Being able to restore old vintage cars is quite cool but also very complicated. A hacksmith was able to find a way around the missing parts by 3D printing them to fix a 1982 Toyota pickup.
The Reason Restoring Vintage Vehicles are Very Difficult
When restoring old vintage cars, there are usually two obstacles that a person has to overcome. The first would be where to source the parts, and the second would be to try and buy them at reasonable prices.
Since most parts are extremely rare, it is usually hard for enthusiasts to restore their classic cars at a decent cost. Due to this, the prices of vintage cars usually go extremely high because the parts they are using are either really hard to source or already obsolete.
Emily Velasco was Able to Find an Alternative to Otherwise Expensive Parts
According to the story by Hackaday, this is also what Emily Velasco felt about the high price of parts whenever she was lucky enough to find them. Because of the expensive parts, she decided to print the car parts herself.
The good news is that she wrote a tutorial regarding designing and 3D printing the replica parts for those who might find themselves in the same situation. It's important to note that different cars may have different parts, so it would be very important to know exactly what parts and dimensions would be needed.
Alternative Parts Found for a 1982 Toyota Pickup
The story started with the price of the four market lights of a Toyota 1982 pickup since they were on their way to turning into plastic dust. Should she have bought brand new ones, it would have set her back a whopping $160.
Velasco decided that instead of shelling out that large amount for the tiny parts, why not just print out a replica herself with her 3D printer? She then used a cheap marker lamp replacement for a model template.
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How Velasco was Able to Get the Renders of the Parts in Order to 3D Print Them
She was reportedly able to replace her marker lamps at just a fraction of what she would have spent should she have pushed through with her purchase online. The article by Hackaday notes that they like the trick that Velasco used wherein she could match the unusual lens shape.
By photographing the piece she needed on graph paper, she got the silhouette properly and simply used the grid to eliminate the distortion in the image caused by the lens. Although this won't work for extremely complex shapes, for almost 2D-like parts without complex curvatures, this method could be a great way to get the needed model for repetition.
As per the blog post, more projects can be found on Emily Velasco's Twitter account revolving around DIY and other fixes.
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Written by Urian B.
