Yeah that is pretty sharp Apollo! Quite different, great work. What kind of body kit are you going to put on it? And hey 81 red I know what you mean by cash. I am flat broke. And will be until I sell my Firebird. Then it is more money for my Z!

 

no kit. im gunna have a custom front and rear done up by none other than . . . . myself (with some help from a pro). but most of the work will be done by my own 2 hands. I have to say its been quite a learning experience doing this kind of work on my own car. when work on cars at the shop, i'll admit i dont put as much "heart" in to it, but working on my Z . . .i dont mind taking for ever to do something. or doing it over and over till i get it the way i want it. plus i dont have a deadline and someone breathing down my neck!

 

I wish I had the money to do my bodywork! Unfotunatly I picked the GO factor over the SHOW factor so my car is still dented and sort of ugly. Its okay though cause im happy for now. Apollo, make sure you post a lot of pictures of molding the hatch. I am very interested to see how it is done and how it will look.

 

i know how that goes... my car looks like someone went to it with a giant rubber mallet all over the outside and then took a gun and shot he whole inside to crap... but oh well.. id rather have a car that goes fast and looks like crap than one that looks good but runs like ****.. and besides.. people will be less inclined to think that my car can go rather fast..and also more deterred from stealing it.

 

well as far as motor goes, i went through the thing before i started even driving it to make it as mechanicaly sound as possible. then of course put a few minor mods on. exhaust, ignition, intake. . . little things. then was the 2 and a half year process ( still goin actually ) of driving it and working out all the bugs. all the while having it that damn blazing red/orange and getting pulled over regularly. all the wrong kind of attention. plus the paint and body work orignialy was cheap and quick. looked good goin fast, but there was alot of stuff that bugged me. And i never had the chance before when i 1st had it painted to work with the car and make it my own. So now, after being rear ended, i have that chance and ability. So the colour is changing, the body is getting a new look and i am doin just about all of it myself. Its a nice feeling, seeing your Z take shape, weather that be your newly tuned motor or body mods that come together to make it happen.

 

What color are you planning on painting it?

 

well, its almost time to paint, so i guess now is a better time than ever. what do you guys think?

pikes peak white

black

sandy grey/champagne w/pearl

dark blue w/pearl

british racing green w/pearl and silver accents ( trim, hood wents etc. )

pearl= that shiny, sparkly kinda effect but i would use a small amount only, not a big fan but it adds depth. how the heck do i start a poll?

side note: check out my cardomain, pics of the tail light assemblies are up

 

So here are the tail lights in the rough. Just needed them to work so I can drive my Z. I plan on sealing and preping them for paint tomarrow.

 

holy crap!!!! that looks awsome jake.... cant wait to see it all done and painted... you got about 4 weeks till the blackhawk show in dublin.. think you can get it done in time??? lol

 

Wow dude, I have to say that those taillights look better than any other Skyline light conversion I have ever seen. When ever I see those lights on Zs I always think that it just doesn't look right but on you car it just seems to fit. I think its because most lights stick out and yours are recessed. Looks awesome man.

 

thanks guys. yea, i was actually teetering on the conversion but after work started all inhibitions went out the door. thats when we were playing with the hatch idea, rolled rear, custom front and sealing up the quater windows ( not doing that one ). but i figured what the hell. so we planned it out and made the templates, sized it up and it looked good so we went ahead with it.
As for Blackhawk . . .I am gunna try to make it, somewhat completed . . .dont think paint will be done, but then again I dunno. Its been pretty fast paced this week. After the lights are sealed and prepped for paint, its just the hatch ( less than a day ) and the front and rear. Maybe I'll have her completely primed. . . .
.

 

Haha, dang man, I think my new turbo may end up looking somewhat similar to yours when I get done with it over the next couple months, especially if YOU go for white (hence, why I voted a diff color :P)! I was definitely planning to "roll under" my rear, though I was thinking Corvette taillights instead of Skyline (figuring they've got DOT markings on em)

Btw, where are you getting your body work done and what kind of price are they giving you? Real soon, I'm going to be looking into bodywork and I was just planning to go to Isaac's recommended place (Alfa) unless yours can do an even better deal.

 

I'd be real interested to see how the rear roll-under turns out ... I've contemplated this for awhile for my Zed. And 'Vette lights should work quite nicely also.

 

Well I def wont be going for white, too plain for my taste. As far as body work is concerned its being done by "My Own 2 Hands" out in Emeryville . . . .

Yea, I was gunna go with vette lights. But for the C6 lights ( only round ones ), even with my wholesale discount were 55 a peice. 200+ for lights on my budget? No no no. Couldnt do it. On the rear I will be proceding with the rolled corvette style but the front is up in the air as to the exact design . .

And on a quick note, I have completely neglected the reverse lights with the new assembly! How should I fix this, or should I just forget about them. Is it illegal not to have them?

 

I'm actually going with C3 Corvette taillights (already got a set lined up on Ebay!). They were the last generation to have the reverse light still in the round lenses. Sure, it's not as clean as the all-red lenses (and they are used), but it's convenient for me. It's also appropriate since the C3 Corvette was my favorite generation and what I might have gotten if I didn't get the Z.

Otherwise, if you need to install reverse lights, I'd imagine it wouldn't be too hard to cut some holes in the flat area between the taillights and the license plate to install them.

 

Actually, the early C4 taillights were completely round as well. A friend of mine has an '89 Vette with perfectly round tails. If I remember right, 1984-1989 were the years for that particular bodystyle.

Just a thought. Who knows, maybe they'll be cheaper.

 

The early C4 taillights were round, but the later C4 taillights (early 90's) became kind of squarish with rounded corners. Either way, none of them had the reverse lights built into them anymore.

 

Well my thing with the lights was that they had to be new or almost new. And I wanted to be able to get them easily and just about everywhere, so it was new Vette lights, Nissan Skyline or GTR "style", Chevy Cobalt, Jeep Liberty or rotated 04 Maxima with the amber signals. I didnt want old plastic.
As for placing the reverse lights in the already existing pannels, I dont wanna gum them up. I was thinking if I must have them that I would just throw a concealed lamp underneith somewhere. The rear is just the way I want it now and i dont wanna mess it up. I dunno, i really dont think it should be a problem . . . .not really sure. Anyone know if its illegal not to have them?

 

I was warned about not having working reverse lights on my Rx7 a while ago - required I replace the trans switch (pain in the ***!). The inspector was nice enough to let me off, but he didn't like making a habit of doing that. This is, of course, in the loser state of Utah.

And, if I remember correctly, you can still buy brand-new taillight assemblies from GM for rather cheap.

 

crap . . .well i dont wanna cut up the pannels . . .hrm, i dunno if i have a choice
the c4 lights are still available through GM?

 

While searching for Corvette taillights, I found a sight that sells LED versions of the C4 and up generations. Though they did run for over $300...

 

Yea but then there is the cost and availability issue. If they led lights get broke in an accident you're not are only out 300+, but then you have to hope that the company is still aournd and hasnt raised the price and this and that . . .meh. i want to be able to drive somewhere in the bay area and pick them up years from now. ya know what i mean?

 

I'm almost there . . . .

Just have to make the front valence and rollpan and paint her. Jeez, its been a while since my Z has been one solid colour I have to say it's really satisfying having done it myself and being able to see the project evolve is awesome. Only down side through all this time is that she has been my daily driver

 

looks awesome!

 

Nice work, are those just regular semi-truck type lights back there?



i really want to see what it looks like with a rollpan, i don't think i've ever seen a ZX with one