Clear/Transparent Cam Gear cover [Merged 10-6]

[96whgsx]

Well, I hacked up my cover right now, don't worry, I have access to another one. Being impatient, I did a somewhat bad job of cutting, the knife kept slipping and I have a few nicks and cuts on the parts of the cover that are going to be showing. I cut the plastic with a box cutter and an exacto knife. I used the box cutter at times because it's a little more stable and won't come loose on the turns like the exacto knife would. I also ordered 10lbs of lexan a few days ago and should be here on the 29th, consisting of assorted sizes of scrap, some smoked and others clear, off of ebay for 14 shipped. Not bad eh? I'll keep you all updated on what I do and how it turns out. Here is a pic of what I did so far:


Also, if you are trying to do this, take your time. The plastic is thick but not that thick and make sure your tools are nice and sharp. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.

By chance, does anybody know what type of glue/epoxy would be good for holding the lexan to the plastic? I'm thinking of this 2-part epoxy "Plastic welder" which basically melts and rehardens the plastic.

 

[Talesin]

Though it's not really an option for the budget-minded, perhaps a custom-made Pyrex belt cover? It's meant to withstand pretty intense heat. Just slip some rubber grommets in the bolt holes to prevent them from cracking the pyrex due to vibration or tightening. Also, make sure your camshaft seals are 100%, so you won't get any oil flung against the inner surface of the clear cover.

Halfway considering talking to a buddy that does heavy-duty vacuform plastic, who says he can do clear plastics. He was talking about making me up a show hood out of the stuff, even if it'd likely crack under freeway-speed driving.


Oh, and if you have access, a dremel or rotozip would probably make a much cleaner cut, if you want to carve up your existing cover.
As for the gluing compound, consider high-temp rated epoxy. The new join point on that model cement (essentially... plastic melt/fuse is how the Testors stuff works) is going to be much weaker than the rest. Vibration could crack it, if the heat doesn't re-melt it.

 

[Defiant]

Also, if you are trying to do this, take your time. The plastic is thick but not that thick and make sure your tools are nice and sharp. A dull knife is more dangerous than a sharp one.

Kind of a foolish way to assault that job, as above, a powered tool would work much better. At least your fingers survived. Kragen and others have $20 rotary tool kits that'd do the job much better.

By chance, does anybody know what type of glue/epoxy would be good for holding the lexan to the plastic? I'm thinking of this 2-part epoxy "Plastic welder" which basically melts and rehardens the plastic.

You'll play hell finding something that'll chemically melt plastic [crap, I meant Lexan]- its resistance to solvents is one of its primary design features. You'll do better with something like a dovetail or other mechanically-captive joint. It might be that the best adhesive for the situation is silicone seal- if you get it straight from the tube to clean surfaces, it holds like hell. The key is in not giving it a chance to skin on the way to the parts- you need to get in onto both parts simultaneously as possible, such as filling a v-groove with it.

 

[96whgsx]

Just curious but how hot does the cover itself actually get? The lexan I'm thinking of is going to replace the spot where I cut out, so will it get hot there?

I do have a dremel but only 2-3 bits which are useless in this project. The reason why I decided to use the exacto knife was because I need the cover to get an accurate template that I can make from the lexan.

Thanks for the feedback too. It will give me something to think about before I get the lexan pieces.

 

[02BLUR]

Just make it out of glass. That would last forever

 

[96whgsx]

I've been doing some thinking and what I am stumped on is how to make the inner cuts like a "v". Is there some type of dremel bit I can use to simplify it? I figure for the other connection, I could just sand it down to make the proper edge. Here is a pic if you can't really understand what I'm attempting to say.

 

[Defiant]

Hm. Not a welder, I guess.

Better if you can leave a few tabs to keep the Lexan from dropping in. Best if you can leave a lip the whole way around.

 

[96whgsx]

How about something like this? I'm just worried that there may not be very good adhesion of the silicone on both surfaces. With this drawing, I won't have to worry about the lexan slipping inside the cover. What do you think about it?

Thanks for the info defiant, I really appreciate it.

 

[Defiant]

That'd probably work okay. You want as much surface area as possible for the silicone. Keep in mind that at most you might get about 1/8" depth per side for the adhesive.

 

[MattGus]

Hi All, I stumbled onto this thread wondering if anyone made a clear upper T-Belt Cover. I have already begun my project which is similar. I am casting (Aluminum) Upper T-Belt Covers and I am taking the Cam Gear side of the cover and making a large window to cover with Lexan. My Lexan Cover will bolt onto the Cover very cleanly and keep the timing belt area cleaner than running no cover. It should look pretty bitchin too. I will sell replacement lexan covers reasonably too so if they do get old looking a new one can be bolted on quickly without removing the cover. I am an aerospace machinist so fit will be close to OEM Standards. I am gaging interest here to see if I should make a batch of 10-12 if people are interested. I am making it out of aluminum so it can be polished or powder coated to match Valve Cover. I am thinking these will be in the $75 range. When you consider that it will take tooling for the foundry, a casting to be poured, some machining to be done to casting, and the Lexan Machined with a bevel so it looks pretty, this is a steal. A new Upper Cover is around $45. Let me know what you think, I can make this happen in the next 2-3 weeks and I will post pics when I get teh prototype on my own car. Thanks, Matt Gustafson 815-397-4332

 

[GSTinCO]

If you can do this ^^^ and it looks good I would be interested. I would like to see high res photos of the finished product though. Let us know. !

