François

You can get a laser cutter for around 1500$ which is still quite expensive but I'm hopeful that, like with 3d printers, the prices will go down in years to come. As a side note, my very first encounter with 3d printing was back in 1995. I was designing an in line skate assembly machine for Bauer and they gave me a prototype wheel hub that had been 3d printed on a very big printer. The tech back then resembled todays resin printer in the manner that the part gradualy came out of a vat filled with a resin of some sort. But the major difference is that this big printed cost 1000000$ (yes, than many zeros) and the print quality was to 1995 standards. I can print the same part on my 500$ printer with a much better result. So yes, I am hopefull that laser cutters will be affordable. The shock absorber being done, my next task will be to run some micro gage wires from the head lights and gearmotor/starter all the way to the back of the car and eventually out of the still to be determined showcase and into a, also to be determined, electrical cabinet where there will be batteries and switchs to activate the head lights and the engine.

Finished the shock absorber, I think they turned out pretty good. Front shocks compared to the real thing Rear shocks

Ha but that's where it gets interesting Big John, my plan is to have a removable body that would be on it's own stand beside the car. That way I wouldn't lose any of the frame details. A bit like this. The completed body mounted on a stand and the completed frame on jack stands

It would certainly be a way to do it but I would need to fabricate close to 30 separate plates, all identical. If I had a laser, it would be doable but I don't (yet!!). The prototype had .025" thick arms (.3" scaled up). I've reprinted the parts with. 015" thick arms (.18" scaled up). It looks a lot better but I think I can still improve it with better print supports and a bit more details.

Absmiami, I have 2 printers and both were gifts. The firts one I received for father's day is an Ender 3 filament printer, very easy to use but not all the precise. I mostly use it for jig and fixture. The second one I got for my 60th birthday last month is an Anicubic photon m5s resin printer. At 12k resolution, it's alot more precise but much more complicated to use. I still have alot to learn but I'm able to print some parts. Today I 3d modeled the front shocks. The kit's shock are very basic and if not installed at the very begining, they just don't fit. So I made mine from multiple pieces like the real ones. That way they can self adjust when I install them. The components My shock (top) vs the kit's shock (bottom) The real thing The 3d model Installed on the car, this is only a prototype. I have to figure out the best way to position the parts in the printer and how to support it in order to get a good print. That's what I find is the most challenging aspect of resin printing.

I installed the horn/ head light bracket combo today, farly satisfied with the result. Here's what I was aiming for And here's the 3d model And here's the result so far I also assembled the carburators (all 3d printed on my new resin printer) and installed them on the blower which is now connected to the engine. I just need to make the 2 brass fuel lines that go from the carbs to the fuel hoses and to add a oil feed line to the front of the blower and it will be complete. Next on the list will be to model and print proper looking lever shocks. Here are some pictures of the carbs and blower. The real thing The real thing

Hello everyone, I took a break from the Bentley these past few weeks in order to concentrate on my new resin printer. This thing is really hard to dial in but I'm slowly getting the hang of it, and I do mean slowly! My first try at the begining of december was promissing but since then, the results were "ok" at best. Today, I finally printed a few parts that are worthy of being used on the bentley. The horns have been glued to the kit's head light bracket And the throttle spring plate (thats the triangular plate between the carbs) has also been glue to the blower. The carbs aren't quite ready yet. It's kinda hard to see but they are 2 small lever mounted on the aluminium rod that will eventualy connect to the triangular plate via 2 extension springs. And they should (maybe) be actuated by depressing the gas pedal.

Still quite busy at other things but managed to try out the new resin printer I got for my birthday. I still need to make some type of enclosure with an exhaust fan, the resin has a powerful smell and I really don't want to be breathing those fumes. Here's a picture of my firts prints. From left to right, first pair not too bad, second pair printed good but I forgot to ajust the scaling and last pair is a nice print. The real part

I've been very busy at other things this week. Didn't even touch the new printer yet. But I did take a few hours here and there to 3d model the head lights and horns. The stock head light outter buckets are ok, they will do nicely. Same goes for the inside bucket ( they will need new chrome) and the lens. The protection grill will have to be redone. The mounting brackets and horn will also be new. This is the kit's horn. My modeled front end the ref car's front end The head light mounting bracket A tool I printed to form the bracket A full view of my 3d model to date Same view of ref car

I got a new 12k resin printer for my birthday, I can't wait to try it out.

