The end is near....SCOTTeVEST's Baby

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Scott,

Mine was just a color comment since you are making the effort for the new wood to be a close color match to the Nardi wheel. There is no right or wrong answer to the color (just your own preference). I also have a non stock nardi personal knob that I keep because it has finger grooves on the sides and I love the way it feels (although it is a closer color match to my other wood).

Doug
 
scottevest said:
I got the following samples of wood to compare and select. Based upon just the images, not crazy about them. Ideally, I would select wood that compliments and/or matches my Nardi wheel and shift knob.

Thoughts are appreciated.

View attachment 44281 View attachment 44281
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Scott,

the first is a figured walnut (probably US version)
the second is a makore (block mottled figure)
third looks like walnut (quarter cut - probably US version)
fourth looks like sapeli (ribbon stripe figure)
fifth looks like walnut (plain sliced - probably US)

is your Nardi the mahogany orange color or the dark red / brown version? remember, sheen plays a part in this as well ... the nardi has a relatively high sheen. with the makore or sapelli, it is a very open grain, you will want to fill the pores before putting any kind of high sheen on it. with my

if its the mahogany orange version, the sapeli (ribbon stripe figure) would be nice as its in the orange brown mahogany family. that is one of the woods i considered.
the American walnut is generally browner than the european walnut.

here are the finish test samples for my dash - the first one has a few coats of a sanding sealer, a little stain on 1/2 of it and a finish coat of clear satin on top of it ... you can hardly tell what has stain and what doesn't. if you like this, you can get the veneer on ebay from jimswoodoregon
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Curly-Figured-Etimoe-Wood-Veneer-6-1-2-W-x-120-L-x-1-36-1-42-Thickness/142087503563?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649


etimoe finish sample.jpg


the second version is raw veneer, no sanding sealer, minwax special walnut stain (wiped on - very light) and the clear satin finish. i think this version would go quite well with the red / brown nardi version. if you go this route, i would stain it lightly, then fill the pores with sanding sealer, then finish in clear satin.
etimoe finish sample 2.jpg
 
Stevehose said:
I vote satin. I think shiny will bother you on bright days. I'd match the wheel to the dash not vice versa.
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i totally agree with you Steve. high gloss also shows every imperfection ... and trust me, there will be a few that transmit through the veneer. satin looks rich in the coupe.
 
Seems like the consensus is satin. My preference would be high gloss but that is only because that is all I have seen in vehicles although I prefer a satin finish finish. Let me ask the wood guy if he can show me what it’s going to look like satin. Thanks for all of your help
 
Sent this text to wood guy:

"My BMW forum like the look you have selected but a majority thinks we may want to go with a satin, not glossy look. Wondering what you think about this and if you can show me both variations. Frankly, I prefer glossy but only because that is all I have seen in vehicles of this sort or any for that matter. Not many satin looks. I believe Satin is more stock although not terribly concerned with stock per se. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks so much for your help, and hope you had a great weekend"

SOOOOO excited that FINALLY painting is happening this week, then I go out of town, Tucson (anyone there?) for a week on Thursday, then return and expect LOTS of progress then. It's finally becoming real. Planning my road trip for mid May, likely to Northern California, perhaps Las Vegas.
 
Just sent this to @sfdon

Don,

Now that my exterior is almost done, I want to start to think about the engine and drivetrain, for next winter.

Curious what you'd recommend. As you know, I have a new head, camshaft and carburetors. Does it make sense to delete carbs and use fuel injectors instead?
If memory serves me, that was a costly adventure, and maybe it doesn't make that much sense, as I could likely get a replacement engine for about same costs.
I find current engine power fine, but HATE having to mess with carbs.
I'm thinking that it may make more sense to simply learn how to tune carbs myself instead.

Other than that, do i need a "rebuild?" Not sure what that entails in terms of costs, etc. I think it is replacing seals/gaskets, but not sure. The car has slightly more than 200k miles, but runs fine and compression numbers are ok I believe last time checked.

Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks.
 
teahead said:
How often do you have to "mess with carbs"?

If everything works, then as they say..."let sleeping dogs lie."
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Since I live at 6000 feet altitude and often go on trips to sea level, i need a basic understanding of what i need to do to "tune" adjust carbs for altitude
 
Car will run richer as you decrease elevation. Air's pretty thin at 6K feet.

To get back to the car work, keep the bumper on, looks really good.
 
adawil2002 said:
Car will run richer as you decrease elevation. Air's pretty thin at 6K feet.

