Dwebble (The Silver Slug)

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  • Check out Teach Design Concepts on eBay!

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    All right, talk about a fun and functional mod. This is badass. I was searching for shift knobs in eBay and found this guys auctions. I saw in there he also offered customization, basically you could tell/draw him what you want and he can get it done.
    Since installing a new shifter in the Slug, it dropped the shifter way lower. Also because I wasn't as precise as I should have been with modifying the linkage the shifter was skewed to the right.

    Ok so here are the shifters. Left is the B&M shifter. Because of the new location of the linkage I wanted a straight shifter instead of the angled back ones like stock. Also you can see the pivot point is much higher on the B&M which shortens the travel distance between shifting. That means this is a short throw shifter, for those not in the know about goofy car stuff.

    Another reason I went for the B&M was that it has it's own housing. The others just fit into the sloppy stock housing.

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    O.k. So since it was lowered and a bit at an angle I needed to start with an extension with a bend to it to bring things back the other direction and lift it up. I will eventually fix the linkage, and that will move the shifter closer to the steering wheel which is fine by me anyway. So I picked up this on eBay. It's supposed to be high strength brass, it seems pretty solid, and it was only $15 so not bad. I later found out that John Teach can do extensions as well. Had I know that I'd have ordered from him, oh well.

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    O.k. since he is actually machining these parts, I used my limited mechanical knowledge to get him some measurements. I know that people building stuff can only build as precise as the measurements they are given. In this case all I have is a busted caliper with a slightly off ruler on it, but it got us close enough and John's suggestions about the dimensions turned out to be excellent.

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    So I gave him the diameter of the extension, and the length that the shoulder inside needed cut as well as the thread depth, etc. I also wanted a little cone to fit on the bottom of the extension to act as a support for the shifter boot. Rather than just have it hanging down.

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    One thing I inquired in was how tall he could make the shifter knob. He had I believe up to 3″ tall listed in the auction. He said for a small up charge he could go up to 7″. I gladly paid that because In mocking it up I needed a 6″ shift knob to put the height where I wanted.
    So after that. With just one slight hiccup that was easily remedied it was just over a week to receive the part. I bought the evening of the 8th and it arrived I the mail today the 16th. For a custom machined part, that is excellent in my opinion.I get home and there is a package on my desk from Teach Design Concepts. I tore that sucker right open.

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    Ooooooooooooo! I have personally never dealt with much delrin, I love the way this stuff feels. It's smooth but with some friction to it, so not slippery. It's got a bit of weight to it but not overly heavy either.

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    So the first thing I needed to do was to get the cone fit on there. There is no real give in delrin, so since test fitting the extension on the shifter flared out the tube ever so slightly it was a snug fit. I was able to tap the extension into the cone with a rubber hammer though. Nice friction fit, it's going nowhere now.

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    Then to get it positioned. I actually ended up having to take it back off and feeding it through the boot from underneath. I just wasn't able to get the boot stretched around the cone. Fine by me, simple enough to address.
    I was using some vice grips to get it nice and snug on the shifter itself. Since the shift knob threads all the way down to the bend I wasn't concerned about the finish.

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    Oh damn! I love how tall it sets. It put a huge smile on my face taking the car for a drive with that shifter on there.

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    Another angle, just so sexy!

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    To wrap it up, I could not be happier with this shift knob. John Teach was a pleasure to deal with, if you are looking for a custom shift knob, check him out. He also does acrylic and I believe LED lit acrylic as well. You will be very pleased. If I'm in need of another shift knob I will look nowhere else.
  • Looks pimp man! Can't wait to drive it with that shifter! Junkyard and o rings this weekend buddy.
  • That shifter makes driving the wagon so much fun! Race car!!
  • I dig it, super jealous of your PGM cover though. I found some plans on building an etcher. Maybe in another paycheck or two I can sort that and we can see how etching the logo on there works with those decals as masks. That'll be super sweet.
  • Screw the unicorn like market on these things. I'll make my own damn block off plate.

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  • DIY at its finest! Great job on this brother, looks straight as hell.
  • Atom D&DAtom D&D New Wagonist
    Great job. I love fender mirrors.

    Adam
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Atom D&D wrote: »
    Great job. I love fender mirrors.

    Adam

    Thanks! Wish I could find some legit ones, but those are like hens teeth even more so than the block off plate, and while I like these, I'd like them just a little taller and a touch wider on the mirror. And maybe less vibrating. Not sure how I'm gonna reduce that vibration on em. But it's coming along, slowly but surely.
  • Looking good brother, i cant wait to show you guys mine im new to the site i guess i have to wait for a moderator to accept it ??but mine is nothing fancy but ive finally got one and looking for to your build hopefully soon i get to start my thread on my build , again bro nice work.
  • Looking good brother, i cant wait to show you guys mine im new to the site i guess i have to wait for a moderator to accept it ??but mine is nothing fancy but ive finally got one and looking for to your build hopefully soon i get to start my thread on my build , again bro nice work.

