cowie165

Geoff how did you suss out the bare metal foil on the bumpers of the Corvette? Specifically, how do you hide the fact you're using multiple pieces? and to Archie! I too know the pain of HLJ. You should see the top shelf of my wardrobe. And it makes me oh so popular with the Minister of War and Finance Mate if you find flared guards, please post a link or let me know where you found them. I have an old school Skyline on the shelf, with some Fujimi Wantanabes (sp?) after I was inspired by an SAU member with an older GT-R. I forget the model, but I think it's the one that looks like a 240K.

Thanks for the fast reply. I understand that a relay is an electromagnetic switch however I don't see how using a switch will eliminate the voltage drop? Isn't the resistance within the switch fixed? Hang on, I've just reread your post. So you're saying you should be using the headlight switch to trigger the relay to draw "current directly from the battery". And that way you've eliminated the resistance in the switch. So can I conclude that as you're drawing the current directly from the battery you will also require less current in the switch hence lower temps therefore no more melted switches? Finally, where did you fit the relay? In the dash or under the bonnet? Thanks!

http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...ndpost&p=762965 That thread has all you need to know. That post from funky has all the pics you need.

Cubes could you please elaborate on how you would rig the relay? I understand what they are and I thought I understood how they work but I don't see how you can use one to boost the voltage to the headlights. Interesting reading from http://www.danielsternlighting.com/tech/relays/relays.html

Thanks Duncan, thanks Cubes. Cubes you sure are the man to talk to for auto-elec advice! You've inspired me to have a crack at a headlight switch relay and a high-beam+dipped-beam relay. !

Abo Bob posted a DIY on that topic... but it may have been coil-overs. And mate you'd probably receive a better response if you used English and not SMS-talk. It's a pain in the arse to read and SAU doesn't charge by the letter.

Hi Justin. For what it's worth: The guys in the Japan section or someone with more time could undoubtedly help more Best to have a crack at the tick 'n' flick section at the bottom with the two pen marks...? Mark

I have found Shannon's to be very helpful and have very competitve rates with a very very good policy. The Shannon's policy is much more client-friendly than the Famous policy (my previous insurer). Famous have all these restrictions and exorbitant excess if you are the only vehicle involved in an accident and so on. I'm pretty sure there is an insurance thread kicking around somewhere. Has all the details for the import insurers.

Is this what the 'right' type of compression gauge looks like? http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...Y_BIN_Stores_IT I'm not sure how you screw the adaptor in? Especially for motors that require a sparkplug extension for deep cylinders (eg Toyota 4cyls)... hrmmm

Matt yell out if you need a hand. It's actually a lot easier than you think. I've just changed my climate control to blue (to match headunit). It's not as groovy as I thought - doing it again I'd probably opt for 1000mcd white LEDs to keep it all low-key. If you choose 3000mcd LEDs you will be more affected by the 'directionality' of the LEDs. That is, it will be harder to diffuse the light and make it appear more like a glow and less like a laser pointer.

Hi Christian, Unfortunately, no joy. Thanks for looking into it. Mark PS Did you receive a PM I sent around a week ago or is email the best way to contact you please?

Checked polarity of the LEDs. Two words for you arep3: Giddyup Horsey! Thanks mate, all squared and 6/6. If you ever come along to a NSW cruise, beers are on me. I've been off work for a week (crook) and the LED job has been pissing me off every single day. Cheers! I took a pic but it was on a handycam. The damned thing completely underexposed the shot and turned out useless. Regardless, I'm very happy with the 1000mcd LEDs. As far as your other job goes, I remember Jaycar has 3mm 3000mcd but everything up from there is a 5mm bulb.

lol@too many LEDs Check out Ronin09's Xenon thread - I think he was also replacing parkers with an LED-packed PCB. I have replaced the standard dash globes with 5W bulbs. Works very nicely however the dash plastic (clear part I mean) becomes rather warm to the touch after 10-15mins. The bulbs around the dash (wipers/headlights/power windows/FM/AM) are the same grain-of-wheat 12V bulb. If you take a look at post #13, in the second picture, they are the lights in the grey tube. Just the same as the climate control ones but they sit in a grey silicone sleeve.

