bluej wrote: I think bubbly is in order when the body reaches paint stage.
The actual outer body panels are still a way off. I figure that will be next winters project. But I am celebrating that coatings will soon be on the bottom of the car and the engine compartment, and the parts that reside in those locations will be going on to stay.
Have to added the various tabs and holes for the wiring harness and plumbing? I'd consider those before doing final finishing of the engine bay and underside.
Ian F wrote: Have to added the various tabs and holes for the wiring harness and plumbing? I'd consider those before doing final finishing of the engine bay and underside.
I know where you are coming from. This is where the chassis swap starts to pay off. Brake lines and fuel lines under the car are stock; no issue there.
Going to use a Miata wire harness routed as it was from the factory. Just going to subtract the wires I don't need.
I am also going to cheat a bit. Engine compartment will be single stage paint; easy to fix if I have to back up and re-paint.
I'm a bit sad that the metal work is stopping. I've enjoyed following along immensely.
mazdeuce wrote: I'm a bit sad that the metal work is stopping. I've enjoyed following along immensely.
Don't worry, still a lot of metal details to be beat into submission.
Wait till I get to the dash and interior. That is going to be fun as I will be making a P1800 ES tribute dash that has zero P1800 dash DNA.
In reply to NOHOME:
I look forward to seeing how you do that as I have similar ideas for my car, although I want to do a formed center console for the radio and HVAC controls. The dash itself I would like to remain close to the original design, but with real wood veneer instead of the dark OE stuff. I'd also like to wrap the dash into the door panels, if you know what I mean.
Looking forward to the dash fabrication!
Ian:
We are on the same wavelength. The big difference here is that the Molvo dash has to be deeper in ordert o blend in with the Miata controls.
The wood waterfall on the P1800 dsh, although made of a hideous dark plastic, is the signature of the P1800 dash. My intentions are to use a nicer wood veneer that matches the cargo floor, and have it flow into the "tombstone" area where the HVAC and radio controls reside.
The dash top should be a simple enough matter of pushing some tin through the e-wheel to get a shape and upholstering the results.
Have had fleeting thoughts of flowing into the doors, but no serious thoughts on the matter.
And over we go for a coating of rocker-guard. Hopefully by this time next week it will be all black and ready for parts to go on and stay on.
OK, I need some input from the materials people in the gallery.
The plan is to have a wood finish rear deck in this nice big flat area.
The original plan was to just buy a kit made for a pick-up and modify to suit. But as I let the idea simmer, a part of my brain seems to be telling me that might not be the best idea from a noise, vibration and harshness point of view.
So, the though was whether there is some king of laminate that either has, or can have a wood finish that would be good for the job? Ideally it would be available at a a Home depot rather than NASA and be priced within reason.Has to be impervious to water of course, and able to tolerate fasteners (even though I will probably also glue it down). Not too heavy would also be a bonus.
Left to my own devices, I was thinking a sheet of foam insulation with a Formica layer glued on the bottom and either a wood effect Formica layer on top or some kind of laminate floor system.
I had an idea to explore discounted flooring materials for a $20xx challenge pickup build. Might be an area to explore between all the solid/laminate/engineered wood options.
You've probably already considered this, but I thought that wood truck beds didn't use an adhesive to allow the wood to expand and contract. Something more like wood straps in a slot. I could be wrong, but worth considering.
In reply to NOHOME:
There are some very nice laminate deck materials these days. I saw some at the local lumber yard that looked like boat deck teak. It would look cool in there.
If expansion is an issue then snap together laminate flooring could be used, and allowed to float. I'm sure you could come up with some clever perimeter bright work to hold it down.
I would bet that wood does a fine job of handling NVH, at least to the standards of a (no offense) non-OEM-designed-from-scratch type product.
I mean the OEMs would take their cars to an anechoic chamber and play with sound deadening and dampers for a long time, and you don't have that luxury. The wood will probably be better than steel.
The wood needs to come out to access the spare, yes? I'd be looking at engineered wood flooring, preferably snap together. Figure out the size, snap it all together as a single sheet, cut it out, then install. Maybe trim it all in stainless like a boat? Including the spare hatch?
mazdeuce wrote: The wood needs to come out to access the spare, yes? I'd be looking at engineered wood flooring, preferably snap together. Figure out the size, snap it all together as a single sheet, cut it out, then install. Maybe trim it all in stainless like a boat? Including the spare hatch?