    I wish all posts could be like this Grentea. It sure does motivate people to keep doing work on their wagons. Hell, lets face it, its just nice to have somebody say something nice for once besides- "oh cool." Yes you will have to go through a bashing by the moderators (that is fact, they like to express their power over the smallest mistakes) unless your wagon is so nice that they like it themselves, if that is the case you are fine and will get all the helpful, positive comments you need.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Since the jdm ones are so damn hard to find, I snagged a mirror off a wagon in the junk yard and am converting it.

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    So I was lucky enough to snag a busted drivers side mirror on the cheap. If you happen to have one, keep hold of it, don't toss me out if the parts that mount to the door are still sound.

    So you tear the mirror apart, this took some bending and drilling to get the pins out, eventually it came undone.

    Sorry for the blur the iPod wasn't behaving.

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    Inner piece. I roughed up the hole that is being filled so the epoxy grabs hold better.

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    Mask it off. If I had another one I might orient the tape differently not sure if that would help. I have a slight indentation where the tape was after filling. Could be filled again, but it's good enough as is for me.

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    Fill it up with epoxy.

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    Bam, set! Try not to get so many bubbles, I suck.

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    Then it's just a matter of shaping it.

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    Primed.

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    More shaping

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    Some Eastwood underhood black. You can still see where the patch is a bit, so I took to the wet sand.

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    Smoothed it out much more.

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    Krylon fusion flat black. I think it turned out pretty well.

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    My cat has more stance than your car.

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    All right, that was the easy part, now on with the exterior panel. You need to cut all the junk off that held the mirror.

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    You end up with something like this

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    Fits in there nicely. And you can see I've started knocking down the excess plastic. This is the only time I really used a power tool, so with some simple hand tools this can be done.

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    Masked and filled. Time will tell if this epoxy holds up to the elements.

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    Random thought, with some LEDs and careful paint you could always turn this into some custom plate thing. Like use a decal as a paint mask then peel have if back lit. Who knows.

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    So much shaping. Still not perfectly flat but close enough. Also, do not use a belt sander for more than a few seconds, at least not with this resin, it heats up fast and remelts. I may try a version with jb weld. See if it holds up any better.

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    Initial primed, I shaped it a bit more after this. Also I was getting some weird cracking on the paint. Might have been from spraying while it was too cold out. I've since primed it more and painted it. Will snap pics of that later.

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    It's currently painted with some of the Eastwood underhood black. I need to knock some of the shine off it. I have some 2000 grit wet sand paper coming in, I'll see if that works. Maybe even some synthetic steel wool. But I do want to smooth it a bit, it's got a bit of of orange peel looking finish to it.
  • Atom D&DAtom D&D New Wagonist
    I love how-to posts.

    Adam
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Thanks Adam. Share the knowledge, that's what I say. And hell maybe someone has an even better idea next go round. I really do want to do this to another mirror, and use some different materials as the filler to see how it turns out. I don't think it would be too terribly difficult to build a mold and make some new block off plates out of pourable polyurethane or some other material.

    Since the bracket stuff mounts up the same on the back you could just reuse the regular mirror bracket and cut that down yourself or junk yard one for scrap and then bolt on the block off plate to it.

    This part isn't all that complex that it would be beyond all reason to make a mold. But anyway, that's a project for the future =D I'll take more pics when I get it installed. I might paint the passenger side one to match just because that will likely be easier than trying to get these to match stock plastics.
  • Ridge911Ridge911 New Wagonist
    Looks good. I like the fab-mods that a normal person (no welder or fiberglass) can do.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Ha, all this prep so I can properly do the other fender mirror and I find out that my inspection sticker is right smack dab in the way of it. Of course those things don't come off without destroying themselves either.. Go figure.
  • Awesome write up, thanks a bunch. I heartily endorse the making a mold idea. You could make an endless supply of different plates.
  • Good job dude.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Yeah believe me, I think I will go the mold route. There's some fiddly stuff on the back side that I'd want to capture just so it mates up with the rubber seal from the original mirror properly, but that wouldn't be too terribly difficult in the grand scheme of things. Either way, too many projects stacked up this year, unless I get real ambitious. If I do get it done you better believe I'll churn those out like a mofo.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    LED bulbs, brightness yo!

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    When backing up, the stock bulbs were worthless. I couldn't even tell they were on. As you can see here there is a marked inprovement.
    Next up, brake lights.

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    The 2nd from the right is running the LED bulb. You can see it's filling out the housing more evenly. Definitely brighter.

