bkelly

Does anybody have a sound clip of their twice pipes?

My neighbors are really annoying...I have to listen to their damn dogs bark 24/7 so I don't care how much noise I make. The money doesn't bother me, it's just that I can have something in the end if I buy it myself. Haven't no way to transport my car is kind of an issue also. While that Harbor Freight one is "cheaper" it's not set up for soda blasting. If you look, Eastwood also has a soda blaster converter for media blasters. The soda blasters from Eastwood are nothing more than media blasters with the soda blasting converter installed, for a couple dollars less than purchasing separately.

Has anybody ever bought one? I was going to pay ~$1k to get my car blasted but for those prices, I can buy it myself, pocket money, and have a soda blaster when I'm finished. I emailed them about where the cheap one was "imported" from as they don't say what country. They got back to me and said China. I'm very cautious about buying anything that needs to last that's made in China. I don't mind paying for quality, but at over double the cost for the made in USA one, can the China one be that bad? http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=1408&itemType=CONTENT&path=32&KickerID=395&KICKER

I was just going to bring up the redneck aspect. Around here it's the same thing, people actually try to be one. Yes, that includes going so far as having a fake southern accent. There are also 2 pairs of married first cousins in my town. I don't think I'm going to watch the show. TV has become so bad that all I watch are Speed (which is becoming bad), History channel, and some Discovery.

Tell me about it. I don't want to name names but the company is always looking out for themselves and not the people who are putting money in their pocket. Us. They're great for dealing with us on new cars, but won't help us out with an older one. It's more of an image thing for high end car buyers. If Ferrari comes out with a special run of 50 cars, they'll have the pattern out for the whole car the day they can get their hands on it. For an old car that sold hundreds of thousands, they won't.

I need to check on the initial cost before I put together an official group buy. This is just so I don't tell people one price and wind up charging another. There is a lot of test fitting, wasting film, and other work that is involved. I deal with the best of the best in the business so it's not an if it can be done, just when. I can get a company to design it, but I have to pay over $1000 and then THEY have the rights to the pattern and make it available to all the other dealers....so they profit of something I paid for. I'm going to try to get a price in the next couple weeks. I'm in the slow season right now so I want to get it designed by the spring when I'd be too busy to do this.

I wouldn't trust that. Installing film is not a science, it's an art form. It is very easily screwed up and you can not re use it. So this guy will be a couple hours from home and if he screws it up, how is he going to fix it? Would he pass off a defect on your car because of it? Dave has accounts with both Porsche dealerships, as well as the Aston Martin, Ferrari, Audi, Jaguar, and a couple more. You don't get in those places doing half assed work. Guys like him that are willing to do anything for business are very desperate and fly by night. There was a guy by me that would do that sort of thing and last month I just walked into his dealer accounts and took them all...at a higher price. Since the price is the same, do you want to risk dealing with someone like that? BTW, thanks for that link, I'm blowing him in to the Xpel for selling kits below the minimum price! Big violation!!!

Since this was brought up- I was looking over mine when it was taken out and there are a few hairline cracks (<1in long) and a couple "chips". Would it be possible to fix those and repaint it? If so, what should be used to fix it, epoxy? It's nothing major and I didn't notice it until I took it out, I'm just putting so much work into the car there's no sense short cutting things.

Venture is junk.....actually 3M owns them now. It looks good but doesn't last and will turn yellow with in a year. A study can show any result you want. All films out there have similar "studies", showing their film holds up better against another. I wouldn't get any group buys going until a pattern is designed. I can sell you all the bulk film you want, but I'd wind up with a bunch of pissed off people with cut up Z cars.

I know exactly what you're going through. I'm selling my Mustang right now....actually it's got 3 hours left in the auction. It feels like you're giving a kid up for adoption for no reason. For me, it came down to what the car is and what I wanted. The car is totally stock, with 19k on it. (1991) It's beautiful, but because of what it was, I couldn't drive it or it would depreciate like a new car and I couldn't modify it because it was stock. For those who know anything about Fox bodies, stock, they aren't very good driving cars. Unfortunately, for what it's going for, I'm giving it away. Still, it's going to a guy that has 2 other Mustangs and will take care of it. If you're like me, that's what you want to have really happen when you sell a car that means something to you....even more than getting a bunch of money. My advice if you do sell it, is to hold out until you find a buyer that will respect it. Who would you rather have own your car- someone who will pay you $4k who will take care of it, or a drag racer who will pay $8k who will stuff a 350 in it and cut it up?

Damn, I'm 29 and I remember all those!!!! Is it just me did does NOTHING taste better than Coke from a bottle?

That price is actually lower than what he usually charges, plus you're getting the spoiler included. He can get away with using Avery film down there because of the climate. Up north it doesn't hold up. I still suggest 3M. That was the Nismo spoiler for the pattern, not the BRE. Here are the patterns I'm going to start working on- Hood (up to the top of the headlight buckets), headlight buckets, and the entire lower valence. I'm also considering doing one for the BRE spoiler since that seems popular. Also I am going to make two pieces for the quarter panels for those with a spoiler that over hangs the deck lid. I guess there are a couple guys in the club that's had it worn down to the metal! I could do rocker panels, but they are very expensive due to the amount of film used. Let me know if I'm missing anything.

No, that's the only Z that's in the game. You can't take off the emblems or mirrors in the paint shop. Wheels are different also. I've got some deep dish Panasports lined up for mine. Offset 15 in rear, 14 in front. BTW, that car in the game has an AWD Skyline drive train and can destroy pretty much anything in B class on handling/grip tracks. I let my Xbox live membership expire, but it was in the top 150 overall on Mugello.

