CASHEYE's MKIV Modifications & Small Projects.

[The Raven]

I said it before in this thread.

 

But that is some amazing work.

 

IM not shocked you are getting pm about others lights at all. Cant wait to see whats next

[CASHEYE]

Right, so laser cutter's all back to normal. Ended up 'repairing' it myself. Turns out it was a dodgy connection on the flow valve for the water cooling side of things. A loose wire meant the machine didn't recognise the water was being pumped around the laser so it wouldn't fire. Anyhoo now that's fixed and I found a few hours to mess around this week, I've got a little update for you. Nothing too new, just some progress on the rear lights.

 

Now I wasn't too happy with the whole slapdash kinda build the rears were heading in. By that I mean just cracking open the lights, and gluing everything in piece by piece. This basically meant that if something went wrong and one of the rings ever failed (lets face it, it's going to happen at some point) It would be a lot of mess to remove the faulty ring and put everything back without wrecking the finished look. So I wanted to make something similar to the front halos where I'd be replacing the coloured lenses with a custom pre built light which would slot into place where the lens cover previously was.

 

But before I started that, I'd been thinking about some of the comments I've seen in other threads regarding the legality of having no reflectors on the lights. I had a few samples of this one way mirrored plastic which you put on windows for privacy. I'd ordered them to test with the front halos to try and blend in to the chrome rings. Suffice to say that that didn't work out but I still had the samples so I put a piece behind one of the acrylic lenses and boom. Reflective lenses which don't dilute the light from the COB rings.

 

 

 

The added bonus of this is that when the lights are off, so during the day, you can't see the LED rings behind the acrylic which was something that always bugged me.

 

So this is what I was getting when I just put all the components into the light housing.

 

 

A familiar sight by now... But like I said, I want it to be something more than just a bunch of components all stuck in there. So, using the same technique as the front halos, I created a sandwich of acrylic and LED rings and ended up with this.

 

 

 

And the back

 

 

Now as the reflective sheet isn't self adhesive (I think it basically works like cling film against glass) I need to get some 1mm clear acrylic to keep it flat.

 

And in situ...

 

 

As my little battery is starting to run low, I dug out a spare car battery and pretty much blinded myself. These things are ridiculously bright. The middle ring slipped off centre a bit, I'll make some spacers to go in between the lights to keep them in place.

 

 

I also tried putting the reflective sheet on the outside. Because the acrylic behind it is tinted red, everything works as it should when the light is turned on, but when they're off, there's no hint of any colour at all.

 

 

 

 

These pictures are a bit misleading in regards to the lighting. there isn't as much ambient illumination when you're looking at them with your eye holes. There's some, but the camera's exaggerated it a bit.

 

When I've made a whole set of these, I'll try them with the mirrored side out. I think it could look pretty awesome. It would have to be perfectly flat and smooth though. We'll see how it goes when I get the thin acrylic. The only problem I'm envisioning is the indicator lights are quite shallow and there's a possibility that these new light fittings I'm making might protrude out past the grey shroud. I'll just have to wait and see if any jiggery pokery is required.

 

To the people that have asked for acrylic lenses, I'm still working on getting a perfect fit. It's pretty tricky as these lights aren't a uniform shape at all and tracing round the original lenses hasn't given great results but I will get there.

 

That's all for now. Probably going to be a little while before my next update. Got quite a lot of other stuff on my plate at the moment and as most is summer related, Supra stuff will probably go on the back burner for a while. I am determined to get these projects finished though.

[Willson]

That last picture looks awesome.

[Clausz]

Awesome attention to details. Look forward to see the updates.

[supra_ufo]

hobbyist right there!

[Paul372]

Wow them rear lights look amazing, when are you taking orders

[CASHEYE]

That last picture looks awesome.

 

Awesome attention to details. Look forward to see the updates.

 

hobbyist right there!

 

Thanks guys.

 

Wow them rear lights look amazing, when are you taking orders ��

 

Ha. Not any time soon. I'd like to think I'd have these finished (and by finished I mean an accurate design that is simply plug and play) before the end of the year. I don't mind taking my time with them. I'm going to order another set of lights from ebay to use instead of the first set I bought a while back. The ones where the regulators caught on fire. The quality of these newer lights just seems far superior so I'd rather be safe than sorry. And some of the first set have had a few dead diodes on the rings which aren't that noticeable unless you're right up close but it's enough to warrant not using them. I'm sure I'll find a use for the old rings, not sure what yet though.

[Noz]

Looking great. Love following these.

