Yes, a number of folks know and I'm shite at keeping schtum about work being done to my Z.

 

In an ever increasing quest to have the cleanest Z I could possibly create, I have become more and more fussy with how things look resulting in me going back to a more original look. So over the past few months I have been buying up more and more original new OEM parts; dispensing with my 2-din Z Thirty Two fascia and replacing it with a brand new OEM one were the first steps, a rare DIN cubby with door from Richard Smith, all new centre console plastics, re-foaming the seats, all sorts of other things and many brand new exterior pieces.

 

Spurred on from JP's awesome example and Andrew's take on OEM+ and idealistic car plus deep knowledge, my Z is going back to the paint shop next week for some major surgery. I've been let down time and time again by poor quality workmanship from the various bodyshops I've used (which has been both stressful and upsetting) and this time around, I've decided to go all-out, get more new stuff and have the car stripped of what's already on there and repainted properly.

 

Not content with trying to find somewhere locally to me and getting let down as previously described, I've elected to use Kraftworks near Chelmsford who are some 3 and a half hours from me and a trailer is being sent next Friday to pick it up!! Some folks may have heard of these guys as they are the very same paint shop that did Joel's car who many have seen and love (myself included).

 

I was lucky to get hold of a brand new OEM 89-93 spoiler (still boxed), so that's going on....and because I thought it would be great idea to de-wiper and de-aerial my car whilst being in a terrible mental state following a nasty relationship breakdown, I made some silly mistakes and welded up stuff that I really shouldn't have, I have decided to go back to how the car once looked (my Z originally came over from Japan with no spoiler, so it's never had this fitted in my ownership) and despite liking the 99-spec, I think the original looks a lot better, at least on light coloured cars like white and silver and more befitting of the car's age (it's a 1991) and the rest of the body. Gary (GSC60) very kindly gave me a non-welded tailgate with no rust on it (VERY hard to find these days). I have a brand new wiper arm, seal and all the gubbins to go back in it. The aerial hole is being re-instated and that's going back in.

 

I argued with myself on what spoiler to go with for a while; having made up my mind on the TwinZ Type 1 as I love the style and have never seen a decent quality copy of the original, I went with what I thought was my only and best option, that was until a brand new original one was found, still boxed! AndrewG and myself, I think, took the last two available from Nissan, they've been NLS for about a decade in the US and I had thought they weren't available here either (Thanks for your help Ash). The quality of original spoilers is fabulous, they're very tactile and fit like a glove, something cheap fibgrelgass replicas just don't do, there's also a way of protecting them against spoiler-rot found in older cars (thanks to AndrewG for that one).

 

I'm very excited. The rest of the car will look almost the same....except for one thing...the paint!! I'm totally done with pearl white paints. They can look nice, but almost all of them look cream/beige in off-light situations and that has started to bug me. The rear quarter of my car is a very slightly different shade on my passenger side for reasons unknown and the previous paint shop just couldn't rectify it; some keen beans may have noticed that when they've seen the car in person! Trying to rectify damage or repaint areas with pearls is an utter nightmare as you end up chasing the paint round the car in an effort to blend.......soooooo......the new colour is going to be a metallic white which is a paint I'd not really known about but had wondered whether one existed. It turns out quite a few do and I've had the colour chips through today of those that I'm interested in comparing. The beauty of these new metallic whites is that they lay like a traditional metallic so you don't have that pearl mid-coat that is the thorn in my side. Metallic whites don't look beige or off-beige/cream out of direct sunlight, yet they still sparkle in the sun like a pearl coat, some more than others. It's almost like a modern take on QN0 which is a pearl white used on 94+ Z32s, but with half the maintenance and a better look.

 

Although mine's in good condition, a new t-top bar is going in and rear screen top trim and other new things are going on. I have boxes and boxes of new Nissan parts.

 

The colour - Jaguar's glacier white metallic as Nissan don't do anything similar. I looked at a VAG metallic white also, but this didn't have much metallic in. So the Jaguar colour has been chosen as of today! It's a stunning colour and really quite subtle. Range Rover also use this same colour code (2201/NAK) under the 'Yulong White' moniker. I thought about a straight-white, but I owe it to the car's origins to keep a special finish on it.

