Raspberry Pi Hitches A Ride In A 1989 BMW Dashboard

March 11, 2021 by Tom Nardi 12 Comments

It probably won’t surprise you to find out that a 1989 BMW 325i doesn’t have much in the way of electronic gadgetry onboard. In fact, what passes for an in-dash “computer” in this vintage Beemer is just a digital clock with a rudimentary calendar function. Not content to waste his precious dashboard space any longer, [Ryan Henderson] used his time in quarantine to replace the clock module with a Raspberry Pi.

Nestled in a custom laser-cut housing is a touch screen LCD module that connects directly to the GPIO header of a Pi Zero. Combined with some Python code, this provides a very slick multipurpose interface for pretty much anything [Ryan] wants. Right now he’s got it hooked up to a GPS receiver so he can figure out things like speed and acceleration, but the only real limit on what this little drop-in upgrade can do is how much code you want to sit down and write.

Thankfully, it sounds like [Ryan] has done a lot of the hard work for you. He’s put together a Python library that allows the user to easily draw analog gauges on the screen. The faces are parametrically sized, and even have custom minimum/maximum marks. Of course if you’d rather just throw some text and images on the screen, that’s accomplished easily enough with existing libraries such as PyGame.

[Ryan] says he’s also working on some code to better integrate the Pi into the vehicle’s systems by way of a Bluetooth OBD2 adapter. In the most basic application that would allow you to throw various bits of engine data up on the screen, but on more modern cars, you could potentially tap into the CAN bus and bend it to your will.

While the physical size and shape of this particular modification is clearly focused on this model and year of BMW, the general concepts could be applied to any car on the road. [Ryan] has recently started a GitHub repository for the project and hopes to connect with others who are interested in adding a little modern ~~complexity~~ convenience to their classic rides.

The reality is that cars become more dependent on their onboard computers with each passing year. Already we’re seeing Tesla owners struggle with cooked flash chips, and things are likely to get worse before they get any better. While undoubtedly there are some that would rather keep their daily driver as simplistic as possible, we’re encouraged by projects like this that at least let owners computerize their cars on their own terms.

Why Converting Classic Cars To Electric Drive Is A Thing

January 4, 2019 by Lewin Day 96 Comments

A vintage British sportscar is a wonderful thing. Inimitable style and luxury, beautiful curves, and a soundtrack that could make even Vinnie Jones shed a tear. However, even under the most diligent maintenance schedule, they are known, above all, for their unreliability. As the value of such cars is tied heavily to their condition as unmodified examples, owners are typically reluctant to make modifications to remedy these issues.

However, things are starting to change. Cities across the world are enacting measures to ban fossil fuel vehicles from their streets, and sales of such vehicles are similarly going to be banned entirely. The automotive industry is preparing for a major pivot towards electric drivetrains, and no carmaker will be left untouched. In this landscape, it’s not just Tesla and Nissan who are selling electric cars anymore. Luxury brands are beginning to deliver electric vehicles, too.

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Printed Part Gets Classic Truck Rolling

August 8, 2018 by Tom Nardi 19 Comments

When working on classic vehicles, and especially when modifying them outside of their stock configurations, things can get expensive. It’s a basic principle in economics: the rarer something is the more money somebody can charge you for it. But if you’ve got the skills and the necessary equipment, you can occasionally save yourself money by custom-fabricating some parts yourself.

After changing the gear ratio in his 1971 Ford F100, [smpstech] needed to adjust his speedometer to compensate. Unfortunately, a commercial speedometer reducer and the new cables to get it hooked up to his dash would have run into the hundreds of dollars, so he decided to try designing and 3D printing his own gearbox. The resulting development process and final product are a perfect example of how even a cheap desktop 3D printer, in the hands of a capable operator, can do a lot more than print out little toy boats.

The gearbox contains a large ring gear driven by a smaller, offset, spur gear. This compact inline package drops the speed of the input shaft by 25.5%, which [smpstech] mentions is actually a bit slower than necessary, but it does give him some wiggle room if he decides to change his tire size.

Even if you’re not looking for a speedometer reducer for a nearly 50 year old truck, there are some lessons to be learned here in regards to 3D printed car parts. The first version of his gearbox, while functional initially, ended up looking like a deflated balloon after being exposed to the temperatures inside the F100’s engine bay. His cheapo PLA filament, which is probably fine for the aforementioned toy boats, simply wasn’t the right material for the job.

[smpstech] then reprinted the gadget in HTPLA, which needs to be annealed after printing to reach full strength. Usually this would involve a low-temperature bake in the oven, but he found that simmering the parts in a pot of water on the stove gave him better control over the temperature. Not only did the HTPLA version handle the under-hood conditions better, it was also strong enough that he was able to use a standard die on the connections for the speedometer cables to create the threads instead of having to model and print them. Definitely a material to keep an eye on if regular PLA isn’t cutting it for you.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen 3D printed parts used to get a vintage vehicle back on the road. Building these custom parts would have been possible without a 3D printer, of course, but it’s a good example of how the technology can make these types of repairs faster and easier.

[via /r/functionalprint]

Repairs You Can Print: A Turn Signal Switch For A Chevy Corvair

February 17, 2018 by Jenny List 14 Comments

Running a classic car is often an easier prospect than a more recent model, as the mechanical parts have a tendency towards commonality between models, simplicity, and maintenance using basic tools. However assuming some level of parts availability for your model it is not usually the running gear that causes headaches. Instead, it is the smaller and less durable parts, the little plastic pieces that formed vital components but have not been manufactured for decades. These are the parts for which the advent of accessible 3D printing has been a revelation, suddenly the owner of a wreck need only to have basic CAD skills to deliver the goods.

A Chevy Corvair (not [Ken]'s one). Greg Gjerdingen [CC BY 2.0]. — A Chevy Corvair like [Ken’s]. Greg Gjerdingen [CC BY 2.0].

[Ken] has a ’63 Chevy Corvair, an attractively-styled motor notable for its rear-engined layout and air-cooled engine. And it seems his car is plagued by the same issue as all other early models, a failure of its turn signal mechanism. The version fitted to later cars is a vastly superior replacement, but required some modification to fit his ’63 model. Even after modifcation, the updated part had a plastic component that was too long for his steering wheel. Would he grind down the later part to fit, or go with a later wheel? No, he turned to Google Sketchup, and 3D printed a replacement of the correct size. He does admit that it’s not perfect as the signals cancel at a slightly different point from where they should, but since he’s been using it for four years it appears to have done the job.

We wish [Ken] every success with his Corvair, and indeed can’t help envying him a little for owning it. Some of us have been known to dabble in older metal, too.

This is an entry in Hackaday’s

Repairs You Can Print contest

The twenty best projects will receive $100 in Tindie credit, and for the best projects by a Student or Organization, we’ve got two brand-new Prusa i3 MK3 printers. With a printer like that, you’ll be breaking stuff around the house just to have an excuse to make replacement parts.