motomanmike Posted November 17, 2013 Share Posted November 17, 2013 Looks like he's got his eye on the finish line with this one. Clean underside, gives me some motivation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted November 20, 2013 Author Share Posted November 20, 2013 A little update. Scorpion coating stuff on the inside as well. Good for sound deadening and keeping moisture away from metal for good!Won't see much of this anyways, since I'll have full interior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dat260 Posted November 21, 2013 Share Posted November 21, 2013 Hi Taka, Very nice work. How much is this bodywork costing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted November 21, 2013 Author Share Posted November 21, 2013 Costing me lots so far! Including some new/used repair panels, I'm already up to at least $20k. A lot of labor involved getting the car stripped. I'm guessing by the time things are done, its going to be in the $30k to $35k range. Since this project has been taking over 2.5 years, it doesn't hurt as much. The bodyshop only charges me in phases. There was a lot more rust involved than the pictures i posted up... I can see why there is a lot of DIYers when it comes to bodywork. Its expensive! If I'd known how bad things were gonna get, I would have looked for a new shell... but I'll do the z gods a favor and save this one from going to the scrap yard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osirus9 Posted November 22, 2013 Share Posted November 22, 2013 Holy crap! That's dedication! The chassis looks gorgeous though. You're essentially getting a better than brand new Z chassis though, so if you think of it that way, its kinda like buying a new car. And people spend way more than 35k on new cars. I'm just trying to justify my own body work to myself at this point haha. Keep up the good work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted November 23, 2013 Author Share Posted November 23, 2013 Thanks! I can only justify spending this much because I do not plan on doing another project after this car is done. Don't plan on selling the car ever either. And more progress!! Wow! Things are moving a lot faster now. They've done more work in this past month than the previous 2 years (there's a story behind that). So in the last few days, they did more finishing work to the exterior. Epoxy primer getting laid down Layer of slicksand. Nice and smooth body line! They will block sand the car again, and perhaps lay down another layer of slicksand and block sand again. They will hang the rest of the body panels now, and then do some final fitting and adjustments, ensuring all gaps nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted December 4, 2013 Author Share Posted December 4, 2013 Undergoing final adjustments to body panels. Looks good in the pictures right? Its actually not that great, mostly in the front.... Doors are perfect. Rear hatch will require some tweaking. to be continued.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted July 18, 2014 Author Share Posted July 18, 2014 (edited) After a 6 month hiatus, the body shop is back on my car. They started fitting the panels on the front end and discovered none of the panels fit as they should! They ended up outsourcing my car to a frame shop because there was a twist and a slight diamonding of the front end of the car. After spending more money to get the frame straightened out professionally, panels fit MUCH better! Luckily, I had a FSM of the 260z and it had all the detailed measurements of the car. I'm glad the body shop discovered this before everything got painted! So here are some pictures: Body getting boarded out again to make it straight. Doors looking good. Marugen Shoukai flares getting fitted. EVERYONE should buy these! It fits awsome! I had some classic datsun flares and they didn't fit very well. With these, I will not need fender welting. I've had heck of a time finding a good donor hatch. The one that came with the car was crap... Its tough up here in canada to find rust free parts. If I had a choice I would buy brand new... but of course, they are NLA. So here is what my best hatch looks like. Still kinda rusty. Off it comes apart... Yummm... rust... Hatch will be removed and sandblasted to get rid of all the surface rust. Edited July 18, 2014 by takayuki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted July 19, 2014 Share Posted July 19, 2014 Beware of placing flares too low on body when you are mocking up at a crazy high ride height. You should mock up the flares at the ride height you plan to wide up and with the wheels and tires that you plan to run. And turn the steering lock to lock. Only then will you know where to place the flares. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted July 19, 2014 Author Share Posted July 19, 2014 Yep you bet. We will do final fitment tests before everything is finalized... I also have full coilovers and other suspension bits so I should be able to set my wheels in a desirable location.... I also don't plan on lowering the car that low because the roads here are terrible! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted September 19, 2014 Author Share Posted September 19, 2014 No real update. Progress on the bodywork is still slow. I'm hoping to have my car back at the end of october. However, I decided to order my power plant from rebello racing! 