 

Here are a few images of the colour in various lights.

 

 

 

 

Edited March 3, 20178 yr by Funkysi

I thought about getting Bose ones, but my system is an Alpine system so my OCD would have had a fit with myself! :lol:

Well when I fitted mine I had all intentions of getting some bose speakers at the time,

 

I had no conflict of interest as I didn't even have any speakers fitted, just the covers.

I thought about getting Bose ones, but my system is an Alpine system so my OCD would have had a fit with myself! :lol:

I did look round for a single DIN Bose system....a newer one than that which came with the car, but couldn't find any that had any hidden tech, so maintained my Alpine system. I did have a look round for some plastic Alpine logos like the Bose ones, but couldn't find anything and lost interest.

 

The Bose ones do look nicer.

Another silly little job done today, a little more 'hidden tech'. Not particularly exciting, but it feeds my OCD.

 

My new Alpine audio in addition to having bluetooth connectivity also has phono and USB connectors. You basically get bare connectors with most aftermarket head units and rather than having cables hanging out from somewhere or in the glovebox, I decided to do a really neat job and put a flush fitting connector in. I looked at several styles and places to put them and decided on a little area at the back of the arm rest cubby. There's plenty of clearance and Nissan left me a nice little bit of real estate just the right size for such a connector.

 

So this is the little flush fit USB/Phone combi connector.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105346[/ATTACH]

 

Detectable at the back.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105347[/ATTACH]

 

Cut out the back with a blade and test fitted the connector.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105348[/ATTACH]

 

Because of its location, I don't want to fit the centre arm rest back down as-is in case I crush wires. I also HATE bad / messy wiring. I've seen so many Z32s with appalling wiring with it either bunched up in a tangled mess, hanging out from various areas or general poor routing, I wanted mine to look neat, be secure to prevent damage or chafing.

 

I got myself some little P-clips and took up the cable size variance with some electrical tape as insulation padding.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105349[/ATTACH]

 

Handily Nissan designed this console area with plenty of fasteners, so lots of places to put a p-clip!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105350[/ATTACH]

 

Cable routed neatly out of the way of mount points and secured nicely.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105351[/ATTACH]

 

Nice, neat and tucked away. No drilling holes in the dash or having cables hanging out inside various cubby areas.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105352[/ATTACH]

 

Nice job Si......

 

.....I have the very same USB/AUX extension and was wondering where to mount it.... Initially, I was looking to "pop-out" the blanking plate on my auto-shifter; where the J-spec sport switch sits. But if I fooked it up, then I'd need a new shifter base. That's the perfect solution!! Thank you Mr Parsons...:cool:

I did look round for a single DIN Bose system....a newer one than that which came with the car, but couldn't find any that had any hidden tech, so maintained my Alpine system. I did have a look round for some plastic Alpine logos like the Bose ones, but couldn't find anything and lost interest.

 

The Bose ones do look nicer.

 

Try Land Rover, my friend....:wink:

 

Our (now ex) Freelander 2 had the upgraded Alpine sound system.... And its front speakers (plus those on the c-pillar IIRC) came with a little Alpine logos on the grills....!

Another silly little job done today, a little more 'hidden tech'. Not particularly exciting, but it feeds my OCD.

 

My new Alpine audio in addition to having bluetooth connectivity also has phono and USB connectors. You basically get bare connectors with most aftermarket head units and rather than having cables hanging out from somewhere or in the glovebox, I decided to do a really neat job and put a flush fitting connector in. I looked at several styles and places to put them and decided on a little area at the back of the arm rest cubby. There's plenty of clearance and Nissan left me a nice little bit of real estate just the right size for such a connector.

 

So this is the little flush fit USB/Phone combi connector.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105346[/ATTACH]

 

Detectable at the back.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105347[/ATTACH]

 

Cut out the back with a blade and test fitted the connector.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105348[/ATTACH]

 

Because of its location, I don't want to fit the centre arm rest back down as-is in case I crush wires. I also HATE bad / messy wiring. I've seen so many Z32s with appalling wiring with it either bunched up in a tangled mess, hanging out from various areas or general poor routing, I wanted mine to look neat, be secure to prevent damage or chafing.

