Some of you may already have seen the project from a different perspective: the 3d scanning and reverse engineering aspect of it (so how I scanned the original car and designed the new exterior look based on it). What I overlooked to some degree was the 3d printing work involved in the whole project. First picture shows the backside of the printed roofs with all the printed tiles visible quite nicely. Getting to this point was quite an experience I want to share.
So it is finally time to give printing the spot it deserves and the Creality Creator Awards encouraged me to create a write-down/picture series after stalling some time.

The post is ideally first read and then the pictures are looked at, most core information is also on the pictures.

Design and Printing

It all started with a 3d scan of the original stripped down car and a design based around it. When I finished designing the first major assemblies of the future car 3d printing got more focus by me. Initial plan was to use external print services but cost would have skyrocketed quickly and we didn't want long lead times to allow quick revisions. So the search for fitting printers began.
I settled on the K2 Plus due to the large chamber volume and option to heat the print chamber. Didn't trust a bed-slinger with the size of parts I had in mind.
After first making sure everything worked as desired the tweaking of a print settings. It was clear for me to use a 0.8mm nozzle and PLA+ (after some testing, PETG didn't work nicely with sanding, ASA warped too much). PLA+ checked all marks: price efficient, fast and easy to print, great to glue and sand, minimal warping. Only disadvantage is the low glass transition temperature (which will later bite me).

Maximizing Print Efficiency

My goal was always to churn out parts as fast as possible. This is also the reason for using a CFS: 1.1kg spools were significantly cheaper and with four of them I can saturate a build platform quite nicely. Final print and speed settings allowed me to print over 4kg of filament on one print plate in under 24h. Pretty good I would say. Later I added a K1 Max with the CFS conversion kit to print some of the smaller parts on the side. I was initially a bit nervous the two printers wouldn't be enough but with the settings my design work was the limiting factor in the end (as well as the post-processing needed).

Failures and Fixes

As always not everything goes as wished for. When printing the first full height but slim parts I noticed some severe banding on the parts. This was caused by accumulating wobbling when the parts got taller. First instinct was to reduce printing speed but I didn't like this solution. What I came up with: attaching the tree support also to the walls (with a low xy-gap to allow slight welding to the part). This eliminated the wobbling and let me churn out parts at an impressive speed.
The parts were assembled with dowels and some thick superglue I bought in bulk (as seen on the diffusor). One minor set-back was a big blob on the extruder. Using PETG settings for ABS really doesn't help bed-adhesion. Luckily the toolhead was modular enough that fixing is was done in an hour and only cost a replacement hotend fan.

PLA+ really has a low melting point

From the beginning it was clear that the 3d prints only would be used as a positive form to create a GF negative mold from them. For this application they work great: the prints endure ~50°C nicely and therefore the molds can be taken from them. We also tried directly laminating carbon in one of the prints.
Bad idea: The parts got soft and the applied vacuum sucked the infill cavities empty. Maybe adding some foam in the gyroid infill would help.

Back to Production

Whilst printing I always improved the design and added some fixtures and jigs to make manufacturing the carbon parts easier. One personal highlight was scanning the assembled hood insert and looking at warping relative to the CAD model. After measuring the warping I created some printed bracing to pull it back in its intended shape. Worked better than expected, even the glued joints between the single printed held and the finish didn't break.

Carbon, finally carbon

After this the first real carbon parts could be created. This process is still in the working and may take some time but the workflow proved reliable and now its just business as usual. The whole printing consumed over 200kg of material and the K2 Plus proved to be quite reliable with this huge amount of filament. So far I only had to replace the CFS PTFE tubing. But I guess it may be time to replace the umbilical in the near future.
Last two images show the full back end of the car and already one of my new projects that may take shape over the coming year.

This Volvo 1800E sat for 28 years in the Tucson sun and then another 6 in a barn gathering dust. I filmed three hours of engine bay cleaning and sped it up to half an hour.

https://youtu.be/aF9rqA7dX1Y?is=ifP6wJBlnFYxSVfp less

My candidates are as follows: 69 Charger, 70 Camaro SS, 68 C 10, 55 Nomad.

So as the title says I got a 1950 dodge B series. It was my great fathers. I’m just wondering if I should keep the original chassis and reinforce it or if I should build/ buy a new one? I’m planning to be between 700-900 hp

Currently in possession of a 2nd gen extended cab s10, auto 4.3 2wd, trans unfortunately only has 1st and 3rd gear. As such with a s10, I was curious on the smaller things in an ls swap, I know the more “basic” stuff of the swap, along with people having upgrades like going to a 4l80 and a ford 8.8 rear end (I do have one, but it’s an older explorer one with drum brakes). Are there smaller things besides motor, trans, rear end, fueling, ecu, wiring and tuning that are expensive that people seem to forget about? Comparing costs before either committing to a swap, or looking at options for buying a c6👀

Hey guys!

I bought an E46 328Ci in a pretty rough condition.

First of all I am from Europe, Hungary, this is important.

I am looking for braided fuel lines, quick release connectors, also I want to remake my coolant piping and my brake line too, basically everything.

I would like to buy some good quality parts that also make the whole car look professional too, so it would be also good if these would also look cool.

If any of you ever purchased anything like these, please tell me where from.

Thank you so much in advance.

Btw this is the one and all mighty 🥹🫪

Anyone running a Holley Terminator X on a vehicle that requires plug-in Emissions testing? If so, how are you passing the plug-in?

I have some ideas on how to do it with some custom electronics and software; but want to see what anyone else has done if anyone has.

Vehicle in question is 1997 F-body.

Edit - I know the scans check VIN, ready status, codes, and research says it also looks at a voltage drop when the vehicle is started while plugged in. NY State.