3.35L stroker with ITB's!!! Should be fun to drive with this thing! I finally unwrapped the Kameari Stainless headers I had for nearly 3 years. So purrrdy. I have the complete stainless exhaust too, but I'm too lazy to unwrap those just yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted September 27, 2014 Author Share Posted September 27, 2014 (edited) Finally some progress at the bodyshop! Competion ETA is early november!! so excited! some progress pics bottom tailgate metal was replaced [ some rust repairs on the lower doors all primed up in slicksand for more boarding! nice and straight lines! Its only in primer but the lines are looking nice and straight! so straight, you can't even see the gaps between the doors! Edited September 27, 2014 by takayuki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamo3 Posted September 27, 2014 Share Posted September 27, 2014 Great progress! You've got a nice header! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted October 3, 2014 Author Share Posted October 3, 2014 (edited) Thanks tamo3! Things are moving faster now... goal is almost near.... some more boring bodywork pictures... After making the car straight, the bodyshop is now fitting my rear spoiler. rear hatch fixed! spoiler fitted! guy did a great job making it fit nice considering its a generic bre style spoiler Edited October 3, 2014 by takayuki Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted October 6, 2014 Author Share Posted October 6, 2014 Getting motivated now to do some work that is off the car. Decided to start rebuilding my steering rack and linkages. The steering shaft u-joints on my car were a little worn so I went hunting for replacements... Not that there wasn't any available, but I decided to convert my steering shaft to all Woodward steering parts. They also happen to make U-joints that attaches to the stock 260z steering rack stub. this is the stock steering column shaft I ordered this stub. Its a 3/4" 20 spline stub The Idea is to cut off the old U-joints, drill a hole, then weld the woodward stub in This is how it worked out. Notice how the flange was left on.... I also had Woodward make me a custom steering shaft. It has 3/4" 20 spline ends on both sides. Re-assembled steering column with the woodward u-joints. Also re-painted steering column tube. This U-joint has 3/4" 20 spline sockets on both ends. Steering rack end. The u joint on the steering rack end has a 0.570" 29 spline socket to match the shaft for the nissan rack. The other end has the 3/4" 20 spline socket. This is how it looks put together Now.... I'm crossing my fingers that this will all work! I won't know until I get my car back. I am hoping that the steering shaft is the right length.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted October 8, 2014 Author Share Posted October 8, 2014 doing some final fitment tests.. Looking more like a complete car now. I'm liking the lift kit! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Had the bodyshop fab up brackets to mount 240z bumpers on the front. Also, Spook front air dam fitted. I'm not 100% sold on this, but I figured I try something different. There isn't much pictures floating around on the internet with s30's with flares and spook air damn.... Maybe because it doesn't look good. lol Final boarding before the final coat of primer. Next time I post pictures of my car, it will be painted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Wow! You've got a great body shop, your car looks incredible. If that steering conversion is pretty easy, you could probably make a little money doing them. All of us have ancient linkage and it bothers me a lot to think of a steering shaft failure. I may hit you up for info on that via PM in the future. I see an electric steer assist in my future unless I start lifting weights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I'm not sure, but it kinda looks like your flare is mounted too low on the front side - may want to double check that. Otherwise, everything looks amazing. You're gonna have an incredibly nice Z when it's all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
takayuki Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Wow! You've got a great body shop, your car looks incredible. If that steering conversion is pretty easy, you could probably make a little money doing them. All of us have ancient linkage and it bothers me a lot to think of a steering shaft failure. I may hit you up for info on that via PM in the future. I see an electric steer assist in my future unless I start lifting weights. Yeah, the bodyshop is sure exceeding my expectations for quality so far! They've done a lot that I would have never known. I was definitely going to share my steering conversion with the community once I have everything properly fitted and tested. Didn't want to be too open about it until I did some R/D myself. The cost is subjective to each person, but I found it reasonable for something I may never have to repair or replace. The weld stub on the column was $6, two u-joints cost $60 each, the custom steering shaft was $75, and the labor to install the stub onto the steering column shaft was $105 (labor is very high where I live). If you can weld and fabricate yourself, this setup can cost you about $201(not including shipping) in just parts. If you can weld and fabricate yourself, it won't cost you much more. The woodward u-joints look very high quality and it should last you a very long time. way longer than the stock u-joints. I'm not sure, but it kinda looks like your flare is mounted too low on the front side - may want to double check that. Otherwise, everything looks amazing. You're gonna have an incredibly nice Z when it's all done. I've had few people tell me this.. Not sure if its the camera angle, but the fitment of the flares are where I want it to be. I have no intentions of slamming this car at all. Roads where I live are TERRIBLE! There are gnarly speed bumps and dips in the road. My car will not survive if I had it lowered too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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