Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Now, I also have some cosmetic updates as well. Neither of these projects are actually completed yet, but I will post photos of where they are up to.

First of all, I decided to respray my front bar. 2 years of being about 30mm off the ground had taken their toll, and I also wanted to modify it a little bit. First up, I cleared around the damaged areas with an angle grinder to give the new fibreglass something to grip to:

30565_10151347788152541_803073552_n.jpg

528400_10151347788272541_1702785532_n.jp

551388_10151347788747541_1825082946_n.jp

562429_10151347788987541_898079031_n.jpg

305876_10151347789147541_63795262_n.jpg

Doing this actually revealed how poor quality these cheap copy front bars actually are. This one is actually so full of bog rather than fibreglass, it really is very poor. Time to make it a bit better!

485632_10151354898767541_843592550_n.jpg

I actually wanted to build a lip up around the inside of the bottom of the bar, simply to give me something to screw into so I can install a front diffuser later on. So first I wet up where I wanted to build the lip:

393044_10151354898997541_1290511130_n.jp

I then layed up 5 layers of 6oz fibreglass cloth.

946689_10151354901532541_292005436_n.jpg

This is it after curing:

405892_10151354900032541_1953804814_n.jp

923007_10151354900232541_171500339_n.jpg

Also patched up the damaged bits in the process

943406_10151354900382541_638472190_n.jpg

601868_10151354900627541_2099483694_n.jp

I then cleaned it all up a bit using a rotary tool

946133_10151354900887541_1910088597_n.jp

935169_10151354901037541_606086588_n.jpg

941834_10151354901227541_1588018021_n.jp

302767_10151356852817541_1529291567_n.jp

600954_10151356853182541_867403822_n.jpg

And then these mounting tabs on top of the bar had actually giving me quite a lot of trouble in the past, being very flimsy they were always snapping off. Enter 4 layers of carbon fibre

946703_10151356853557541_1845705797_n.jp

Like to see ya snap off now ya jerks :glare:

I am now in the process of smoothing it all out more and getting it ready for paint. This is where it was at after the first coat of filler-primer last night:

941569_10151356854247541_1860576328_n.jp

But wait, there's more!

This project was a bit of fun really, but something I have wanted to do for a long time. Standard GT non-xenon headlights, extra condensation:

321676_10151347789372541_123825905_n.jpg

316000_10151356854757541_2045553658_n.jp

Place in oven at 100 degrees for 8 minutes or until crispy and golden!

164935_10151356855332541_2089819668_n.jp

All disassembled:

945058_10151356856012541_1186237108_n.jp

Will give this a good polish while it's off!

931339_10151356856557541_299221621_n.jpg

Now for the main course. I want to take this:

936352_10151356856967541_438574463_n.jpg

And fit it inside the stock reflector, like so:

270895_10151356857497541_2030138816_n.jp

Which will require a bit of this:

943011_10151356858007541_443318176_n.jpg

But first! I need to do this:

601798_10151356858497541_156392476_n.jpg

944567_10151356858842541_1558664707_n.jp

Bit of dremel work gives me this!

931207_10151356859132541_1084247380_n.jp

Rinse and repeat

936291_10151356859922541_1060488310_n.jp

944497_10151356860177541_1133914271_n.jp

That is as far as I have gotten with those. Undecided how I'm going to finish them, but I think I will paint the stock reflector and E46-R shroud satin black. I was going to paint the cut-off shield behind the projector red to give it a very aggressive look, like this (credit for this work goes to EvoXenon)

image-2345.jpg

but I don't think I will do that. I wanted a classier look, not necessarily a more aggressive look. I don't think the red would suit my car very well.

That's almost more aggressive than red! Haha. Does look awesome though. I think I'll just leave them clear for now and see how it all looks put together. If I don't like it I can paint it, but if I paint it and don't like it then I'm pretty screwed.

Shinobi how's are your headlights going? Does the paint cope with the heat ok? Do you get any bits of light coming out from the side reflector next to the projector? I sorta suspect these projectors will leak a bit of light out the sides, trying to figure out how to seal them. Might chat to Steve again.

Edited by Hanaldo

Hmm maybe try a lighter colour like a turquoise or something.

The headlights are all finished and on my car now and work a treat. Light output is so much better!

Yeah the paint is still fine. Just make sure it's high temp that you paint it with. My projectors are mounted a little further back so the shroud can sit flush with the reflector. And cause of that the only light that you see is the light coming out of the projector.

I'll try get EvoXenon in on here so he can share some of his insight

Edited by shinobi_s14

Sprayed them satin black last night, takes the chrome edge off them, makes them look a bit more factory I think. I like them. With any luck I should get them finished today or tomorrow.

Well they are done and ready to go on the car. But I've just finished spraying my front bar and some other bits, so the car is currently covered up. Don't want to risk putting dust in the air by moving anything, so I won't do any more tonight. But everything should be done in the next couple of days!

