Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

I don't know if you need to take more off. You definitely need to rotate it so the cardboard pie shape is pointing more toward the fender (counterclockwise)

I think that you will be fighting cloth of any weight and the smaller pieces needed will unravel as you try to work them into place.

I would refine the shapes you have, trying to soften corners and transitions, then wrap it in something that won't inhibit the resin cure.

You might want to thread a ty-wrap through the section of accordion that needs to bend tightly.

This can be cut later and pulled out of cured resin.

Make a shell strong just enough to hold its shape, remove the formers and bulk it up.

I think we are together, save for a couple of questions:

• You didn't say use mat, but implied that cloth would come apart. So that leaves mat. Right?

• You said "then wrap it in something that won't inhibit the resin cure". Are we still talking mat?

Or am I missing something that should be obvious?

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think we are together, save for a couple of questions:

• You didn't say use mat, but implied that cloth would come apart. So that leaves mat. Right?

• You said "then wrap it in something that won't inhibit the resin cure". Are we still talking mat?

Or am I missing something that should be obvious?

I meant wrap your pool noodle, cardboard or whatever with a release of some kind.

With epoxy I usually use waxed paper or stretch wrap. IDK what's best for polyester.

My first thought for reinforcement would be a woven sock or braided sleeve. Intriguing and simple.

I'm not sure you'd have access to specialist stuff like that and being carbon or Kevlar you'd need to use epoxy.

With cloth the fibers are too stiff to easily bend around corners and fibers are very slippery.

It has no stretch to conform to odd shapes. They have no sizing and unravel at a glance.

The sort of biaxial cloth I often use (1708) would be far too heavy for this.

Mat is omnidirectional and uses a soluble binder. It doesn't fight too much, but you have to work at compacting it to get excess resin out and keep it from floating.

After the initial shell I might cut some longer 'ribbons' of mat and wrap the shape May pole style from one end and then the other.

[Gary Lewis]

I meant wrap your pool noodle, cardboard or whatever with a release of some kind.

With epoxy I usually use waxed paper or stretch wrap. IDK what's best for polyester.

My first thought for reinforcement would be a woven sock or braided sleeve. Intriguing and simple.

I'm not sure you'd have access to specialist stuff like that and being carbon or Kevlar you'd need to use epoxy.

With cloth the fibers are too stiff to easily bend around corners and fibers are very slippery.

It has no stretch to conform to odd shapes. They have no sizing and unravel at a glance.

The sort of biaxial cloth I often use (1708) would be far too heavy for this.

Mat is omnidirectional and uses a soluble binder. It doesn't fight too much, but you have to work at compacting it to get excess resin out and keep it from floating.

After the initial shell I might cut some longer 'ribbons' of mat and wrap the shape May pole style from one end and then the other.

I think we may have different ideas on what all needs to be fiberglassed. I'm not thinking I'll have to use 'glass on more than the angle piece, below, and also to close the slit on the top piece.

And, as I think about it, I might not have to fiberglass anything. What if I use thin aluminum where the cardboard is on the piece below? I think I could bend the aluminum such that the edges meet and I could use G/Flex 655 to both glue those pieces to the plastic as well as close the gaps.

And maybe the 655 is strong enough to close the slit on the upper piece, although I could glue a narrow piece of aluminum on the inside as a strain relief.

Thoughts?

[Gary Lewis]

I think we may have different ideas on what all needs to be fiberglassed. I'm not thinking I'll have to use 'glass on more than the angle piece, below, and also to close the slit on the top piece.

And, as I think about it, I might not have to fiberglass anything. What if I use thin aluminum where the cardboard is on the piece below? I think I could bend the aluminum such that the edges meet and I could use G/Flex 655 to both glue those pieces to the plastic as well as close the gaps.

And maybe the 655 is strong enough to close the slit on the upper piece, although I could glue a narrow piece of aluminum on the inside as a strain relief.

Thoughts?

This is what I'm talking about with aluminum. Those two pieces fit pretty well and if I glue a strip to close the edge I think it'll work.

[Gary Lewis]

This is what I'm talking about with aluminum. Those two pieces fit pretty well and if I glue a strip to close the edge I think it'll work.

And we are partially glued. Decided it would be easiest to glue one wedge on one plastic piece and the other wedge on the other and then marry them tomorrow.

I went through the prep instructions closely, including cleaning with isopropyl alky, sanding, and passing a propane flame over the plastic. And on the aluminium I did the media blasting and cleaning with brake cleaner they suggested, and then the sanding-in of a coat of the glue to ensure it it well and truly attached to the metal. Fortunately the plastic bows out a bit so all that is needed is to clamp the pieces in the corner.

