Pitchblack Motorsports Rally e30 318i (now with M50) - and some Porsche 924S stuff.

[irish44j]

and a few other little things.

1. replaced the foam weatherstripping with some high-density stuff that I had sitting around the house. Not sure if it really matters, but I had the dash off so might as well.



2. got a delivery - some RallyArmor basic mudflaps (in the extra long SUV size). Also rounded up some hardware to mount and some metal pieces to use for brackets. That'll be a project for later this weekend.

[FunfGan]

I like those mud flaps! How much did you pay if you don't mind me asking?

[irish44j]

I think they were like 25 bucks. I have the $125 urethane ones on the WRX which are much nicer (and more flexible, of course), but couldn't justify that expense for this car. These aren't terribly beefy, but would last forever on a street car. We'll see how long they last in rallycross :)

[dnick]

I think they were like 25 bucks. I have the $125 urethane ones on the WRX which are much nicer (and more flexible, of course), but couldn't justify that expense for this car. These aren't terribly beefy, but would last forever on a street car. We'll see how long they last in rallycross :)

yeah ill deff be looking into this fab up.. btw.. the dash looks GREAT!!!

[irish44j]

In the category of "budget," made a bit back today. Wheenever I'm at the pick-n-pull yard I keep my eyes open for older Benzes with the yellow fog lights build into the headlight assembly. It takes about 10 seconds to pull them apart and remove the yellow glass "capsules" that go over the bulbs inside. These are great for yellow fog light conversions on other cars without having to use Lamin-x covers and without having to buy the pricey (and not that yellow) bulbs. So now you're in on one of my little mods that I've done a couple times with good success :)

They're pretty popular with Subaru guys in particular. I can usually pick these up at the yard for 5 or 10 bucks, and have now sold three sets of them for $30 each.



in case anyone is wondering, they really work great - I have a set in my WRX stock fogs, using my stock bulbs, and this is the result:

[Jean]

FLOCK'D

Came out pretty decent, and took about an hour (plus it will be drying overnight). Actually pretty easy, just paint the adhesive on (it's thick stuff!), and use the little tubular "flocking gun" for lack of any better word for it. I missed a few little tiny places with the adhesive, but noplace really noticeable. Also messed up a little part on top of the gauge hood, by accidentally grabbing the edge of it when I moved the dash.

Went with the gray color, since I figure black will get really dirty, really fast and dirt will just blend in with the gray. In person looks pretty good - not perfect, but 95% of my cracks are now totally invisible and no more sun-faded black color. Pretty pleased with this for a $25 project!

before:


after:

That's awesome!

Two questions - how durable is this stuff?

What did you use?

[irish44j]

That's awesome!

Two questions - how durable is this stuff?

What did you use?

Durability - I guess I'll find out. Most things I've read about the DIY flocking says that it lasts a long time on non-contact surfaces (like a dash), and on contact surfaces (like a door pull) it'll start wearing off after a couple years as the little nylon pieces wear down. Basically it will just "smooth out" in time and lose its texture, from what I hear.

I used the mini-flocker kit from DonJer (google it). $25.

[irish44j]

Put the dash back in. Please ignore the really old, really un-ipod-capable deck, haha...That will have to be resolved at some point.





for those of you asking about what flocking is....here's an idea of how small the fibers are that are essentially bonded to the dash..



Also put one of my RA mudflaps on. A bit sloppy trying to get it even, doh! BTW, these are the basics, in "SUV" size. They'll sit lower once the suspension is settled (it just came off stands in this pic and is sitting even higher than usual).





I've since added an upper attachment as well. All the hardware will be covered with rubber undercoating to delay rusting a bit. Not like I can't just replace them...

[amcink]

dash condition

how is the dash holding?

[dnick]

what kind of hardware did you use for the flaps?

[irish44j]

how is the dash holding?

If you're asking how its holding up after 2 days of sitting there....well, it's holding up great, lol.

As far as installation, I didn't have any problems with material coming off or anything while I was manhandling it into place to re-install. Only time will tell how well it holds up to being in a rallycross car! It seems fairly tough, though, as long as you don't drag a screwdriver head across it or anything!

Here's a couple close-up pics in case anyone wants to get a feel for the length/texture a bit closer up.

[irish44j]

what kind of hardware did you use for the flaps?

Just random stuff I had sitting around the garage for now. I'll probably replace with some stainless stuff down the road, but who knows...maybe I won't ;)

The upper small screw is just through the small fender lip sheet metal. The lower larger screw goes into a small backing clip that goes around a slightly "bumped out" part of the fender lip.

The two inner ones are straight bolts that go through into the footwell and have a nut and washer on the back. On the driver's side I only used one inner bolt, I think the two is a bit of overkill really.

[Dj Buttchug]

more info on the dash flock. which product did you use.

[kts]

Flocking came out great! Kinda debating about doing this with my dash vs trying to find a uncracked one. (I only have a tiny, tiny crack in mine but it's slowly spreading. I need to try drilling some relief holes and see how well that works out.)

more info on the dash flock. which product did you use.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=234996

[irish44j]

more info on the dash flock. which product did you use.

www.donjer.com

"mini flocker kit"