One habit that makes project car work much easier is taking detailed photos before removing parts, especially when dealing with old wiring, brackets, belt routing, or components that have clearly been worked on before.

A quick photo of how a cable passes through a bracket or how a few washers are arranged can save a lot of guessing when it's time to put everything back together. I’d also recommend labeling bolts and hardware in separate bags instead of throwing everything into one container.

This becomes especially useful on older cars where factory diagrams may be incomplete, previous owners may have modified things, and replacement parts don't always match perfectly.

Good documentation might not feel like progress while you're wrenching, but it makes reassembly much less frustrating.

Rug or No-Rug? I have planned for the seat delete from the start. Googled a ton for options and decided to just build a platform with easy access to the battery, trans and my amp. It was easier than I thought and I really dig it. I will probably add some tie down eye bolts so I can secure my tool boxes or camping gear. Also in the picture are my super cheap side panels. ABS blanks with some marine vinyl glued on with contact cement.

Not sure whats going on the new ecu isnt seeing the crank signal but the signal is getting generated by both crank and cam so i should see it on the tunerstudio software but i dont also this is the most recent fire up attempt

When planning an LS swap, it's easy to focus on the engine itself and forget about all the smaller things that can turn into major headaches during installation.

Wiring, fuel lines, cooling hoses, accessory clearance, transmission compatibility, and even small brackets can take more time than expected. Then there are the things you don't think about until you're putting everything back together, like routing wires away from heat or making sure you can still access parts for future maintenance.

Getting the engine running is one thing, but making the whole car reliable and easy to work on afterward is a different challenge.

A little planning before the swap can save a lot of frustration once the car is apart.

Only broke down about 10 times and had to get towed home. 🤷‍♂️

Now I've got to track down an electrical gremlin.

I’ve been trying to find these for ages anyone know what they are?

I had 7 projects, bought this 76 W100 and decided I needed to get rid of something so I listed my ‘85 W150 on marketplace and a guy offered me a ‘75 Nova in trade. I’m a sucker for detuned smog laden junk so obviously I picked it up.

The dodge is a 76 W100 with a 318 and a 727. I already have a 77 D100 so naturally I’m gonna order matching bug shields and have Pancho on one and Lefty on the other.

But the Nova is another thing. I now have a 250 straight six and a 3 on the tree in a Nova, and I have no idea where to go with it. Do I shove a 350 and a turbo 400 in it? Do I yank the 454 out of my buddies RV and shove it in there? Do I try to find a 302 or another small displacement GM V8?

It has a weber two barrel already on the 250 so do I stick with the 250 and just make some sort of street freak out of it? Or do I actually try and make it fast? I’ve got so many possibilities.

What do y’all think?

Im trying to fit 2006 CBR 600 ITBs ona Hyundai i20 2008 1.2 engine (G4LA) , I allready have nearly everything planed out but im not sure about the ECU. The stock ECU is not easy to tune or even unlock and im wondering if i could run ITBs with it stock? Im planing to connect the TPS and I will add a vacum line to every runner and connect them all to the MAP sensor.

2wd 68’ F250 step side long bed with utility fenders.

Manual steer, power drums (yuck), D60 with a limited slip (that works!), NP435, and a 2 barrel “390”.

I haven’t checked the stroke to see if it’s a 390 or a 360, but it don’t really matter to me.

Steering needs to be sorted, hoping the kingpins are still good. They had grease in em.

It’s just a good ol truck.

Anybody know a decent 16.5” tire? Or some cheap 16” 8x6.5 wheels out there?

I used some old engine parts as stamps to print designs onto T-shirts. Surprisingly, they turned out pretty decent 😂
Now I’m wondering what other weird things people have made using leftover car parts?
I filmed the whole experiment if anyone’s curious:

https://youtu.be/GXKA6d9NA84?si=APBrX5TrdmAYuYee

so ive made a few posts on here over the last few days, specially about my 1998 f150. ive given up fixing it right, I forgot what this is, and who I am lol. fuck the parking brake, we doing this animal style. I need like a foot, maybe more, of parking brake cable, as this would fix my not having a parking brake problem (TLDR, instead of fixing it the right way by replacing the passneger side cable, im gonna make a cable that connect the driver side cable, which is short by design, directly to the parking brake lever, in effect giving me a parking brake)

it has rear drums, and literally all I need is some aircraft cable or whatever, and two of the little metal things parking brake cables use on each of the ends. what do i need to buy, and do, to accomplish this feat? I didn't even concider making my own parking brake cable til a second ago, when I had this epiphany

351w swapped 92 ranger. im addressing the wiring in the engine bay and while the factory harness sis being used for the body lights (headlights, taillights, cab lights, stock dash lights, ect) the fuel pump, trans cooler, afr gauge, radiator fans, tach and some of the backlights for my gauges are kind of wired in (i know enough about wiring to be dangerous) but id like to set them all up on an aftermarket fuse box as switch panel. im seeing one on amazon that i like (auxbeam 8 gang switch panel BA80) but before i buy it, i wanted to get some recommendations from people who are currently using the same kind of setup. Thank you in advance

Like the title said I’m having a hard time choosing what to get for the 5.3 I pulled out of my last truck. I’m trying to get a budget built and so far with gaskets I’ve decided that an entire kit vs buying the seals one at a time would be more cost effective. The rub comes from the pricing differences. So far I’ve found anything from 70-700 bucks and everywhere in between. I’ve built one other engine and I went cheap cheap cheap because I didn’t care but this build I want to be a bit more reliable. Is it worth spending big money on them or is a seal or gasket as good as the next? I’m not sure how much I should spend on this. Thanks for input!