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Topics - Quietleaf

1
Engine Tech / Question about switching to a Mustang GT cam
If I switch to a Mustang GT cam (from a 1992 in this case), does the firing order change? Do I also have to switch the crankshaft in this case?

EDIT: I just noticed that this section is for non-technical posts. Mods, would you be able to move this to the appropriate section?
3
Suspension/Steering / Anyone ever look into custom 17" snowflakes?
I'm sure they would cost a LOT to design and fab, but I was wondering if anyone ever investigated the possibility. That would let us run 13" brakes while still having a stock-ish look. I wouldn't know where to even begin to investigate, but I'm curious as to what it would actually cost.
4
Body/Appearance/Interior / New fog lights
This will probably annoy quite a few people :evilgrin:

My old Pilot PL-220's were basically shot. They were rusted on the outside and had completely lost their reflective coating. The only reason I got half-decent light out of them was due to a 35W HID setup. A few months ago, I went on yet another quest for a replacement.

Finding fogs to fit the non-T/C cutout is always an exercise best left for the blindly sado-ic. You know going in that it will be a painful experience -- surfing pic after pic, blowing them up until the pixels are the size of dice, then measuring with a ruler while knowing it's a fool's errand. Occasionally you take a risk, of course to find that the lights are several inches too big. Then after swearing off the search you try again, a true model of Einstein's definition of the insane among us.

This is where the insanity led me -- NOS 1993 Camaro fogs. The fit is very tight, and one day I might revisit trying to straighten them out, but not until the sunburn at least heals. Yes, it took that long. I even had to trim off a 3/8" corner on the underside of the valence, but at least it's not visible.

The lenses are about 1/8" narrower inboard than outboard, and the profile from the top isn't square. It's not apparent face-on, but looking down, the front face is angled outward to presumably match the Camaro's pointed nose -- which also suits the Bird's beak very well.

Mounting them was a huge PITA. The fogs come with nifty adjustable brackets, which are WAY too large for the curvy underside of the T-Bird's inner bumper. Only major Dremel surgery on par with the best from Hollywood plastic surgeons would get them to fit, and I didn't have a Dremel handy. I made do with some small general-purpose brackets I had.

It's the same 35W HID setup as before, with the old H3-C bulbs swapped out for correct bulbs for the Camaro housings (basically just longer to match the correct filament position). That said, these are BRIGHT. They're 4300K like before, but it's amazing what difference a good reflective coating and a Fresnel lens makes (the old ones had no Fresnel pattern in the lens). Pointing these down was a must.

For the similarly insane: the only way to mount these (or any fogs) is directly to the fiberglass inner bumper. You'll also have to trim off a corner on the outboard, top part of each cutout so the outboard portion of the lens can come forward. The inboard portion of the lens fits in the cutout without any problems, but the outboard side is just a bit too wide. Luckily, the cutout is narrow at that end, so the lens can just sit flush against the back of the cutout and the top-down profile will line up.
5
Lounge / Messing around with 3D printing
I've been playing around with FreeCAD, mainly showing off on the AtariAge forums, but I also decided to try modeling a ThunderCat part. This is my first attempt, the blank panel where the antenna or T/C switches go.

I sent it out to Shapeways to see how well it fits. Once I refine the model, I plan to model all three variants, plus probably one with an extra-wide cutout.

I've tried to make a few design improvements along the way. The screw holes are reduced from 5mm to 4.5mm, and the plastic at the holes is 4mm thick. I've also rounded the insides of the shafts so the flat portion smoothly transitions to the sides. Hopefully these will result in much stronger screw-on points.

When I get the model from Shapeways I'll post pics. I chose the cheapest materal, "white, strong and flexible". I have other things in that material: it appears to be very strong, and it's slightly rougher than the stock plastic (nothing that light sanding wouldn't fix). It wasn't cheap ($75!) but the cost is based purely on volume so the blank version would be the most expensive.
6
General Computer Forum / Forum cookies not being rembered on HP Touchpad (this site only)
For some reason, when I use my HP Touchpad to browse the forums, it always forgets my login cookie so that I always have to manually log in. It doesn't do that for any other site, though, just this one. From my limited knowledge about HTTP cookies, I didn't think they carried much information beyond a URL and time-to-live, though I haven't worked with much beyond calling a Java method to create one. Any ideas?
7
Lounge / New toy
I went to Liquidware's site and picked up a TouchShield Slide kit, with battery pack and Arduino Uno. Here's a pic of my first attempt at it. The camera was unable to focus on the image, but in fact it's very sharp in person. It's a 320x240 color touch-sensitive OLED display, and looks to be pretty easily programmed.

What do I want to do with it? Well...at the moment I have an LED voltmeter on my T-Bird where the ride control switches normally go, but with this (and the Arduino's ability to read buttstuffog and digital inputs) I could have my own super-duper gauge. I could put together something that shows volts, RPM, MPH, and whatever else I can route to it (and since the screen is touch-sensitive, that opens up other possibilities since the Arduino also has output pins).

The biggest problem will probably be coming up with ideas on what else I can do with it. I already ran into one problem, too--the software on Liquidware's site can't seem to program the Touchshield if you use an Arduino Uno -- it only works if you use the older Arduino Duemilanove. Luckily I had one...

Edit...it turns out it's really easy to upload images (must be 24bpp BMP) and draw them. I hacked this together in Paint Shop Pro and sent it to the device. My camera can't do justice to how it looks. this is a photoshopped pic that comes close to how it looks in person, though the actual contrast is much higher -- the color is much richer and the rest is a deep black. In the car it would look great.

Edit #2...I just ordered a compass and temp sensor module for it. That's two more pieces of info I could display...
8
Electrical Tech / Protecting your blower motor switch (non-EATC)
Here's a little tip for those of us without EATC: we all know that the connector to the fan switch is pr0ne to melting. Ford actually redesigned it a few years later to run the current through a relay when the fan is switched to Hi. A few years ago I rewired it using my 1997 Explorer EVTM as a guide, and hopefully the connector won't ever melt again. It's a pretty easy project for anyone who is interested.
14
Lounge / Saw a disabled Cougar on I-95 today
Maroon 87-88, pretty decent-looking on the outside, on southbound I-95 just before the Blue Route exit (I-476 for those not familiar with this area). Just wondering if it was anyone on this board.
15
Lounge / Congratulations, Canada
2010 Olympics Men's Hockey Gold Medalists :bowdown:

I wish I'd known that it was on. I only caught the overtime. It must have been an AWESOME, AWESOME game.

(Yup, I'm a hockey fan).