deverett 9 Posted July 21, 2016 Report Share Posted July 21, 2016 I've started making a new instrument mask, my old one is completely shot from the Aussie sun. The new one is made from 3 layers of black acrylic, laser cut. The top layer will be ABS with the correct texture, I have ordered it but I had to order a full sheet that could do probably 30 masks, I won't get this for a few days.. I have the gauges recessed correctly, and the indicator lights all now perfectly aligned. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Popular Post deverett 9 Posted July 25, 2016 Author Popular Post Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 The textured ABS sheet came yesterday, I ha to buy enough for 50 masks , it took all day to build a jig for cutting the panel, but the results have been good. This texture is more pronounced than the original, but that may be due to the fact the originals were vacuum formed which can reduce the texture as the plastic is heated and stretched. The big advantage is that the part that screws to the binnacle is 3mm thick and the overall thickness of the mask is now 12mm, making it much stronger. I am converting all lighting over to LED and will make a connector harness so I can get the thing in and out without spending half a day. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Mesprit87 22 Posted July 25, 2016 Report Share Posted July 25, 2016 Good job, looks nice and a lot less flimsy! I'm sure you'll find some interested owners for the 49 left Quote Something I learned about cars or planes, it all works until it doesn't anymore...sometime there is no way around it! Link to post Share on other sites
Freemason 97 Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 Good work! Definitely interested in acquiring one of the 49 left! Looks like it's exactly the same part on the S2? Someone else had these 3D printed, would be interesting to compare both approaches: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
darenwsmith 13 Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 Steve at SJ is or has now made some he told me the other month. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lou R 9 Posted July 26, 2016 Report Share Posted July 26, 2016 Dave, Nice job ! I bought one of the 3D Printed repros for my federal S2 and was not satisfied. Very flimsy (like rice paper) with virtually no structure to it and no texture on the face so it is not suitable (at least not for me). If you're going to be offering these to others please reserve one for me. Thx, Lou R Quote Link to post Share on other sites
peteyg 350 Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 Be interesting to hear how easy your mask is to fit. The one benefit of the original is it's flexibility allowing it fit into an unevenly shapes orifice. Pete Quote Pete '79 S2 LEW Miss September 2009 Link to post Share on other sites
Christian43 22 Posted July 27, 2016 Report Share Posted July 27, 2016 and fitting the original is a PITA as far as I remember. I ended up making a cardboard mock up to try and work it out. Having the loom with a central connector should help a lot though. C43 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
deverett 9 Posted July 28, 2016 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 I'd be happy to make more up, as I now have the jig. It ends up being 4 layers of 3mm material so it is very stiff. I was concerned about the fit as each one was hand fitted originally. On mine this meant the holes do not match up perfectly, I simply redrilled holes in the wooden corners once I had it fitted in the right spot and it worked out great. I was going to make all the LED lights myself, but there are good off the shelf led globe replacements for everything. Unfortunately I had already cut off some of the rear tube of the warning light indicators so I will have to put my own LEDs into them now. I did find you can get the T7 LED bulbs for anyone else wanting to upgrade. The old bulbs create a lot of heat in the back of the binnacle which is best avoided. My wiring stiff and this makes it hard to get the left and right switch panels in and causes them to pop out. I have siliconed the switch housings into the panels now so that should be better. I also pulled out the fibre optics and will fit superbright white 3mm leds into the optic housings. Then replace any particularly crispy wires for new sexy flexible ones and fit a connector. I'll make up some more masks and if people are happy with them I'll work out what they are costing me and make them available if wanted. Dave Quote Link to post Share on other sites
C43 55 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 BTW I glued bits of wood in the old mounting holes in the binnacle as the holes had got so big had lost any grip on the screws. Agree regarding silicon on the switches to keep them in place. BTW you can easily strip the switches down and give them a clean to get rid of the corrosion. My fog switch was so corroded it had stopped working. If you do this do it over a tray first time as there are some small parts that are easy to loose. cheers C43 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andyww 1,302 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 This looks so much better than the original. One of the worst things Lotus ever did was buy a vacuum-forming machine which they used for all kinds of cheap looking parts. Wont fit my 82 Turbo though as its a different layout, then there are the 2 side pieces also. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
gvy 384 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 (edited) A year ago, I made me a new instrument mask The original plastic one was torn on one side. Some gauges were rattling a bit . I decided to use 8mm thick trespa ( HPL) This is a very firm material that endures all weather and temperatures .It is used as a construction finishing material outdoors. It is heavy, but that doesn't matter because most of the panel are holes. It is quite hard to machine. I used a table saw and a router to make the dash. The nice thing is that the surface of the trespa has the same structure as the original plastic. I used the same material (6mm) some months ago to construct al new bootpanels to replace the old flimsy multiplex ones After constructing, I finished the dash with black automotive 3 component (color/thinner/hardener) paint and my airbrushpistol. It took me quite some time. Starting with all wiring out (numbering and noting things down. old and the start of the new: finished and painted, ready to install and rewire. It is much stronger,stiffer and more durable then the plastic original And ready to roll again: Geert Edited July 28, 2016 by gvy 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Matt-watts 121 Posted July 28, 2016 Report Share Posted July 28, 2016 I have Just had them remade in original material and grain but also 2mm thicker so they wont crack up easily. I have also had all the Vac formed plastic parts on an Esprit remade including new front bumpers. Will put them up in the parts bit when I have some time Matt Quote Let me know If you have a S1 esprit for sale 🙂 Link to post Share on other sites
darenwsmith 13 Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 Hi Matt have you a list of all your vac formed bits with prices please I need a a center and both sides for my dash also side vents for the engine bay. cheers daren Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andyww 1,302 Posted July 29, 2016 Report Share Posted July 29, 2016 Matt, I would be interested in triangles for the A pillars. SJ Sportscars sell repros of these but they are not very good (which they admitted when I phoned them) as they are made of fibreglass and are too thick and dont fit properly. They said they planned to make them as per originals but if you have already done this they might take some off you for sale I would think. I was about to contact them again as I wanted them to not drill the two mounting holes in them. The plastic round plugs which the factory used originally spoil the look so I would rather fit them with glue or double sided tape without the plugs. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
TAR 417 Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 On 7/28/2016 at 14:38, Matt-watts said: I have Just had them remade in original material and grain but also 2mm thicker so they wont crack up easily. I have also had all the Vac formed plastic parts on an Esprit remade including new front bumpers. Will put them up in the parts bit when I have some time Matt @Matt-watts I know this was a while ago, but can you still get these vac parts? Quote It's getting there...... Link to post Share on other sites
silverfrost 1,390 Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 I think the Tooling costs worked out to expensive in the end, but like yourself Tim intrested to see if Matt got this sorted in the end. Quote A Link to post Share on other sites
TAR 417 Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 @silverfrost Dan, I found another thread where blackngolds3turbo has offered vacuum forming. I've just posted some pictures of my B post trims. Quote It's getting there...... Link to post Share on other sites
silverfrost 1,390 Posted January 22, 2017 Report Share Posted January 22, 2017 Just found it Tim I so hope these can be made Quote A Link to post Share on other sites
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