars including all of the different systems of mounting that might need to be developed. The development of each of those can, however, be delayed in respect to some of the very early cars.

Yes, I think that the design of the inner half is pretty well finalized. However, because of some flexibility in the material and the mounting points I need to have them mounted in one of my S4 cars in order to get a basis for the design of the form for the outer halves. I am almost there with this part of the project.

As to the relation of the inner half with the outer half, I have some concern about how that is going to take place. There was some initial concern earlier in this thread or perhaps the other thread started by Gary, about moisture leakage between the two halves based on the concept of doing these in halves like I am doing. With the use of some form of closed cell foam for the interface I have to engineer the relation of connecting holes between the two to allow for some amount of crush between the two for the foam that will both be sufficient to keep the joint sealed and allow for a sufficient amount of crush in the seal to meet the need. I don't know just how much that is going to be yet, but it is something I need to design into the product rather that letting someone in the field to try to figure it out.

I know there are a lot of capable people in the field of 928s, but I also know that there are a lot of them who don't have a clue and who are going to rely heavily on me to get it right for them in the first place. They are the ones that I have to design around.

Thanks for your very useful input, and I hope you will continue to feed me your thoughts.

Jerry Feather

Gary Knox

Jerry,

SO glad the surgery went well. Take care of that knee and the rest of the body for a while. WE, of course are anxious about the liners, but that is of minor importance compared to our concern about your full recovery.

Cheers,

Gary--

Jerry Feather

Thanks to you Gary and Dan. The knee seems to be doing great and I think the load bearing ability is getting greater each day. I am going to coast yet a little, at least until Saturday morning before I go out to the shop and start back at the liner project.

I think I am just about as anxious as many of you are about getting to the end of this development. The nice thing now is that I can see my way through this project which I had for some time in the last couple of years not been able to do, and that had held me up quite a bit.

Right now I plan to work on the mounting of the front and rear of the inner half of these liners to any or all of the cars, at least those that have any kind of mounting points, to the original mounting points. That may mean only the S4 and later cars, but I'm not sure that it wont include some or most of the OBs.

One small thought I have it that since I have been fitting these liner prototypes to the left inner fender areas, there is going to possibly be some small additional forming needed for those in the right side. I don't think that will amount to much more than glueing in some small plug for forming something to go around wires or fuel lines, for example. Not a big deal, in any case.

The connectors to the original mounting points should go pretty well, I think. I am going to fashion them out of ABS Plastic scraps first in order to establish the relative location of mounting holes, then try to develop the finished product/connector from either ABS plastic, or more likely heavy sheet aluminum, in order to give a more firm foundation to the inner halves so the outer halves will be very stable.

Saturday, when I get out to the shop I am going to start on the foundation of the form for the outer halves, and while the epoxy is drying on those I'm going to work on the mounting points for the liner prototye that I still have hanging in the left well on one of my S4s. That is going to tell me a lot about how this development is going to end up.

I'll try to post some progress reports when I am back at it.

Thanks again for your concern about my Knee.

Jerry Feather

Jerry Feather

Progress report.

First, I didn't get as much done today as I anticipated, but that seems to be normal for me. I got up early this morning hoping to get an early start, but found that my leg below the knee surgery was swelled enough to thump like a melon. There was no way I was going to get my boot on.

I have been keeping an ACE bandage on the knee per the doctor's instructions, "to control the swelling," and I think it worked. It controlled the swelling out of my knee and into everything in my leg below it.

I took the bandage off and then wrapped it snuggly around my foot and then after about an hour and a half my foot was small enough to put my boot on.

Now, with the bandage off my knee, my knee does not feel so stable as it has been, so I decided not to try to get up and down in front of the wheel well and work on the mounting points I was hoping to do today. Instead, I worked the inner form over a little and reset the heat baffling in the oiven and set it up for another blow tomorrow. Then I started work on the form for the outer half.

I had made the basic frame of the forms together so they would match, so I had to add the additional material to the outter one to make the opening smaller as with the inner one. I have that set up and ready to narrow the opening in the morning with epoxy.

While that is curing I am going to blow the next try of the inner half. I hope I have the heat distribution right and the shape right, then I can do a few, and then concentrate on the outer halves.

