repainting my '71 240 (carbon fiber hood/hatch)

[T-Bone028]

If your entering your Z in the Hampton Z car show...I have a feeling you're going to walk away with a trophy! Looking really good!

[Dtsnlvrs]

Mark,

Tell Fred Buoni and Joe Sheelar I said Hi. BTW...me at that same show in 06

 

Edited April 28, 2010 by Dtsnlvrs

[zredbaron]

guess i never finished this thread. got all busy with the car and forgot.

 

so yeah, that laundry list of to-dos a few posts back? i got them all done, on time for once, amazingly. i was busy enough that i didn't really take any pics of the progress, either. oh, well.

 

unfortunately the success came at the expense of my body. i literally was going to bed after 2-3am every night. the night before the car show, i stayed up all night. in the end it was worth it, the event was a lot of fun and my 71 was very, very well received.

 

here are a few shots from the show (all the way back from May 1st!):

 

i think this was a 260z.

 

 

 

this 350 was the only other Z there that fancied itself a racecar. completely gutted. i liked the rear hatch braces.

 

 

 

a couple more S30s

 

 

the detail on some of these cars was tremendous! there were so many in immaculate condition. seriously, it was almost new.

 

 

 

indoor car show lesson learned: don't place your car on the outskirts of the room. put it in the center, under all the lights. literally, if you stepped back and just looked at the show as a whole, you would never have guessed that my Z was just painted. (there weren't any lights behind it to show you the shiny.)

 

here are a few shots from my entry:

 

 

 

 

 

unfortunately the fluorescent lighting made it seem more like red-orange than just red.

 

 

one of my favorite questions of the event: "THAT's your battery!?" thanks braille!

 

 

this is one of the biggest eye sores on the car right now. one of the penalties of the car sitting in the body shop for 9 months was that the (brand new) block came back with rust coming through the paint for some reason. nowhere else. (the blue fades to rusty brown just to the left of the alternator in the above pic.)

 

 

 

the event was a people's choice car show. i was hoping for the 'best paint' trophy, and didn't really think i was realistically in the running for anything else. my engine bay was filthy compared to show cars that have had frame-off restoration. my vent control panel and center console were worse off than most of the S30s there.

 

my only other car show experience left me with the impression that blinged-to-the-max or 100% stock was the only thing people cared about at shows. this was somewhat true; very few people inquired about engine internals or any other performance upgrades.

 

all preconceived notions were absolutely blown away when it came time for the awards. evidently there were a lot more silent approvals than i had any idea of -- i was absolutely stunned when they called me up for best of show. my only theory is that they liked that i made a car that actually gets raced almost as pretty as the 'real show cars.' literally, i was so unprepared for the possibility of winning that i regret not being more socially appreciative. next time. [assuming there isn't a race that day.]

 

all tucked away back at home...

 

 

after taking this pic, i went up to bed and passed out in the early evening. i think i was seriously starting to get a little delirious from the lack of sleep...

Edited July 11, 2010 by zredbaron

[T-Bone028]

Best of Show!!! That's quite the honor! Congrats on the award and I'm sure it was all worth it.

[Mr. kazimi]

Sweet looking car