Nissan 370Z Forum - Nismo Break Ducts....A work in progress

I put this in my Journal but, thought some of you would maybe find it useful.

So a quick run down on my attempt at break ducts similar to the RC break ducts out of Carbon Fiber.

I asked Rusty.. Probably 8-9 months ago now to measure up his ducts so I had an idea on the size of these things.
:tup::icon18:

I got the measurements and went to work. The original intent was to design them in solid works then have them 3D printed as a finished mold or a mold that I could use to make a master mold. Well I got them designed and just never followed up so that slowly died off.

Well I started back at it Tuesday and this time I am casting the molds in bondo then I will make the finial master plug mold out of that.

Here is a photo run down of what I have done so far.

First up was sculpting something out of clay so I could see potential + daft points and get a general idea of what I was shooting for.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psmnipsz93.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...pstvp01twl.jpg

After that I knew for a perfect fit on the bezel portion of the ducts I would need to take an impression of the front air damn where the ducts mount. This area has some subtle complex curving going on so well worth the effort. I cast these in fiberglass. I used 4 coats of mold release wax and 4 more coats of PVA no way were these going to mess the paint up.:tiphat:

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psjkyqb4ha.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psflf5p6g2.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...pss9kivxmy.jpg

Next I made some 1/8 plywood blanks to serve as the opening face and to carry the mold (Bondo), this also serves as the outline to file/sand the mold during shaping. I also got some foam paperboard/display board to use as the side when I poured the Bondo. A few pics of that.

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psqu9rihcy.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psf4omzlfn.jpg

Then you need to locate your duct outlet. That is the wood dowel and 3" plug in the photo above. The angle of this is critical so you really need to take your time as this sets up the shaping route you will take and will have a large affect on the finial look is.

These last few pics are kinda where I'm at now with the drivers side duct. I have it roughed out and probably closer to a final sand. I decided to leave it at this stage while I cast out the passenger side "Curing Now" that way I have a little wiggle room if some of my angles are off when I try to duplicate the other side. This one will be the hardest because you being the fabricator will always know it's just a little off:shakes head: You just need to know when is enough.:eek:

http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...pskqirpgzp.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psy0u6jpou.jpg
http://i937.photobucket.com/albums/a...psxgcoot4h.jpg