Yeah, that is kind of the plan. There will actually be two hatches; one right over the rear suspension where the gas tank used to reside and another toward the rear where the spare tire traditionally resides.
Why not some sheet metal with some beads rolled into it? Wood just seems so... hack. Sorry, just my opinion. The rest of your build is so top notch, why not build hatches into the sheet metal?
If you're going to have open hatches and stuff, you'll be looking at the cut end of the boards, right? Probably want to use solid boards unless you finish the ends somehow. Solid boards expand widthwise, not lengthwise. The amount an individual board expands is directly related to the width. A 3" wide board barely expands, a 16" board expands a lot (nobody tell this to the desk i made my wife some years ago, i'm just waiting for the big sides to split). That's why old doors are framed in narrow boards with panels between them. The boards in this bed have space between the wood and the metal bracket:
The width of the metal bracket covers the gap left for expansion and contraction. If you have narrow enough boards each one will barely expand/contract, you won't need a bid gap between them at all. Think solid wood flooring (the slightly older kind that isn't snap together).
Those engineered solid wood boards are just like plywood, they are more stable than solid wood but if you cut it and look at the end you will want to cover it up somehow.
Wait, hatches!?
Why not make the spare accessible from the bottom? You're talented enough to avoid a silly hatch,
A wood floor like a pickup, with the stainless straps, and a good way to avoid hatches would be my go-to.
I agree with Tuna. Do you really need hatches? Just put a floor down and carpet it. Maybe mount the spare vertically along the inside wall of the cargo area, like a Cherokee.
I disagree with you guys on this one. I think a hatch done as cleanly as Nohome is capable of will look even more refined. Not to mention that they live in maple leaf land where getting up under a vehicle to retrieve a spare is a dirtier process than in the mid to southern US. I doubt Mrs. Nohome would do it, so it'd probably be Nohome making a trip out someplace.
bluej wrote: I disagree with you guys on this one. I think a hatch done as cleanly as Nohome is capable of will look even more refined. Not to mention that they live in maple leaf land where getting up under a vehicle to retrieve a spare is a dirtier process than in the mid to southern US. I doubt Mrs. Nohome would do it, so it'd probably be Nohome making a trip out someplace.
Just one comment, the spare beneath the van is raised and lowered by a nut which is captive in the floor, you use the lug wrench, loosen the nut, and the spare drops to the ground. You never go under there. It even has a little cable so the old tire goes on the cable and you crank it right back into place.
The PT Cruiser was similar, but it was in a cage and there was no cable since it was at the rear of the vehicle.
No need to crawl beneath!
maschinenbau wrote: I agree with Tuna. Do you really need hatches? Just put a floor down and carpet it. Maybe mount the spare vertically along the inside wall of the cargo area, like a Cherokee.
Well, you want carpet and I want wood, but otherwise we're saying the same thing.
But this car will bend to the wishes of its creator, yes?
tuna55 wrote:bluej wrote: I disagree with you guys on this one. I think a hatch done as cleanly as Nohome is capable of will look even more refined. Not to mention that they live in maple leaf land where getting up under a vehicle to retrieve a spare is a dirtier process than in the mid to southern US. I doubt Mrs. Nohome would do it, so it'd probably be Nohome making a trip out someplace.Just one comment, the spare beneath the van is raised and lowered by a nut which is captive in the floor, you use the lug wrench, loosen the nut, and the spare drops to the ground. You never go under there. It even has a little cable so the old tire goes on the cable and you crank it right back into place. The PT Cruiser was similar, but it was in a cage and there was no cable since it was at the rear of the vehicle. No need to crawl beneath!
Ah,OK, a smart spare retrieval system would work for me. Maybe one of the straps of wood hinges up like a piano hinge to access the securing nut (or whatever). Could make for a cool "smugglers hatch", too.
Are we having one of those moments South Park made famous when the last guy who spoke gets his way? If so, I'm in. Wood!
Somehow I doubt it, but yeah, a clever spare and a wood floor which was made a little different for the purposes of this build would be neat.
I would not use hardwood flooring, though. I am not sure I see the point. I guess the engineered stuff may hold up better, but lots of guys use regular wood and finish it for their pickup beds, which see much more use and UV than this will. It would have to be reinforced somehow, I doubt it will be thick enough to be very strong.
FYI:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F7JiArud-g
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