Style bar and gas cap

poison · Post by **poison** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 9:38 pm

Hi Colin

Just had a look at your Cardomain page and like the floatee idea for the back
window. May I ask if your style bar is an Autospec one? And if so is it the
45mm? I'm in discussions with them about getting one made but maybe of a
bigger diameter.

Also your gas cap is good too, Glenn (Slydit) inspired me to make one and I'm
just about to start (along with the white gauges). I guess you had the shape
of the opening engraved onto it as you said it's not 2 piece, but engraving
must cost many $$$$. Any tips on design would be appreciated (by many I would
imagine).

Gazza

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 12:30 am

On Mon, 27 Sep 2004 21:38:56 +1200, you wrote:

Hi Colin

Just had a look at your Cardomain page and like the floatee idea for the back window. May I ask if your style bar is an Autospec one? And if so is it the 45mm? I'm in discussions with them about getting one made but maybe of a bigger diameter.

Also your gas cap is good too, Glenn (Slydit) inspired me to make one and I'm just about to start (along with the white gauges). I guess you had the shape of the opening engraved onto it as you said it's not 2 piece, but engraving must cost many $$$$. Any tips on design would be appreciated (by many I would imagine).

Gazza

Yep. They are from Autospecs Gazza. . I designed the u sections and he welded
them on before chroming. Makes it easy to slot in the windbreaker.They are the
38mm model. I am happy with the quality.

Re the gas lid.. Engraving and laser cutting are not cheap. I got a few made
to sell keep the cost down. Cost me quite a lot for R & D, computer design &
computer time on the laser and making a bending mould before they looked good
enough These are available at $85 if anyone wants one. Includes the
polishing and bending and tape and full instructions. You don't have to butcher
your existing lid either. Only suits NA models. I am pleased how they came out.

I am about half way through the guage faces . They are working out real well
with a choice of colours Only certain plastics will laser cut properly and I am
about set to install a set to try them . Special material is needed for the
printing of the guages as ordinary vinyl will curl off after a couple of years
from what I have heard. Anyone used the locally made ones and how do they look
at night ? I have heard some models are very patchy at night. I owe a special
vote of thanks to Nigel who has lent me his spare guage faces.

Am thinking of making some front mudflaps too. Have a mate who is a fibreglass
wizard and he drinks Speights.

Still playing around with the smaller headlights and hopefully a kit will be
available soon. Will put a pic on the web page of what I am trying to achieve.
.

--
Col

http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/684887

Nina · Post by **Nina** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 4:32 pm

Hey Col
I'd really like one of those gas lids. They look awesome, well done mate!
May I have your email address so I can send you my details (and get your
account # so I can pay you

) please?

Cheers
Nina

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You don't know
if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug
that takes you higher
Head in heaven
fingers in the mire

Yep. They are from Autospecs Gazza. . I designed the u sections and he welded
them on before chroming. Makes it easy to slot in the windbreaker.They are the
38mm model. I am happy with the quality.

Re the gas lid.. Engraving and laser cutting are not cheap. I got a few made
to sell keep the cost down. Cost me quite a lot for R & D, computer design &
computer time on the laser and making a bending mould before they looked
good
enough These are available at $85 if anyone wants one. Includes the
polishing and bending and tape and full instructions. You don't have to
butcher
your existing lid either. Only suits NA models. I am pleased how they came
out.

I am about half way through the guage faces . They are working out real well
with a choice of colours Only certain plastics will laser cut properly and
I am
about set to install a set to try them . Special material is needed for the
printing of the guages as ordinary vinyl will curl off after a couple of years
from what I have heard. Anyone used the locally made ones and how do they look
at night ? I have heard some models are very patchy at night. I owe a
special
vote of thanks to Nigel who has lent me his spare guage faces.

Am thinking of making some front mudflaps too. Have a mate who is a fibreglass
wizard and he drinks Speights.

Still playing around with the smaller headlights and hopefully a kit will be
available soon. Will put a pic on the web page of what I am trying to
achieve.
..

--
Col

http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/684887

.

David & Judy Kerr · Post by **David & Judy Kerr** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 5:56 pm

Colin do you have a photo of the gas lid?

Dave.

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:08 pm

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:56:52 +1200, you wrote:

[...]

--
Col

http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/684887

GrubbyMX · Post by **GrubbyMX** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 6:47 pm

Gazza

What dia and style are you thinking of getting made. I would quiet like
something with the appearance of some rear bracing that is a large dia as
well.

Ralph

David & Judy Kerr · Post by **David & Judy Kerr** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 8:22 pm

Colin the link doesn't work.

Dave.

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 8:32 pm

On Tue, 28 Sep 2004 20:22:50 +1200, you wrote:

[...]

David & Judy Kerr · Post by **David & Judy Kerr** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 8:37 pm

Sorry Colin it was my bloody firewall stopping things, it looks good. I will
check my kitty to see if I can scrape $85.00 together.

