Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

People have parts I have a thermostat housing but no one has asked to buy it yet.

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

Jeff,

What exactly is the issue with people needing a thermostat housing? Poor coolant maintenance, being a gorilla with it when replacing the thermostat? I am just asking because I have never had an issue with it despite I have a spare just because I have spare everything.


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Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

Long story short, my ZR-1 unknowingly came to me with a JB-welded fitting going into the thermostat housing. That fitting severed and almost caused a min-disaster and we were not sure if we could save the housing. When I went looking for a replacement housing on the open-market, none could be found. Fortunately the damage was minor and Phil Wasinger is an excellent engineer.

So, that got the wheels in my head turning about what parts we made need to help manufacture in order to keep these cars on the road.

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

Here in lies one of this community's current, enduring issues. A lot of people have parts tucked away in their garages and only they know those specific parts are there. You literally have to "know a guy" to find those rare parts.

I don't know you. We've never met or even spoken. So let's say I needed that housing after all and I'm aware of our Forum; I throw a "WTB" post up in the Parts for Sale sub, but what if you don't login and see it? Who all knows you have that part who might see it and tell you I'm looking for it? Heck, I have found parts in member's garages that even they didn't remember they had.

It also has to be recognized that there are a good amount of ZR-1 owners out in the ether who don't even know about the Registry or the Forum. They need help with parts too. A lot of "car people", especially those under 30, have never even heard of a "car forum" let alone ours. We're trying to change that but it's actually difficult to sell something people don't understand, especially when they see how dated and broken the site it.

We really need everyone's help. If each member did just a little, it would help A LOT!

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

Thanks for telling your story! I too understand it is quite difficult and recognize I'm not suited for it yet I see car guys on social media doing it alllll the time to fab custom parts to do things like mate an LS engine to a Porsche transmission. I'm looking to tap into that base of knowledge to at least get some models on file. I will note the company you found and will add it to my to-do list.

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

I realize this thread didn?t intend to be t-stat housing specific but I?ll offer two observations at this point

1) a database of for sale parts could be helpful. For sale ads get buried over time and search function only returns useful results if you use the same spelling or lexicon as the original poster of the thread you hope to find.

2) the demand on parts is very low. Fabrication and machining is often the only way to overcome supply problems when no business case exists. I had a t-stat housing fabricated for a different car because I couldn?t find anything off the shelf. I inquired about additive manufacturing (3D printing) one but even if I supplied the model it was going to cost $2,500. That?s not a typo and I can?t say I fully understand why but several of the well known vendors who offer printing services were all in that range.

Bottom line, there is probably a collective knowledge of how to solve parts problems and maybe we should start a sticky titled ?You fixed it how?!?? so that lessons learned can be shared. Cuba kept cars from the 50?s and 60?s running for more than half a century with no access to supply chain due to the embargo. It?s a true grassroots gearhead story that is truly inspiring although they did it for survival.

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

Ha! I always think of the Cubans as well! Many developing countries function in the same manner as the Cubans and it's rather incredible. I'm also trying to think of potential future owners who could be easily deterred from owning these cars if they think it's going to require that level of effort though. For years I heard the FUD in the Corvette community that only a select few could work on these cars and that parts were obsolete so don't buy one. And I have to say, this car has been a royal PITA but I've cherished the community it has brought me.

I really like the idea of some sort parts database and have actually floated that to some members so thank you for putting it out on the forum. Hopefully others will mull it over.

Regarding 3D scanning and one-off development, you may very well be right, producing obscure parts may just be too cost prohibitive. However I would like to at least look into the option of 3D scanning to CAD renderings of some of these obscure parts. Maybe they will help us in the future.

Re: Anyone Skilled or Able to 3D Scan to CAD or the Like?
 

The best ZR-1 parts database is probably in Jerry Downey's head, but a close second is his entire Jerry's Gaskets website and operation. I trust you have been in touch with Jerry for his insight into this issue. While many in our group have a large amount of collective knowledge about many parts, he is the most knowledgeable guy in the ZR-1 world when it comes to parts.

And for those interested in how the Cubans go about maintaining cars, there is a series that was filmed in 2015 called Cuban Chrome on the Discovery channel that documents the life of Cubans trying to keep their cars running and in some cases in "show" condition--in Cuba, that is of course a relative term. i've been recording it lately and it is fun to watch. --Bob