Yesterday saw me head down to Kent to pick up my new Shortie! :D I got on the motorway to come back home about 4pm.

 

At 9pm, I was safely tucked away... on the hard shoulder of the A1(M) near York with a grand total of 1 wheelnut holding my rear passenger wheel on!!! The other 4 studs decided to shear off while I was in the outside lane - there was an almighty bang, the back-end of the car went completely loose so I had no choice but to dive for the shoulder! :(

 

The recovery truck arrived at 11pm and I slowly edged my new tripod onto the flatbed, before we headed off back to mine.

 

Spoke to Mr F this morning and he's ordered me 10 new rear studs, so my new car is currently undrivable. Seems it had cheap slot-on spacers on the back, no spigot rings and the end result was 4 wheelstuds missing.

 

Gotta love Zeds, eh...?!

Edited December 4, 201411 yr by Mondo

On Saturday, me and Kev (Harby300) toddled off down to Powerzed so he could collect his Zed. Whilst I was there, I decided to take the opportunity to pick up a Z1 solid prop for my car and, seeing as it was there and so was my Zed, have it fitted at the same time. :)

 

I also had my dodgy starter motor swapped out for a replacement I got from Lee Dent and Jimmer had a look at my alternator as the belt was squealing under high electrical load - it turns out the adjuster bolt was missing! So that's now been rectified and the squealing has gone.

 

The one-piece prop made a noticable difference on the drive home, so definitely money well spent. :thumbup:

 

Whilst we were there, the (in)famous Mr John Dixon turned up in his V8 Shortie! Now that is some motor... it nearly sucked my eardrums out when he removed the intake cover and opened the throttle!!

 

Twas a long day but good fun, but being there just made me wish even more that I had a larger amount of spare cash to lavish on my Zed.... :(

 

Cant believe there are not one but two John Dixon's who love Zeds although sounds like he is more advanced than me!!

So this morning sees me heading off to collect my calipers...! :biggrin:

So this morning sees me heading off to collect my calipers...! :biggrin:

Calipers collected :)

 

When I'd dropped them off, I started having a few doubts over the colour choice but, now they're finished and back here, I've decided that I made the right call:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy red!! :biggrin:

 

My reasoning for this is as follows: my Zed is very silver! Silver body, silver wheels... I wanted a splash of colour on the exterior that wasn't going to be too vulgar or garish, and that would tie in nicely with the "silver & red" them that seems to have evolved.

 

I didn't want plain gloss red and then I thought "Candy, to match my engine!" So I umm'ed and ahh'ed and then decided to take the plunge. Seeing as there's not a huge amount of caliper visible behind my many spokes, this should provide the splash of colour I wanted without being too OTT. :)

 

The pictures make them look far less shimmery than they are in real life. The calipers themselves have been wire-wheeled and soda-blasted prior to painting, and there are brand new pistons, seals and clips to be installed. Once these are fitted, along with the stainless steel lines, I should find that my brakes are absolutely tip-top! :biggrin:

 

Happy Mondo this morning :thumbup:

Calipers collected :)

 

When I'd dropped them off, I started having a few doubts over the colour choice but, now they're finished and back here, I've decided that I made the right call:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candy red!! :biggrin:

 

My reasoning for this is as follows: my Zed is very silver! Silver body, silver wheels... I wanted a splash of colour on the exterior that wasn't going to be too vulgar or garish, and that would tie in nicely with the "silver & red" them that seems to have evolved.

 

I didn't want plain gloss red and then I thought "Candy, to match my engine!" So I umm'ed and ahh'ed and then decided to take the plunge. Seeing as there's not a huge amount of caliper visible behind my many spokes, this should provide the splash of colour I wanted without being too OTT. :)

 

The pictures make them look far less shimmery than they are in real life. The calipers themselves have been wire-wheeled and soda-blasted prior to painting, and there are brand new pistons, seals and clips to be installed. Once these are fitted, along with the stainless steel lines, I should find that my brakes are absolutely tip-top! :biggrin:

 

Happy Mondo this morning :thumbup:

They look really good Si and as you said they will add that bit of colour to your silver Z. :thumbup1:

They look really good Si and as you said they will add that bit of colour to your silver Z. :thumbup1:

Thanks, Gaz :)

 

Like I said, a splash of colour partially hidden behind my wheels will look pretty nice... and the candy coating darkens the red down somewhat too, which was what I wanted.

 

Looking forward to finding a few spare moments to get them rebuilt and then get down to Mr Dent's gaff and have them and various other bits fitted! :biggrin:

Thanks, Gaz :)

 

Like I said, a splash of colour partially hidden behind my wheels will look pretty nice... and the candy coating darkens the red down somewhat too, which was what I wanted.

 

Looking forward to finding a few spare moments to get them rebuilt and then get down to Mr Dent's gaff and have them and various other bits fitted! :biggrin:

Fully rebuilt now :) :

 

 

 

 

 

Very nicely finished Simon! Another way to finish the logos is to use a flat file to remove paint on the top surface of letters and

get a "machined" look. Looking foward to seeing the car this year.

Very nicely finished Simon! Another way to finish the logos is to use a flat file to remove paint on the top surface of letters and

get a "machined" look.

 

Or something like 240 paper on a block, putting the white back with an artists brush shouldn't be an issue but consider lacquering over it after for longevity, nothing wrong with the red btw......good choice :biggrin:.

Very nice. Tidy, simple, not to garish. You should notice an improvement as well.

Or something like 240 paper on a block, putting the white back with an artists brush shouldn't be an issue but consider lacquering over it after for longevity, nothing wrong with the red btw......good choice :biggrin:.

 

I got a set of these when I painted mine in black... Really happy with them but they only do them for the front ones.

 

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nissan-brake-front-caliper-sticker-R32-R33-R34-S14-S15-300zx-white-color-/150676377648?nav=SEARCH

Here you go....

 

They look class mate

Nice work Si, couldn't comment before now as the pics are blocked out at work, They're going to give a nice subtle splash of colour behind the alloys:thumbup1:

Thanks, guys :)

 

Once the wheels are completely refurbed and revamped (watch this space!), I think everything will fall into place and the caliper colour will make perfect sense... ;)

I have a bit of a concern about these newly rebuilt calipers...

 

On the rear ones, where the dustboot sits on the caliper, there is a small lip so that, when the retaining clip is in place, it locks in under this lip and so secures the boot firmly into place. :)

 

On the fronts though, there is no lip! So the dustboot and it's retaining clip just sit against the caliper, as opposed to being locked into it.

 

I can only hope that, once the pads and everything are refitted, the dustboot won't flex sufficiently to unseat itself from where it's mounted...!

Looking good Si....:thumbup:

It seems I'm marching ahead with this year's plans as she's off to have the wheels completely refurbished on Friday! :biggrin:

 

Tyres off, wheels shotblasted, kerb damage repaired, powdercoated (in two colours), brand new valves, tyres back on and balanced. That, along with the calipers, should all but complete the exterior revamp... :thumbup1:

 

Can't. Wait!

You win the Lotto:biggrin:

You win the Lotto:biggrin:

 

It's weird - I found this lottery ticket in my jeans after they'd been through the wash and, amazingly, the only information on it that could still be read were the winning numbers! :lol:

It's weird - I found this lottery ticket in my jeans after they'd been through the wash and, amazingly, the only information on it that could still be read were the winning numbers! :lol:

 

Spend, Spend, Spend so!!!:biggrin:

It's weird - I found this lottery ticket in my jeans after they'd been through the wash and, amazingly, the only information on it that could still be read were the winning numbers! :lol: