zeeboost

I've been keeping this project pretty hush-hush for now, but I may not be able to remove the headlights once I'm finished. If I can, it won't be an easy task at all. It's not going to have the original 7" headlights, basically. How do other cars get away with this? Are they completely sealed, not having a drain tube or anything? Some examples of the headlight cover finish I'm going after: Ferrari 360 Ferrari f50 Aston Martin:

Yeah, no kidding. I just wasted over four hours on that site and I have an exam tomorrow...awe crap, today. Thanks aux!

I'm not sure - I thought about using a small rubber hose that was hidden in a lower corner, but I don't know if that would help/hinder anything.

I'm planning on molding in some headlight covers on my '82 280zx. I vaguely remember talking to my bodyshop about this a few months ago, but it's not bondo they would be using - it's some sort of flexible filler. I don't remember exactly. But anyways, I'm going after a smooth, flush finish, and won't be using the weatherstripping that comes with the covers. So now, my main concern is if I'm going to have any problems with moisture collecting on the inside of the headlight cover due to temperature changes, rainy conditions, etc. I don't know if there are any types of preliminary measures that should be taken before these get molded on. If anyone can share any insight on this, please chime in. Thanks

So today the shop told me they're ready to spray the first coat tomorrow, but they need me to tell them what portions of the rear I want black. I understand almost half of the poll doesn't care for it much (I'm sorta in this category), but I'm stuck with them at this point. I think they'll turn out decent, but not as good as I had originally predicted. Anyways, I've narrowed it down between two themes - very basic: Paint the rear black with the bumper, hatch, and rear panel combining with the hatch silver or have it all black except for the bumper, which will be silver, as pictured a few posts before this one: I think the first picture helps reduce the light's disproportionate "too-low" look on the rear, but the second pic seems decent too. Anyways, just fishing for some last-minute opinions before I tell them what to do tomorrow. Thanks

I don't know if you have one already, but you could create a build page for it here on hybridz - that way the information, data, pictures, etc would still be readily available.

OMG This is awesome!! :lmao:

How was the turnout?

Any time I get caught in rain with my '72 240zt she does pretty well, unless I hit teh boosts . I take it you ended up going?

She has enough rust issues already - no need to provoke any more.

Well, figures it would be raining right now. Sorry fellas, maybe next month.

My '76 had the exact same wires (well, tail light wires) with the insulation chewed off. I found the culprit (or at least one of them) dead underneath the passenger seat, so that fixed the funky smell too

Actually, 2 options: a) I believe there are two bulbs in the top lens - running lamp and brake lamp. We were thinking about wiring the turn signals in with the brake lamp, so that would leave the bottom lens completely open to be used as a reverse light, or... cutting an extra provision in the bottom light for a reverse bulb.

Dan, thanks for the offer - if the body guys run into a problem and I don't know how to handle it, I'll probably throw a PM your way. Projected outcome: I still need to rotate the bumper a little clockwise, and unfortunately paint doesn't have this feature. This is how I've been planning it - bumper stays silver, rear is black. Cheesy mockup with the real JDM tails: I need to rotate the taillights a hair counter-clockwise.

Ah, I see now. I agree, I think the real JDM lights look better, but I don't know if I'm going to stick with the taillights...I think with the JDM lights it'd be like polishing a turd. I guess if someone wants to try to photoshop the JDM lights in there, be my guest.

Nope, all I have is a 3.7 lsd in my garage I have my '72 240zt in Arlington right now, so maybe I'll be able to make it out on Thursday, assuming it doen't rain.

I agree, if I could do it again, I think I would've left the tail lights alone, or slightly modify the factory ones. What happened to your progress pictures that were posted on here? They've been a red X for quite some time now. What's the difference between the real JDM tails and the cheap knock-offs? I would imagine both still have the same curve to them.

So THAT'S what your Z looks like - yeah you passed by me a couple of times, but I didn't know it was your car.

That car looks great! It's very different from the norm, but everything seems to flow together. I especially like the taillights - care to share details? So I'm not totally threadjacking - 16" Konig Monsoons

They don't look as good as I envisioned them, but mainly due to the curvature (sp?). I actually like how they scale up to the car.

They should be showing up - try to copy and paste the picture url in the browser - see if it loads up that way.

Well, it does seem to hide the awkward lines a bit more. Could you do another and leave the bumper primered? Thanks Drax! *edit* I just re-read the original post, and by, "If someone could photoshop the rear of car black, minus the bumper, I'd appreciate it" I meant to photoshop the rear of the car above the bumper, and leave the bumper itself alone and primered, as I'm planning on painting it silver. I can see how easy it is to mis-interpret that, though - my mistake!

I've always liked the style of the Z32 lights, it's just their convex shape that makes them a PITA to look "proper" on a Z. However, I think Dan Juday and new240z pulled them off very well. I ordered these taillights a week ago and told my bodyshop to call me when they received them - this way I could hold them up to the rear and figure out the best way to attack this. A couple of days had passed after the projected shipped date, so I called them to check in on it. Once I asked him if the taillights came in, he told me that they already had one molded in and were working on the second one. Well crap...so I drove down there to find this: *Note, there's still a little bit of tape at the bottom of the taillight, so that's why it looks a little rippled. They used the factory taillight cutouts to mount these in, but IMO they're too low - I think I'd like them raised a bit. Plus, the way they angled the light gives it a funky-looking curve...so I'm not sure what to do here. They keep assuring me that once the rear is painted black, they won't look as awkward. Also, they said they could smoke the taillights a bit to help blend them in, which I'm not too sure about anyways. If someone could photoshop the rear of car black, minus the bumper, I'd appreciate it. Opinions are welcome, obviously. I have mixed feelings about it - it's like, I see potential, but don't think it'll look decent with their current position. Since everyone's posting paint pictures, I might as well add one - they have the engine bay sprayed:

It never occurred to me to check it, however, I don't know what it was before.

The absolute 110% failsafe bulletproof miracle fix for the nintendo game, is to blow hot, moist air on the cartridge. Never did that ancient technique fail me, not a single time.