To get back to the car work, keep the bumper on, looks really good.
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Thanks. I expect to start with bumper on, but from time to time remove it at will, as we are designing it to make it easy to remove by myself. I think it looks better without but also looks great with it. I have spent too much time and money getting it ready to not start with it on. Benny called me yesterday at lunch to tell me, "Scott, just painted the car. Looks great. It's done. Pick it up. ... Just joking! By the way, did you order a new seal for sunroof?"

I actually believed him, for a second. I think today it will be painted, or tomorrow. Going to swing by and spend the better part of the day if so. Regarding the sunroof seal, we decided it wasn't needed earlier. It seemed fine and wasn't leaking and don't expect many people will notice it on the roof, but if I had it to do over again, I would have ordered it. Might as well replace all seals. Oh well, not a huge deal.

I will post something later if it is being painted today.
 
scottevest said:
Sent this text to wood guy:

"My BMW forum like the look you have selected but a majority thinks we may want to go with a satin, not glossy look. Wondering what you think about this and if you can show me both variations. Frankly, I prefer glossy but only because that is all I have seen in vehicles of this sort or any for that matter.
Click to expand...

My two cents:

Highly figured woods that you are playing with look better with a gloss or “hand rubbed” satin finish because these two finishes bring out the depth and figure. I’ve built a little bit of custom furniture (all of it in figured solids and veneers), and a good satin finish that is rubbed out with 0000 steel wool and a coat of high quality wax does NOT take a second place to a high gloss finish in bringing out the beauty of the wood. Note: when I do a satin finish, I use a Watco oil first coat (let it cure) because it slightly colors the wood in a nice way (NOT for really white woods), then apply enough satin finish to fill the wood grain. Then hand finish. This gives it a near gloss smoothness and clarity without the highly reflective surface (which can look cheap on some designs).

John
 
rsporsche said:
i totally agree with you Steve. high gloss also shows every imperfection ... and trust me, there will be a few that transmit through the veneer. satin looks rich in the coupe.
Click to expand...

There should be no imperfections even with a high gloss finish if the substrate is perfect and the veneer is of sufficient thickness (not that paper thin sh*t that is becoming more and more common today).

I think a gloss finish will get scratched up over time. A satin finish will visually hold up better over time. I have a dining table in curly maple and Sapele in high gloss (furniture grade synthetic lacquer from Pratt and Lambert), and the damn thing needed a fresh power buff every couple years because it showed every use mark. So it now lives in a crate in my barn and the table we use now has a replaceable glass top.

If you are dead set on going high gloss, here is an idea. Back before I developed a high sensitivity to automotive paint chemicals I did a couple of wood samples in a furniture grade clear and a top level automotive clear (face and end grain). I exposed both to a sun, heat, cold, abrasion, moisture etc. Care to guess which on still looks like new after 20 years? If this were my car and I was going high gloss, I’d consider finishing the wood with a catalyze urethane clear. Caveat: I do not know if automotive clears today are the same as what I used back then (DuPont Uro gloss with isocyanates, seriously poisonous sh*t!)
 
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scottevest said:
Since I live at 6000 feet altitude and often go on trips to sea level, i need a basic understanding of what i need to do to "tune" adjust carbs for altitude
Click to expand...
Regarding the altitude changes, I am familiar with cars tuned to sea level that have some trouble with performance when driven up to a higher altitude - for the reasons noted: air fuel ratio. I'm wondering if an engine is perceived to behave better going top down versus bottom up?

I would add that tire pressures can be equally finicky when changing altitude. I recall a road trip: leaving Chicago and heading to Colorado. After driving in the mountains for a few days, the center of the tire tread was worn thin because the tires were severely over inflated once in the thinner atmosphere. I would assume there is a relationship here... :D
 
bfeng said:
There should be no imperfections even with a high gloss finish if the substrate is perfect and the veneer is of sufficient thickness (not that paper thin sh*t that is becoming more and more common today).

I think a gloss finish will get scratched up over time. A satin finish will visually hold up better over time. I have a dining table in curly maple and Sapele in high gloss and the damn thing needed a fresh power budding every couple years because it showed every use mark. So it now lives in a crate in my barn and the table we use has a glass top.
Click to expand...
I agree. You see way more glossy "wood" in modern cars that looks like plastic and likely is. I prefer satin. I sent your instructions to the wood guy. Thanks1
 
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