Only did a bit of cad work today. I decided it was time to tackle the blower unit and carburators. The blower itself is ok, adding some nuts and bolts plus a few fittings for oil connections will bring it to par. The problem is with the carburators. I'll have to print the throttle bodies and the float chambers. The damper pots should be ok. I'll add a throttle shaft with a few levers and springs and spring mounting plate. Again, if all goes to plan, the throttle shaft should rotate by depressing the gas pedal. Here the real deal The kit's carburators And my 3d model

I few more details were done today. Hooked up the steering 20231123_120637.mp4 Attached the gas pedal to throttle linkage 20231123_112600.mp4 Added the blower manifold copper oil line Added the starter ground cable

I thought it would be fun to show some comparison pictures. 1930 2023 1930 2023

Alot was done today. -All wiring and plumping of the bulkhead assy is complete 20231122_090355.mp4 -the engine and bulkhead assy are installed, and when connected to a battery, the engine turns along with the drive shaft differentiel and rear wheels 20231122_174244.mp4 20231122_174412.mp4 -speedo drive housing installed on transmission and wired to dash, -inclined floor board (the one just in front of the pedal) installed. here's a link to my build album https://photos.app.goo.gl/p2DahEAtoFRgju8eA

Thank you LaughingIndian and Ace-Garageguy, your comments are much appreciated. When I started this build I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go with it but frankly, I didn't think I would go this far. Like I said in my last post, I'm just about ready to install the engine but I've hid a catch-22. I can't install the engine before finalizing the hose/tubing/wire routing, but I can't finalize the routing before installing the bulkhead assy, but I can't install the bulkhead before installing the ingene... see my dilemma? So I figured out an assembly sequence that permits me to get everything in place. It's tenions and complicated but doable. But first, I have to finish wiring the dashboard. Here I hit another snag. To do this wiring, I need to install the dashboard on the bulkhead assy but if I do this, I won't be able to eventually install the body because the dashboard is to wide. On the real car that's the way it's done but for some reason, I can't. It's probably due to the fact that I based my bodywork on the kit's body that might not be 100% accurate. So the solution I came up with is to print a dashboard back plate that is narrower so the body will fit and that has holes in the back to receive the different wires. The finished dashboard will be installed only once the body is in place. I might even glue the board to the body, that way I could remove the body to better show the details. Here are some pictures. Dashboard on bulkhead assy (real car). You can see the ton of wires and hoses. My bulkhead assy with a fraction of wires and hoses. The almost completed 3d model of the dashboard, the board will be made from aluminium. I'll try to replicate the swirl patterns on the front face. The bezels, switchs and knobs will be 3d printed. The body doesn't fit if the dashboard is already in place. Back plate solution, the body will fit over ity Back plate in place, you can see the small holes to receive wires. I made new higher candles to be able to flip the car once the engine and bulkhead are in place. here are some more pictures of the fuel line snd fuel pump install.

Ok, so I'm just about ready to install the engine on the frame but before I do that, I need to rout the fuel lines from the tank all the way to the front. So I decided to finish the fuel tank install and go from the tank to the fuel pump and to the from. On the real car, the fuel lines are coverded with a cloth tape that I imagine is fire proof. I tried many different type of tape but nothing worked until I remembered a medical tape used on a WW1 plane I did last year. It's called Hypafix, it's seems to ge made of some type of fabric l, is very thin and flexible. It did the trick. This is the tape. This is what I was aiming for. And here what I made.

