While my Laurentis parts are off at the powder coater, I'm puttering around with my recent auction find, a Mazzer Major auto. While I figure I'll convert it to doserless, I haven't decided on just how to do it (funnel, spout, etc.). However, I thought I could spend a little time making a motor cover plate. I always have scraps of fiberglass and carbon left over from kayak projects, so I used some to make the cover.

Here's the before picture:


After removing the doser, I used padded the motor area with some paper towels (in case of any epoxy leaks) and applied strips of glass-filament packing tape over the opening to create the surface of the mold. The benefit of this is that the finished panel will have no nasty ledge at the bottom to catch grounds.



Some newspaper to catch any errant epoxy drips.



The layup is 5 layers of 6oz. glass and 1 layer of 6oz. carbon twill. The finished thickness will be about 1/16" thick and plenty rigid for this application.



The panel has been trimmed and shaped to fit. I still need to cut the chute opening, sand the surface smooth, and apply some spray clear coat.







I'm thinking I need to paint the body black to match the carbon.

That looks really sweet, man! Nice job. It makes me wonder what a Mazzer covered completely in carbon fiber would look like... but yeah, a black body would look really nice too.

So you covered up the exit chute it looks like. Are you just going to cut an opening?

Post more picture updates. Your project is really neat.

OK, I'm seeing a blood-red body with a yellow shield and a prancing black horse, Carbon fibre PF rest, hopper cover, and thwacking handle. Maybe some bits of chrome here and there?

How much to do all of this to MY majors!?!

(On second thought, one done up like the Tifosi-grinder, and the nother done up like a Lambo? Mercedes Silver Arrow?)

mini wrote:So you covered up the exit chute it looks like. Are you just going to cut an opening?

Post more picture updates. Your project is really neat.

Yeah, I'll cut the opening once I figure out exactly what I'm doing with the chute/whatever. I'm working on removing the old paint, and I'll be sure to post updates as I go.

Psyd wrote:OK, I'm seeing a blood-red body with a yellow shield and a prancing black horse, Carbon fibre PF rest, hopper cover, and thwacking handle. Maybe some bits of chrome here and there?

How much to do all of this to MY majors!?!

(On second thought, one done up like the Tifosi-grinder, and the nother done up like a Lambo? Mercedes Silver Arrow?)

I think I need to get a version of "basic black" before branching out into other crazy, er.., creative color schemes.

Ross Leidy wrote:I think I need to get a version of "basic black" before branching out into other crazy, er.., creative color schemes.

Ah, yes. Maserati... ; >

Over the last few weeks, I've worked on my Major to get it back into working order. I sanded off all of the paint down to the metal, rerouted the power cord through the bottom and filled the old hole with JB Weld, primed and painted with Hammerite Rust Cap for a textured finish. I still have plans to turn it doserless, but I was anxious to try it out so the doser went back on. Here's some photos.









Ready to go:

What happened to the doserless sweet carbon fibre panel?

ademello72 wrote:What happened to the doserless sweet carbon fibre panel?

Don't worry, I still have plans for it. I just wanted to try out the doser before I started the doserless conversion. Hopefully, I'll get that project off the back burner soon.

Fantastic work, Ross. That's really one of the nicest looking restorations of a Mazzer I've seen, better than stock with that cord relocation! I'm curious what you come up with for a doserless conversion; honestly it looks pretty nice with the doser as-is.

shadowfax wrote:Fantastic work, Ross. That's really one of the nicest looking restorations of a Mazzer I've seen, better than stock with that cord relocation! I'm curious what you come up with for a doserless conversion; honestly it looks pretty nice with the doser as-is.

Thanks - that's very kind words. I'm happy with the cord relocation. The heavy metal plate on the bottom was fairly soft and easy to drill. I angled the hole towards the back to ease the bend in the cord as it exited the bottom. I started out with a 1/8" bit started vertical and then angled to about 45 deg once the bit was started. I used 4 sizes of bits to end at 3/8", which was perfect size for the stock cord. I used a round file to remove any sharp edges around the hole opening, and once the cord was installed, I used a heavy zip-tie on the cord on the inside for a makeshift strain relief.

I wanted to try the doser - I had never used one before. I've been grinding with a NS bulk grinder that has a chute (a grinder that is even larger than the Major), so I was anxious to experience the doser lifestyle. With all those stray grounds that hang out in there, I can see why doserless conversions are popular. Until I get a chance to work on that project, I'll spend some time in the thwackers camp.