Things are still moving on, but thanks to loadshedding, with difficulty. This week we are scheduled to have our electricity cut off 3 times a day for at least 2 hours at a time - when 2 of those hours are prime-time workshop hours it takes its toll.....
I've still be working on the air-filter housing and intake system. I needed a lid to keep the filter in place, I went through many iterations in my head, before coming up with the final result which is fairly simple. I did also make use of a core material which was something new for me. I used a 3mm thick product called Coremat XM (
https://www.lantorcomposites.com/textil ... ZqEALw_wcB) which helps build up thickness very quickly - cutting and laying layers and layers of cloth can be tedious. The material itself is pretty inexpensive, but it does require quite a lot of resin - the price goes up quickly when you use epoxy to fill it up, but it can be used with most resins.
Below is the layup of the lid:
1 is the base - a piece of chipboard with packing tape to make it non-stick.
2 is a layer of peel-ply - this equalises the texture of the fiberglass and stops things sticking - it was folded over to make the flange.
3 is the first layer of fiberglass - it is 400gsm cloth
4 shows the core showing through the layers - if you look closely - you can't see the core otherwise.
5 is the second layer of 400gsm fiberglass laid at a 45 degree angle to the first layer
6 is the second layer of peel ply
7 is the board I used to give me something to fold the flange bit over
8 is an offcut used to hold the folded bit down.
And this is how it fits on to the filter housing after being trimmed to size - you can see the core material on the edge of the lid, and how it was folded over to slip on to the edge of the filter housing:
I cut the center out - I can probably make use of the board cut from the center somewhere else in my build future - I thought it was easier just to do it like this rather than faffing around trying to make the exact shape - fiberglass cloth does move around a lot once cut - I do put masking tape on the edges of pieces I'm cutting sometimes to keep the weave in place. I cast 3 half-circles of resin on the lower flange, then drilled a 10mm hole and press-fitted some plastic threaded inserts into the holes - no pics of this right now. Three M6 stainless bolts all hold it in place with washers to spread the load. The lid is stiff enough for this job, but may have needed more resin than I thought...
And how it looks mounted to the top radiator duct:
The filter faces directly into the front of the car body, so rather than try and fabricate scoops, ducting etc. I'm planning on just cutting some holes as below to let air in - these are just quick renderings of my idea:
There are a few avenues for air to get into the space between the bumper and the body and then to the filter, but I'm working on a more direct route....the over riders on my car need to be remade, they are horrid. I'm making up a inlet that will fill the space below the over rider, below is a quick and rough mock up - the actual piece will be a bit taller and sit directly under the over rider, and make a neat gap to the side lights.
Neil.
PS - Deon if you read this please check your private messages, I did reply to your message, but could only do it that way as no other contact details came up.
Did the over riders save the front bumper? Or the over riders and the bumper saved the car body, or was everything damaged to save the driver? They don't cover much of the bumper - you did well to actually use them!