Dave.

poison · Post by **poison** » Tue Sep 28, 2004 11:32 pm

Hey Ralph

Autospec make two bars, one at 38mm and now also one at 45mm . My friend David
M, has one on his car that's 2 1/2' (63.5mm) on the cross bar and 2 1/4"
(57mm) on the hoops. In fact when he first got his MX5 a few years ago, the
style bar was the highlight for me. So I've asked Autospec to make a custom
one for me as I'm not too keen on the bend shape they use as it looks too thin
and maybe off centre (just from the photo's)
http://www.autospec.co.nz/mx5.htm, but the guy is not happy with the results
so far (he's a perfectionist which is great). Glenn made some that have
similar dimensions (I believe) with 1800 hoops
http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/264041/4, But I wanted something with
maybe a 1650 bend, I had a link to a picture but it's not working now. the
good thing with Autospec is although not the fastest turnaround in the world
they will do one off's.

Cheers

Gazza

SLYDIT · Post by **SLYDIT** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 5:46 pm

My bars were 2.25 inch hoops and 2.5 inch cross bar.
Go to your muffler shop and find out who does the
bends, (They usually buy them in from a place in
Christchurch i think) you could ask them to custom
bend some to 160 degree bends.
Making them is cheap
Chroming them AINT!!

poison · Post by **poison** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 10:55 pm

Hi Colin

Thanks for the gas cap offer it sounds a fair price, but I love to make things
(it also gives me a legitimate excuse why I'm too busy to finish painting the
bathroom

so I'll give a gas cap a go. Although I would like to hear about
your gauge progress though, I'm nervous of not making a good job with the
printed paper method. My biggest worry being the little stops at the end of
the scales. I've seen Glenns one's on his car and they looked great. But I'm
still worried about making a mess of it all.

Part of my plan is to use blue LEDs as the back light for them too, these will
also have to be dimmable, but this is not so simple as you can't just stick a
resistor in line you have to use a regulator/transistor combo to pulse the
power on/off very fast (you can't see this) so varying the speed will vary the
intensity. I've got a simple circuit format he net but as yet have not tried
it. the trouble with this sort of project is everything has to be ready as
once the dash is apart you can't stop half way (like painting the bathroom).

Gazza

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Wed Sep 29, 2004 11:45 pm

On Wed, 29 Sep 2004 22:55:15 +1200, you wrote:

Hi Colin

Thanks for the gas cap offer it sounds a fair price, but I love to make things (it also gives me a legitimate excuse why I'm too busy to finish painting the bathroom so I'll give a gas cap a go. Although I would like to hear about your gauge progress though, I'm nervous of not making a good job with the printed paper method. My biggest worry being the little stops at the end of the scales. I've seen Glenns one's on his car and they looked great. But I'm still worried about making a mess of it all.

Part of my plan is to use blue LEDs as the back light for them too, these will also have to be dimmable, but this is not so simple as you can't just stick a resistor in line you have to use a regulator/transistor combo to pulse the power on/off very fast (you can't see this) so varying the speed will vary the intensity. I've got a simple circuit format he net but as yet have not tried it. the trouble with this sort of project is everything has to be ready as once the dash is apart you can't stop half way (like painting the bathroom).

Gazza

Hi Gazza .

I was at Rod Akins place today. There were 2 huge hoops for a style bar there.
Are they yours ? . The diameter looks overly huge .

No problem re the Gas lid Gazza. I'm not sure whether to do a larger run next
time or not. I seem to get more enjoyment out of designing and manufacturing but
lose interest when all problems are solved.

Blue LEDs . Hmmm . Guage faces are progressing slowly. Just about set on
Polycarbonate as the base material as it cuts beautifully on the Laser machine.
Now I have the pattern in the computer it costs peanuts in laser time to cut
them .
Looking at 3 different choices of materials for the overlays. THere is an
interesting new product out that may suit. Should have a full Instrument
cluster arriving tomorrow to experiment with. I don't want my faces to look
patchy at night like most replacement ones seem to do .

THe little stops worry me 2 as they often are stuffed after cutting them out of
the original guages. I am going to a model shop soon and will be looking for
some very small diameter SS studs that may suit with a view to supplying them
with the guage faces. I seem to remember there being something that would suit
from my tamya car days

Here's a page detailing the fitting of guage faces which is the best I have
found to date.

http://www.seriousauto.com/miata-miscel ... _index.htm

My garage will probably have an instrument cluster screwed to the wall ( for
experimentation) and the front of a MX5 welded to the portals ( For the lo-lite
development) . Bloody MX5's seem to have taken over all the little spare time
I have.

--
Col

http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/684887

Rex Johnston · Post by **Rex Johnston** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 6:43 am

Gazza wrote:

Part of my plan is to use blue LEDs as the back light for them too,
these will also have to be dimmable, but this is not so simple as you
can't just stick a resistor in line you have to use a
regulator/transistor combo to pulse the power on/off very fast (you
can't see this) so varying the speed will vary the intensity. I've got
a simple circuit format he net but as yet have not tried it. the
trouble with this sort of project is everything has to be ready as
once the dash is apart you can't stop half way (like painting the
bathroom).

