BenJammin

Unless things have changed, real CF is available in any color - as long as it's black! (to steal a quote from Henry Ford) Other colors are fiberglass or kevlar or combinations thereof woven in with CF. Which leaves something to take note of, FG can be used in the same way as CF by using the same resins, bagging, and exposing the weave. Exact same look for parts where weight or strength are not as important. Wanted to also comment about that last group of photos posted of the cf door panels... funny in the one pick, the cf picks up the reflection of threshold plate and makes it look as though it has the chrome strip normally found on the original panels, cool! $500 may sound steep, but is a nice alternative to dealing with those having the NOS panels on Ebay for sale at $700+ , or even good used ones with good chrome which can get pricey too.

Did you mean the pic that started the thread is Aztec Gold ? Is that just your opinion, or do you have some connection to that car, or are you a professional body/paint person that knows color inside and out? Excuse me for the grilling, but I love that color and want to match or get close as possible. Also, if you are a paint pro, do you think the solar gold is pretty much the same as aztec gold? (looks real close to me).

In the ever constant words of my 4 year old after seeing her older sister do something or get something... "me too, me too!" (the RB240Z version as pictured)

Sometimes they are gone for a few days racing... give them some time. Also, they are an extremely busy shop, so best to be brief in emails. Also, try to send from another email address. Sometimes your email address can inadvertently get on a blocked spam list for no good reason.

Anyone here ever go with cutting the whole roof off at the pillars and welding in a new one? Pics?

With the number of Z's here in San Diego county and there's not one body shop recommendation ? Please don't say 'Earl Scheib' !

Crap, nevermind on the borrowing part. Finally saw this on their website, should have known, most everything is protected this way now. When installing the Digital Paint Booth, you can obtain the license key needed by registering the software online or by calling 1-800-845-2500 extension 5132, Monday thru Friday 8:00 AM- 5:00 PM CST. The Digital Paint Booth software can only be installed on one computer. It cannot be installed on multiple machines. But, if anyone has any experience with the program, would love to hear about what you think.

Hi all, I posted something like this deep in another thread, but wanted to bring it out as a main topic. Would anyone have a copy of HOK Digital Paint Booth they would be willing to share ? Even for a small fee? Also, has anyone been able to successfully load a pic of your Z into the program and have it come out right? I ask because I don't think older Z's [if any] are preloaded in the program, but it supposedly has the option to load your own car. I tried 'painting' my car according to the Photoshop tutorial posted here, but can't figure out how to get the custom colors from HOK into the palette. When I try to sample the colors from a copy of their paintchips I only get the color from one pixel, not the homogenous(?) color that is made up from several different pixels of various colors. Hopefully that makes sense to someone.

(hope this is not considered another thread jack... the topic is gold paint ?) I've been thinking about some of the HOK golds for my 240Z ! Solar gold (78 Trans Am color), Pagan gold, or maybe Tiger Gold (Pearl) Buuuut..... I'm not sure how it/they will come out looking on the Z (I want it to go along with a carbon fiber hood in natural black). Thoughts? On that note, has anyone got a copy of HOK Digital Paint Booth they would be willing to 'share' ? Even for a small fee? And have you been able to successfully load a pic of your Z into the program and have it come out right? I ask because I don't think older Z's are preloaded in the program, but it supposedly has the option to load your own car. I tried doing this in the Photoshop tutorial posted here, but can't figure out how to get the custom colors from HOK into the palette. Sorry, all sorts of problems at this end !

Hi Dave, I would like to borrow the pin puller please. (will post here per instructions and give you details via a PM) Thanks, -Ben

Justin... I was with you until you asked that last question (?) Someone else covered that earlier (etching primer /epoxy primer) and you actually responded that you would do something along those lines, then you went completely off in a different direction with the Rustoleum. I'm not sure about the spray can stuff, but I believe the problem with the Rustoleum rusty metal primer (in a regular can) was it contained a certain type of oil that made it incompatible with a lot of other paint systems.

Chris, Did you get it off Ebay? If so, which seller? Also, did the casting look decent or was it real sloppy looking (i.e. burrs, casting flash, etc?). Also, any flange / bolt hole alignment problems or rough gasket surfaces?

Yeah, good point, I never actually priced extrude honing/porting, hmmm. But about the statement "they cost that much because people pay that much"... true, certain products can extract high prices, but one of my points was they would probably sell much more with a decent price cut (enough to make up the difference in profit margin and then some). I would guess there are plenty like me who would like to have one, but really, really, REALLY, hesitant to drop that kind of coin on one piece, and probably will opt for the copy in the long run. ... then I'll make that Greddy sticker with my computer! I guess I'm just a cheap-a** in a game that costs more than I can stomach sometimes.

About the copies... anyone ever seen flow numbers on the real Greddy vs copies? Wondering if extrude honing a copy would end up just as good (?)