[CASHEYE]

Wow, so its been quite a while since my last update. Work has been really kicking my ass the last few weeks and I've built up quite a chunk of overtime I need to take back and put some much needed time into getting my car back on the road. Anyway... Onto the pictures.

 

So after smoothing and filling the dashboard and drilling out the holes for the switches and lights, it wasn't looking how I'd imagined it. So after looking on-line for some inspiration I decided keep at it and try and work on some way of defining the different clusters and dials instead of them just being pushed though the dash panel. I traced around the shape of the jig I used to drill out the holes and rounded off the edges and included the 2 dials for fan speed and temperature and made a similar plate for the radio. I finally bought one of those retro sound radios, I haven't listened to anything through it yet but I don't expect to be disappointed. The style fits the look I'm going for with this project and I couldn't really think of or find an alternative.

 

 

And when fitted in the car...

 

 

Right. This started to look like progress. Everything was lined up OK. The hole cut for the radio was slightly off but that just needed a light sanding to rotate it. One of the missile style toggle switches will control the front halo lights and the other will control an additional reversing light. The plan is to have the halo rings in the rear reverse just like the other rear lights, but I will also include an additional light as I don't think the rings will provide enough illumination for reversing at night. I'm thinking something along the lines of the COB LEDs you can get in work site spotlights.

 

So after I was happy with the test fit and made sure that none of the switches interfered with the clips or brackets behind the dash, I started on the wiring. This was the bit I wasn't looking forward to.

 

 

I realised after all this I'd made a huge mistake...

(For the Arrested Development fans)

 

Basically, the switches which will be wired up to the fresh air/recycle and the manual/auto fan switches on the board need TWO lights each. Not the single lights which I had drilled out for on the dash. So I cut out another panel for the switches and lights but it didn't look right as the it was getting too close to the clock (not pictured) so in the end, I decided to blank out the clock too. This gave enough room to put the correct spacing between the original lights and the second set which would go above (This will make sense later).

 

I didn't want to remove the original switches from the board because I thought they'd come in useful if I need to troubleshoot any issues with the new switches and lights I'd used. I also (not pictured) de-soldered the little board with the dial and I'll re attach just the dial with longer wires instead of the ribbon because I don't need the LEDs on the board and as the other wires on on the back of the larger board, it'll be on the wrong side.

 

I tried spraying the dash black as this was pretty much the last thing to do, but there is this hairline crack which keeps re-appearing on one of the joins by the stereo screen. I decided to wrap it as I'd had roll left over from another thing I'm working on. I've never been a fan of wrapped things but after I gave this a go, I'm starting to change my mind. I also cut out another panel for the heater controls with text laser etched and then filled in with acrylic paint.

 

So this is what it currently looks like.

 

 

And the back which is a total mess but I think I can get over this because it'll never be seen.

 

 

And back in the Supra

 

 

As you've probably spotted, the blank for the clock can be seen though the wrap in certain light. In all honesty, the wrap job wasn't the best. The edges didn't stick to the back very well and I'm going to need a set of those chrome rings for the air vent to stop it peeling back around it. The even keener eyed will have spotted where the glue I used for the panels has squidged out from the sides (only very slightly) but this just re-enforces my reasons for either re-wrapping it or trying to find someone to properly spray the dash parts.

 

On another note, my new box of COB rings arrived so hopefully sooner rather than later I should get round to finally completing a set of rear lights.

[j_jza80]

Wow

 

I'm not sure what to think about that, but the quality of your work is outstanding. That's going to be a proper rats nest of wiring behind the dash though

[supra_ufo]

great work mate, defo looks like a pilot cockpit now

[Paul]

Loving the quality of the work and the original ideas mate.

[Willson]

Looks great!

How is the labelling done?

[Noz]

Build quality, absolutely amazing. Pushing the custom scene hard on this one. Definitely done yourself well.

 

Any idea when your be pumping out those rear lights for the public ?

[Kendo11]

Fantastic work on the dash.

 

But those rear lights are absolutely incredible. Seriously mate, good work.

 

Ps, arrested development is superb.

[Scott]

Cracking work! Love the little garage toy you bought too. HOURS of fun

 

Any vids of it in action? Is it visible?

[Abz]

Just spent a while reading this thread from start to finish and what an incredible thread! As others have said the workmanship is incredible and loving the attention to detail. Now at first I wasn't too sure about the dash but after seeing it in black with the white writing it looks bloody awesome!!

 

Them rear lights are something else!! I'll be subscribing to this thread and looking forward to future updates!!

