Redfogo's 818C build

[turbomacncheese]

I would highly recommend it printing has got alot cheaper and the home printers have come along way. I bought a 300x300x400mm printer for $320 bucks. The print quality is pretty great on this thing.

Here is a NACA duct I printed just need to smooth it out and it's ready to rock.

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Yep, that pretty much cements it. Now, nothing will get done on the 818 that costs money until I've saved up enough of my "allowance" to get a printer. I was looking at one of the many "put it together yourself" kits. Seems analogous to building a kit car. Better understanding of where all the parts go, more confidence that I can troubleshoot and fix problems when they happen, and importantly...more/better performance for the price. And certainly, if I can put together a Subaru engine (that runs) I can put together a 3d printer, yes? On the other hand, if that printer you bought was already assembled, that seems pretty hard to beat at $320. Any chance you can point me in the right direction to get started? I don't have any friends with experience here and the internet searching always returns the black-belt answer...."IT DEPENDS". At least I can say we PROBABLY have some overlapping goals and needs, so whatever is important to you is worth hearing to me.

Also, what do you use to model your custom parts? I've used Sketchup for a lot of my wood-working projects in the past, but it doesn't seem to be very good for 3d printing so I started messing around with Freecad last month. Looks a lot more capable than it needs to be for 3d printing, but might also be better than some options for CNC machining? I'd like to build my own CNC router eventually (I think Josh Jach built his own and used it to carve the design in his transmission cover plate...got me interested). And I'll need a project less expensive than a Factory Five to keep me busy after this thing goes together (or maybe when I need some down time from body work).

[autostang]

I've got a monoprice maker select plus that I have been happy with. I paid somewhere in the $300 range for it. Nothing fancy but it does ok with PLA and ABS prints. In addition to making parts I have gotten a lot of use out of it making custom spacers, shapes for tracing and sanding blocks with specific radius. I wish I had it from the beginning of my car build.

For software I have had good luck with Autodesk Fusion 360. You can get a free license for home use and it is pretty easy to use if you have used 3D modeling software before. I've been using Ultimaker Cura for taking the 3D model to the printer format. There are some good forums that explain the process.

[redfogo]

I went with a Tevo tornado. Its a china special printer that seems to get pretty good reviews. It has 300x300x400mm print bed size. Lots of options out there. Creality CR10s also seems to be a good option around the same price range.
https://www.banggood.com/TEVO-Tornado-DIY-3D-Printer-Kit-300300400mm-Large-Printing-Size-175mm-04mm-Nozzle-p-1186106.html?cur_warehouse=USA
^^ This is where I got mine from. I would suggest watching youtube reviews and such until you find what your looking for.

I use a program called cura and fusion 360. Lots of cool free stuff you can design yourself as well as print stuff already made. I made a NACA duct and toothbrush holder recently all from other peoples work they share lol. I designed and made the wing covers myself was a good intro to design and planing for me :). I plan to share them once I have a final version done.

[turbomacncheese]

Thanks guys. Biggest problem is that I don't know what I'm looking for yet. 300x300x400 seems like a great size. Maybe I should just commit to the idea that I'm certainly going to buy a second printer when I DO figure out what I'm looking for, which will happen sometime AFTER I just buy a printer!

[redfogo]

It's gunna be hard to find anything larger without spending 1k+ on the low end based on what I found.

[turbomacncheese]

I'm leaning towards one of the 250^3 for under $200. Looks like a lot of people have good results printing larger pieces in sections, and then I won't feel bad spending more on a better printer when I figure out what I really need.

[redfogo]

Well..... Its been a long while moving and starting stage rally has taken away some time. But over last 3 months or so I have been hard at work doing body work... endless custom body work lol. I posted on the 818 FB page and I know a few people were asking if I would update my build thread. Soooo Here we go!

1st I got tired of messing with the panel gap on the rear end of my 818c the top fitment with the fenders and the bumper were just all sort of gap city and I just wasn't happy. I felt I had good luck with my bwalker fender and top front end fix so and after talking with other 818 owners I said what the hell lets make this a one piece rear end. I would not recommend this to anyone who dose not have the guts to fail. Its been a lot of trial and error but I'm getting pretty dang close to a quality finish. I still have a few baby hills to get over though.

1st The gaps I pushed and pulled and adjusted for hours, months years and my gap was always uneven and thickkkkkk.
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At this point you can see I tried to fill in the rear but it was to uneven I just wasn't happy so I made some changes and see lets make it all one....

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Here is me filling in everything its pretty much a sandwich You add filler just like bwalker made it and then you add fiber glass on top to make it all nice and strong I only put about one layer of fiber glass weave so the build up wasn't to much on the outside of the body.
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After a lot of sanding you should have a good finish
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[redfogo]

With only having one layer on top you will need to buffer and strengthen everything from the inside you can add a good amount of layers. Since its on the inside it can be more ugly and have more layers since A no one will see it and B already plenty of exposed fiberglass on the inside of the panels so pretty much a win win. I plan to paint the inside with truck bed liner or something to make it all black and clean looking.

So we made the outside one but uhhhhhh how are you going to remove a transmission or engine or other stuff that need the body off? Well... I said I was making the rear all one not the car all one :) .... So onto the next step THE CUT!!! So I looked at a lotus and looked at F40s and rally Group B cars and just looked for ideas on where to make a cut. I found that the best spot was on the side skirt under the door you can see the black line in this picture under the door.

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^^^ I am still looking for how to make the line look decent and fit in a nice way I am open to ideas but I already made the cut so I am committed!!

After I made my cuts it was time to take the top off and see how that would work haha. So in the past I had a hoist for the top. I moved and added a new set up so I got an electric hoist this time. I also had to cut up the bottom so that the top would lift straight up thankfully you can cut the bottom of the skirts so they clear the coolant lines and the body and still have enough lip on the bottom. My plan is to use the FFR carbon fiber rocker panel extensions to connect the rockers and frame together as one. Post those pics late.

Here is an image of the top off. Honestly I found this just as easy/hard as removing the top by itself. Really was no different. Only difference was I had to remove my exhaust and the spoiler mount before i took the top off. Its all one piece items so for me it was pretty easy to remove everything.

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Here is the inside of the top you can see the filler and fiberglass I placed inside.

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[redfogo]

Last you can see the cut where the skirt comes off. Like I said up top I am working to find the best way to hide or integrate this line. Still looking at different ideas.

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We will see what happens, tops back on as of tonight and everything seems to fit great and it is easy to take on and off! Just need to decide the final way I want to hide or show the gap

[Frank818]

That's nice stuff, you can lift everything pretty fast and work around easily, with clearance.

[longislandwrx]

Last you can see the cut where the skirt comes off. Like I said up top I am working to find the best way to hide or integrate this line. Still looking at different ideas.



what about a removable carbon fiber side skirt/rocker extension panel that covers the side, and then an oem style door sil panel that would hide the top?

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[Frank818]

I'm afraid the door sill panel might prevent the door from closing, the clearance at the bottom of the door panel where it starts to curve back up is really really really tight. But maybe one could get lucky and be able to fit the sill super flush and the door would barely follow through over. I had to trim my fiberglass door panel in order to make it close, cuz I wasn't able to lift it up or angle it upwards more without bigger undesirable effects elsewhere. But it could work! Would be nice if it could.