Hayden's Cars- Annual update!

[Hayden]

Oooh. I see a 1969 mustang there.

It was absolutely beautiful in the metal. The numberplate says 'was junk' and apparently the guy saved it from the crusher years ago and did a ground up restoration.

I have good news, it's arrived!

It was brought down last night and after it had been placed on ground level I took a look around it and decided immediately that the colour is awesome. I thought i'd hate it. In the pictures I thought it was ricey and stupid and over the top (and it is.) But In the flesh, I really do like it. Not to say I'd voluntarily paint a car that way, but anyway...


It's a 1991 2 seater imported in december '00, with climate control, a HKS exhaust system, a boost controller, a terribly retro and well worn blue interior, a tape deck, a twin turbo engine and a manual gearbox. I believe that it started life grey, but I plan on decoding the VIN over the weekend to be sure.

I gave it a good wash (after i took most of the photos ) and a once over and I'm pretty happy with the deal I've got. There is a lot of fibreglass work that needs doing around the bodykit (my brothers assessment of 🤬 sums up the front bumper), while the hatchback and front guards have been sprayed in big spots with primer. Respraying these parts the correct colour doesn't look like a viable option, so i'll probably plastidip the front bumper and guards (or maybe get a car bra) , the rear bumper and the hatch in black*. While it will hurt the car's wow effect, It should hide the repairs and primer until someone gets around to doing it properly. Remember- the plan involves putting the NA running gear back in this and selling it off so I want it to present in a nice way.


It runs quite well, but a terrible smell and some smoke began after a quick test on the gravel. I really hope it isn't anything major.

I was hoping the front nose panel would be in good nick as I thought it'd be cool to have it (in the crazy colour) on my convertible as a bonkers tribute to this car once the swap is done. Unfortunately, it's in quite rough, chipped up shape .


The pics just don't do the colour justice so here- have a quick, terrible quality, wrong way around, muted (for your at work viewing pleasure) potato video!

I really did try to make it be right way up but it doesn't seem possible from a mobile device. I'll fix it another day.

 

[Aquarelle]

Yo send me your rims

 

[Hayden]

My LMGT4's?

 

[Aquarelle]

My LMGT4's?

Nooo whatever the bedroom aid coloured Z has

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

A friend of mine had that exact same color on one of his cars. Was very expensive and almost impossible to touch up. You cant just repair one fender or one door. The entire side of the car has to be repainted. Its a nightmare to work with. It was called Chromatic paint. Several layers of pearl.

http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Enamel/Chromatic/Chromatic-Bulletin.jpg

 

[homeforsummer]

Wait... do you now have TWO ridiculously-painted 300ZXs?

 

[Hayden]

@UrieHusky Oh, you can have them. Unless they're valuable. I honestly know nothing about the wheels on the funny coloured car. Except that the back ones have 'Modena' on them and the fronts have tiny work logos on them.

@CAMAROBOY69 Yup, I hear it's an absolute bloody nightmare. Like I said, I'll probably just cover the rough panels in black plastidip. It won't look very good but it should present better than primer, fibreglass and bog. When I sell the car on I'll warn the buyer that it needs a full respray.

Just the one ridiculous painted car @homeforsummer. I've been waiting on it to get delivered as I bought it unseen from interstate. The photos at the start of the last page were sent to me by the seller. I should've clarified that. I suppose the brown on the convertible is a pretty odd colour too though

Current list of things to do-
- Get ridiculously coloured Z cleaned up enough to pass police check
- Get police check done and register it
- Cancel registration and park it next to my convertible
- Put twin turbo engine and manual transmission into convertible, put NA engine and auto box back into funny coloured car
- Re register and sell funny coloured car locally as an NA auto
- Drive twin turbo convertible off into the sunset.

I should explain that because the funny coloured car was bought interstate and it's never been registered here, It needs the police to give it a quick once over and make sure the engine number is what it should be. If it doesn't match what the Victorian government says it should be than it cant be driven on the road without a ridiculously thorough and very expensive full check over which has to be done in the city.

Once it has been registered here with the correct engine number, it's as simple as filling out a form to get it back on the road with a different engine.

 

[homeforsummer]

Ah, gotcha. Good grief, for a second I thought not just that two people in the world had been insane enough to paint their ZXs in that colour, but you'd been insane enough to buy both of them too

 

[Hayden]

You made me spit out my cornflakes!

 

[homeforsummer]

It's okay, you won't notice them on that bodywork

 

[Aquarelle]

@UrieHusky Oh, you can have them. Unless they're valuable. I honestly know nothing about the wheels on the funny coloured car. Except that the back ones have 'Modena' on them and the fronts have tiny work logos on them.

If only you lived in NZ! haha. I'm always in need of drift spares

I should explain that because the funny coloured car was bought interstate and it's never been registered here, It needs the police to give it a quick once over and make sure the engine number is what it should be. If it doesn't match what the Victorian government says it should be than it cant be driven on the road without a ridiculously thorough and very expensive full check over which has to be done in the city.

Once it has been registered here with the correct engine number, it's as simple as filling out a form to get it back on the road with a different engine.

Ahh sounds like the VIN process here - only less strict. Here for a car to be registered it goes straight through a rigorous testing procedure; to the point the XR8 ute failed because of "Glazing marks on the rear drivers side window."

That "Window" can't be seen out of and I'm still at odds as to what "Glazing marks" he meant because when the Ute was taken back to him he marked it off as "Fixed" despite never actually doing anything about it

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

@CAMAROBOY69 Yup, I hear it's an absolute bloody nightmare. Like I said, I'll probably just cover the rough panels in black plastidip. It won't look very good but it should present better than primer, fibreglass and bog. When I sell the car on I'll warn the buyer that it needs a full respray.

You could also paint your car with acrylic enamel. A gallon of that that with the reducer and activator is only about $100.00-$150.00. You can easily paint an ENTIRE car inside and out with 1 gallon of acrylic enamel. Its a single stage acrylic so once you spray 2-3 light coats, you are done.

It would obviously involve sanding and primer first. But really $100.00-$150.00 and you could have a VERY nice paint job that would be easy to touch up and could be buffed to perfection. Car show quality even. I have a thread with pictures showing this process if you are interested. I have painted quite a few cars with acrylic enamel. On a budget, you truly cant beat acrylic enamel. You would also need to rent or borrow a spray gun.

 

[Hayden]

Over the years I've helped my dad prepare quite a few cars for a respray, so I know my way around a piece of sandpaper. We have a spray gun, air compressor and all the other materials ready to go, except for the paint itself. Respraying it is a pretty good idea, I'll give it some thought.

Cheers for that mate!

 

[SVX]

Ahh sounds like the VIN process here - only less strict. Here for a car to be registered it goes straight through a rigorous testing procedure;

I was told all seatbelts, airbags (not sure), and suspension has to be replaced? Perhaps if it's over a certain age?

 

[Korza]

I was told all seatbelts, airbags (not sure), and suspension has to be replaced? Perhaps if it's over a certain age?

Only if they aren't up to standard.

 

[SVX]

Only if they aren't up to standard.

Success! I can correct my brother about something.

 

[Hayden]

So, there's a gymkhana event next weekend and I figured it would be a good a time as any to make sure the engine in the funny coloured Z will be able to hold up. The way I see it, I'm better off with it destroying itself now, then after I've put all the work into switching it into the convertible*, which means I've had to get busy. I started by going on a treasure hunt through all the old parts inside the car to find the interior pieces I needed to put it back together.

There was a bonus interior light and rear centre panel in there. Whoever wanted to fix this thing up had a real eye for detail because the centre panel on the car has only a tiny crack wrong with it. Both these bonus pieces will find their way onto ebay this week I reckon

Then I put nearly all the interior trim back together but had trouble with the steering wheel as i'm missing the front centre cover, so i'll post pics once it's finished. Next, I decided to try attacking the front bumper. It was a pain to remove, but I managed to get it and the nose panel off.

With it off, I could see It was in really bad shape. With deep cracks, wide gaps and some generally rough areas...
So I ripped out all the really rough repairs the last guy had tried doing...

...and got busy with fibreglass.

It was my first time ever using the stuff and I couldn't get over how easy it actually is. I tided up about 6 of the worst places with three layers of matting each. While I waited for the final layer to dry, I tried to remove those horrible fusion stickers. Seriously, putting one on your car is a bit flashy, putting three on your car is over the top, but having three fusion stickers to complement your clarion cassette player makes you an idiot. There's a little bit of each left that I can't get off
So that's where I'm at. I've still got to do a lot of filling work and cleaning up on the front bumper, I have to buy the missing steering wheel piece and put it all on the car and scariest of all, I need to find where the weird smell and smoke is coming from and cure it before next saturday. It's gonna be a long week I think

*I'd frankly rather it not dying at all but trial by fire is a pretty effective test method. I found a sticker saying it had it's 100k belt change, so I'm not too concerned.

 

[Aquarelle]

Wax and grease remover works wonders for stickers, as does WD-40

 

[Hayden]

I tried using paint thinners and while it took away the sticky residue, that black outline still remained

 

[Aquarelle]

Paint thinners are pretty abrasive don't ya think? lol

Give WD-40 a shot, I've had to remove fusion stickers in the past that had the same issue, came right off when I applied some 👍

 

[Hayden]

Tried WD40, no go. It almost seems like that outline is actually painted on or something

So after a long night putting most of the interior panels back together (after cleaning and spraying it all in black dye the day before)...

Fitting a fire extinguisher, attaching the steering wheel properly...

putting on the nose and (not yet filled) bumper and electrical taping the mirror on I took the stupidly coloured Z on the trailer to a gymkhana this morning, Long story short...