After the two halves are glued together then I can cut a piece of aluminum to seal the strip on the back. Hopefully I can cut it oversized and bend the edges down to overlap the wedges. We shall see. http://www.garysgaragemahal.com/uploads/6/5/8/7/65879365/crossed-fingers-20-pixel_orig.png

[Gary Lewis]

And we are partially glued. Decided it would be easiest to glue one wedge on one plastic piece and the other wedge on the other and then marry them tomorrow.

I went through the prep instructions closely, including cleaning with isopropyl alky, sanding, and passing a propane flame over the plastic. And on the aluminium I did the media blasting and cleaning with brake cleaner they suggested, and then the sanding-in of a coat of the glue to ensure it it well and truly attached to the metal. Fortunately the plastic bows out a bit so all that is needed is to clamp the pieces in the corner.

After the two halves are glued together then I can cut a piece of aluminum to seal the strip on the back. Hopefully I can cut it oversized and bend the edges down to overlap the wedges. We shall see.

This sure is a slooooow process. Mix, glue, and wait - until the next day. Then mix, glue, and wait.

So here's today's installment. I mixed three more rounds of glue and put the two "halves" of the bottom part of the Windsor snorkel together. I'm pretty sure everything is sealed - and I know it is gooey. So tomorrow I'll cut the strip of aluminum that goes on the back and then glue it on. I hope.

[Gary Lewis]

This sure is a slooooow process. Mix, glue, and wait - until the next day. Then mix, glue, and wait.

So here's today's installment. I mixed three more rounds of glue and put the two "halves" of the bottom part of the Windsor snorkel together. I'm pretty sure everything is sealed - and I know it is gooey. So tomorrow I'll cut the strip of aluminum that goes on the back and then glue it on. I hope.

The turn on the snorkel is done. Or maybe I should say "glued" as the glue hasn't set yet. But it is well distributed on all of the joints. And man, is that a messy process!

This time I did what I should have done on the other parts - retained it with aluminum pop rivets and backing washers. Not for physical strength, but to ensure it would be correctly positioned and clamped. The thing was going on slightly differently each time I took it off to tweak it, which caused more tweaking. And then I realized it was going to be next to impossible to clamp it w/o rivets.

That seems to have been the right move as it snugged down nicely when I put the rivets in, and it isn't going anywhere while the glue sets up. Here are a couple of shots to show how it looks:

[Gary Lewis]

The turn on the snorkel is done. Or maybe I should say "glued" as the glue hasn't set yet. But it is well distributed on all of the joints. And man, is that a messy process!

This time I did what I should have done on the other parts - retained it with aluminum pop rivets and backing washers. Not for physical strength, but to ensure it would be correctly positioned and clamped. The thing was going on slightly differently each time I took it off to tweak it, which caused more tweaking. And then I realized it was going to be next to impossible to clamp it w/o rivets.

That seems to have been the right move as it snugged down nicely when I put the rivets in, and it isn't going anywhere while the glue sets up. Here are a couple of shots to show how it looks:

I put the glued lower piece in this morning and placed the upper piece in position, as shown on the left. And there's over an inch between the intake and the A/C belt.

Then I thought about how I was going to hold the two pieces in place to fiberglass them and decided a couple of strips of aluminum pop riveted in would be good. But then I realized that a collar made out of aluminum could replace the fiberglass. So that's what I did, as shown on the right.

It is well and truly GLUED, so hopefully tomorrow I can install it.

[grumpin]

I put the glued lower piece in this morning and placed the upper piece in position, as shown on the left. And there's over an inch between the intake and the A/C belt.

Then I thought about how I was going to hold the two pieces in place to fiberglass them and decided a couple of strips of aluminum pop riveted in would be good. But then I realized that a collar made out of aluminum could replace the fiberglass. So that's what I did, as shown on the right.

It is well and truly GLUED, so hopefully tomorrow I can install it.

Nice! Good job!

Looks like it worked out just fine.

[Gary Lewis]

Nice! Good job!

Looks like it worked out just fine.

Thanks, Dane. I think it is working out fine, but there is more to do. I want to insulate it as I have the air box and plan to do on the feed from the MAF sensor to the throttle body. And while I could do that later, it is a pain to take it off. And the insulation and associated aluminum duct tape will ensure it is well sealed.

Then, before summer, I want to seal off a bunch of the places around the radiator and core support where I'm pretty sure hot air will make its way into the inlet. But that can wait as we hope to take the truck on the Butterfield Stage quest next week so I need to get this done.