Not much progress, but some, and good to get back at it.

Jerry Feather

Arnoud

Hi Jerry,

Wishing you a speedy recovery with your knee, and thanks for what you have been and are doing for the 928 community: keep it going!

I have been following this thread for some time, and as I had to take my whole PSD-unit out of my GTS a few days ago I took a few pictures as attached (those are re-sized to 1/10 length and width - if you want the full resolution ones then PM me). I re-installed all with new speed nuts, so easy to spot the 3 as used on the left (towards the front of the car), 2 on the top and 2 on the right (towards the end of the car). I unfortunately forgot to take a ruler with me during this photo shot (and believe it or not, I was in a huge rush then), however as I will have to re-install another PSD-unit back in a few days to come (while on holiday with no rush) I can take some more photos if you so wish.

















Almost needless to write that my wheel liners are also further cracking / falling further apart whenever touched, so looking forward on your continued progress - as I'm sure many other GTS, GT and S4 owners are too!

leonard928

Jerry,

glad the surgery went well! Very glad you are still working on the project. You have all our support.

Jerry Feather

Thanks, Arnoud, for the well wishes and especially for the pictures. Those are very helpful as have been those posted by others. I don't need the measurements because some of the mounting points are the same as the S4, which I have plenty of.

I do see that there will be a significant difference in how the rear of these liners, or the one on the left, will be trimmed because of the large heat shield which I suspect is protecting the PSD. I also see that there is going to me a need for a small notch in the flange of the rear of the left liner to clear the front edge of the PSD floor.

Thank you also Leonard, for your well wishes.

This morning the swelling in my lower extremity is almost gone, so I wont be delayed too much in getting to work.

Jerry Feather

Glenn M

Jerry,
Don't push it, your health is more important!

Cheers,

ROG100

Jerry,
New from Porsche right fender liner. Thought the pictures would also be useful. If you need additional shots and/or measurements let me know.
I will do the same for the left when it arrives.
Roger

Andy Kay

Jerry,
Glad to hear your knee surgery was a success. Take it easy. The older we get, the longer recovery takes. I had back surgery just months before meeting you.
Andy

Jerry Feather

Thanks Andy: and thanks Roger for the pictures. Those pictures are really helpful, mainly becaue I think they are actually the right liner and not the left. I wonder if it is mismarked and I wonder if it is for the GT or GTS?

Jerry Feather

Jerry Feather

Sorry Roger. I guess I am dislexic this afternoon. You said it is the right liner. Jerry Feather

ROG100

It is the right liner and for a GTS - no others are available.
These will be trimmed and fitted to a 91 S4
The left will be here in a couple of days.

Jerry Feather

I blew another pair of inner half liners today and still don't have the form just right. I adjusted it again and will set it up and do another pair shortly. I also worked on a sort to jig/stand taht I can use to both hlep glue on a doubler to the inside halves and to clamp both inside and outside halves together to common drill their connecting holes. That's going pretty well. I also got the basic form for the outer halves started with the reduction in the opening. Now I have to reduce it again, but with one-eighth inch ABS to account for the seal that is going to exist in between the two halves. Then I can start building it up for the shape of the liner halves. This is where Gary's nice drawing is going to finally come into play, and will be a great help in to final design. I have to make a similar S4 drawing, but I can do that here.

In the last blow of liner halves I did get the heat moved around in the oven successfully to limit the heat where I was blowing a couple of "corners" kind of thin. By limiting the radiated heat in those areas the plastic forms thicker and lets the heat go in the direction of the areas that will be waste. Complicated, but it is sure fun to be mildly successful with a new idea about heat direction.

More later when I get back to it, maybe tomorrow.

Jerry Feather

Jerry Feather

One thing that Roiger's great pictures shows is a sort of pocket or recess that is kind of squarish and will be in the upper, outer foreward area of the right wheel well. I presume that is for the GTS, since I don't think there is anything in that area to clear in the S4s. Look at Roger's pictures 5, 6 and 7, and you can see the recess I am talking about.

Does anyone have pictures of this part of the right wheel well that I can see to tell just what I might need to form around? Thanks.

I suspect that with the more rounded shape that I am developing with my liners I may just be missing whatever is there to be in the way of the factory liner.

Jerry Feather