M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: longms on September 16, 2011, 02:39:34 PM
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Started this project a while back and has been on the shelf for some time but after getting it together I think it will help tidy up the bay a bit. Started by mocking up the spacing of the box over a weekend. Took my time and tried to utilize the space the best. Then traced out all the pieces onto 1/4" plywood and put the box together. Here is where I am at as it stands.
I am going to bondo the gaps and smooth out rough spots then laying some fiberglass or carbon fiber. Then painting it with some heat resistant engine enamel I think (if I use fiber glass). Let me know what you guys think or if you have any suggestions.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/downsized_0912011838.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/0916011348a.jpg)
Radiator side cutout
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/0916011348-1.jpg)
Have started prepping to get a good surface that the fiberglass or carbon fiber will not stick to. Have laid bondo down and is currently drying and will start sanding once it is ready. I realize that this process is a little overkill but I am just having fun with this cheap little project and want to make the end result look the best that I can possibly achieve. Still have not decided which material I want to use. Will post pics up when I get a chance.
Puttied and ready for sanding. Want to lay down some paint and a coat or two of clear so I can wax the hell out of this bad boy before putting any material down.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/PA100358-1.jpg)
So I decided through this process I would try to get some experience about flattening out the surfaces and try to get a nice smooth paint surface. Again, I know this process is overkill but I figured why not since I am not in a rush to finish this and want it to come out great the first time. So I sanded down the putty with 400 grit and then sprayed 1 layer of primer since that is all I had left in the can. I then looked for rough spots in the paint and sanded them a bit and put some more putty down. I let that dry and hit it with some 400 then 600 grit. This is where it stands today. I will probably do a little more 600 grit and then start laying some paint.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/PA230360.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/PA230359.jpg)
Got some paint over the primer and putty and letting it cure for about 48 hours then will start sanding down with 1000 grit to try to get an even smoother surface.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/1025011355.jpg)
As it stands presently. Painted and cleared and ready for heavy doses of wax and then time to lay the fiberglass. I am going to make some sort of stand to hold the mold up to make laying the fiberglass a lot easier.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/1027011355.jpg)
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looks good so far! eager to see the end result. :D
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Ive just made a carbon airbox for my car so have just gone through the fiberglass learning curve. Here is what i found out which may help out
1) your wood mold is everything ie its fit and finish is exactly what you will get from the fiberglass part so dont rush it.
2) To release the fiberglass i found food wrap, "glad wrap" here in NZ a good cheap release film as neither the resin or the wood stick to it
3) polyester resin is the cheapest but vinyl ester is a slightly more expensive resin but stll not anywhere near the price of epoxy but offers better heat and chemical resistance. Wear masks and goggles though as its smelly nasty stuff
4) instead of painting tint the resin to save yourself a process and probably money to.
best of luck.
Post pics of how you go to, its always interesting to see how people do things not just the result!
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@longms: Nice looking mod...I presume a cone filter will sit up there?
@MLM; What's the cost difference between epoxy & vinyl ester?
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@longms: Nice looking mod...I presume a cone filter will sit up there?
@MLM; What's the cost difference between epoxy & vinyl ester?
My local shop charge $29 for polyester $35 for vinyl ester and $50 for epoxy for a 1 kg kit.
Another thing to note is Epoxy requires you to be spot on with your part measuring while vinyl and poly esters are between 1-2% hardner to resin making it easier to measure
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I plan on getting some bondo or body filler and filling on the voids on the wood so that the fiberglass mold comes out very clean.
Will take your advice on the plastic food wrap over the wood.
And yes there will be a cone filter that will go in there. Any one recommend a decent dry filter for me? or should I go K&N?
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This project won't be completed quickly. I want to do this right and have it come out looking clean. I am juggling school, work, training, being a husband and my car projects all at the same time so i don't foresee this happening very quickly.
I will try to photograph and document my process and how I think it comes out.
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Ive just made a carbon airbox for my car so have just gone through the fiberglass learning curve. Here is what i found out which may help out
1) your wood mold is everything ie its fit and finish is exactly what you will get from the fiberglass part so dont rush it.