[CASHEYE]

Wow

 

I'm not sure what to think about that, but the quality of your work is outstanding. That's going to be a proper rats nest of wiring behind the dash though

 

Ha thanks. Yeah it's not going to look pretty. When I've got everything else sorted on the front facing part, I'll come up with some sort of box for the wires. I'm still on the lookout for a replacement facelift dash panel that I can fill fill the holes in and smooth it all over and then try and make a mould of it and knock up some proper blank panels.

 

great work mate, defo looks like a pilot cockpit now

 

I'm not gonna lie, I have made a few rocket noises when I flip up the switch covers

 

Loving the quality of the work and the original ideas mate.

 

Thanks dude.

 

Looks great!

How is the labelling done?

 

Basically the laser cutter works in 2 ways, either like a plotter, just tracing a line and cutting completely though whatever material is there, or like a printer and scanning across the designated area and etching away at the material (you can of course turn the speed up or the power down to adjust the depth of the cut so you can draw single fine lines too). For the lettering on the switch panel, I etched the letters out of the black acrylic and then squidged some white acrylic paint into the text and smeared it around with my finger. After it had dried I just use a soft tea towel or cloth and rub away at the paint around the letters. As the plastic is super smooth the paint rubs off fairly easily but whatever was pushed into the etched out letters is left behind. Depending on how deep the laser etched I might have to build up 2 or 3 layers of paint in the letters.

 

Here's an example or both the scanning and line etching. This disc is 6cm in diameter but the smallest I can draw a single line letter is about 1.5mm square. I did cut out some letters that were about 3mm tall but the weren't any good for anything. Too fiddly.

 

 

You can see on the T in CUSTOM that there is some staggering in the line. That's down to the overlap set which determines how refined the etched area is. I think the laser is .25mm thick, so the scan lines for each pass of the laser would have to be 0.24mm to overlap each time. The lower you go the better the line but then you increase the time it takes and the hours off the life of the laser tube.

 

Build quality, absolutely amazing. Pushing the custom scene hard on this one. Definitely done yourself well.

 

Any idea when your be pumping out those rear lights for the public ?

 

Thanks a lot dude. Errr.. Christmas? Ha I honestly have no idea. I have everything here to make them it's just finding the time to put it all together. I'm trying to get my old business back again so I can work from home (not related to that picture up there) so as soon as I can sort that, I'll have more time for fun stuff like this and those lights. I'll post some updates as soon as I finish a set though.

 

Fantastic work on the dash.

 

But those rear lights are absolutely incredible. Seriously mate, good work.

 

Ps, arrested development is superb.

 

Thanks. And yes it is. Couldn't get my head around the last season though. The change in format and stuff put me off. Might still give it another go but I don't want it to ruin the rest of the series for me. Kinda like Parks and Rec... I thought the last season was balls.

 

Cracking work! Love the little garage toy you bought too. HOURS of fun

 

Any vids of it in action? Is it visible?

 

Aah nope. Not yet. I've got a new Battery here to put in the supra so as soon as I drop that in, I'll plug that dash panel back in and make a little video.

 

Just spent a while reading this thread from start to finish and what an incredible thread! As others have said the workmanship is incredible and loving the attention to detail. Now at first I wasn't too sure about the dash but after seeing it in black with the white writing it looks bloody awesome!!

 

Them rear lights are something else!! I'll be subscribing to this thread and looking forward to future updates!!

 

Many thanks dude, I was having hesitations about the dash but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Lets just hope it all works once I plug everything back together.

 

 

Right, well no real updates for you peeps yet, but here's a box of lights. Enjoy.

 

[Willson]

Thanks for the explanation about the labelling. Makes sense now. Looks fantastic too, especially considering that disc is only 6cm.

[berg]

Some great work here, those rear lights look brilliant

 

Definately following this thread

[Andy-No-Knee]

Damn that looks awesome!!!

[Kendo11]

Any updates Casheye?

[CASHEYE]

Afraid not. I've boxed everything supra related up and put it on one side for the time being. As much fun as it was to work on it, I needed to get to work on trying to resurrect my old business, which was the main reason for buying that laser cutter in the first place. It's been pretty slow going working 50+ hours a week at my job and then trying to find as much time in the evenings and weekends to play with the laser but I definitely haven't forgotten about the lump of metal growing moss on my drive

 

As soon as I start working on the car again I'll get some photos up.

[Willson]

What is your business?

I did think a laser cutter was quite an extravagant purchase for a hobby!

[wattwatt]

What fantastic work, hats off to you I wouldn't even know where to start! Subscripted as I cant wait to see that dash all lit up

 

Also those rear light are amazing and to be fair I was looking at some not that long back which are in the states but they are ridicules money somewhere around $1300 + shipping....