My 1973 TVR 2500M : Renew and Restomod

Argh.  Of course that's available.  And I didn't used proper search terms.  No worries.  I have the perfect piece of aluminum to make my own, so I will press on.

Yours sounds cooler 

It will definitely look fancier.  And will have the oil pressure port.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

Those nut plates inside the square tubes are very cool. Not sure if that's a typical way to do it or if your big brain made that baby, but I like it either way.

Lots of variations on these guys.

AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

Those nut plates inside the square tubes are very cool. Not sure if that's a typical way to do it or if your big brain made that baby, but I like it either way.

I dreamed it up all by myself!

When I worked in aerospace composites we made a lot of custom nut-plates with self-locking inserts.  A good way to do fasteners with hard-to-reach back-sides.

I will be safety-wiring these, since there's no locking element on those inserts.

Pretty good day today.

First I fixed my 3d printer that had a bent hot-break in the nozzle.  I guess I was a little too aggressive cleaning off cling-ons with the wire brush.  Runs so much better now.

After that, I printed this test piece:

This was the first time I've modeled in the threads instead of just running a tap.  They came out so well - fittings just threaded right in!

Bolt holes match up so well:

I didn't tap the 1/4 NPT for the oil pressure fitting yet, but otherwise fits perfectly:

I'm thinking about adding an o-ring channel to the back side.  That'd let me eliminate the gasket.  Thoughts?

Otherwise, this one is ready for the mill.

Following along.  Happy you found new inspiration.  As far as "perfect", make it safe , "relatively reliable", and FUN.  Stand back and enjoy the fruit of your labor.

Know very little about sealing.  But here's something to ponder.  Carry on.

https://americanflexible.com/which-do-you-need-a-gasket-or-an-o-ring/

In reply to Dirtydog (Forum Supporter) :

Thanks for chiming in!

I'm leaning towards skipping the o-rings and just using the gasket.  I've been trying to stick with a KISS principle lately.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

Ah, but being able to just set an O-ring and tighten with only the material and hardware in mind and let the geometry determine O-ring crush? That's simplicity, too, right?

Anyhow, watching this is making me feel good about copying you (and This Old Tony, and a few other data points) on the Prusa selection. Printing Benchy (take 2) right now...

Jesse Ransom (FFS) said:

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

Ah, but being able to just set an O-ring and tighten with only the material and hardware in mind and let the geometry determine O-ring crush? That's simplicity, too, right?

Anyhow, watching this is making me feel good about copying you (and This Old Tony, and a few other data points) on the Prusa selection. Printing Benchy (take 2) right now...

I'm still considering the o-rings...

I didn't realize you bought a Prusa!  I adore mine and I run the E36 M3 out of it!

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

I *just* got it. Well, my wife and I just finished assembling it after a few weeks working on it here and there. It's printing our second attempt at Benchy as I type this... (I think the first wasn't well enough stuck to the bed and went off the rails when it went to print the roof)

EDIT: wow, repeating myself in posts virtually next to each other... Anyhow, at least Benchy 2 came out well!

Nice!  I'm currently printing a quick drill template.  After that I'm going to load up a router template.

I run almost exclusively Inland filament from Microcenter.  There's one about 10 min from my house.  Their PLA+ is fantastic material, and is less than $20/kg.  I've run lots of their PETG too, but it's a little more finicky.  I have a lot of trouble getting it to print with partial infill.  Makes bomber solid parts though.

Last week I actually packed up my machine and took it to a customer's site.  We made some prototypes, printed some tweaks, and retested.  So nice to be able to do that.

Speaking of 3d printed parts, I'm getting the fuel line finalized and the clips mounted.

More messing with printed parts today.  Here's a little brake line support:

I'm going to do some for single lines and some for multiples.

The car originally just had regular zip ties holding the brake lines against the frame, but I like the idea of having them better supported and isolated.

Wow Scott, another example of how this TVR is really going to be something special, Nice work!

Show off! What's good enough for 
TVR should be good enough... at least for me. Really, though, that's top notch detailing there.  You put my standards to shame.

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

Let me know if you want some fuel line and brake line clips.  All it takes is pressing "Print".

Dusterbd13-michael (Forum Supporter) said:

JoeTR6 said:

Hang in there, Scott.  I think this car will be fantastic.  The problem with perfect is that you don't want it to become not perfect.  This is for you to enjoy.

This is soooo true. I intentionally left flaws in the neon, miata, and truck. Just so they WEREN'T perfect,  so im much more likely to actually enjoy them. 

 

For me, it requires me to stand back and look at the macro picture from 10 feet. The three inch view need not be perfect.  We're going for something we love and will enjoy. Cant see the pitting or scratching in the metal of a control arm when its bolted in place. Brake lines blend in when everything else is bolted on

 Etc.

I, like Michelangelo put a flaw in all my work, so as to keep from offending the Allmighty with perfection.

Loving the progress. Much awesome very tech. 

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

I'm not so sure that's a good idea... maybe TVR zip-tied the brake and fuel lines to the frame to aid in grounding all the electrical!

In reply to Stu Lasswell :

Nevermind.  Disregard the offer.

In reply to TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) :

It's a considerate offer, and I didn't mean to offend by my declining it, truly. I honestly haven't thought that far ahead.

TVR Scott (Forum Supporter) said:

the modern world is truly amazing. Nearly enough to make me want a printer (not that I have any idea how to cad)

I'm really enjoying all the prototyping. Awesome work as always. 

Wow Scott, that is a great upgrade.  Simple yet effective.