An ambitious price for a conversion with a repaint, but we shall see.
Got busy with the 3D scanning of the steering column for design of the insert pieces. Cool toy to have a play with. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
May have got a bit carried away and started scanning a few more things. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Could maybe make a v12 keying on my 3D printer? Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Mk1 inserts designed and printed for testing. Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Not bad, but some tweaking required. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Think I’ll add a false seam through the middle to look like an extension of the seam on the original cowling. Final versions will be smoothed too. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
Great!! I wouldn't bother with the seam. Just make sure the surface-texture and color match the column-covers.
well done for staying the course ,when do we get to see the photos and do you have an idea of how much this has cost?
Happy to show photos of any part of the build. What do you wanna see? Car runs perfectly- done well over 1000 miles since the conversion, and no issues to speak of. Total cost is a slightly open ended question, as there’s aspects like the clutch and release bearing replacement that can be see as preventative maintenance items. I also did very well on some of the parts prices, as much by luck than anything else. Then again I’ve paid more than double the straight production costs for things like the clutch pedal, as I paid for 16 hours of a professional CAD designers time as well as the cost of a 3D printer and additional test parts for prototyping. My spreadsheet shows the total cost as £5639, including the items that are technically non essential, though I might have missed a few bits like tools and equipment I needed to buy. Call it £6k then. Having the CAD files, and knowing a few extra tips around parts crossover and potential shortcuts that you can take, then I think I could do it again fairly quickly and easily for £4k in parts. That’s not to say there isn’t a lot of work involved, but I would estimate I spent 10-20 hours R&D time for every hour spent turning spanners on the car. It was a fun project though, and I’m happy to help anyone else wanting to do the same. Parts prices seem to be highly volatile though, by which I mean they seem to be constantly on the up, just at varying rates. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
This is (I think) version 5 of the inserts. I think its going to be very difficult for me to get much better than this without switching to an SLA (resin) printer rather than the FDM printer that I've currently got. Reason being that its a very fine edge need to print down to, which is causing a bit of warping. Still, I think they look ok, save for the little superglue mark I managed to leave on the right hand insert. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
you don't really notice them when the steering wheel is on. I think just little sanding and paint..perfect. Great Job.
I had a thought. Are ensuring that these parts will get sticky in time to match the original Ferrari plastic pieces?
That’s an important consideration. I’ve been working on various self dissolving paints that whilst initially pleasing to the touch, should magically transform into a delightful black goo as the years pass. It’s something I’m really very proud of. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
A guy asked me the other week what the difference between LHD and RHD pedals is; I think he may have thought that the two are interchangeable. Just thought I would share this image then; I'm converting my RHD clutch pedal design to suit LHD cars, so you can see how different the sweep is below. All other aspects around pedal function and interaction with other parts are the same. I'm maybe getting a bit carried away with this all- I'm now making a reproduction of the gearbox control plate, as they're all out of them at Ferrari too. Quite fun reverse engineering it all. Can share photos of that too if anyone is remotely interested. Image Unavailable, Please Login
So the process of reverse engineering the control plate starts with complete disassembly. The idea is to define all parts and source generic equivalents where possible. Where not possible, I’m taking measurements and reproducing in CAD. More complex parts get 3D scanned before going to CAD. All parts are tested by 3D printing in plastic before getting CNC machined. Everything is done except from the reproduction cover plate. It’s actually quite a simple thing really, but no longer available from Ferrari. They’ve started trading hands for pretty silly money, but when this is done, the supply will be secured for anyone that wants one for a 575/612/599 manual conversion. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
Maybe seems it, but in truth modern technology has made doing these things a lot easier. What I didn't mention too is that I forensically went through each part to look for where there is cross over with parts from the F1 actuator. The most interesting result from that is that that the little hardened steel rockers that actuate the gears are the same between both parts. I don't plan in trying to reproduce these then, as the idea is that the part would be available for people wanting to convert from F1 to manual, so they can take these bits from their existing F1 setup.
Robin- Keep up the good work. Logical some of the high torque resistant fittings would be common between the two.