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    Applying the brakes, It was hard to tell a difference. Not sure if that is because of the difference in resistance. I know that can have an affect on these bulbs. I'll go ahead and replace the rest though just to see how it does.

    Also the cargo area can now actually be seen.

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    I'll also take some pics with my Nikon and set it to full manual so it's not balancing the shot like the ipad does. That way differences will be more noticeable.
  • I like them lights son! Led ftw!
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Yeah, bright liek the SUNS! Glad they're making good LEDs now. Last time I tried this was about a decade ago and those lights suuuuuucked! Funny thing is still see those NAHDHZHDG cars driving around with those vatozone goodies, and man. I just shake my head and cry a little bit.
  • So you're telling me that you wont rock these badass plastic chrome side vents I got you!?!? Lolz.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    Maybe I can bust out my vinyl cutter and put a huge ass "HONDA" across the windshield. I see those and think "Well no shit." Or when the very first mod is a fart can exhaust... NO! Stop defiling the honda. I weep!
  • GTG, do you mind posting part numbers and source of your LED's? I know they are also on the site too but yours are more recent and probably cheaper! Thanks!
  • GTG, do you mind posting part numbers and source of your LED's? I know they are also on the site too but yours are more recent and probably cheaper! Thanks!
    Cheaper, LOL!
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    No photos or anything, but I have now entered wiring hell. I think whoever did the wiring on this ZC swap went to the Vatozone school of boogan automechanicals.

    My tach was on the fritz, sometimes it just wouldn't work, so I figured there had to be a loose wire somewhere, since there were some splices in there from the swap I decided to take a closer look. And then Jesus wept. There are connections in here that are just wires twisted together and taped. If anyone is doing that for anything other than a "Get me home now" fix, please refrain from working on cars. So I've been going through as many connections as I can, cutting out the bad bits of wire, soldering on new terminals and heat shrinking the hell out of the solder joints. I think I'll probably pick up some of that aluminized fiberglass split loom just to keep everything tidy.

    I did do a little mod that some people like and some people detest. And in a hell of a lot less ghetto way than some of the write-ups I've seen on it. We're gonna do it on Killa's wagon soon so I don't want to spoil the surprise for him. As mediocre a surprise as it is =D
  • Since you are beast with wiring compared to my dumbass, I might need you to look at why my 6x9 speakers aren't working. My tach acted up on me once before also, idk what that is about but oh well haha.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    On a side note. Some loose wire somewhere blew the fuse for my Turn Signals and Back Up Lights. What the fuse panel doesn't mention is these also control the seat belts, and from what I could tell the coolant temp and fuel gauge.
  • Wtf!! Crazy japs integrating everything.
  • greenteagodgreenteagod Moderator
    GTG, do you mind posting part numbers and source of your LED's? I know they are also on the site too but yours are more recent and probably cheaper! Thanks!

    Hey, sorry about missing your post there. I saw Killa laugh about "Cheaper". I think he's the one calling me insane for what I'm spending on LEDs.

    I'm getting mine from superbrightleds.com

    A breakdown of what I've purchased. I'll update this post as I order more.


    2x $6.95 DE3175 LED Bulb - 4 SMD LED Festoon Warm White (Dome Light)
    5x $3.49 74 LED Bulb - 3 SMD LED Wide Angle Wedge Base Red (Large Gauge Bulbs)
    4x $19.95 1157 CAN Bus LED Bulb - Dual Intensity 26 SMD LED Tower Red (Brake Lights) only done one of these so far
    2x $19.95 1156 CAN Bus LED Bulb - Single Intensity 26 SMD LED Tower White (Reverse Lights) also only done one so far

    The following are ones I've not done at all yet but will do relatively soon.

    2x $19.95 1157-AW60-SB: 1157 Switchback LED Bulb - Dual Intensity 60 SMD LED Tower (Turning front bumpers into DRLs/blinkers)
    2x $19.95 WLED-x19-T: 194 LED Bulb - 19 SMD LED Wedge Base Tower (High brake light) will be wiring these to an initial strobe to get attention when braking.
    6x $5.95 WLED-x5-CBT: 194 CAN Bus LED Bulb - 5 SMD LED Wedge Base Tower (front corner lights, fender turn signals, license plate lights)

    Then the ones I'm still debating are the rear turn signals and rear side markers, though this place has a relatively good return policy so what I'm thinking is order the cool blue lights for turn signals, they'll be behind amber. They have a much higher lumen rating than the amber colored bulbs. If the color of the signal sucks though I'll just return them. Either way those are also another $19.95 a pop.

    So I might be overdoing it, but yeah cheaper is not the direction I'm going with these LEDs. You can get stuff off ebay for a dime but I've had a relatively good experience with superbrightleds.com so I'm going to continue to shop with them.
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