 

[2bar4g63t]

just take the cover off. ive had mine off for aboiut 60k miles now. no problems, plus you can see your cool cam gears and when you timeing belt is worn.

 

[96whgsx]

Hi All, I stumbled onto this thread wondering if anyone made a clear upper T-Belt Cover. I have already begun my project which is similar. I am casting (Aluminum) Upper T-Belt Covers and I am taking the Cam Gear side of the cover and making a large window to cover with Lexan. My Lexan Cover will bolt onto the Cover very cleanly and keep the timing belt area cleaner than running no cover. It should look pretty bitchin too. I will sell replacement lexan covers reasonably too so if they do get old looking a new one can be bolted on quickly without removing the cover. I am an aerospace machinist so fit will be close to OEM Standards. I am gaging interest here to see if I should make a batch of 10-12 if people are interested. I am making it out of aluminum so it can be polished or powder coated to match Valve Cover. I am thinking these will be in the $75 range. When you consider that it will take tooling for the foundry, a casting to be poured, some machining to be done to casting, and the Lexan Machined with a bevel so it looks pretty, this is a steal. A new Upper Cover is around $45. Let me know what you think, I can make this happen in the next 2-3 weeks and I will post pics when I get teh prototype on my own car. Thanks, Matt Gustafson 815-397-4332

Looks pretty good. Get some pics up when you are done. My project is going pretty slow with finals and everything but I'm just about done, just need to glue the the lexan on the cover. If anybody needs some lexan, I have about 9lbs left.

 

[96whgsx]

Well, I just finished the cover, doesn't look too bad and I really don't mind some of the imperfections. I'll snap some pics within a couple days. Just an update.

Edit: I just took the pictures. I know it's smugged on the lense, I'll clean it off someday.

 

[Defiant]

Well, it sure doesn't look bad. Let's see after a few months of running.

 

[96whgsx]

Well, it sure doesn't look bad. Let's see after a few months of running.

Haha, that's the thing, my car isn't running. Anybody around my area want to try it out for a while?

The stuff I used was the RTV silicone sealant from kragens. It doesn't say how much heat it can resist but it will probably be around 200-250 degrees. I got this figure when I had to take the lense off of my headlights, heating the oven at around 350 degrees but the silicone started coming soft when I set it at 300. Other than that, the lense holds on better than I thought it would, I put pressure on the inside and it didn't budge.

 

[karbon]

I jumped on this awhile ago and finally got the time to do it. It only took a few hours. A dremel and a reinforced cutoff wheel work wonders. What I did was cut out the shape I wanted leaving a 1/8" lip that could be shaved later for something for the lexan to grab onto. I took this lip and shaved it on both sides to create a sharp ridge using a drum sanding bit. I used the cutout as a guide to cutting the lexan, leaving about 1/16" inch around it. I then cut IN the edge of the lexan with the cutoff wheel about 1/16" in. This would be a cross-section of the joint:

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I used some black hi-temp silicone to seal it up and smeared it in the cracks with my finger. A couple of hours later I got a really solid connection and put it back in the car.

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I drive about 300 miles a week, so I'll make updates on how this arrangement holds out as well as any yellowing due to high underhood temperatures. I'm running a tube manifold with no heat shield and an open dump tube as a control, so that should give a good idea of what high underhood temps do to the lexan and the silicone.

 

[96whgsx]

Cool, keep us updated.

 

[zachakagoat]

Looks really good man, it should hold up pretty good if you use sealant like that, I mean its not like its touching hot metal, that plastic never really gets hot on my car so it shouldnt melt.

 

[karbon]

Just an update on this little project: It's been a little over two weeks and the car's seen driving light and hard alike. I'm happy to report that the lexan is still in its place as it's been since day one and there is no discoloration or warping. I knew lexan stood up well to heat and didn't have any doubts, but it's here in black and white. For those having a problem finding lexan, Home Depot just started carrying it whereas before they only had acrylic.

 

[Blitzeclips]

Has any seen this? Can you buy it anywhere? I've searched but haven't come up with anything. I am about to attempt making it myself. Figure: use a sheet of metal for the general shape of the cover. Use a torch, heat gun, whatever, to slowly melt the lexan glass over the metal mold. As it folds over the shape, let it cool, trim with a dremel, and Viola! A clear cam gear cover to show off my polished AEM gears... Any suggestion, ideas, advice?

 

[Red Recluse]

It'd be a sweet idea, but why not just use the factory cover, and then leave the top off exposing the gears?

 

[Blitzeclips]

For the universal rule of sex, Protection.

 

[Jaronk56]

hah ya protection is good... good luck with lexan and meltin it, won't it get cloudy? i have no idea about it.

 

[elementalwindx]

Where can I find a clear timing belt cover for the dsm? Like these for the evo: http://www.boneheadperformance.com/evo/evo_engine.htm