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

Ha I did wonder but the way you wrote it made it sound like you had! Thanks for the info

I have done front and back took hours, cut hands, twisted back, lol. When I decide to put the second hand glass in I will be getting it done professionally.

 

Your car is going to be so nice.

More pics :

 

Almost done! Passenger side is anyway other than the t-top which I need to build up, however the bumpers are now aligned and fully secured and I'm happy with how it looks.

 

You can see the metallic flecks sparkling in the sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also fully tested my 'hidden' bluetooth microphone. It looks great and the plastics' colours match, it's also crystal clear according to my folks who were the guinea pigs! Just got to get rid of the sticker residue.

 

Looking good Simon. Don't forget to fit your Liber-t tag!

Looking good Simon. Don't forget to fit your Liber-t tag!

 

Indeed! I have a spare new clip here somewhere. The main unit is in the Merc.

Stunning! :thumbup1:

Stunning! :thumbup1:

 

agree:thumbup1:

If you mean the lower mouldings, you can get them from the z centre.

 

No, I didn't mean the lower mouldings, I meant the upper ones.....are they available as a spare part? Those are the one that make a joint between the rear window and the hatch.

Mike

 

By the way, the car is stunning Simon!!!

No, I didn't mean the lower mouldings, I meant the upper ones.....are they available as a spare part? Those are the one that make a joint between the rear window and the hatch.

Mike

 

By the way, the car is stunning Simon!!!

 

Unfortunately they are part of the window.

Stunning! :thumbup1:

 

agree:thumbup1:

 

Also agreed....:thumbup:

Amazing Si :thumbup1:

Coty 2017.

Looks like a glittery turd. I'd rather eat my own sick than that etc, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I joke of corse, it's looking great mate.

Looks like a glittery turd. I'd rather eat my own sick than that etc, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I joke of corse, it's looking great mate.

 

And stick it sideways up your pee hole?

And stick it sideways up your pee hole?

 

You get the idea.

Last bit of interior to do as the rest is looking really clean. My rear upper quarter panels have looked better and I've been wanting to recover them for a few years now. A combination of not having a spare set to cover and the correct colour vinyl have meant that it's been on hold.

 

I have since found a charcoal vinyl from a supplier in Gloucestershire that actually matches the rest of the interior plastics better than the faided grey of the original.

 

Jimmer had a spare set of tatty ones for me to strip.

 

 

Off with the old vinyl - it pretty much peeled off like a banana skin putting up no resistance whatsoever. Also popped out all the fasteners.

 

 

Straightened all the fasteners out ready for refinement with epoxy resin.

 

 

I did buzz off a lot of the remnants of the degraded foam scrim with a light wire brush drill bit. I need to continue with it once the drill is recharged!

 

Nissan held the fasteners with a body tape which fails over time which is why you can often see bulges on the lower edge as they've pushed back through. I could use a tape again, but I wanted something a little more sturdy, so decided the best way to was epoxy them in. The wire brush lightly keys the surface too so this should offer a good 'purchase' for the epoxy

 

The metal fasteners in particular have a habit of pushing back through.

 

 

Circular plastic ones also had the same treatment, a light amount on the tops of the edge of the holes before fitting the clip and then fill and smooth epoxy in at the top. I may end up with a body tape also for added protection, but this should be more than enough.

 

 

I need get some high temp contact adhesive before fixing the replacement vinyl on and a heat gun. More updates to follow.

Very nice, you will have to send me some details of the vinyl, I've got a couple of bit to sort out.

You should really be putting a layer of foam between the panel and the new vinyl, as Nissan themselves did.

It already has a backing, it's pretty high quality.

Very nice, you will have to send me some details of the vinyl, I've got a couple of bit to sort out.

 

This! Mine need doing, though I'm on Mondo's list so hope he has something that matches well!

First side almost done.

 

Fitted. As you can see, the colour match is pretty good.

 

 

For comparison, here's the passenger side which is considerably lighter than the other plastics.

 

Much nicer good job.

Looks really good, where did you get it from?

Hi si just been going through some of your build really impressive stuff love the attention to detail you've got a true passion for the platform. I can really relate to that the machine spirit will be pleased lol I now know who to ask for when I need some good tips on how to do certain things.