John Washington

Sorry for delay in responding. For some reason the system isn't notifying me of posts. Will have to check settings on my account. Option 1 IS the door skins, and the skins alone are $190 each. BTW, I just added a link at the bottom of that page to my installation guide for the doors, as well as the installation guide for all my fender kits. Check 'em out! http://www.reactionresearch.com/doors.html

I just did a quick-and-dirty upload of some photos. Not fancy, but the photos are the important part anyway. http://www.reactionresearch.com/doors.html I can do 1) a fiberglass skin, 2) a skin bonded to a complete inner shell with a molded-in door "handle" feature (top photos), or 3) a skin bonded to a "perimeter" shell (bottom photos). The skin by itself is obviously a little cheaper ($190 as I recall, but I will confirm, if any of you are interested in just the skins). Can also do carbon, but the glass is only 6# per door so carbon won't save that much vs. the cost. Can ship in a bicycle box for about $50 to most locations. Thanks for your interest!

Because I posted on this guy back on page 3 of this thread, someone contacted me privately to advise that the Better Business Bureau link I included was pointing to an adult webcam site (now watch how many of you guys go looking for it!). I couldn't figure out a way to edit that earlier post, so here's the scoop right off the BBB website, no linking required: BBB Accreditation This business is not a BBB Accredited Business. Back to top BBB Rating Based on BBB files, this business has a BBB Rating of F on a scale from A+ to F. Reasons for this rating include: * 9 complaints filed against business * Failure to respond to 2 complaints filed against business. * BBB does not have sufficient background information on this business. * One complaint filed against business that was not resolved. Click here for an explanation of BBB Ratings Back to top Business Contact and Profile Name: Showcars Bodyparts.com Phone: (905) 857-6345 Fax: (905) 857-6346 Address: 12249 Hwy 50 Bolton, ON L7E 1M1 Website: http://www.showcars-bodyparts.com Principal: Mr. Rob Johnson Customer Contact: Mr. Rob Johnson - (905) 857-6345 File Open Date: March 2002 Type of Business: Auto Parts & Supplies-New BBB Accreditation: This company is not a BBB Accredited business. Additional DBA Names: Rob Jonhston Showcars Back to top Additional Locations and Phone Numbers Additional Addresses Multiple Addresses - click to show / hide + ON (1) 4-258 Attwell Dr Etobicoke, ON M9W 5B2 Canada Back to top Customer Complaint History When considering complaint information, please take into account the company's size and volume of transactions, and understand that the nature of complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints. BBB processed a total of 9 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Of the total of 9 complaints closed in 36 months, 1 was closed in the last year. These complaints concerned : 1 regarding Billing or Collection Issues 1 - None of the Above - Credit, Billing or Collection Complaint Issue 7 regarding Delivery Issues 1 - Late delivery of services 6 - Non-delivery of products 1 regarding Product Issues 1 - Defective, damaged, or incorrect product received These complaints were closed as: 2 No Response 2 - Company failed to respond to BBB to resolve or address the complaint issues. 6 Resolved 3 - Company resolved the complaint issues. The consumer acknowledged acceptance to BBB. 3 - Company addressed the complaint issues. The consumer failed to acknowledge acceptance to BBB. 1 Unresolved 1 - Company failed to resolve the complaint issues through BBB voluntary and self-regulatory process.

MClark... Even though you already received the info I sent you directly, someone else suggested I post it for the benefit of others who may have the same issue. The photo/caption in the installation manual does not make it clear that this is a part the builders can fabricate themselves, then it is screwed to the inside of the old tail light panel. There are many ways to do it, but this is just one simple way. Phdr, On your delamination issue, I think you are on the right track. There's no easy way to fix it. Grind down to metal, and grind the fiberglass back a bit, too. Then do a wet layup over the area, 2-3 inches out onto the metal and 2-3 inches onto the fiberglass. You could do this with a panel patch kit from NAPA, etc. The resin in those kits is standard polyester resin. For a more robust repair you might consider talking to a composite shop about buying a small quantity of vinyl ester resin...or you could ask them to do the layup for you after you do the prep. The marine bonding glue (typically "Marine-Tex" etc) is really good stuff, but can be a bear to sand and finish. It's like it never really gets hard, which makes for a good bond, but...when you try to sand it and feather it is like trying to sand snot or soft plastic. There are a lot of composites guys around Orange Co. If you can't find someone let me know and I'll look through my archives.

Headlight buckets (either style) are $159 each. The fenders are $480.50 each. Sorry, don't have a picture of the bottom. Can shoot one for you in a couple of weeks, if that's important for you.