I worked on the magneto linkage and after some tweaking and lever reprinting, I was able to assemble a functional mecanism. Now, it still needs to be connected to the stator shaft on the steering column but that will be much later. Here are a few pictures. 20231113_120750.mp4

The plug wires are done on the passanger side and with the installation of the oil filler tube assy, the oil management system is now complete. I'll try to complete the magneto linkage next. I really wanted these linkages to work but I'm not sure l'll be able to. In order to respect the scale, the levers are very small ans fragile. They break very easily. The worst case will have them glued in place and for show only. In other news, I had to redesign the wheel rim drilling jig. When I first modeled the wheels, I copied the lacing pattern of the Alfa romeo wheels but it turns out that the number of holes between a given pair of wires is different so the drilling angle is different. I also had twice too many wires on the inner most part of the wheel. I'll continue the wheel lacing as soon as I finish the engine.

Received a bunch of printed parts for the engine. I test fitted the oil filler tube. Installed the oil filter along with a small connection hub and oil line to cam shaft. made 4 spark plug cable pass thru bloc Installed plug cables and magneto on drivers side. the real thing

Thanks peteski, Soudure, soudage...soldering, welding...ahhhh, l'm getting a headache!

I did the accelarator. It's a welded brass assembly. The pivot incorporate a compression spring as on the real thing. I also started the link rod that goes from the pedal to the carb lever along with the springloaded return rod that goes with it. Here's what the real thing looks like. and my version Since I'm waiting for a bunch of resin printed parts, I decided to do a bit of ground work on the wheels. First, I drilled the rims using the drill jigs I designed and printed last summer. They worked great. Then I printed a lasing jig to hold the rim and hub in relation during lasing. And did a bit of test lasing to get the feel of it. It should turn out all right. Drill jig in use Lasing jig lasing jig in use test fit on car

Pierre, most of the original parts are used althougt most are modified to some degree. Pretty much all printed or fabricated parts where not in the base kit and are add-ons. I've been working on the oil management system which is not present in the base kit. Aside from a hose on the underside of the engine, that seems to go from the oil pump to the sump, there's nothing. I had already made the oil level dip stick but I didn't like it so i made a new one. I'll also add a modern type oil filter, the oil pump, an oil distribution hub that will connect to the cam shaft among other things. The one part that is in the kit, the hose under the engine, will be modified by replacing the plastic hose by a real rubber hose plus I'll add another hose from the pump hub to the distribution hub. I also added the cooling fans. Here are a few pictures. Only part present in kit New dip stick Oil on stick 3d modeled components to be added Cooling fans in place 20231102_114231.mp4

I discovered that on the new old bentley blowers built in 2019, there's a pipe connected to the water rail going down to the water pump. Back in the 30's, this pipe was used only on the non blown car, not on the blowers. Here's the pipe on one of the 12 new Blowers. So I added it to the rail setup. I also added the tubing that will connect to the top of the radiator. I also added the starter motor which is actually a micro gearmotor.

I fabricated the water rail but instead of using a piece of soldering lead colored copper, I used brass tubing, both for the main tube and for the jonction couplings. After cutting all the parts, 11 in all, I tried to glue them together. That did work so good. I decided to solder the joints as on the real thing. So I started by making a welding jig. Which is this. On my first try, I used small steel pins to hold the 5 small vertical tubings but after soldering, the pin were stuck inside the tubes. So that didn't work either. This was the result. I then replaced the small steel pins with aluminium pin and applied much less solder. This is what came out of the jig. much better. And after cleaning i got this Test fitting to make sure it would fit with the exhaust manifold and after a quick polishing, got this. I'm very happy with the result, it came out a lot better than expected. Now I just need to go get a few hex bolt (I'm missing 1 at each end) and to figure out how to make the jonction to the rad.

Continued on a few more engine details today. Did the oil level indicator. Installed the rev counter with rev cable and tiny cable clamps I started to tinker with the water rail, it's this copper tubing. I would like to make it from scratch using a lenght of lead, colored with a copper patina acid and a brass tubing to represent the jonctions. Not sure if it will work but I'll give it a try.