for anyone who is interested here are a few snaps of where im up to on my restoration/customisation. ive mainly focused on the engine bay as that is what im doing at the moment

 

engine bay was taken back to bare metal, this is just about the last of it

 

 

pas pot has been moved to here

 

 

to here, hicas has been removed, inner wing deseamed/smoothed. all holes have been welded up (except a few that i still need)

 

 

same goes for this area too, there will be nothing here except the brake servo/clutch master cylinder

 

 

Alot of work has gone on in this area, the battery tray has been removed which revealed a few holes where the battery had leaked, the upper suspension mounting had also had a bit of a bash at some time and had distorted the reinforced panel. i cut out the whole panel in this area and replaced it with one cut out of my breaker. all spot welds drilled out etc and welded back to look factory-also checked to correct chassis dims. you can see which panel i mean as its red (weld through etch primer)

 

 

same goes for the passanger side, i have replaced the headlamp pod aswell, it had been repaired to a good standard but i was not happy, it would appear my breaker had a bad bump (bent the chassis rail) but they had replaced the headlamp pod with a new nissan item so this was grafted onto my car aswell. all looks perfect now. the fusebox will go under the nose panel on the inside of the chassis leg opposite the pas pot

 

 

 

both chassis rails have been given the smooth treatment too

 

 

fuel filter has been moved down here where all the aiv stuff used to live, the stock fuel lines have been tweaked to pop up under the chassis rail where you can just see the little notch. the fuel lines will then go up through the panel above (where battery used to be). ill use a jic bulkhead fitting here so in the engine bay i will have aeroquip type braided hoses with propper connectors in stealth black onto an adapted fuel pipe.

 

 

tomorrow i will spray the bay in a final coat of etch, then seam seal a few bits. might even get on to giving it a coat of 2k high build. Colour will be pure gloss black. im going for a very stripped out look in the bay, no wires showing and nothing but the engine to see. colour scheme will be stricktly black and silver/chrome/pollished aluminium.

 

hope you enjoy.

thanks mate, is it usual practice to blend them into the sills or are you blending them into the bodywork totally?

Looking fantastic mate :thumbup1:

 

Keep updating the pictures, I'm loving them.

thanks mate, is it usual practice to blend them into the sills or are you blending them into the bodywork totally?

 

You dont have too, but will look like they should be there rather than an added after thought if blended. Ive gone for blended, so that it will look nicer when you open the door. I have blended the line slightly with the bodywork, but not ground down and filled for the complete smooth look, if you know what i mean.

 

Thanks for the imput Graham save me a job :lol:

cool ,thanks mate

 

our cars are the same colour at the moment:thumbup1:

cool ,thanks mate

 

our cars are the same colour at the moment:thumbup1:

 

Oh yes, beige high build primer. Everyone at JAE said i should keep it that colour, it is growing on me, lol, but it will be yellow once more.

bit of an update for tonigh but no photos as its a bit boring. ive been cracking on with sanding down the high build and got about half way round the engine bay. its a swine of a job as there are so may complex curves and tight spots.

 

for those that dont know the basic technique is to apply a dust coat of a contrasting colour to the primer as you can see in my last photo. you then keep on sanding untill there is either no red (i used red as the dust coat) or you break through to the etch/metal underneath. if the latter occurs you have to re apply some etch over the bare metal and then more high build locally over the area. when all the dust coat is gone and you still have paint all over the area you have in theory a totally flat panel ready for top coat.

 

im using 600 grit wet and dry paper and in this case im using it wet. if you are using a none 2k high build i would advise using it dry as celulose based single pack is hydroscopic and you will end up with water under your top coat which will result in blisters at a later date. that is unless you have an oven.

 

ill post up some pics tomorrow

Good advice Dougal and have your fingers any skin left after the wet and dry:)

That,s looking the dogs dangleys bud :clap::clap::thumbup1:

I,ve also put my fuel filter in the same place as you :wink:

Good advice Dougal and have your fingers any skin left after the wet and dry:)

 

fingers are ok for the moment mate, have you been using the sandpaper the correct way up:tt2:

 

Having a bit of a night off tonight as it is our business' 3rd anniversary. back on it tomorrow

thanks boldy, hope yours is going ok, any pics of your fuel pipes etc

should were some latex gloves for sanding :)

i wear some latex gloves for w*nking

 

each to thier own bud i suppose,admire your honesty though.

well its been a little while since my last update, ive been very busy with work and our bussiness. the rest of the time i have spent sanding the engine bay, reapplying high build then sanding again.

 

anyway here was the result.

 

 

this has taken far longer than i had hoped but its important to me that i do it right so ive just kept plodding on.

 

i spent a good few evenings this week sorting out the garage and trying to get rid of the dust etc. this morning i decided to go for its as it has been nice and warm. first off i built a kind of light plastic sheeting bonnet to cover the engine bay after spraying then put up some more plastic sheeting around the engine bay to keep the dust down.

 

next i gave the bay a wipe down with pannel wipe then left it to dry off and heat up a bit. i have put an electric heater in the middle of the engine bay to help the 2k go off in the not too ideal temps.

 

mixed up the paint, tack ragged the engine bay then set too.

 

a picture is worth a thousond words etc so here you go

 

 

 

 

a few runs and a bit of dust in the paint but im very happy with the results, its having a bit of a bake now under its blanket

there is just too much shiny black there at the moment, my camera phone does not take the best pics for this type of thing.

 

cant wait to start on the build up.

 

bought some black anodised countersunk washers this week to go with some stainless countersunk bolts and started getting the suspension bolts etc plated. very sad and obsessive i know but it makes me happy

thanks mate

looking really shiney. would be a shame to put an engine in it :lol:

 

 

each to thier own bud i suppose,admire your honesty though.

 

word of caution tho. you have to have smooth shaven balls other wise the latex will really pull on your pubes :lol::lol:

Edited October 16, 201015 yr by Car.Mad

well bit more of an update

 

im a bit bored of bodywork after the mammoth effort to get the bay painted so i thought id start on getting some of the details in the engine bay sorted and im going to build up the front suspension so i can move it.

 

last night i cleaned up the drivers side inner arch and applied some stone chip except for areas that will have suspension etc bolted to them, they get a coat of hammerite over primer. here is the wheel well

 

 

other side will follow later this week but it is a horrid job.

 

ive been treating myself to some stainless bolts and some black anodised countersunk washers etc, the cost adds up quick but the finish is well worth it. here is the new pas pot mounting with its new bolts.

 

 

as you may be able to see, the black countersunk washers dont really stand out that well on the black paintwork so i think ill keep these for mounting chromed and silver itens to add a bit of contrast, ill order a set of silver washers with black bolts for mounting the wings etc.

 

ive also started to shot blast and paint a few of the front brackets, these are the oil cooler bracket and the front support.

 

 

im not sure anyone will see all this but i will know its there and i hate doing a bodge job. just need to sort out a couple of the hard pipes for the oil cooler and pas pot.

 

finally here are some of the front suspension bolts back from the platers, quite happy with them really. the fasteners that are visible from the engine bay have been wire brushed (with electric drill) pollished, bright zink plated and then lacquered where as the rest were wire brushed back to shiny metal then brigh zink plated with a yellow passivate and a light dusting of laquer.

 

 

here is also a quick trial fit of a subframe bolt with a stainless allen bolt and washer

 

 

im going to try to fit the subframe tonight along with the o/s suspension. i have a new set of spl upper arm which i need to figure out which is the right way. ive also stripped one of my tein coilovers, cleaned up the body ready for paint and shot blasted/painted the springs.

 

also a small request, does anyone have one of those long plastic clips that go up through the front cross member and into the chassis legs, i can only find 1?

Just gets better and better mate. Looking fab, attention to detail is stunning. Nice one.

thanks mate

Be like a new Zed!-Lurverly!:thumbup1:

Be like a new Zed!-Lurverly!:thumbup1:

 

hope so mate, going to cost a fortune in the little finishing touches, just spent £40 on new bonnet stops and hinge covers

Be like a new Zed!-Lurverly!:thumbup1:

 

i dont think even nissan took that much attention to detail when making the zed!

 

 

you've got truly amazing patience mate, obviously worth every bit of your time though, looks awesome.

Attention is in the detail and it looks like this is going to be awesome when it's finished buddy :D

 

Can't wait to see an update :)

Another swb getting the works there going to be some nice ones next Summer:thumbup1: