The Blazer center console has been progressing, slower than I wanted but I’m learning the 3D printing part of the project.
Figuring out how to use Autodesk Fusion 360 was time well invested.
Blog
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Blazer show trophy
This morning I drove to Lodi and registered at the Cars N’ Coffee put on by the Central Valley Classics and Customs.
Long story short I won a cool trophy.
I totally did not expect to win anything, my intentions was to hang out with like minded folks.
The trophy is very cool, a nice piece of jewelry for my first trophy. Next year I’ll come out with some big changes. Make this ride truly my own.
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Minitruck outing
I took the Minitruck out for a spin, just to the local gas station down the road so I could get the fluids circulating.
This may be the first out in public photo of the personalized license plate “LOWNFUN”.
Since I picked up the Blazer I haven’t been putting many miles on the Mini.
In the next few weeks I’ll probably do a bit more driving, I may be revamping the Blazer center console so the Minitruck will be the weekend ride.
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Blazer – center stereo console
I decided to install a Pioneer AVH-4500NEX Double Din Stereo into the Blazer. I couldn’t bring myself to cut up the 1956 Chevrolet 3100 dashboard.
In order to do a legit installation I would need to build a custom console to mount the stereo equipment.
If building a stereo console was my only task that would fairly straight forward. I need to also include an area that I can display HydroDrop 2.
Early Blazer console revision The console cannot be so large that it extends far enough from the under dash and obstruct my in and out access to the driver seat.
My first print didn’t work out as planned. I now know to really scrutinize the 3D model drawing before going to print. I now change the opacity of the main body down to 30%. This allows me to see through the part and all the inner areas.
In the case of this failed part, there was a section that had too thin of material and it came apart at the corner seams.
Seam cracked on left side of photo. I also found that the opening cutout for the double DIN stereo was 0.4 inches too tall in height and this left a large gap even after the deck was installed.
The next version below corrected the errors made in the previous model.
The console is so large the part had to be broken down into 3 sections. The middle section was printed first. There are a lot of support considerations when going through Bambu Studio slicing software. A lot of overhangs are used, each section a support must used to prevent sagging.
Test fitting the deck in place. The filament being used is ASA, this was chosen for the durability, heat resistance and able to withstand UV rays. This console will be inside of a roadster so it will be exposed to direct sunlight.
This has literally been a long trial and error learning process. The latest “opportunity” occurred with the dowels placement. I should have sliced all the objects before starting a print. If a dowel created an error the correction may render the completed parts dowel location as inaccurate.
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Blazer – Air Ride Compressor Current
I have been wanting to measure the air ride current on the blazer.
The current probe I have been using was specifically for low current measurements.
I picked up a high current probe and will perform measurements this weekend.
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Blazer and Ione Car Show
I took my grandson out the Ione Car Show. The town of Ione is not far but it was the first trip out of town since the fuel pump circuit went out heading to Sacramento a week before.
We arrived at the setup location right on time, 7 am. By the time we arrived there were 3 rows of registered vehicles already in place. This turned out to be an advantage for us and worked out great. By arriving at the moment we did we were able to get a nice parking spot on Main Street.
There were a few registered owner that got pissed off because they came and were numbers 3 and 4 in line. They ended up having to park on one of the side streets and not on Main Street.
This was the first time I have gone to the Ione car show. It’s a cool small show. We had a good time hanging out. Having all the business open and being able to buy stuff easily was a plus.
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Blazer speaker pods
I decided to go with a different speaker location for the 6×9 three ways.
The pods are 3D printed and angle out towards the driver and passenger.
The stock grill color was black which did not match theme I have going on. The color matched paint (dashboard) was used to give it custom look. .
The panel area where the passenger and driver doors would normally be required support hanging the custom made 6×9 speaker pods. I used a thin piece of sheet metal place at the back of the panel to strengthen the mounting area.
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Blazer gauge cluster rework
I spent the afternoon replacing the all bulbs in the Chevrolet 3100 gauge cluster to the same type of 194 bulbs purchased in bulk.
I also retired the separate fuel and dual air pressure gauges to run off the lighting circuit headlamp switch.
This will allow me to still make use of the knob dimmer switch and activate when the headlamps are in use.
I had wired these gauges to the ignition on circuit, this meant they would always be active when the car was running. Not an ideal situation during the daylight hours.
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Minitruck take out
I took the Minitruck out for a spin, stopped at the local gas station. This photo has been enhanced for a more color pop.
One thing I need to remember when getting gas is dropping down to frame means I have to heck of bend down to reach the gas tank filler. It’s much easier to fill up with air ride at ride height.
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Blazer dash gauge cluster
I worked on getting all the lights operational for each individual gauge.
This meant installing the bulb holders for the stock 194 bulbs, non-LED.
The gauge to the furthest left for some reason is illuminated in a different color temperature and intensity. It is using the same parts as the air pressure monitor gauges.
I need to figure this out.
The Blazer is now parked in the Manetarium Bay 3. I’ve rearranged Bay 2 and Bay 3 for a larger working area.