MPD47 Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Sitting in the driveway with my bimmer and roommate's 35R STi for a couple days (yes that is snow flying, it is Buffalo afterall ) Made two disappointing discoveries... #1 The car was originally bright orange and was repainted red (UHHG, had it been orange I would've just left it) #2 I found a few rot holes in the floorboards, was kinda expected, and I'm not upset considering the deal I got, but I was holding out a small sliver of hope that the entire chassis was rot free. (Haha, yeah right!) Pics! Some of the stuff that came with the car, the blown trans, and the center piece of the lip spoiler that needs to be repaired. Some idiot decided to just chunk away a section rather than shaving the push button for the hatch lid. Uhhg. The original Orange of the car. Wish it was still that! Passenger's floorboard Driver's floorboard Man I love the interior on these... can you say Defi gauges? Found this in the spare tire well with the other transmission parts, yep, she definitely spanked the trans. Prepping the engine to come out. Garden hose on the fuel tank... Pass floorboard Driver's floorboard Engine out, stripped the engine bay tonight after that pic was taken. So yeah, that's where I'm at right now, ordered the Motorsport Auto Carbon ZG Flares, pulled the wiring harness, still need to get the dash out. The current short term goals are to Fix Floors and get custom 6pt welded in (the car will probably see light track duty when the track 951 is down) Rewire car (almost have the harness pulled just need to remove the dash) Get engine bay completely stripped down Refurb Suspension/R200 differential Engine wise I want to go with a VQ35DE but we'll see. The powerplant is the one thing I'm being really finicky about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 Looking great Mike, you are truckin' at full speed! Awesome progress. The rust you have is typical, but not bad, I have seen way worse! Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLSHLE Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 That's a familiar poise. Great start, first steps down a long and bumpy road, there's a big smile at the end. Nice lift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 i wish my car had that little rust... lookin good though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 That's a familiar poise. Great start, first steps down a long and bumpy road, there's a big smile at the end. Nice lift. Not me in the pic, one of my coworkers. Thankfully I keep my car at work and can work on it after hours when all the customer cars are done. Though I do also have a lift at my house Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big-phil Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Garden hose.............its not just for watering the lawn anymore. Looking good, at least you wont be bored for awhile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted November 23, 2007 Author Share Posted November 23, 2007 Looking good, at least you wont be bored for awhile. Bwuahahahaha, tell me about it. + Those two will keep me plenty busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted November 29, 2007 Author Share Posted November 29, 2007 Got to work on it a bit more today, some pics. Bee's nests in the door jamb. The overall goal today was to get the dash out, start to access the quality (or lack thereof as I'd later find out) of the wiring that was still in the car, and play with gauges. Started by pulling the dash out which unfortunately ended with me and a pair of diagonal cutters going to town due to some idiots in the past installing some sort of aftermarket alarm and stereo equipment. Wires EVERYWHERE, needless to say, I wasnt pleased. Wiring harness seems to be mainly intake though and I'll likely rewire sections of it rather than go for full replacement, meanwhile the gauges and engine management will be on their own harness separate from the rest of the electronics. Man, I have having parts of the front of the dash bolted/screwed down, makes everything a total pain, this is where the german's know what they are doing with mounting the dashes on pinch welds and having very few pieces of hardware holding them in. All out! What a mess! My blower is bigger than yours... to bad mine doesnt make BOOOOOOST! Hahahaha. I was really pleased with the state of some of the rearward interior pieces and headliner today. Upon further inspection a lot of them are either in pristine original condition. The fuse "box" amused Mike and I greatly. Defi BF 60mm (IIRC) dropped in on top of a stock gauge, they fit perfectly, and they just released a tach too. Now just gotta find out about a speedo they aparently had at SEMA. And to my pleasant surprise I got home to my Carbon ZG Flares waiting for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 280ZForce Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 And to my pleasant surprise I got home to my Carbon ZG Flares waiting for me I'd be careful about those, I've heard and seen for myself they are extremely thin and pretty much see through in the sun. Most people have returned them to their dislike. My friend and I are going to try our luck at making some ZG flares here soon in CF and fiberglass, we made some molds off some rare wider version ZG flares that only 1 person has that we know of in the US. But let me know how you like those CF ones from MSA, take them out in the sun and also flex them a lil bit and see how they hold up. But the Z is looking good...it's a long haul from here on out, so enjoy the massacre. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted November 29, 2007 Share Posted November 29, 2007 why did you opt for the more expensive carbon fiber ZGs over the fiberglass ones? just wondering, because i'm thinking about getting ZGs as well, but after looking at many pictures of fiberglass ZG's, it seems that the fit might be a little off. that seems to cause the top to sometimes flare out too much, which i think looks bad. also seems that the rear of the flare tapers inward too quickly, which i dont like either. however, of the pictures i've seen of carbonfiber ZGs, they look fine. maybe im being too picky or im seeing things, but thats something ive noticed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 Guys, sorry I didnt answer your questions, I'm headed to dinner I'll answer them when I get back! Interior getting slowly but surely down to stripped so I can cut the floorboards out and finish rewiring for defi's and new HVAC controls. Something I've been struggling with for weeks, the car has ANCIENT wheel locks on it, and I have no key. I think I'm going to end up welding nuts onto them and taking them off that way, but I figured I'd post an image and see if anyone knew what it was, or had a better idea. Hilarious "playboy" decals in the 1/4 windows. There is also one for the alarm, one for the alpine head unit and one for the CA911 foundation from like 1982. Much better! Have to remove the stock hvac and then I'll be ready to start cutting the floors out. Engine bay almost completely stripped. Almost ready to get sandblasted (any local recommendations?) Overview, also test mounted the carbon flares, they look awesome, hoping to get those on the car sometime in the next week as the welting kits from Austin (240hoke) came in. Bought a '95 KA24DE motorset, 100k miles, uncut harness, trans, etc, etc. Picking that up Sunday and using parts from Bings.ca for KA-T. That's all for now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Looking great Mike...I hate wheels locks! Wish I was making that kind of progress on my S30! Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted January 9, 2008 Author Share Posted January 9, 2008 Yasin, me too, I'd rather have my wheels stolen than use wheel locks (that's what insurance is for right? ) As for why did I opt for the carbon flares. To be honest, I hate the look of bare carbon on 99% of all cars. HOWEVER I decided to keep them bare for the time being as I oddly think they actually look very good. As to the people complaining about how thin they are, and flexible... They are a carbon fiber add on piece, I dont want it to weigh a couple pounds each. They are flexible but when bolted down are quite sturdy and have a pretty good finish. I'm really pleased with them and dont see any issues after a mockup getting them mounted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73DatsunZ Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Seeing the progress pictures are pretty cool. Seems like your not messin around at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 i wish my 240z was that solid...looks like youre making good progress too. i think ill go with carbon ZG's now. thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPD47 Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 I'm really happy with my carbon ZG's after today. Yes, they are a bit flimsy when not mounted up to the car, but once you have them mounted they are fairly ridged and strong. Really pleased with them in combination with the Hoke Performance welting and hardware kit. Small update for today, took some time mounting the passanger's front carbon ZG flare. Now that I've done it once I know I can do the other side a lot quicker, but that's fairly standard with this sort of thing. Also ground off a bunch more brackets in the engine bay, almost have it all smoothed out to the point where the concentration will be paint removal and repainting. Drilled and marked, I had previously drilled out the ZG flare and then held the flare up while Andy (300zx) and Joe (91MR2) marked the holes for me. Thanks guys! I always feel REALLY strange when cutting bodywork on the car... mostly it's a "What the $@#* did you just do idiot?!?!?!" feeling, but hey it always works out. In case you missed it, I recently did this to my 951 also: I freaked out then too. MSA Carbon ZG Flare, Hoke Performance ZG Flare rubber welting and hardware kit (nutserts and other assorted stainless hardware) That's all for today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJLamberson Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I love it, what a difference flares can make Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 Mike - That looks sexxxXXXY! Love it. Cutting into the body work of a perfect car takes a stiff drink (or two!) and some cajones (esp. the $$ European stuff). Keep it coming! Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbk240z Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 You might want to try using a cheap socket just slightly smaller than the lock lug. Then you hammer the socket onto the lug and remove with ratchet or breaker bar. Sometimes you can hammer the lug out and reuse the socket. I have used this trick in the past and it has worked great for me, although I won't guarantee it working for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V8INtheZ Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 You might want to try using a cheap socket just slightly smaller than the lock lug. Then you hammer the socket onto the lug and remove with ratchet or breaker bar. Sometimes you can hammer the lug out and reuse the socket.I have used this trick in the past and it has worked great for me, although I won't guarantee it working for you. Good luck. Thats what I was going to suggest, Ive done it dozens of times. Lookin good so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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