great work you have done more than me and jake have in one year since you have started this thread
 

Cheers Matt
 

sundowner

great work you have done more than me and jake have in one year since you have started this thread

Haha, yeah, well it certainley helps having someone who has done something similar to there van before around alot. Kinda takes some of the guess work and worries out of it. But mine is going to be a lot less involved/extreme than Jakes. The only custom body work will be roll pan, roof scoop, fuel filler, wheel arches and i also want to get rid of the external hinges on the rear doors. I don't have the time to do much more with quality i want and time frame i have. As it is i wont have the time to do anything to the interior, that will have to come at a later date. I'm pretty sure i can get the engine running in there within my time frame but incase things turn to crap i've still got my pinto to slap in there for my wedding.

I Didn't end up getting to Mallanats this weekend like i wanted, nor did i get out into the shed to do some body work. But i did get out there and try another part of build, I want to make my own tail light lenses and LED lights for them as there are no aftermarket options and also make some LED lights for the front indicators as i will be using clear ones. All i really want to do is get rid of any orange on the car as it wont match my colour scheme. As i said before no one makes these already for escorts (as far as i know) and i know the tail lights will be complicated to make especially seeing as i have never made an LED board before, so i thought i would start on a board to suit the front indicators, small and relatively easy as i'm only using one colour LED.
So here we go. Its at this point id like to state that this is merely a trial piece for one, to see if my research is any good, and two, just to see if it is something i can do on my own. It is by far not a master piece, my circuit was hand drawn, the board was cut with side cutters, the LEDs are all over the place and my soldering is less than average. In saying that i'm still stoked with the results :)
Here is my board after i cleaned it, the black edges still need to be trimmed down

I forgot to take one of the circuit i drew on it before etching but here you can see it while in the etching bath.

All cleaned up, here is my circuit board.

the smallest drill bit i had was still too big, 1/16th'' but it did the job for this little project.

LEDs in the board. I had an idea to make arrows in the indicators as something a little different, i like the outcome.


All soldered up ready for power.

And presto, it actually worked.

And here are a few pics of it in the housing behind an the original orange lense.




So there you have it, like i said, i'm stoked with the out come. However, it was a very tedious and time consuming job so having said that, my LED lights will have to to wait till its on the road after the wedding as i don't see my self having the time to do it before and i want to do it properly and neat, so i know they will look good and last a while.
Hope you enjoy.
Benny

Why not use some Veroboard next time.  Lot's of different sizes available and much easier than etching and wiring, e.g.
 
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=HP9540

I have thought about using veroboard. And I still might. But I think a circuit board would look more profesional. Cheers for the info tho.

Make sure you put the correct current limiting resistor on the leds or they won't last very long. I can't see any in the photos.

Yeah, I do have them on the back of the board. I used one of the led calculators to work out what ones I needed.

Update
Haven't been in the shed half as much as I'd like to of the last couple of weeks but got out there today and with the help of a mate we got a few things done.
Finished welding up the holes in the engine bay, welded lower cross member in, welded rad supports in, removed front suspension and started paint stripping the engine bay. Also removed the front window without cracking it or ruining the rubber. During the week, I should be able to start smoothing out the engine bay and hopefully on Thursday i can get the heater bubble rust area cut out and new pieces welded back in.
Here are some pics of the day.












Cheers for looking.

Benny

Got out in the shed anzac day and did a bit more. The day after i paint stripped the engine bay it bucketed down and flooded my carport and turn my engine bay to surface rust, man was i annoyed. So i got the wire brush out and finished cleaning off the old paint then rust converted the whole engine bay just for safe measure. I also found a rust hole next to the strut support that i didnt see before, as soon as i hit it with the wire brush it opened up. GRRRR. Here i am thinking i'm getting closer to having the front done and this pops up, ah well. So rather than it getting to me i just fixed it then and there. Then i chucked some primer on it just to make sure no surface rust showed again.
Here are some pics.







Hopefully by the end of the weekend i will have the heater section done and started smoothing out the rest of the engine bay.
Cheers guys.
Benny

Only got a few hours in the shed this whole weekend so i didn't get as much done as I'd like, but I made a start on the heater area. I have decided, due to my limited skills, that it will be easier to do it in sections rather than one piece. I started on the fan inlet, I will do this section first, then move down onto the sill, hence the reason it's not welded at the bottom yet, I didn't want to give my self extra work by welding it in then having to cut it again to do the lower.
Here are some pics.









Cheers
Benny