It boiled it's coolant after one run. I flushed the radiator, put in some fresh stuff and it happened again. It seemed to happen once the car had sat for a little while after each run. After some online research sitting at the track, I found the problem. I always thought there was something missing from the engine bay but I could never figure out what, until now. I'll let the pictures do the talking...


I know, please don't laugh . It's missing the cowling between the engine and radiator along with the large fan that goes beneath it. Meaning I was using it with just the thermo fan which is 1/4 the size and probably no where near as powerful. There's a chance there may be more problems in the cooling system too, but i'll get a new fan and probably take it to another gymkhana or similar event to make absolutely sure it's up to the job before any swapping or similar actions occur. It seemed fast though, and a lot of people said they really liked how it looked so at least there's that.

So with the Z only getting 10 minutes or so of track time i'm still thirsty for some gymkhana action. Good thing I suppose that today was just the practice and we've had the Skyline booked in for tomorrow's main event for some time now

Now for yet another 2 hour drive each way with a car trailer in place. This time featuring my dad rather than one of my mates, so at least there'll be fresh conversation I guess.

 

[Aquarelle]

Aww dude.. if you had of taken a photo of the engine bay even I could of told you that!!

By the by, have you removed the stock airbox in favour of a pod yet? the stock box on these things is stupidly restrictive.

 

[Hayden]

I know man, I felt like such an idiot when I realised that it was missing the damn fan. Nobody else could put there finger on it either though, not even the tracks scruiteneer who couldn't believe he'd missed it too.

It's got a dirty great big pod right below/between it's headlights.
View attachment 128630

 

[Aquarelle]

I know man, I felt like such an idiot when I realised that it was missing the damn fan. Nobody else could put there finger on it though, not even the tracks scruiteneer.

It's got a dirty great big pod right between it's headlights.
View attachment 128630

Pff, amature

Least you have a pod filter, the Z is one of the few cars where I actually recommend throwing the factory airbox in the bin, it's such a rubbish design... you should try get a split vent for the section between the headlights for more airflow 👍

 

[Hayden]

I think you mean one like this?

It's an odd design considering where the pod actually is but It probably does the job better than a solid piece

 

[Aquarelle]

Was meaning for the 'vert when/if you continue with the conversion but something like that is alright.

I was thinking something like this, which is actually designed to direct air down into the filter, because ARC is awesome.

Concept Z has some nice nose panel upgrades
http://www.conceptzperformance.com/

 

[Hayden]

Man, that thing looks freaking awesome

I've never been huge on any of the nose panel styles (google images shows many different types) out there but they definitely serve a purpose. If/when the conversion happens I like the style on your friends far better than the one on the chromatic car at the moment, or frankly any of the others out there.

 

[Aquarelle]

Man, that thing looks freaking awesome

I've never been huge on any of the nose panel styles (google images shows many different types) out there but they definitely serve a purpose. If/when the conversion happens I like the style on your friends far better than the one on the chromatic car at the moment, or frankly any of the others out there.

Well his is from Concept Z I believe so give them a try 👍 I personally prefer Chase's to the stock look but everyone has their preference. I'm definitely not a fan of the gill look though.

 

[Hayden]

So today was the Skyline's turn to get a good caning around the Gymkhana course. Fortunately, there's no bad news to report and the radiator fan was in place and kept the car cool all day 👍

We each had 7 runs with the course changing after each, so you never really got to learn the course which keeps you on your toes. We were put in a high class with a large time multiplier because the car doesn't have a rear seat and is equipped with a 4WD system. Combined with our pulled fuse and lack of experience we both had no chance of finishing high in the rankings. So we just let our hair down and had some fun! I've only put up my last (and most fun) run because I had the camera set up in a pretty bad viewpoint that doesn't show anything all that well. Using a Go Pro is a learning process, that's for sure. I'll post up any photos that the media guys got as soon as they do.

There's a hillclimb in a couple weekends that we're thinking of attending with it, but it's a bit early to say if we'll make it or not. I'm planning on ringing some wreckers in the city during the week to try and track down a fan and it's cover for the funny coloured Z. If I can't find a second hand oem one I may be forced to getting a brand new aftermarket one, which would be expensive

Edit: One of the media guys has put up his photos from the event. It's really cool that these guys do this

 

[Hayden]

Driving my 86 home from work this week I noticed my odometer was approaching something I thought was cool. So I pulled over and grabbed a pic when it came up

To celebrate the milestone I gave it a good wash and while I was there the car wash owner came up to me and said how much she liked It. She also became the 20th person to ask me what it is. Which gave me an idea for personalised number plates If I ever go that route.

With that done I went off to find somewhere to take a photo with my phone. The nearest mountain or desert or ocean is a fair trek so I settled for some nearby grape vines.

We didn't sign up in time for the hill-climb so I'll probably be spending most of the weekend working on the rainbow zed.