2) To release the fiberglass i found food wrap, "glad wrap" here in NZ a good cheap release film as neither the resin or the wood stick to it
3) polyester resin is the cheapest but vinyl ester is a slightly more expensive resin but stll not anywhere near the price of epoxy but offers better heat and chemical resistance. Wear masks and goggles though as its smelly nasty stuff
4) instead of painting tint the resin to save yourself a process and probably money to.
best of luck.
Post pics of how you go to, its always interesting to see how people do things not just the result!
I will PM you but do you have any pictures of your setup? Thanks for the info.
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Are you making a mold or laying the cai on top of the plug?
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Hi Longms
I tried to upload a pic but it failed, either forum issues or issues at my end. Will try later from home.
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Are you making a mold or laying the cai on top of the plug?
This is a mold and still have the initial mockup in cardboard to figure out where I will punch a hole for the intake ducting
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So a while back I had a bit of front end damage and since having it fixed the rad support was not pushed all the way back into place and now there is only about a 1mm space in between the radiator resevoir and the cut-out of my airbox. Will this be an issue that I need to address? Should I make modifications to make more room between the two?
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Should have some updates coming soon. Got the fiberglass laid and am in the process of final fitting the airbox and then getting the hole cut for the filter tube. Then will need to mount and then finally paint it. Will post some pics soon.
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Shall be good to see how this turns out.
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Here are some pictures of the fiberglass box after it came out of the mold (aka had to destroy the mold to get it off...will have to perfect that later).
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/P3190389.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/P3190392.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/P3190390.jpg)
Here a pic of the inside where the resin sealed itself to the paint and literally ripped it clean from the wood. This is after I tried my best to sand some of the bodyfiller and paint away.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/P3190391.jpg)
Still have to attach mounts, cut out the hole for air ducting and give it a quick spray on flat black engine enamel,
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Food wrap next time and you wont have to distroy the mold. That or propper mold release.
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Sand and finish your existing part to use as your new mold. This female mold will provide you with smooth finish look in the engine bay.
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Food wrap next time and you wont have to distroy the mold. That or propper mold release.
Yea, and considering you recommended that to me I am kicking myself now.
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Sand and finish your existing part to use as your new mold. This female mold will provide you with smooth finish look in the engine bay.
You are correct but I do not want to make another one and am happy with the current one. I will be spraying the inside and outside of the box when all final prep is finished.
I am not sure how many points of contact I should have for mounting but I am thinking 4 maybe only 3 should suffice. Problem is finding proper mounting points and not having to punch new holes in the sheet metal.
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So I finished the final fitting of the airbox and snapped some pictures. I had to get rather inventive with mounting the box. I used only existing mounting points and holes that were already in the engine bay.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0006.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0005.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0004.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0003.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0002.jpg)
And lastly here it is painted and with all the hardware mounted and ready to be put in tomorrow morning.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0011.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0007.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0010.jpg)
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Nice piece of fabricating work there. Looks good!
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Ok so I got the whole thing mounted up but have put on the top insulating tube yet. This generic filter will be replaced with new smaller cyilndrical filter later. Here are the pics.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0013.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0012.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0017.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0016.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0015.jpg)
Here is the clearance from the hood which will only be better once I get the new filter.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0014.jpg)
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Looking good.
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Nice. Any plans for a seal/finishing trim on the top edge?
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Nice. Any plans for a seal/finishing trim on the top edge?
Yes sir I put that on this evening and have some pictures. Here is the final product and the way it will sit.
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0020.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0019.jpg)
(http://i372.photobucket.com/albums/oo163/mslong27/DSC_0018.jpg)
If there are any suggestions or comments on something that may make this better let me know.
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Nope looks good to me. I used very similar stuff but smaller diameter as you would have seen. It must work as the inlet temp sits steady at, on average 3 degrees above ambient while stationary.
Good job!
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I wish I had some way of measuring the temp inside the airbox. oh well. I am very happy with the way it turned out and the car feels like it is a little more responsive but this could just be my wishful thinking.
Do you know where I can find a silicone intake tube to replace the ugly one attached to the intake manifold?