 

I got myself some little P-clips and took up the cable size variance with some electrical tape as insulation padding.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105349[/ATTACH]

 

Handily Nissan designed this console area with plenty of fasteners, so lots of places to put a p-clip!

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105350[/ATTACH]

 

Cable routed neatly out of the way of mount points and secured nicely.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105351[/ATTACH]

 

Nice, neat and tucked away. No drilling holes in the dash or having cables hanging out inside various cubby areas.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105352[/ATTACH]

 

I did this to my last zed, except I put it on the vertical face at the front of the cubby, so it faces towards the back of the car. Less bent cables!

 

Not sure I'll bother in my new one, I never actually used it because I always just used bluetooth instead!

Progress is coming along. Looks rather naked here! I think the glass is coming out next week. Doors and bonnet are fully stripped and prepped and awaiting their first coat of primer. The replacement hatch has been fitted and aligned to check for shape. The glass has already been removed from this so it's fairly straight forward.

 

 

Antenna cover plate has been removed. Just some light reshaping to get the leading edge looking smooth and a proper shape.

 

 

Missing it dearly, but enjoying the new Merc. :)

 

Edited April 11, 20178 yr by Funkysi

Looks like an impressive make-over in progress.

Can't wait for the next instalment.

 

Missing it dearly, but enjoying the new Merc. :)

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105572[/ATTACH]

 

Nice.

Progress is coming along. Looks rather naked here! I think the glass is coming out next week. Doors and bonnet are fully stripped and prepped and awaiting their first coat of primer. The replace.dnt hatch has been fitted and alighted to check for shape. The glass has already been removed from this so it's fairly straight forward.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105570[/ATTACH]

 

Antenna cover plate has been removed. Just some light reshaping to get the leading edge looking smooth and a proper shape.

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105571[/ATTACH]

 

Missing it dearly, but enjoying the new Merc. :)

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]105572[/ATTACH]

 

I hope that thing has hill ascent control

Wow its well stripped down. So is this it for life no more major repaints Si.

That's the plan! I'm itching to get it back and can't wait to fit all the new OEM bits and bobs to it.

 

I'm going to see it next week when it should be in the final throws of prep and should have had its glass removed.

Following fitment check the replacement boot, most of the skin has been bare metalled. Just the top section and the screen facing areas to finish.

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 20178 yr by Funkysi

Will you be putting the rear spoiler fixing points in prior to paint?

Mine are visible at present if you need any reference dimensions.

Thanks Dave.

 

No, I won't be using those leading edge fixing points. I'll be sealing up the clip holes in the spoiler to prevent water ingress and the spoiler will be bonded on, again to seal it completely. I don't want it blistering in 10 years. :)

 

It will be bolted to the lower edge however where the perspex strip would have gone as the screw holes are present and correct.

 

I believe this to be a fairly new replacement tailgate from Nissan hence it not having any 'pre-drilled' holes and the fact that it is totally rust free - only US 2+2 models and certain 98+ Japanese models came without spoilers and associated holes. If you were to order a new one (obsolete now) from Nissan, it would have come with no holes. This part was never available as a pattern part either.

 

The spoiler fits like a glove so bonding will be fine. Nissan used clips and body tape as a production operation, but this is inherently why the spoilers fail.

Edited April 12, 20178 yr by Funkysi

Dave, you should use this product (or similar) to bond your spoiler and provide a water tight seal on the leading

edge. I can talk you through the steps if you like. My last (second hand) OEM spoiler lasted over 15 years before

failing, and did so at a place I hadn't done a good job of sealing (I had relied on the OEM fixing tapes).

 

 

I'll be sealing up the clip holes in the spoiler to prevent water ingress and the spoiler will be bonded on, again to seal it completely.

It will be bolted to the lower edge however where the perspex strip would have gone as the screw holes are present and correct.

The spoiler fits like a glove so bonding will be fine. Nissan used clips and body tape as a production operation, but this is inherently why the spoilers fail.

 

Thanks for the info Si, :thumbup1: I'll be doing the same now, eventually.

I have soooo much to learn. :blushing:

Dave, bond your spoiler and provide a watertight seal on the leading

edge. I can talk you through the steps if you like. My last (second hand) OEM spoiler lasted over 15 years before

failing, and did so at a place I hadn't done a good job of sealing (I had relied on the OEM fixing tapes).

 

Thanks Andrew. :thumbup1:

I would welcome your advice with regards attaching the spoiler, and anything else come to think of it.

I won't be doing it for a while mind, but maybe we could go through the process at Coventry?

Some other odds and sods done today in readiness to be refitted. The front of the Z is now in primer (no photos currently) so it won't be too long before it gets its new paint. :)

 

Today I thoroughly cleaned up the drivers' seat since I had the bolster rebuilt and replacement foam. It still needs a vacuum, but it is at least clean now.

 

 

Did all the plastics too. Seen many Zs with these areas looking a little grotty.

 

 

 

Also the rail brackets and underside. These all discolour - now look a little smarter.

 

 

 

Happy with this now, it's probably as good as I'll ever get it.

Edited April 14, 20178 yr by Funkysi

I also replaced the window rollers. I'm pretty sure I did the top ones a while ago, but since I was replacing the exterior button bolt for the top roller, I thought I might as well just do the whole lot on both sides.

 

The lower ones are fairly easy to do. The ball inside was lubed using a ball joint grease. These were screwed on using a small dab of thread lock

 

 

Then came the upper window slider and bolt. My glass is in very good condition, just this bolt and washer that made it look a little untidy.

 

 

Took the roller off which was easy. Then attacked the screw washer and bolt with this thing and a touch of penetrating fluid on the thread.

 

 

It did spin and I considered cutting a notch into it, but since the threads were ok, I thought if I kept working it, it would eventually loosen and come off and it did.

 

Little bit of dirt/scale/polish residue here.

 

 

Polished up using an awesome glass polish called Ceriglass.

 

Always been pleased with the condition of my glass. Hard enough finding blue glass anyway, let alone ones that have virtually no scratches on it.

 

 

New bolt and washer in - looks so much better. I love little 'detail' jobs like this.

 

 

....and eventually the roller.

 

 

I do have a question for those that have replace this bolt and washer (AndrewG maybe). There is play between the washer edges and the bolt, maybe up to 2mm. There is no way of centralising this. Did you loosen the top bolt on the runner when re-fitting so that the variation doesn't cause any damage to either the roller or worse case, break the glass.....

Edited April 14, 20178 yr by Funkysi

Are you changing your exhausts Si to make it look more stock or keeping the single exit set up?

Single exit? You mean dual to quad tips?

 

The only system I'd replace the Veilside system with would be an ABFlug Superior system (they sound almost the same and were built in the same factory) but I'm happy with the VS system. It's subtle sounding and looking.

Some other detail parts today. Nothing that exciting but I got chance to pull apart a 96 car today, there wasn't much in it that I wanted however something I've been looking for, for ages, were the little lock surrounds on the door handles that fade and degrade! They also break very easily and both mine were in an appalling state.

 

They both look like this and despite my best efforts to rescue them, they look like shite. You can't buy them separately.

 

 

Despite the poor condition of this 96 car I was pulling apart, the door lock surrounds are near pristine!

 

 

 

This feeds my OCD and makes me super happy! It's often all about the detail!

 

Something I also noticed were the colours of the gasket plastic for the door handles. Early models have a sort of faded grey, I found a pair of clean black ones. Should look a little more crisp. Never noticed the difference before.

 

Met up with AndrewG and Joel today at the paint shop. A little slow going although the lower part of the car has a white primer on it, as does the front end. The glass was removed late last week, so final prep on the top should be going ahead shortly. Some parts will be going in for paint next week.

 

Test fitted the spoiler today, first time I've done this, just to run through with the painter a number of details and how its going to be sealed up and bonded on. Fits like a glove!

 

 

Something you never get on replicas. Well worth the money on the genuine article in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also, one of the door rubbers turned up today. The other side is now no longer available from Japan, but Z1 had one in stock luckily and that's now on its way over

 

The new seal is lovely. Should fit really nicely. New one on top which looks a little 'fuller', old one slightly saggy and degraded a little.

 

 

And some more progress pictures from today...

 

 

 

 

Have they been warned how particular you are?