jevs Posted May 4, 2015 Share Posted May 4, 2015 (edited) I'm jealous! With any luck I will be back to work on mine later this week. We must have some similar tastes because I am also considering a satin black finish. Let us know how the satin does as far as showing abrasions and how easy it is to hide a touch up. Those are my only concerns vs gloss. What color are you going to paint it? I have not been able to decide on the stealth look of all black or a bright paint and all black on everything else. Edited May 4, 2015 by jevs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 I'm jealous! With any luck I will be back to work on mine later this week. We must have some similar tastes because I am also considering a satin black finish. Let us know how the satin does as far as showing abrasions and how easy it is to hide a touch up. Those are my only concerns vs gloss. What color are you going to paint it? I have not been able to decide on the stealth look of all black or a bright paint and all black on everything else. It's been impressively durable so far. I knicked a 1mm spot during the engine install, but it touched up nicely with satin black from a rattle can. Over the last week, I've occasionally banged various spots with a wayward wrench, and it's held up very well. The body (hood, scuttle, sides, and rear) will be dark cherry red. The fenders & headlight housings will be black; I chose to make the fenders black for ease of touch-ups. The hard top may also end up black. I haven't decided on a black single or dual stripe down the middle of the car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 After completing most of the rear suspension & brakes, I was able to finish & test the parking brake. I was happy to see that the parking brake held solid while I was torquing the wheel spacer lug nuts to 100 lb ft. The rear end is now complete minus the body and some final torquing of the UCA to spindle bolt, which I'll complete after I'm able to set the camber. Note that the lower spindle bolt (LCA to spindle) should be torqued to 80 lb ft with red loctite per Stalker HQ's recommendation. Torquing the axle nut requires a 36mm socket. Stalker HQ says to torque it higher than 150 lb ft. I followed a procedure I found in a GM Service manual, which is to torque to 150 lb ft, then back off the nut 180 deg, then retorque to 200+. Fuel system is installed. All that remains is to set the regulator pressure and fill it up :cheers: PCV Catch cans are installed & hoses are secured The firewall shelf is installed; the only missing item is the battery, which I'll do last. Pedals are installed. The extra right angle bracket I made to sit under the throttle linkage base really helps reduce the movement of the assembly, which means it'll be a more predictable throttle pedal. Only the mechanicals in the front are what remain before I can put the car on the ground. Oh, and another huge milestone is that I completed soldering up & testing my dash circuit board. All that remains here is to cut the smoked acrylic and mount everything to the dash panel. :hurray: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=28453&g2_serialNumber=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 Got the smoked acrylic cut and did a rough install of the circuit board & acrylic on the dash panel. Here's a picture of the dash circuit powered off and with it powered on (on the test bench). Note that not all of the various indicators are lit in these pictures. And wow, does that flash capture all the dirty smudges & fingerprints. Other than finalizing a few mounting details, it's ready to be connected to the car. What may not be obvious here is that all of the indicators are above the driver's line of sight to the top of the steering wheel, which means there can never be a visual obstruction to critical information. I've been able to pack a ton of useful information into a very small 2" space that basically arcs around the top of the steering wheel. I'm debating patenting this thing...not for any future business purpose mind you, just one of those life resume things. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=28455&g2_serialNumber=2 If you care to see a video of it in action, see below. Here, I'm showing the shift lights, water temp, and fuel level indicators & warning lights. I'm particularly proud of how I'm testing the shift lights. I'm feeding it a tachometer pulse generated by a 555 Timer circuit configured to output the same frequency that the engine should produce at various RPMs. A simple trimmer allows me to change the output frequency of the 555 Timer circuit to simulate the changing RPMs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Automoda Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Wow thats awesome. I like how you have a red light on the tippy top of the bars. Thats how I'd have designed it too. Blue LEDs are too bright for me at night though. Consider a 'dim' mode or something for those or you'll feel like someone has their brights aimed at you all the time. Not that I drive much at night in the 7 anyhow. But just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 Wow thats awesome. I like how you have a red light on the tippy top of the bars. Thats how I'd have designed it too. Blue LEDs are too bright for me at night though. Consider a 'dim' mode or something for those or you'll feel like someone has their brights aimed at you all the time. Not that I drive much at night in the 7 anyhow. But just a thought. Thanks! Great minds think alike I ran the low beam signal to the circuit board, and it dims all the bar graphs & shift lights. Not dimmable are the various warning lights since I want those to be annoyingly bright, day or night. I actually meant to demo the dimmer function in the video, but I forgot about it. The other crazy thing is that the cost for parts for this dash was ~$20 for the components (all HW, no SW or microcontrollers) and $40 for the circuit board, vs $500+ for traditional gauges that would be spread out all over the dash. The rest of my investment was my own time soldering & running wires. I'm also in the process of building the schematic & layout in DesignSpark and might have someone actually make me a 'real' circuit board, but that'll cost maybe $100-$200. I'll keep using my prototype as long as it lasts, though. If/when it breaks, I might try a fab'd circuit board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) Cooling system is installed. Differential Fluid (Red Line 75W90 for LSD, ~1.5 qt), Transmission Fluid (Red Line D4 ATF, ~4 qt), and Engine Oil (Red Line 5W30, ~5.5 qt) are in. Have yet to do coolant, brake fluid, clutch fluid, and gasoline. So yesterday, I was all....duuuuude:banghead: because I got the phone call that my exhaust coating was complete, but it was finished in polished metallic ceramic instead of black ceramic. The company will re-do it, but since I have to wait until next week to get it back, starting up the engine will have to wait. But todaaaaaaaay, I'm all.....duuuuude:willy_nilly: because I connected the battery and turned on the car's electrical system. Happy to say that the system retained all of its smoke, woohoo! I was able to verify all of the functions that didn't require an operational engine. I also connected my Aeroforce Interceptor CAN-bus gauge to check