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Building a Carbon Fiber/ Fiberglass Hornet Dash |
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PROSTOCKTOM 
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Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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 Posted: Jun/26/2020 at 3:15pm |
 Finally got a center piece thanks to a generous member and worked on getting it to fit. 45 year old twisted dash with a centerpiece that is also of the same vintage and probably twisted to match the dash it came out of required a little tweaking here and there. It also happened to have a piece broke out of it in the same area I made a hole relieving the dash pad. However nothing a little Tiger Glass can't cure.   I also had a friend cleaning out a warehouse and he happened to have a bunch of nice dry 2" x 12" pieces that I needed to make bases for the plug and mold, so that was nice that I didn't have to go buy wet lumber that would end up twisting as it drys out.  While it doesn't look like much progress what your looking at managed to eat up another 4-5 hours of time. The next weeks work ahead will be all about gluing, filling, and sanding. Also will be making an aluminum faceplate to cover over the voids in the center piece. Nothing especially interesting just work that has to be completed. I know it's hot outside, but it's still better working on projects now that when we have snow and cold weather 4-5 months from now. Get out there and work on project while you can, so this winter you won't be saying,"I wished I would have worked on my project when the weather was nice". Stay safe and we'll be back next week with a few more photos and lessons learned along the way. Tom |
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM
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Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Jul/02/2020 at 11:37pm |
  Tom
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM
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Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Jul/03/2020 at 9:59pm |
Had some time to work on the dash this afternoon. Finally got the center piece all glued in and applied some Tiger Glass to the void messing on the left side vertical. Now have a base to work with while applying the Fairing Compound.   Yesterday I had to buy a 36" squeeze clamp, so I could hold the right side center vertical feature in place while waiting for the JB Weld to dry. It's probably boring to read these updates at this point, but this is the behind the scenes work it takes to get a mold plug built. Since the finished product is only, as good as, the effort I put into it now. It will be a awesome part when done or at least I think it will.  So the goals for the next week are: 1. Make the center block off plate, glue it in, add Fairing Compound around the edges and get it blocked in. 2. Glue the insert on the glove box door, glue in the aluminum block plate over the glove box area, add Fairing Compound around the edges and get it blocked in. 3. Glue in the driverside instrument cluster insert, fill and block around the edges. I've decide that the dash will be made shorter at the bottom like Wally Booths Hornet dash was. There's really no need to have a dash that long on a race car, so why make it that long.  In order to give it some strength and to have a finishing point on the bottom I've ordered a 1/4" half round stick of aluminum that I'll attach at the point I want to stop laying glass at. I think his will give a nice subtle edge to finish the bottom. If I don't like it after it's finished I can just trim a 1/4" off when it's pulled out of the mold. It's been super hot outside the last 10-days or so, but that hasn't stopped the work on the project (slowed me down a little), but hasn't stopped me. If I keep at it I think I'll be finished with the plug in about two weeks. In an hour or two a day you can make huge gains on your projects. Quit sitting around and go do something before winter gets here again. Tom Edited by PROSTOCKTOM - Jul/06/2020 at 12:47am |
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM
Supporter of TheAMCForum
Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Jul/12/2020 at 6:14pm |
Well it was a busy week with work and some other projects I had to get completed, but I managed to get a little more progress. Ends of the dash of the dash where I cut the nubs off are now both about 95% finished.
  Got a piece of aluminum Tiger Glassed in where the steering column used to pass through and the first coat of filler applied.  In a previous update I mentioned making the dash shorter than stock at the bottom and using a 1/4" half round to finished the edge. Got that material in from McMaster-Carr this week, so I'll show a couple of photos of the area I plan to make the bottom.   Biggest progress of the week was to get the pattern made and the aluminum face plate for the center fitted. It required a couple of slight curved bends and the handle on the trash can provided a great radius to use for that. Glued that it in with some Gorilla Glue 5-minute 2-part epoxy (Note it kicked in 2 minutes) I'll probably not be using anymore of that product in 90 degree weather again. Then I went back and laid some Tiger Glass in corners on the backside to make sure it's not coming off. After that all cured I got the first coat of Fairing Compound applied and sanded. Also added more F.C. to the two vertical center bars and worked on getting them into more of a finished shape. However I am not happy with the transition from the plastic bars to the padded dash on the inside lines, so this is going to require some grinding and filling. More to come on that subject in a later update.    Didn't get as much as would have liked to this week, but I had to be out of town for a few day unexpectedly and that killed my time to work on it. I am hoping on the next update to have the face of the dash completely finished and in primer, but time will tell. Important thing is to always be moving forward and happy with the progress your making. Tom
Edited by PROSTOCKTOM - Jul/12/2020 at 7:55pm |
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM
Supporter of TheAMCForum
Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Jul/27/2020 at 9:22pm |
No new progress on the dash the last couple of weeks do to the hot weather, acquiring another Hornet Hatchback and spending 4-days in Kenosha. Hope to get back on it later in the week when the weather is suppose to be a lot nicer. Here's the Alabama Hornet body I got from a member. I haven't fully decided what the end use will be for it, but it's definitely worth building something out of it.  15-minutes with some Power Pak detailers wax and the quarter panel looks pretty decent now. Got some wheels added to the rear and I'll get some on the front this week. Hoping to get it in the garage later in the week and start cleaning it up. Just look at how clean and rust free that wheel well/ frame rail looks.  Next update will be about the dash. I promise. Tom
Edited by PROSTOCKTOM - Jul/27/2020 at 9:24pm |
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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RSX 401
AMC Addicted 
Joined: Oct/21/2010 Location: Southeast Texas Status: Offline Points: 689 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2020 at 5:58am |
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Great find. Nice looking solid body. It looks like a good start for a project. Is the hood bent or is it just an optical illusion?
