Case Mod - In Progress Knight's Rest-Knight Rider 30th Anniversary build (12/4/13-Waiting for coolant...)

Read the can well and remember not to take any chances. Well ventilated for us means OUTDOORS!

john

 

It's MEKP, so I'm already inclined that way.. What I have to make sure of is that our near 90 degree weather won't make it cure TOO fast.

 

Kevlar's a right bitch to cut, not very surprisingly - and what's that armour for/from? Looks very Human Revolution with all those hexagons.

 

Laying out the panels so I know how everything's gonna fit...



Both sides are set, still have to cut the Kevlar and CF for them.

Also, this arrived.



ASUS HD6950 DirectCUII 2GB. Luthien is testing it in Skyrim for me. Looks great so far...

Small steps, but when they're like this I can make sure I'm not messing something up.

 

Those hexagonal tiles look great. Armor mode anyone?

 

Stiffening the side panels first, carbon cloth cut to size and laid inside to test fit.



Resin poured (keep those fast food plastic items for stuff like this...)



Add hardener (methyl ethyl ketone peroxide)



Here you can see the bottom piece is completely wetted, and the top one is next.



With both pieces wetted, the tiles are laid in place...



And though it's kind of hard to see, resin is spread over the top and scraped between the tiles. This setup is repeated for the other side. The panels are then set aside for three days for the resin to fully cure.

Later I'll start to make the next layer of armor. It's different compositionally from the first part with the CF and ceramic tiles. While this layer is there to stop high-speed projectiles (by destroying the gas jet they use to penetrate, as well as shattering projectiles on the hard ceramic surface) the next layer is designed to entrap any bullets or bullet fragments left, as well as survive gross puncture attempts. The first part imparts rigidity, the second imparts the bulk of the defense.

I'll probably update again when I get started on the materials for the second layer.

 

The Overkill looks bad ass!

I suggest replacing the factory sticker on the cooling fan with Di-Noc

Applying to the back of the fan


Applied to the fan hub.

 

I'll probably do that today. I tend to work in short bouts, then have to rest a while in between. Sometimes it means I work on an area till it's done, sometimes it means I have to come back to it.

 

Your armor looks like a very old style of floor tile to me.

 

Couple of pics for you then, Cheaps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IDET2007_ceramic_armor_tiles_SICADUR.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IDET2007_ceramic_armor_tiles.jpg

You can see the tiles I have at the bottom of the second picture. I'll get a pic of what they came with sometime soon.

Also, won't be updating progress for a day or so. Yesterday I had an anaphylactic reaction while my wife was gone with her mother. I was able to get myself to help in time, obviously, but I really just don't feel well. I responded perfectly well to medication, but it doesn't change the fact that that is VERY hard on your body. So I'm being lazy, cutting Kevlar while watching movies and such.

I'll be back in a day or so with progress, but I just didn't want people wondering if I HAD died.

 

Has anyone seen Kayin lately? Did someone feed him peanuts?

 

Already reserved my seat in the front row

 

So, I'm back, like I said I would be.

Fair bit of progress so far...



Heating up primer/surfacer to spray this piece to show mw where i need to apply glazing putty...



Looks straighter here than it is. A good bit of time will have to be spent with this.



What am I doing with this? Mostly, it'll be my wife's new case, but I'm cutting a piece or two for myself...



Just because I can.



The initial form of the cowl induction scoop...



Shaped roughly and ready for bondo...



During the application...



What's this? You'll see...



Kevlar cloth laid out. I have a piece 36" by 70", and it took me over an hour to cut it in half down the middle. This stuff is extremely tough.

Why isn't there more progress? This.















That's a size 13 shoe for a concept of scale. Really nasty hailstorm, damaged cars and our house. We've got hailstones in the freezer nearly the size of baseballs.



A little preview of the progress I've made since then...

 

Ouch. Not just hail, but wicked pointy hail!

-You missed out on a chance to test your armor, though.

 

Bloody hell those Ice boulders are something else, if we got that in the UK people would be crying

 

Collected work, again...



Working on test fitting parts. Looking to see how routing will have to go.



Case is wide, but not especially tall. Makes some stuff very interesting.



You can see two of the Dallas one-wire sensors there in the front, I'm thinking about moving one to the lower side intake.



As you can see, lots of wires to figure out how to rout.



Even with the stiffening rail at the top of the card, it's still flexing. Gonna have to engineer something to fix that.



More cutting work on the Bondo. It's gonna take a long time to get this built up from nothing, but it's all worth it. It's doing quite a bit better already.



Just a single coat more of primer/surfacer and it already looks so much better.



Friend of mine had "leak tested" this rad with a garden hose and a plug.



This is after I hammered the bung back down.



And after silver soldering it back on.



I think my help is all tired out, what do you think?



And a coat of primer/surfacer, getting it ready for a nice paint job. Black, but better than it came with.

Stuff's drying, I need new Bondo spreaders, and my hands are shaking again, so I'll be back with more when one of the abovementioned issues is dealt with.

 

Here is a tip to make your life easier whenever using body filler again for future projects.

Stay Away From BONDO. It creates air pockets, which are revealed as you sand it. It also shrinks as it cures, which can create hair line cracks. This is the reason BONDO is referred to as "Mud" by Autobody Professionals.

BONDO's greatest asset is it's distribution in retail chain stores like Target and Walmart, without any competing brands on the same shelf. Most Hobbyists and Weekend Car Repair Guys don't realize there is better alternatives out there!

I use Evercoat's EVERGLASS Fiberglass filler, Short Strand version with Kevlar, so it flexes when stressed, while Bondo will crack.

Amazon Link,
http://www.amazon.com/Fibreglass-Ev...inforced/dp/B0000AYHHN/ref=pd_bxgy_auto_img_b

Purchase Fibreglass Evercoat 361 Cream Hardener - Blue, separately,
http://www.amazon.com/Fibreglass-Ev..._1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1333980673&sr=1-1



Within 15 - 30 mins or less!, Everglass is ready for sanding.

Here I'm using a Black & Decker Mouse sander with Corse grit paper


After sanding the first coat, I laid the hood against the bezel and noticed the styrene had warped on the right side. I re-sanded it, then placed 3, 1 gallon paint cans on the hood as the filler cured for 24 hours. Yes, the cans were FULL Evercoat's EVERGLASS has awesome strength!





Everglass is strong, flexes under stress and sands out Smooth!



Custom bezel is ready for Primer coat of paint.

 

@mnpctech That really sounded like an advert
Gotta get me some of that Everglass

 

Coming along well. I'm still watching.

john

 

Thats some good strength !
Do you think there is some retailer of that in the nordics ? Sweden ?

Whats the full name of the everglass ?