Dan Juday just alerted me that some folks are looking for stock replacement fenders. I just finished making molds for one of my customers. I also have regular and solid headlight buckets.

Another quick thought regarding the separated bonnet hinge: I changed the design of the bonnet hinge about four years ago. Used to be a very simple, but not so robust flat hinge. I now have a tubular steel ring that bonds inside the nose and is captured by a couple of layers of fiberglass. It mates to a tubular steel hinge bracket that bolts to the old bumper mount locations. I sent out a mailing at that time to all customers offering upgrades for my cost on those parts. If you have one of the old ones and would like to upgrade, the offer still stands. About a year ago my guys bonded in a hinge ring incorrectly (off to one side a little). It took them about an hour to cut and chisel it out. I can't imagine one of the hinge rings of the new design just separating, so naturally I'm eager to hear which one this was...and get it fixed!

Hiya, Fellers, Dan Juday was kind enough to clue me into this thread and said it might be helpful to you guys if I could put together a short (always difficult for me) note to bring everyone up to speed on my current thinking regarding these subjects. The "current" version of the installation manual was written and first printed in 94. I've learned a lot since then, mainly that the best way to prove myself an ass is to claim to be an expert. As a friend says, an "expert" is defined as "a has-been leaking under pressure." I'm not an expert and my way isn't necessarily the best way. However, it has proven to be a good compromise between labor, cost, and quality. That's kind of my theme with all my parts. I can make some pretty exotic stuff. Carbon fiber, Kevlar, epoxy resins, autoclave baking, etc. But, I want to make stuff that regular folks like me can afford. I have been including a few pages of supplemental information with the installation manual for the last couple of years. The information pertaining to the last page of this thread is the following: The way I put the tubs on these days starts with the prep of the steel quarter panel. You absolutely must trim away enough metal to clear the wider (and possibly taller) tires under full bump, plus a little extra. I've had a few guys trim too little, then bond the tub on, and have to retrim with the tub on. That's not fun. Ok, assuming you've done that...as someone referenced (and I apologize for not recognizing all the handles...you can email me directly if you like) I do consider the "returns" at the door end of the tub to be superfluous. I leave them on their because some guys still like to pound the door jambs back. I've seen a lot of quarter panels and tubs installed that way, I just don't like to do it anymore. Mainly I don't like to do it because of the work that is required to trim the door and to put the layers back together. So, I cut off the return, which allows a little more flexibility in positioning the tub, too. Eventually, I may retool the whole tub. I'm doing some custom mods on one for a new customer right now. I like the way it looks, so now may be the time. If I do, I will eliminate those returns. Once you have the tub dry fitted onto the car and you are happy with it, I recommend that you grind the quarter panel for a couple of inches just aft of the door jamb, as well as the shiny surface inside the tub in that same area. Use heavy grit disk and make it really rough. There may be some confusion on what I've said previously about using body filler as a bonding agent. Just to be clear, I may have said regular body filler would be sufficient, however, I recommend Duraglass body filler, which is in essence catalyzed polyester resin with powdered fiberglass (not the kitty hair stuff with long strands) mixed in as a bulking agent. Regular "Bondo" uses a very soft bulking agent to make it easy to sand and very lightweight. Duraglass is very hard and much tougher. Builders often ask about epoxy and other, more sophisticated bonding agents. Two problems with those. 1) They are very expensive compared to Duraglass. You can get a gallon of Duraglass for the same price as a cup of epoxy. 2) The expense will tend to make you use less volume than you really need for sufficient bond. The strength of a given bond is obtained by multiplying the bond strength per square inch by the number of square inches of bond. 2a) The registration between the old quarter panel and the rear tub in this area is not good because of the drastically different shapes. Thus, a lot of material is required to fill the gap. I am not offended at all by those who think body filler of any type is not acceptable for their particular installation. I never said my way is the best way...it is simply a good compromise between labor, expense, and durability. I'd recommend trying to get a half-gallon of bonding agent on each side in this area. You will wind up with a lot on the floor, but that's much better than having insufficient void filling, and filling with Durglass is a lot cheaper than trying to fill it with epoxy. Once you have a good bond on the inside, I recommend you grind off the gelcoat on the outside for a couple of inches, and the paint in the door jamb for a half inch or so. Then do a wet layup with 3 oz. non-woven (random strands) of fiberglass around the corner. That will make a nice, tough bond and you can use Duraglass filler over the top to put a tough corner on it. Wait until you have the door skin installed (info on that follows) before you build up the final profile of the corner. I use the aerosol urethane foam from Home Depot myself. I've had good luck with it, it forms a nice closed-cell matrix that keeps water out of the foam, and if sealed at the perimeter you shouldn't have to worry about water getting between it and the metal. I'm sure the marine, two-part stuff is great. However, like with epoxy it is expensive. Plus getting it in all the voids is tough compared to squirting in the aerosol stuff. Again, I think aerosol foam is a good compromise. Closing out the filled voids can be done in a variety of ways. I've always trimmed the foam flat, then glassed over it lapping onto the metal bits underneath to seal out water. However, it can be tricky because unless you have the shell upside down the weight of the wet glass tends to pull it off the foam. Other folks have used plastic sheet material, or created sheet metal close out panels that are sealed to the unibody and are attached with glue, screws, rivets and/or welding. The door skins as I supply them are long enough to cover a door on which the back edge is trimmed off. Obviously, if you install the tub the way I've described above the will be too short. Easy fix. I split the door skin vertically, mounting the back half at the back edge of the door, and the front half at the front edge. This leaves a gap in the middle somewhere that can be easily filled with body filler and finished; or filled, glassed over, then finished. I will retool the door skin one of these days, but until then anyone who wants their door skins "lengthened" can send them back to me and I'll do it for my cost, which is $50 each. Someone mentioned a cover panel for the rocker area to bring it out to the same level as the door skin. I've never offered such a panel, but always just did a layer of fiberglass and/or body filler on the rocker to build it up. Lately, however, I've been cutting off the door skin and butting it to the last "ledge" on the bottom of the door (about 4 inches from the bottom) so that it doesn't add thickness at the bottom. This eliminates the need to build up the rocker. OK, if that isn't clear as mud, please email me directly. If you do, feel free to post any of my responses to this thread. Obviously, I don't surf around here as much as I used to...but it isn't because I don't like to...I've just gotten REALLY busy! Oh, one other thing...whoever mentioned the bonnet hinge came loose: That concerns me greatly. I will absolutely fix that at my expense if you can figure out a way to get it back to me. I'll be in the Riverside area and then San Diego around the end of the month. I will probably have my trailer, so if you are in one of those areas or can meet me there, I can transport it at no expense to you. I'm tentatively planning to be at Knott's this year (same weekend as MSA), too, and can bring it back that far. On the subject of Knotts, I don't really have anything to show this year. However, I have a number of customers in the area, including the Velo Yellow. So, I'm thinking of getting a bunch of spaces together so we can have a "gathering of the faithful" and display all the cars, en mass. I'm probably going to be able to get the spaces for whoever wants to come for about half the regular price. Who all wants to come?????? I hope this was helpful. Again email me directly if you have further questions.