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I'll follow these lines a little ways more,
Until I can find what I'm looking for. With the pedal to the metal, I'm gaining my speed. Riding down low in my AMC..... |
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PROSTOCKTOM
Supporter of TheAMCForum
Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Jul/28/2020 at 6:48am |
Tom
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM
Supporter of TheAMCForum
Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Aug/25/2020 at 10:45am |
The biggest issue slowing me down has been the transition between the center of the dash and the dash pad itself. While it doesn't look bad sitting outside in the first photo. It looked terrible after some primer was applied and really showed how bad all the transitions and opposing surfaces are. Since I know the finished dash will only looks as nice as the original mold plug this means it has to be a lot better than it currently was. The only way to cure the issue is to break out the razor blade and start cutting out the problem areas.
Then after I had cut and filled the areas, blocked it all down, the next issue became trying to block it all smooth without the padded part moving or tearing out. This is where the real problems began. Body filler did not provide the solution I was in need of, so I switched to JB Weld hoping it would bond better between the dissimilar materials. This proved to be a good base filler for the issue at hand.
Still having issues with trying to block the filler and not rip into the soft padded dash material I decided to try an different approach. Since I have to coat the entire dash in clear epoxy prior to molding. I figured why not coat it now and build up a few layers. Then I can add filler to it and not have the surface of the pad moving when I block it down. That turned out to be a good move.
Also now have the area where the where the steering column came through all filled in and smoothed out. Since I am making the new dash shorter it will only extend about 3/4" into the top of where the radius originally was.
Also have the ends looking really good and coated them with some epoxy as well. I have no photos to show you after I flatted out the epoxy in preparation for some more coats. I really like working with it using 220 grit waterproof paper and a little soapy water.
Over the last update I am probably more impressed with using the epoxy than anything else I've done. It's easy to mix, easy to apply, and best of all self leveling. It sands really easy and shows where you have low spots easily, as they shine. I am still a hack with no experience doing this kind of work, but am enjoying the learn process as I move along. Hopefully I can show a fully assembled, primed, and coated dash ready to be molded in the next update. Remember guys: If it was easy and required no effort everyone would have cool parts. Keep after it everyday and you get there with your projects. Tom |
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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SeanHatfield
AMC Nut
Joined: Oct/15/2015 Location: Plymouth, IN Status: Offline Points: 459 |
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Posted: Aug/26/2020 at 6:30am |
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Nice work Tom! And way to be resourceful in figuring out a good filler material for the dissimilar materials in the dash. Waiting patiently until you get it all ironed out!
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PROSTOCKTOM
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Joined: Jun/20/2010 Location: Indiana Status: Offline Points: 2450 |
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Posted: Dec/11/2021 at 9:38am |
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Well 2021 is almost gone and due to a lot of life issues I really didn't get time to work on the dash or anything else this year. Last week there were a few days it was warm, so I got back on the project only to find my Rage Gold had separated in the can. Got it all mixed back up and spread some filler. I had it stored well, but a hour later it was still soft and I had plenty of hardener in it. So I tossed a 1/3 of a can of the good stuff. Well what the heck I'll get out the Fairing Compound and use it. Well that turned out to be another sad story. I opened the can and it looks like whipped buttery potatoes. Except they are as hard as a rock.
 So rather than spend another $175 to play around for only a few days I decided to just wait until late March to buy more supplies. I haven't given up on it and really wanted to get a little work done before it was to cold to work in that garage. Rome wasn't built over night and I am learning what patience is all about this year. Stay after it friends and I'll return to the project when it warms up again. Tom
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Molnar Technologies Full Service Dealer - Crankshafts & Connecting Rods
1969 AMC Rambler Rouge Race Car 1974 AMC Hornet Hatchback, Wally Booth Outlaw Nostalgic Pro Stock Race Car Project |
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PROSTOCKTOM wrote:
