1967 Dart Concept Parts

I’ve been working on my interior of my 1967 Dart. I have finished the carpet and the seat bottoms. The seat covers are Legendary, and have the correct upper covers for the emblems to go into.

That, is where I’ve had some issues. I haven’t been able to find medallions online that were nice enough for my liking. So, what does one do when one finds a problem... One finds a solution.

I’m restoring my car back to original but I’m trying to give it that resto-modified look. I was able to obtain a good medallion as a reference and a couple of technological avenues were pursued.

I’d like to mention now that when a vision of a prototype is shared, not all people can get behind it. Many companies were consulted in the last few months and either were too expensive, or never returned calls or emails. Little disheartening trying to bring something from drawing board concept to reality when there are so many folks that don’t want to help the little guys. That said...

First, a 3d render was drawn from the original part (reverse engineered). Though not perfect, it was very very close and I liked the way it came out.

Second, a company was consulted about the project, and 3d printed parts were completed. They were formed using high quality clear plastic and came out amazing. These were then sanded and a second company was utilized to lay down chrome paint and automotive clear. The results were great and the technology of 3d printing is amazing.

Though I liked the prints, I wanted to go one step further to experiment in part making, and get to the point of satisfaction in making a part I would be thrilled to use on my car.

Third, a company was consulted for CNC work. The original drawing was found to have been much more costly to produce than I wanted, and resulted in it being slightly reengineered to make my vision come to life. With my new design, a prototype set of T6 aluminum 67 dart medallions were created.

A lot of time, money and... more time, has been spent getting to this point. Both parts, (3d prints) and (CNC) have their pros and cons. I now have a solution to a problem. I’m able to finish my interior with parts made to my liking that are engineered to work and last.

I have documented the process, and I am looking to see if anyone would be interested in the work that has been completed. I know its a one year only part, so I’m not sure how many folks would even care to see them. I am getting to know a new program to me, (Fusion 360) and will be making more parts for different aspects of my 67 and other cars.

If interested, please add a reply and I will work on getting some pics up.


Cheers!!

We would love to see some pics

hemidart67 said:

We would love to see some pics

Click to expand...

Hey hemidart67....I’ll start with the pics I have on hand.


This is the render obviously of the front of the medallion. Fusion 360 is a great program to use. Coming from CAD, this a true 3d graphic model software.


This shows the back. The pegs were designed into the piece at the same locations of the originals to be able to adapt to the original backing behind the seat cover.


This shows the item as a STL (3d print file) 3d printers print in layers to make the object. Like little layers of hot glue on top of each other.

The next pics are of the 3d prints in stages.


Out of the printer and sanded lightly to get rid of the layer look


Adhesion promoter for primer


Wet sanded ready for Spectrachrome

Base coat applied


Results of the spray chrome process. Factory medallion in the foreground.


How it comes out of the printer. You can see the layers. Also, it’s placed into the original holes in the backing.

Overall, the 3d prints came out really well. I couldn’t get the brushed look as the chrome was done over the whole face of the emblem, but the lines, shape, chrome/clear quality and overall design is great.

I’ll get the CNC process pics organized and try to update tomorrow with those. If you think these are cool... hold on to your hats. Hahah

Cheers!

Retnuh22 said:

I’ve been working on my interior of my 1967 Dart. I have finished the carpet and the seat bottoms. The seat covers are Legendary, and have the correct upper covers for the emblems to go into.

That, is where I’ve had some issues. I haven’t been able to find medallions online that were nice enough for my liking. So, what does one do when one finds a problem... One finds a solution.

I’m restoring my car back to original but I’m trying to give it that resto-modified look. I was able to obtain a good medallion as a reference and a couple of technological avenues were pursued.

I’d like to mention now that when a vision of a prototype is shared, not all people can get behind it. Many companies were consulted in the last few months and either were too expensive, or never returned calls or emails. Little disheartening trying to bring something from drawing board concept to reality when there are so many folks that don’t want to help the little guys. That said...

First, a 3d render was drawn from the original part (reverse engineered). Though not perfect, it was very very close and I liked the way it came out.

Second, a company was consulted about the project, and 3d printed parts were completed. They were formed using high quality clear plastic and came out amazing. These were then sanded and a second company was utilized to lay down chrome paint and automotive clear. The results were great and the technology of 3d printing is amazing.

Though I liked the prints, I wanted to go one step further to experiment in part making, and get to the point of satisfaction in making a part I would be thrilled to use on my car.

Third, a company was consulted for CNC work. The original drawing was found to have been much more costly to produce than I wanted, and resulted in it being slightly reengineered to make my vision come to life. With my new design, a prototype set of T6 aluminum 67 dart medallions were created.

A lot of time, money and... more time, has been spent getting to this point. Both parts, (3d prints) and (CNC) have their pros and cons. I now have a solution to a problem. I’m able to finish my interior with parts made to my liking that are engineered to work and last.

I have documented the process, and I am looking to see if anyone would be interested in the work that has been completed. I know its a one year only part, so I’m not sure how many folks would even care to see them. I am getting to know a new program to me, (Fusion 360) and will be making more parts for different aspects of my 67 and other cars.

If interested, please add a reply and I will work on getting some pics up.


Cheers!!

Click to expand...

I also would like to see the finished product. Any chance of other years being pursued?

what if you used a very course sanding to get a brushed look on the raised face portions? Have you ever considered casting these in AL or a low melt alloy? You can cast in fine green sand and then work the casting to whatever finish you like. I 3D printed some "S" medallions myself and customized a few aspects. I may cast them one day but the finish is very rough, low resolution hobby printer was used but I bet AL is soft enough to grind out and polish.

Nice work! Kudos to you for not giving up!

Very nice work. I love seeing the talent on this site.

Very cool. What are your plans for these items once you get them cast? Are you going to try to market them? Seems like an awful lot of expense to reproduce a one year only seat medallion.

Stephen Mulkey said:

I also would like to see the finished product. Any chance of other years being pursued?

Click to expand...

What do you have in mind? I just have the 67, so wasn’t planning other years. That said, I’m always up for more projects. Haha

Cheers

pishta said:

what if you used a very course sanding to get a brushed look on the raised face portions? Have you ever considered casting these in AL or a low melt alloy? You can cast in fine green sand and then work the casting to whatever finish you like. I 3D printed some "S" medallions myself and customized a few aspects. I may cast them one day but the finish is very rough, low resolution hobby printer was used but I bet AL is soft enough to grind out and polish.

Click to expand...

The 3d print was originally just to make sure the design was correct in shape and would be accurate enough to use on the seats. The chrome was an after thought as bling seems to draw areention to its self. You are correct about the sandpaper. On the metal I recreated the brushed effect pretty well. I had not thought of a metal alloy cast. I’ll look into it. Thanks for the insight.

Cheers

4spdragtop said:

Nice work! Kudos to you for not giving up!

Click to expand...

Thanks!! I’m just one guy working to solve my own OCD issues. Haha.

Cheers

BrianT said:

Very cool. What are your plans for these items once you get them cast? Are you going to try to market them? Seems like an awful lot of expense to reproduce a one year only seat medallion.

Click to expand...

OCD is wild. Haha.


Marketing comes with its own challenges (many actually). To go from an idea to mass production to sell on the open market is not only time consuming, but expensive. One reason I posted here was that I have a captive audience, whom all have their hands and ideas in the A-body catagories. Could I take this to market and partner with the chain companies? Maybe. For example, I see HDK and how hard he has worked in the RND field and how far he has come. So awesome. I have some other ideas clanking around my head. This is just a hobby for me...not looking to quit my day job. Hahaha. Could I take orders of the final products if there is an interest, sure.

Cheers

I have located some pictures of the CNC work. I won’t be showing the actual work being done.

This is how the part looks out of the CNC process. You can see the machine marks. The pieces come out really well. They are a bit longer and more pointed at the bottom. Though not quite perfect, I don’t see the need to change my design.

Edges/center polished and the beginning of the brushed look takes shape.


The factory original is in the middle.

Fully polished set. These are still in bare aluminum state. Any little scratch would have to be repaired. I decided on an anodizing process to protect mine. The process turns the T6 a little grey due to the materials embedded with the actual aluminum. They aren’t as bling but are protected from corrosion and very resistant to scratches. Another method I will be testing is powedercoat clear. It will be thicker when applied but should leave most of the polish look. The third option will be automotive clearcoat. Though there is no “bite” for it to adhere to the polished portions it will work for corrosion protection.

Clear anodizing over a set.

Hellcat emblem to compare anodizing effects on aluminum. Mine are not this grey.

Comparison between anodized and bare metal.
As stated before, I had to redesign my render. I added drilled and tapped holes that are 6/32 to stay with widely available parts. Posts will be thread locked into the emblem and the head of the bolts will be cut off and smoothed. They are long enough to trim after being installed in the backing.

The backings I have are rusted and age is taking its course. I have designed and have printed four 3d backings to test on my seats. I’ll do a follow up on this thread when I have it all assembled.

Finished product front and rear.

Give me some input. Only way to make anything better is to take constructive criticism. Shoot, if you think I’m dumb or the part is junk... I’ll take it. Haha. You guys are the first to see them.

Some time and money have been spent trying to build a product that I would like to have myself, at a quality that one would expect when spending some cash on a CNC custom part. These aren’t 50 year parts that have wear. For a nice restoration, restomod or full custom, the CNC would look grest.

Both the 3d printed and CNC parts are great. If you are interested in a set, PM me. Though not fully installed, if there is interest, I can plan for the future.

Once the backings are through RND, I could offer the whole set:

Emblems
Retainers
Backings

Cheers!

Nice.

These are very hard to find. When you do find them they are expensive

dodgedifferent2 said:

Nice.

These are very hard to find. When you do find them they are expensive

Click to expand...

I very much agree. I figured I’d spend the time to make good quality parts that weren’t half a century old.

Cheers!

I think they turned out great! Unfortunately, as I was hinting to above, you have a small target audience. I'm sure you could make a run of them, say 100 or so, and eventually you would get rid of them. Would you make any money on them? Only you know that. Sounds like you were doing it partially for the thrill of seeing if it could be done. I think that's cool as hell.

I'm very impressed with your progress and envy your abilities. Most of us get no further than a sketch on a napkin or a one off handmade piece.
What my neighbor and I learned... The only mfgrs that respond promptly and positively, look forward to working with us to produce a thousand piece lot at affordable price... Are in China!

Hey, China can pop out a cast AL piece as good as anyone else can, and for pennies on the dollar. Just dont support your weight on it.

BrianT said:

I think they turned out great! Unfortunately, as I was hinting to above, you have a small target audience. I'm sure you could make a run of them, say 100 or so, and eventually you would get rid of them. Would you make any money on them? Only you know that. Sounds like you were doing it partially for the thrill of seeing if it could be done. I think that's cool as hell.

Click to expand...

Yeah I’m not really even a born Dodge guy...shhh...But am enjoying the company. I knew the piece I was making was for a small target. Really, though, I didn’t have parts I wanted, and what I found, I wasn’t happy using. So I made my own. If down the line someone wants to put new factory covers on their restoration or retomod and wants it all new while they are there, I have something.

Cheers!