Scumbag is a much too gentle term for this guy. I have asked him repeatedly to remove my images from his website. He gives me a line of bullshit, then nothing happens. He has photos of my hood vents that he copied straight out of the MSA catalog. I called MSA to confirm that they did not give him permission to use the images. They did not, but didn't seem to care too much since the guy does order a fair amount of stuff from them that he then re-sells. However, I care about the issue a great deal. He's representing himself as being the manufacturer of these parts when he is in fact buying them from someone who is buying from me. And the images are photos that I shot myself, used by my permission in the MSA catalog. I find it pointedly ironic that he has links on his website to both a "FAITH IN CHRIST AUTO CLUB" and "Pre-Paid Legal Services." In my book, that makes him a triple scumbag. I wouldn't order a $20 bill from him even if he was selling it for $1. I'd encourage anyone who has had adverse dealings with him to report him to the Better Business Bureau. He already has a long rap sheet with them, but the more you complain the more you help others avoid him. His BBB entry is at http://www.bbb.org/kitchener/business-reviews/auto-parts-and-supplies-new/showcars-bodypartscom-in-bolton-on-1044373

Thanks for the recommendations. I'm sure there are much better ways to stick stuff together than what I've done/recommended in the past. That's one reason I usually preference my comments with, "I'm not an expert..." However, I might point out the following: I've seen a lot of bonding, both good and bad. Most of the bad stuff has to do with too little adhesive and poor pre-bond prepping. The epoxies and similar products seem to work really well with surfaces that have reasonably good registration. With fiberglass fenders and the like, the bonding areas--in most cases--don't have the benefit of high tolerance registration. Remember, total bond strenth is unit bond strength (measured in force per unit area, e.g., pounds per square inch...this is a function of the prep and qualities of the adhesive) multiplied by the total bond area. My favorite example: I was doing some prototyping work and stuck a door skin over a door using Bondo. I got the skin clocked a degree or two relative to the door, and didn't realize it before the Bondo cured. I thought, "No problem, I'll just pry it off." Well, I wrecked the door AND the skin trying to get it off. And that's just with BONDO as an adhesive. I'd be interested to hear any input on the above subjects, since "I'm not an expert!":)