Okay, if someone wants to go down the RB swap road, we already know it's an expensive trip, so don't go unless you can afford it - without bitching like I'm about to do! ... and yes, I know it's not an absolute requirement to get a Greddy style, but it just looks so damn sweeeet ! Nevermind the actual performance gains. Even with that acknowledgement, does anyone think Greddy intake prices are unreasonable? Seriously, you can go out and buy a highly engineered intake for a chevy or ford for a couple hundred bucks. Please don't preach to me about that comparison, I know the production numbers are way out of whack (i.e. infinitely more of those US motors out there - economy of scale stuff) Plus, I understand the concept they [Greddy] probably spent considerable R&D money and they need to recoup their investment. No problem with that... but $900 a pop ?! There are so many copies out there for a few hundred bucks (some polished versions selling for upwards of $500 - $600). And they GET those prices cause it looks like a bargain compared to the real thing. Those copies should be selling for a lot less, but Greddy's almost ridiculous pricing helps drive the copies to a ridiculous level too! Don't you think if Greddy dropped those prices down to a realistic (?) price of somewhere between $400- $600 they would probably eliminate most if not all of the copycat competition [and actually sell MORE of the real thing] because people would be more inclined to spring for the genuine product? It would certainly steer me away from the China crap (and yes, I have been considering it even though I just used the word crap)

TOUGHER in ALASKA !

Since this show-n-tell thread is going so well, I thought I'd share my humble little garage scene. Fyi, the responses here actually prompted my lazy butt [yesterday] to detach the tranny, clean/detail the tranny, and get the engine up on the stand I just bought. The hoist is just there for insurance until I make sure it will hold. I bought the stand from Pep Boys (yeah still made in China of course), but looked better than what I saw at Harbor Freight. I know... the 240Z looks like it's being used for storage, and it is kind of, but that's the dash frame from my 620 sitting there while I epoxy and paint the dashpad part to fix all those darned Datsun cracks. Next up on the list(s) are tear down the front of the RB ( get new water & oil pumps, timing belt, clutch, etc, all the refresh stuff), motor & tranny mounts, detail the engine bay and set 'er in ! (Greddy style intake is on the wish list too)

ZDrifter, now that's a burnout! The track run hits the spot too. Okay, I didn't exactly run up the credit cards today, but I did splurge on the engine stand so I can put the RB25DET up in the air to start pulling the front cover, oil pan, etc for the mandatory inspection and refresh. Thanks guys, I am sure this will be a very popular thread.

Oh yeah! F*ckit, I'm running up the credit cards !!!

Allllright booz, that's the idea. A viewpoint that includes looking over the dash and straight down the track would be even better. That way an observer gets a small part of the rush you were getting. Cool car btw. Edit: oh, I see you are in Peoria... I lived in East Peoria for awhile when I was a kid... Mom worked for Caterpillar and Dad worked for Westinghouse / WABCO. Lincoln school system, the whole bit. Do they still have the ferry races every year?

Yeah Stony, I saw your vids, thank you. Awesome car and impressive runs, but left me wanting more! i.e. it was cool to see the car run, but the vids that really get my blood going are from inside the car. Again, I don't mean to sound like it's all about me and my needs, but if you happen to have a co-pilot sometime and a camera (or the camera mounted inside)... well, you know. I guess the ultimate solution is to get my car done so I can live it firsthand, but again, spare $$ barely gets past the family budget

All you guys who have completed the swap... please make some [more] videos of your ride for YouTube! I am asking because I have the RB25DET and the car, but the two haven't 'mated' yet ! Just sitting there in the garage staring at each other Point is I need motivation (and funds, but that's not your problem), and there is the same handful of vids on YouTube that have been there for awhile of guys with the RB turbo motors installed. Many of them are just of the initial install and a few revs to hear the motor, and no follow ups. One sad one of the car just sputtering back and forth in the driveway and that's it. Would like to see someone film from inside the car on a track, either 1/4 or road racing type stuff. One of the best vids of a 240Z that I have seen is the 3.2 stroker from 'brianrn510' where he is just hammering it and getting good footage from inside and out, and a decent length of viewing time, but I haven't found anything like this from the RB crowd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nI8a6j6Ia8 I don't mean to sound demanding, and I'm sure others would dig it too, so if you got 'em, flaunt 'em

If you were TRYING to start it, wouldn't ever happen the first time! (Good thing no one had their hand in the front around the pulleys)

Years ago, someone keyed my Mustang I had just bought (beautiful silver pearl). Best looking car I had ever gotten up to that point and someone keys it -TWICE- a week apart! I finally guessed they didn't like having to walk around it because it was blocking the sidewalk (had two cars in the driveway and not enough room to park on the street- they keyed the rear hatch, below the spoiler). Nicest thing I had ever gotten in my life, and some a*hole just decides to sh*t on me. Still makes me mad. Judging from how nice your car looks, it was just some jealous prick.

One man's junk is another man's treasure... throwing them on Ebay or Craigslist is always worth a try if you ask me (as long as you don't feel rejected when you get 0 bids or no calls !)