the operation of the OBDII bus, and all appears to be well with the ECU, in the sense that the gauge read valid data on a few PIDs that I spot-checked, like ECT. (I won't be using the Interceptor gauge on a regular basis; I had it laying around from a prior vehicle and decided to use it just for OBDII verification.) Got my touch-sensitive controller mounted, wired up my flag "buttons", and tested them out. Union Jack = no button function US Flag = High Beam toggle Florida Flag = High Beam momentary Texas Flag = Low Beam toggle Backside view of the dash display circuit board. http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=28469&g2_serialNumber=3 This video shows only some of the indicators; others require a operational engine. That, and since the oil & coolant temperature were too low to register on my LED bar graphs, they are both off. My sneaky way of tapping the oil pressure transducer looks like it may work too, but I'll reserve celebration until I can turn on the engine. Edited May 17, 2015 by toedrag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Duuuuude :jester: !!! Way, way over the top! Looking good, Brit. Can hardly wait to see it in the flesh. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anaximander Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 Toedrag, These latest pictures constitute outrageous Seven porn. Watch out for men in dark suits coming to your front door. The quality of your build and the special features you are incorporating are simply over the top. It made my M-Spec prototype look like a tractor compared to your build. Well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration but gee whiz, what a work of art and function rolled into one very potent package. Keep up the great work! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 Thx Shane & Bob! :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlumba81 Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 How well will the dash circuitry handle vibrations when driving? Do you plan on epoxying them down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 How well will the dash circuitry handle vibrations when driving? Do you plan on epoxying them down? All the components are through-hole, so that should address most of it, but I'm considering using some sort of potting compound once I've completed validation testing. Or, I may just leave it and see what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Croc Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Phenomenal work on that dashboard - I have never seen anything like that on a build thread before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Phenomenal work on that dashboard - I have never seen anything like that on a build thread before. I've never even heard of anything like that before! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 18, 2015 Author Share Posted May 18, 2015 Thx, Croc & Shane! In other news, I have a pressurized fuel system. I'm using Autozone's Fuel Pressure Test kit loaner set, which has a pressure gauge & hose that threads right onto the schrader valve on the fuel rail. At first, I was a little worried that the fuel pump was cutting off after a few seconds, but after some quick searching on ls1tech, it appears to be normal. The ECU is supposed to turn off the fuel pump relay after 2 seconds if the engine hasn't been started, and once the engine starts, it turns the fuel pump back on. Additionally, it's worth noting that the Aeromotive Fuel Pressure regulator is not designed to hold the pressure after the fuel pump has been turned off (and is documented as such in the in instructions), which means the pressure gradually bleeds off. Had I not read this little note in the instructions, I would have been concerned that I had a leak somewhere. Coolant is also in. Just a bit over 2 gallons is what it has, and once the water pump starts moving, I'm sure more will be needed. For brake fluid & clutch fluid, I'll be using my Motive Bleeder tool. For the Miata brake MC reservoir in the Stalker kit, Motive adapter 1111 is the one to use. For the Wilwood clutch MC, it's the 1100 one. Hopefully will get to this today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 20, 2015 Author Share Posted May 20, 2015 Clutch fluid is in & bled. The clutch disengagement point is about halfway through the stroke; it was a fun little game pushing in the clutch pedal whilst trying to rotate the driveshaft with the car in gear Brake fluid is in but not yet bled. I'm checking for low pressure leaks first; had a couple connections that needed snugging up. I suppose I'll move onto alignment if the exhaust isn't ready tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 My exhaust is still a no-show, sadly. I'm waiting on a call back to give me an ETA. Wheels & tires are on, the car is on the ground, and I set camber to 0 deg. Well, fine, it's more like +/- 0.1 deg if you're counting, but that's good enough for me. I unplugged the injectors & spark plugs and then turned on the starter, which seemed to go well, including the remote start function :cooldude: http://www471.pair.com/stalkerv/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=28475&g2_serialNumber=3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xcarguy Posted May 21, 2015 Share Posted May 21, 2015 Time for a startup vid, Brit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 21, 2015 Author Share Posted May 21, 2015 Time for a startup vid, Brit. I know, I know...believe me, it's killing me that the exhaust is still MIA. But, I talked to the coating company today, and I should have it early next week. Once I have it, I'll be comfortable to let the gas & sparks fly to get her to sing, and oh yes, there will be a video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toedrag Posted May 30, 2015 Author Share Posted May 30, 2015 Still waiting on the exhaust; hopefully Monday as long as these biblical rains call it quits. Been doing various finish items in the meantime: Got the front grille sorted: using 3/4" expanded metal lath in 11 gauge steel, an aluminum 7 emblem, both painted black. fiberglassed-in some aluminum angle brackets on the inside of the hood to hold the lath. Sorted the shifter boot & parking brake boot re-worked the mounting scheme for both my dash circuit board & acrylic panel I noticed the CEL LED was dim when it should have been off, so I made two simple changes to the circuit (add a series zener & swap the current limiting resistor). I realized that I designed the original circuit with the assumption that the CEL signal was active low, 0-12V, but I now believe it's 0-5V. I say "believe" because its present blinking-ness and my lack of an oscilloscope makes it difficult to measure the voltage when the light should be off. Test fit the 3 pt seat belts and all looks good. Sorted the anti-sub belt anchor points for the 6 pt harness: using eyebolts and a 4"x8"x1/8" steel reinforcing plate Mounted the cup holders on the tunnel top - oh yes, there are two cupholders :cheers:, and I even have room behind them on the tunnel top if I find a little drop-in cubby with a door on top Siliconed the flag "buttons" on the dash Still have plenty more on the to do list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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