Thanks for emailing me offline to point me to this discussion, Matt. First and foremost, Dan is right and I apologize for answering your question in the contrary without thinking about it first. Dan has probably forgotten more about the subject than I will ever hope to know! I have had a lot of customers install over completely cutout quarter panels, BUT they've almost all been on racecars, attached with Dzus panels, and with other structure (roll cage, bracing, etc.) installed to compensate for the missing sheet metal. Thus, like the answers you get from Microsoft tech support, my answer was technically correct in spite of being completely unhelpful. Sorry about that. It would, of course, be possible to do it sort-of-racecar-style, but you'd need to put in all that extra bracing. Probably easier to weld a stock quarter back over the area, or patch whatever you were planning to cut away. On a side note, the Duramix or Automix (or whatever it's called) products and dispenser are nice. However, the material is usually epoxy so is VERY expensive per unit volume. It takes a lot of volume to bond on quarter panels. Personally, I like to spend about the same money and buy a GALLON of the fiberglass reinforced body filler product (Duraglass, Everglass, or whatever, just short strands) and have more than enough. Spread it liberally, scrape off and discard what oozes out, and the little bit of waste material you end up with is money well wasted, if you know what I mean.

Just happened to be at the dentist today when the conversation turned to phosphoric acid vs. teeth. Did not remember this HybridZ thread until I got home otherwise I probably would have asked the doc a few more questions. However, contrary to the mythbusters opinion, the doc says that when he was in dental school they did a demonstration with a baby tooth (presumable shed naturally from its previous owner) in which the tooth DISAPPEARED after a few days. The hygenist chimed in with a similar account using a nail. Of course, both cases assume continuous wetting of the item to be dissolved which would be difficult to acheive with a bolt stuck on your car:)

Thanks for all who have expressed interest. Still have not run across a piece from which I can make a mold. Though I am still interested, my five-month-old takes just enough time that I'm not pursuing any extra projects right now...to say nothing of needing to spend the dough on diapers instead of prototyping. Plus, I am getting enough interest in a non-automotive product I've been developing that I may make good on my threats to sell and get out of the car stuff for a while. If anything develops WRT the g-nose before then, I will be sure to post back to this thread. Meanwhile, I don't check in very often so be sure to email me directly if you need a quick answer.

Hey, StreetracinZ, Dan Juday did a mix-and-match conversion like you describe using my Subtle Z front pieces and YZ rear pieces. There is a link to Dan's info on my page at http://www.reactionresearch.com/280yzgallery.html

I have had many people contact me looking for Z31 kits and unfortunately I've never found anything interesting but this: http://www.reactionresearch.com/misc/straman/index.html I considered making molds and tooling off this car, but the demand doesn't seem to warrant the investment.

Probably not exactly what you are seeking, but a couple of options anyway. http://www.reactionresearch.com/dash.htm

Check out the details in the classifieds or http://www.reactionresearch.com/misc/silverzxconv/index.html I'd rather the car go to a Hybrid guy than some nutball on eBay. Let's make a deal!

I'm coming into this thread late, but wanted to get some info out there. I no longer sell the foam because it's easier for the customer to get it locally than it is for me to ship something that might require HAZMAT labeling. The foam I have always used and recommended is Great Stuff, or some such, available at Home Depot, etc. I recommend the "minimal expansion" variety, and caution to avoid blowing panels off your car because even that will expand somewhat. Also you should use caution to avoid getting it on you or your clothing. I don't think it's toxic, but it stains your skin and the stains have to wear off. I have never done any testing to see if it holds water, causes rust, helps mitigate collision damage, etc. However, I was rear ended by a Cadillac once in my old VR and was surprised at the minimal damage compared to the perceived magnitude of the impact. My main reason for posting however, is to let everyone know this foam is of "polyurethane" forumulation. Unlike polystyrene (white or blue) foams which mostly stink when they burn, polyurethane foams (usually yellow) are bad juju when it comes to fire. Someone posted a comment about fire retardant characteristics, but I don't think that's the case. When they burn, urethane foams offgas some rather poisonous vapors, so by all means please avoid welding around the cured foam. Also, the propellants in the cans (sometimes propane) can be flammable, so no smoking while squirting...only after! These foams are pretty common in roofing and construction, which is kind of amazing in light of the associated hazards. You can read more about this problem at http://www.injuryboard.com/view.cfm/Topic=997 Having said all that, I still think the risk is pretty minimal compared to a lot of the stupid stuff people do every day like drunk driving, smoking, eating Krispy Kremes (my favorite), etc. Just be careful.