The car was bought in Aug. of last year. As much as I gave up trying to find the "right" car, as soon as I saw this I had to have it. It's a 70, Vin #58XX, all stock. I intended to do a driving restoration on it. Well the driving didn't happen. The engine belched white smoke and I could never pin it down with an external fix. The car was put in the garage and my Mustang was taken to storage. Business drops off this time of year and I was getting bored around November. I just got the itch to work on it. I started pulling pieces off the front and sanding the paint off. At some point, the car was somewhat restored. It had new 1/4s and rockers put in. Judging by the work, it was alright, but you could tell the person who restored it cut corners. Other than a few rust spots in the lower fenders and C pilar, the body itself is totally rust free. After that it got cold and work stopped. A few weeks ago, I was bored again and it was about 50 deg out for the entire week...in Jan!!!! Over 5 days, I DA sanded all the paint off the car. Last week it was 15 deg. out so I took advantage of it by removing the tar on the floorboards. Bad news- the floor boards are rusty and need to be replaced. After that, I realized there is no such thing as an "easy" restoration. I figured if I was going to put that much work into it, I might as well do everything 100% right. The interior was totally stripped, glass removed, and the dash will be coming out tomorrow. So that's where I sit now. The fun begins in spring when I have to start spending some cash. I've been pricing out parts over the past few days and putting them into a database. If anybody is looking for a quick way to get rid of a bunch of money, restore a car!!! Anyway, on to the pics! I've also attached a pic of a car I created in Forza2 of what the car will look like when it's done.

He's north of Atlanta. I believe he has his shop in Roswell. I actually just got off the phone with him about some business matters. I told him to expect a call with someone with a Nismo Z and he said he just had someone else call 3 days ago with a Nismo. I thought it was kind of funny given how rare those cars are. Just so you know, they do have a piece for the lip spoiler on the car. If you want this done, let him know before hand. It uses quite a bit of film and couldn't be considered a "freebie" piece.

If you don't mind driving, one of the best installers in the country is about 2 hours from you. Give Dave a call- www.speedfilm.net I've flown down and worked with him before, his work is amazing. He's a little expensive (so am I) but like I said, very few installers can install. People don't realize, like a paint job, they're paying for the skill of the installer, not the product used. To show you the service you get with him, he has actually driven to Florida to check on a complaint on a car he did...and it turned out to be nothing. He uses all types of film so just request 3M if you want it. Be careful when you say Xpel kit. Yes they make patterns, but they have their own film now and it is completely unproven. There has also been a lot of problems with it. I tried it and don't like it. Actually, the pattern you want on your car is from Proform. That pattern covers more of the fender (wraps around the headlight) and hood than the Xpel. It also installs better, which means it's going to look better on your car.

Here's some more pictures. The first two is my car after some jackass hit me. The fender is destroyed, but the paint was protected! The second is another brand of film that was on a car for less than a year. It's BLACK!!!

I do this for a living. Here's the problem with putting it on a Z- There is no pattern. It has to be cut out freehand on the car. Out of all the people who say they do this, only about 50% can do a good job. Less than that can cut on your car with out cutting your paint. The film itself will hold up to a lot but it's not indestructible. 3M is the only brand I will ever use. I've tried others and they will fade/stain over time. Other brands say they're top coated and another claims to be clear coated, but they aren't a true clear coat like 3M. If you use Plexus to take care of it instead of waxing, you won't get any white build up around the edges. That should have been told to the customer of the BMW when he bought it. Like I said, most people who sell this stuff know nothing about it. If there is enough demand for older Z cars, I can look into getting a pattern designed. I work with several people who can design. If you are interested, post below. Below is a free hand job on a Benz. It was an aftermarket bumper with no pattern.

I'm not going to race it, just track days. I may even just have Rebello build me an engine. I've got that book laying around somewhere.

I've started pricing out all the parts I need to complete my resto. Things have gone pretty good so far, with the only surprise being needing floor pans. As far as the engine, I want something that can hold its own on a track, but still be streetable. I'm not using my numbers matching engine for this in case a rod decides to go through the side of the block some day. What I plan on using is an L24 with an E88. I know a performance build isn't just buy a bunch of parts and put them in. Everything must work together. So, where do I start?

First off there are two totally different things here. There are body shops, that normally do collision work. Then there are restoration shops, that specialize in restorations. If you are looking for a pristine job, are willing to wait and spend a lot of money, then go to a restoration shop. If you want a quick, cheap job that will look better than what you've got, then a body shop is fine. Very few body shops quality work. They're used to taking short cuts because most of their work is done through insurance companies that pay them squat to fix cars. In my whole area, there is only ONE body shop that does good work, so good ones are few and far between. Just so you know, doing it "right" costs a ton and takes a lot of time. I have over 20 hours in just DAing the paint off my car.

One good thing about living up north is the 15 deg days are great for removing the tar. A hammer and chisel works great. Now for the bad- It was so cold that the vinyl piece in the middle ripped while taking it out. The very bad- my floors are rusted. If you are restoring a car right, you have to remove this tar. From underneath, my car looked great. I thought I could get by with patches. What I could not see was under the tar, which was perfectly flat when you lifted the carpet. All along the support weld, there are holes. This would have been missed had I not removed the tar. Here's a pic of the drivers side, the other side is the same.

What about that chrome paint that you can buy at Auto Zone? I'm not expecting that much in quality from a rattle can but maybe it works? Mine are all pitted. I'm very good at restoring the lenses so I'm not concerned about that.

Thanks! That white one is exactly what I was looking for.

Is there any pictures of a Z that has had the chrome trim blacked out? I've always hated chrome. To me it just looks cheesy. What I'd like to do is paint the trim flat black and only leave the bumpers chrome.