LEDs draw very little current. You could get away with a simple
regulator (like an LM317, or even a 7805 if 5V is dim enough) with the
VR in the ground sense lead. Much simpler.
PDM techniques are overkill for this, and you'll probably hear it
through your stereo.

Rex

poison · Post by **poison** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:59 am

Re-Instrument stops.

I had an idea last night while looking for a voltage
regulator. On an old circuit board were some soldering pins.
These are little pins that are mounted onto a circuit board
for soldering wires to. They may be godd for the job and are
available from Dick Smith or Jaycar.

Gazza

[...]

supplying them with the guage faces. I seem to remember
there being something that would suit from my tamya car
days

Here's a page detailing the fitting of guage faces which
is the best I have found to date.

http://www.seriousauto.com/miata-miscellanea/M1 Gauge Face

Installation/gauge_face_index.htm
[...]

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:07 am

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 08:59:20 +1200, you wrote:

Re-Instrument stops.

I had an idea last night while looking for a voltage
regulator. On an old circuit board were some soldering pins.
These are little pins that are mounted onto a circuit board
for soldering wires to. They may be godd for the job and are
available from Dick Smith or Jaycar.

Good thinking . And with Superglue holding them in the hole that would work
fine.

Veropins or Matrix board pins from memory .

--
Col

http://miata.cardomain.com/memberpage/684887

Colin Francis · Post by **Colin Francis** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 9:21 am

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 08:59:20 +1200, you wrote:

Re-Instrument stops.

I had an idea last night while looking for a voltage
regulator. On an old circuit board were some soldering pins.
These are little pins that are mounted onto a circuit board
for soldering wires to. They may be godd for the job and are
available from Dick Smith or Jaycar.

Look at Product No hp1250 at jaycar .
Colin Francis

carl.halvorsen · Post by **carl.halvorsen** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 3:00 pm

I changed the guage faces a while back and instead of removing the OEM pins,
I super glued the top of a bic pen " black" ( the piece you push down ) onto
the face. Had to cut the lumpy bit off. You don't even notice it.

Carl

From akjellberg@kpmg.co.nz Fri Apr 27 18:29:10 2007
Content-class: urn:content-classes:message
Subject: Car for Sale
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 16:59:06 +1200
Thread-Topic: Car for Sale
Thread-Index: AcSmqjdXCwmsP+AwQj+depaMiAY4aA==
From: "Kjellberg, Adrian" <akjellberg@kpmg.co.nz>
To: "MX5 List" <mx5list@mx5club.org.nz>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Precedence: list
Message-ID: <35KMLB.A.xcG.BpZMGB@L733>

Hi All,
Has anyone had a look at this car...
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Trade-Me-Motor ... 039498.htm
Its in Hamilton (Mason Walker Motors)
Adrian

poison · Post by **poison** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:09 pm

Cheers Rex

I tried to come up with a plan just using a 7805 but (I think) the control leg
current will be too high, design is not my strong point. Any ideas would be
appreciated. By the way thanks for the chat on amp's earlier, I got inspired
so I did a bit of reading and at least know the difference between the
operation of class A, B and AB now.

Gazza

Voodoo · Post by **Voodoo** » Thu Sep 30, 2004 8:39 pm

Gazza,

Use a 317T adjustable regulator. The adjustment pot between the control
terminal and ground. If you tell me what voltage range you want I can draw you
a picture.

Gazza

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 20:09:47 +1200, Gazza wrote:

Cheers Rex

I tried to come up with a plan just using a 7805 but (I think) the control leg
current will be too high, design is not my strong point. Any ideas would be
appreciated. By the way thanks for the chat on amp's earlier, I got inspired
so I did a bit of reading and at least know the difference between the
operation of class A, B and AB now.

Gazza

Rex Johnston · Post by **Rex Johnston** » Fri Oct 01, 2004 7:19 am

Gazza wrote:

Cheers Rex

I tried to come up with a plan just using a 7805 but (I think) the
control leg current will be too high, design is not my strong point.
Any ideas would be appreciated. By the way thanks for the chat on
amp's earlier, I got inspired so I did a bit of reading and at least
know the difference between the operation of class A, B and AB now.

No worries. I don't think i said much. People are coming up with some
interesting output topologies in an attempt to reduce
the requirement for expensive heatsinks. Just check out some of the
horrendous digital messes like 'tripath' et al.
Me? I still like my first attempt best (triode strapped PP 807s heavily
biased into class A, unstressed and still on it's first set of
valves, hardly production ready and totally unsuitable for home theater
with a huge 15W).

As voodoo says, use a 317, the ground sense current is minute, and if
you need more grunt than ~1 amp, jump to a 350.

Cheers, Rex

PS http://www.national.com/pf/LM/LM317.html

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