You didn't hear it from me, but... I just stumbled across an offering from Griot's Garage for Ferr*ri emblem stickers. Check 'em out at http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1=L1_9090&L2=unknown&SKU=77950 If anyone orders them, let me know what you think of them. I'd never even consider offering them for sale or promoting anyone actually using them on a car, but they'd make great stickers for your computer monitor, mouse, etc.

After a weekend's worth of horse trading I find myself with a convertible 1984 300ZX. Had thoughts of splashing it for a new product line, but just don't have the time and resources. It runs well with the stock engine, but would also be a great candidate for a Hybrid engine swap project. Anyway, I'm going to eBay it if I can't find a member of the Z family to give it a new home. Check it out at http://www.reactionresearch.com/misc/straman/index.html

Dan, Good words on the new guy/search issue. Customer service works great for this type of organization, too, as evidenced by all the helpful postings by you and everyone else here. Thanks also for the kind words wrt me in another thread. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy! Anyway, main reason for putting in my 0.02 is that I have considered for some time doing a "lift out/pop up" roof a la RX7. Once saw one on a Z car that came through a salvage auction and am still kicking myself for letting it get away. I could have had the whole running car for $500 and I thought that was too much! For those of you considering T-tops or Targa tops, a roof like I'm describing would preserve all the important metal that surrounds the door opening and contributes to chassis stiffness. I think it would be a very cool look, too. It's a project I may never get around to doing, but I'd be happy to share helpful thoughts or a helping hand (in the local area) for anyone who wants to attempt it. Or, if someone with a few bucks wants to actually pay me to do it, I'll consider moving it up on my to-do list! I also have a local friend in the sliding ragtop business. It would be pretty easy to get him to modify one of his existing tops to fit a Z if anyone is interested. May be a bit too vintage looking for the Z, but then again... A little off topic: I just acquired as part of a weekend worth of trading a 1984 convertible Z31 done by R. Straman. I had thoughts of splashing it and tooling up a new product line until Keri slapped me and reminded me that I want to get OUT of this business:) Anyway, if anyone is interested I'm going to eBay it if I can't find a member of the Z family to take care of it. Check it out at http://www.reactionresearch.com/misc/straman/index.html

Thanks you, too, Mike! I have thought about doing some stuff for later model cars. In fact, I recently did a ram air hood for an Impala SS. Unfortunately, the guy I was working with on that project was much like the guy with the JCR headlight covers...when it came time to pay up he got scarce. In fairness to him it wound up being a bit more expensive than either of us thought up front. However, the hood and molds turned out nice. (you can check it out at http://www.reactionresearch.com/misc/impala.html ). So, I thought I'd give it a run on eBay. Unfortunately, it was only bid up to about half of what it costs me to make them. All of which illustrates that playing in new markets takes an investment of time and marketing effort. I think I can sell them, but it will take some work. I'm trying to do less of that! Actually, the Z market has been pretty good to me overall. It really is a decent living (would be even better for someone with fresh enthusiasm and more desire to be hands-on), but I do find myself being more careful (in spite of recent projects to the contrary) about taking on stuff that doesn't provide revenue in line with the core products. So, new kits are a maybe for the future. However, for the moment (New Year's resolution) I'm pretty dedicated to streamlining the operation, documenting the profitability, and marketing the biz for sale. I've got some non-automotive projects I need to do before I get too old and forget all my schooling!

'Preciate the words, Dan. Unfortunately, this is my job so I have to think about things like making money. Of course, once I start doing higher math like "divide income by hours worked..." I start thinking about another line of work. And then...if that happens I won't be working on Z stuff. Guess I'd better put the calculator away before I throw all this stuff in the dumpster!

I have thought about NOS style headlight covers. Frankly though, I probably should not go down that road...and I probably should just trash the work I've done on the JCR covers to this point. I don't think I'll ever be able to sell enough to make it worth my while. Maybe one of these days when I no longer have to worry about earning a living, I can do it just for fun!

I'm discussing the purchase of some tooling to make wide bodywork for a Z31. I will try to get some photos and post them to gauge interest. Just hate to sink tens of thousands into something if I will only sell one or two sets of bodywork per year.