Building a TFC also depends on which scene / car your basing it on...
Restored A car:
Film shots: extra switch and lack of labels:
Black sides, lack of side switches, 4 rivets each side and extra label on Dayton:
Posts: 40
Building a TFC also depends on which scene / car your basing it on...
Restored A car:
Film shots: extra switch and lack of labels:
Black sides, lack of side switches, 4 rivets each side and extra label on Dayton:
Last edited by minispeedstar; 03-17-2017 at 05:52 AM.
Location: Jamul, CA
Posts: 1,499
My VIN: 07000
And thus my comment earlier about being an R2 builder and nothing truly being "screen accurate", as in most movies things change, sometimes from film to film (if there are sequels), and other times scene to scene. The trick is to be as close to what people expect to see. I've had Lucasfilm, Disney, and even fellow R2 builders all comment on how mine is more "movie" accurate than most others, and that's only because I looked at how R2 looked in different scenes in the different films, then made the decision to stick mostly to the first one, A New Hope, but there are a few bits that are more Empire. A few builders kept one of the panels on the back of R2 silver, as there was one scene (ONE SCENE!!) where they forgot to paint that panel...
Only we know what's what for the most part. No one complains that the guy who plays Santa at the mall, really isn't.
Location: Northport, AL
Posts: 78
My VIN: 7122
Hey Mark, what can you tell us about the gold heatsinks inside on the back? I figure we would probably have to have them machined but do you have dimensions you can share or the misc parts that are bolted on?
Also, how are the back panels held up inside the car? For anyone who has done a conversion, what is the best way to mount them? I had planned to do my conversion without removing the back glass (for now) and was curious about how others have mounted them.
TimeMachineGoldHeatsinks.jpg
Thanks!
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,469
My VIN: 6125
Hey Steve, The gold heat sinks were a found part that was pretty much just bolted in place unmodified. I don't think anyone has ever found real ones in the wild, and all searches for the part numbers on the heatsinks have turned up empty. They were most likely part of some larger piece of equipment that has yet to be identified. For the A car restoration the real ones were luckily still around and were cleaned up and put back in place.Originally Posted by smcguiga
People have found similar heat sinks in the past with the correct dimensions. I think I saw someone on the BTTF prop replica builders facebook page post up a model file for 3D printing. The same thing could be used to machine parts, or have a custom extrusion made.
The parts attached to the heatsinks are rectifier diodes and show up on Ebay from time to time. I'd have to dig through my files but I should have some photos of the diodes so you can see some of the details. there are different types that are similar. Here's a link to one that is similar, though not exactly correct.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/72RA150-STUD...kAAOSw4CFYxFUQ
There are also smaller diodes attached to each heatsink besides the large white ones.
For the bulkhead on the screen used cars the largest of the three panels (DS) was held in place by screwing it to the outside of the car into the fiberglass. At the bottom of the largest DS panel and the small PS panel there were also pieces of L angle mounted to the bottom of the panels that were screwed into the parcel shelf to hold them in place. If you're not planning on removing the rear window then you can still screw the panels down into the parcel shelf but you'll have to make the DS panel shorter to end before it hits the window. The DS panel will also have to sit further forward since it won't be able to pass up through the window opening. Here's a photo showing how the DS panel is secured at the top and a screen grab of a CAD layout showing the three individual panels. In addition to mounting at the top and bottom, the three panels are secured to one another with some strips of aluminum that are welded on to the back side of the panels.
Leaving the window intact also affects how props will be mounted on the rear deck since you'll no longer have a place to attach the Janitrol tank, terminal strips, or have a place to connect the green Janitrol hose, red Aeroquip hose, and there's no place to route some of the wiring that goes into the "void" on the PS side that is open above the cars relay compartment. There is also the large zero can on the rear deck that will have to be pushed further rearward towards the engine cover since it hangs above the void through the space where the window used to be.
Location: Northport, AL
Posts: 78
My VIN: 7122
Thanks Mark! I wasn't sure if the inside panels were screwed to something inside the car to keep them from falling forward. I wasn't sure if on the real car the inside plate and back glass replacement plate were connected with some parts going through.
I realize leaving the back glass in causes some placement issues. I'm still pondering what I might do here...still collecting parts as of now. I figured I'd wait until I actually HAVE a janitrol replica and all of the hoses before I decide on what to do.
I saw the 3D file for the heatsink on the facebook page. I'll give those a shot!
Location: Jamul, CA
Posts: 1,499
My VIN: 07000
For the heatsinks, if the model is an stl, you can upload it to Shapeways, and have it actually printed in copper, as they do laser sintering for metal prints. I'd though get them printed in plastic, then just paint and weather them to save money and no one but you would know anyway.
Location: Stevens Point,WI
Posts: 2,469
My VIN: 6125
Just so we're on the same page, on the screen used car there are only those three plates shown in the CAD screen grab that make up the bulkhead. There is no additional plate that makes up an exterior wall.
The interior panel that the flux capacitor is mounted to is the same panel you see from the outside of the car that the Janitrol tank is mounted to.
The smaller two plates towards the passenger side are inset forward, so the parcel shelf area inside the car behind those bulkheads now becomes part of the outside of the car. The large zero can in front of the engine cover on the PS hangs over this area known as "the void" and a bunch of the large cables and wires from the outside of the car terminate here.
EDIT:
Here's a markup of that previous screen grab showing what some of those other bulkhead holes are for.
Last edited by Mark D; 03-20-2017 at 09:34 AM.
Location: Northport, AL
Posts: 78
My VIN: 7122
OH...well that makes more sense now. So yeah...not removing the rear glass really does make things a lot different. I always thought that the back glass was just replaced with a sort of "L" piece of aluminum and then the interior pieces were fastened to that piece. Thanks for the clarification!Just so we're on the same page, on the screen used car there are only those three plates shown in the CAD screen grab that make up the bulkhead. There is no additional plate that makes up an exterior wall.
The interior panel that the flux capacitor is mounted to is the same panel you see from the outside of the car that the Janitrol tank is mounted to.
The smaller two plates towards the passenger side are inset forward, so the parcel shelf area inside the car behind those bulkheads now becomes part of the outside of the car. The large zero can in front of the engine cover on the PS hangs over this area known as "the void" and a bunch of the large cables and wires from the outside of the car terminate here.
EDIT:
Here's a markup of that previous screen grab showing what some of those other bulkhead holes are for.
Posts: 27
Hey Mark, thank you for sharing such awesome and useful information. It is very kind of you to share your knowledge and experience of the screen-used parts, I think your help to the community is invaluable and most likely the only truly accurate and authentic source.
#10 button head cap screws. Black oxide finish, get stainless if you don't want to worry about rust.
https://www.mcmaster.com/#97763a214/=16rafcu
I guess I have got a little ahead of myself, as I think one of the best places to start is with the main engine cover. The base that everything will essentially mount to. I hope my constant questions aren't of annoyance or inconvenience for you, but if you are able to; I was wondering if you could provide some basic info of the engine cover on its own please? Perhaps some of the main dimensions and locations of some of the main holes? I don't think it would be fair to ask you to provide details of every screw hole considering that there are so many of them (especially for the reactor core light bulb mountings). I'm sure if I go through enough reference, I can probably work a lot of that stuff out.
Thanks as always Mark! Grateful for all of your help.
Location: Jamul, CA
Posts: 1,499
My VIN: 07000
Quick question on the gauges- do they normally have internal lights, or do I need to install some small grain of wheat bulbs, or maybe a small warm white LED in each?
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