@ Steve playing with his knob You know, you must be careful when you select knob placement. Never expose it unnecessarily - discretion is the order of the day. Dude if it turns out you need to replace your dash bulbs, try http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...howtopic=115618

Thanks very much mate! Now I have something to muck around with tonight! Here's hoping! Cubes have you installed relays yourself dude? I googled for a while and the closest thing I came up with was a 1973 240Z relay install. I've done a bit of electronics but a tutorial is soooo much easier to read than trying to sort out wiring diagrams

Off-topic and I prob should have just pm'd this, buuuuut: http://www.skylinesaustralia.com/forums/in...howtopic=113600 White dials, inc. centre console gauges: $110 (inclusion of centre gauges is mentioned a few posts down). I think funky sells them as a regular thing (also CyberStork brand) but they come with SAU printed on the tacho or something like that. Was this what you were after mate?

For those interested, here are a few pics of what I ended up with. The solder joins seem fine but I'm stuffed to work out why only three of six are illuminating. I can only guess that they aren't meeting the contact on the PCB. Weird thing is, when you take one out, they all go out, implying they are in series, however the LEDs work so if they are in series and there is power going through the circuit to light up some, why aren't they all illuminating? Grrrr. This one should highlight the (quick and nasty) filing of the head and sides of the LED Fit seemed good. And the resistor overhang at the back doesn't interfere with anything

White dials would no doubt suit your white GTR I'm quite surprised at the price! As far as I figure, the kit comes with: replacement white dial faces (dash only, not centre) bi-colour globes colour switch rheostat (dimmer) Ben do you read it the same? Great deal if that's the case. I'd love to hear about it if you go ahead with the swap. And thanks too for the kind words on the tutorial.

Yeah that is a very good point mate. I hadn't considered supply/demand too closely. Maybe GT-R rear guards could be the go to provide a nice positive for a GTSt...?

please don't make me start with the picsorban...

Hi mate, thanks for the post. Different colour LEDs is one of those sucky lessons you learn the hard way I read elsewhere to buy all of them on the same day (which I didn't) and then have them all tested in front of you (which I didn't) As far as diffusing the blue light, a lot of people, self-included, have found success with filing the end of the LED flat and also roughing up the sides with a needle file or some 400grit wet & dry paper. How did you go with wiring them up? Was it an R32? When I first fitted mine, only 2 came on! I fiddled around for a while and managed to sort out one more, but that's still only half coming on at the moment. I've been crook the last week so care-factor was an all-time low. Any tips please dude?

I forgot to say Geoff, your Corvette and the Leopard look great. How did you go with the BMF and using multiple pieces? It seems to have a little give in it but something complex like a bumper on the Corvette would be damn tough to do in one go... and I'm thinking a making a few local aircraft for the same reason you built the tank! edit: nearly forgot mate, (and if my memory of your car serves) I was thinking these may go nicely with the R33 kit you've just bought! Fitting the Fujimi wheels to a Tamiya kit is a moderate shoe-horn but it all ends up 'hidden behind the curtain' anyway.

Hi Anna. Hey was the sileighty painted with acrylic nail polish too? I've heard it works a treat for metallic finishes. Clearly I'm a nail polish noob but is impact blue a nail colour or an inital D thing? The car looks great by the way, nice work. Have you considered running a wash over it to bring out the panel lines? http://www.aircraftresourcecenter.com/tnt1...kham/tnt122.htm I wish the gallery was working I could demo a pic of a white R33 with washed panels. Helps to make the doors, bumpers, etc stand out a little better. Once again, nice job.

I'm uber-envious of the Z-tune with the PE set! If you're keen on more cars, buying online would have saved around $30 But that shall not be allowed to detract from a very nice purchase! http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM24145 http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM24282 http://www.hlj.com/product/TAM12604

You'd think that'd be the case, but there are plenty of people who are happy to purchase a car that needs love. Best piece of advice I ever heard from a person who sells cars for a living, "don't spend money on a car you're about to sell". I'm sure there are brokers/exporters that sell plenty of rusted cars, sometimes to customers that know they are corroding! )(*cough* PM *cough*) The second best piece of advice he offered was to swap number plates from rear to front. Used to work when slimlines were both the same size... Rich I guess we'll just agree to disagree If I was aware a panel had been cut/bogged/painted due to rust, I'd be pissed because that generally won't fix the problem. Here's where I'm coming from: (driver's outer sill)