So, car is finally all finished. Spent today wiring the bi-xenons and then tucking the headlight wiring to neaten things up, 4 HID ballast gets pretty messy! Looks much better now. Also decided to remove the eyelids. Anyway, some photos:

First, another one of the front bar:

270690_10151364319192541_217059185_n.jpg

Another thing I fixed up while I was at it, some of you might remember this damage I picked up at Powercruise last year:

73899_10151045451342541_302461923_n.jpg

Fixed and sprayed:

943323_10151364318762541_134944663_n.jpg

And blended in:

934721_10151364319532541_1603297816_n.jp

Then, here is the final product with my headlights:

21105_10151362846022541_2073803762_n.jpg

942554_10151362846362541_79494676_n.jpg

934975_10151364186512541_785376315_n.jpg

944178_10151364185962541_292225567_n.jpg

936958_10151364054782541_530869902_n.jpg

Also took the car for a drive for the first time since I started. Drives totally fine, can't tell that I've touched the cam timing. Of course I'm not boosting at all, so will need to wait until Tuesday to see how the car goes on the dyno. Only mayyyybe issue is that I drove 46 km's tonight and the car stayed very cool, never reaching normal operating temp. Water temps only just reached 70 degrees by the end of my trip and the oil temps never went over 60 degrees. They are normally both up around 80-85 within 10 minutes of driving. So I'm thinking perhaps my thermostat is stuck open. I'll check that out.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • So stock ECU does not like anything above 10 psi?  That Nistune one is just for "try" if it will be any different, I know it need to be tune for that. I know but YOU may know about these problem but i/we dont. They few little Skylines here let alone people who know anything about tham so that is why iam asking here  
    • So now we have a radiator with no attachments whatsoever. It lifts up with a particularly tight spot between the drivers side air box mount and the lower radiator outlet, but if you've got this far you will sort that too. This is the lower mounts with the rad out so you can see where the rubber bushes go, it is a straight shot upwards Done! Assembly is the reverse of disassembly, with blood less likely to be shed.
    • Right, onto the second last trick. The Air Con condenser is mounted to the front of the radiator and stays in the car when the radiator is removed. There are 2x 10mm headed self tappers holding the top of the condenser to the radiator, remove those The bottom of the condenser is attached to the radiator with clips. You need to lift the condenser out of those clips and clear (up, then forward). f**ked if  could work out how to do that last bit with the front bumper on. I hope you can, and you share the trick.  Bumper removal probably deserves its own thread one day once I've recovered the will to live, but basically you need to remove the wheels, front inner guard liners (clips and 10mm headed bolts), the self tapper between the guard and the bumper at the rearmost point of the bumper (same as an R32 that bit), any remaining clips at the top/front of the grill, an absolute bastard design with a plate that holds the top of the bumper above the headlight each side (only 1 bolt which is tricky to get to, but the plate catches 2 places on the bumper and must be removed....carefully!) and push clips between the bumper and guard under the headlight. If you've done all that you will be faced with wiring for the fog lights on both sides and in ADM Q50 RS at least, 4 nasty tight plugs on the driver's side for the ADAS stuff. So, the clips at the bottom look like this on drivers side (looking from the front) And on the passenger side (also from the front), you can see this one is already out Clearance on both of these are super tight; the condenser needs to move up but the upper rad support mount prevents that, and the radiator can't move down far because it is (rubber) mounted. Once you achieve the impossible and drop the condenser off those mounts so it does not stop the rad moving, you are good to go
    • OK, next the shroud needs to come off and there are a couple of tricks. Firstly, there is a loom from near the passenger side headlight to the fans, coolant temp sensor etc and there is no plug to undo.  In my case I was OK to leave the shroud on top of the engine so I just undid the passenger side fan plug and about 10 of the clips which gave enough free wire to put it aside. The fan plugs were super tight, the trick I used was a small falt screwdriver to push down on the release tab, then a larger flat screwdriver to lever the plug out of the fan unit....be careful with how much force you apply! If you need to remove the shroud altogether for some reason you will have to deal with all the plugs (tight) and clips (brittle)....good luck. I removed all of the clips and replaced them with cable ties that I will just cut next time. Also, in the Red Sport / 400R at least, the intake heat exchanger reservoir hose is bolted to the shroud in 2 places with 10mm headed bolts; so remove them (the hose stays in the car; no need to undo it at the t fittings down at the radiator lower mount. Once you've dealt with the HX hose and the wiring loom, there are 3x 10mm headed self tappers holding the top of the shroud to the radiator; remove those.   The shroud then lifts out of the bottom mounts where it sits on the radiator, up and onto the engine out of the way. Simples
    • Ok, disregard my “rate them” comment, sorry for my unrealistic input
×
×
  • Create New...