1975 C110 (KHGC110 240K) Build

[uras1]

where and how much to get the inner taillight parts rechromed?

[Adzmax]

Yeah it was a tough choice between silver and white but I think white has won out, my Father likes white too. I'm going for the full classic factory look and some nice deep dish Watanabe's with a silver polished lip. It will pretty much be a clone of this I'm hoping.

I hear you with the house etc, I bought a place about 2 years ago and part of a business before that so it's hard to find the time and money!

The tail light insides were done here in Melbourne at Vinny's in Dandenong. I was told it's not chrome, it's another type of reflective finish. I'm not sure what though.

Not sure on price sorry as it was done with some other stuff. I 'think' it was around 30 or so per piece? Don't quote me though sorry.

http://www.vinneys.com.au

Edited April 1, 2012 by Adzmax

[Alfadog]

Love this! Your attention to detail is just fantastic. This is what makes the difference between an ordinary resto and a top notch one. Awesome!

[Disco Bob]

Beautiful work. Wish I could find the time to work on mine.

I've had my headlight assembelies at work for months with the idea doing what you've done, and haven't even taken them out of the bag.

[Adzmax]

Some things are a bit more tricky than others and this is certianly the case for the combination parkers/indicators on the front bumper bar. Inside these units there is a thin reflector which is held in place by the bulb socket. The sockets are actually pressed into the housing and the only way to remove them is to grind back the lip of the bulb socket. I figured that I would remove the old sockets for plating and then replace them with some generic sealed press in sockets.

I had a lot of trouble finding something to suit, I ordered many different shapes and sizes and most either did not fit or would house the bulb too far forward meaning the lens would not fit. I was also going to have some issues trying to make sure the unit was well sealed again so I decided that this might not be the best path. I was lucky enough to pick up a second set of housings from Gerry (Kid-K) - Thanks! Seeing as though I had a second set of reflectors (which may not even be necessary) I wasn't really worried about acid dipping them. I cut the plug off the end of the loom, removed the wiring, spring and grommet which just press out and sent the housings away for Zinc plating in Blue Zinc. When I got them back other than looking great, the reflectors had been vaporised!

The lenses on these lights are all pretty rough, being so close to the ground and plastic the get a lot of stone chips and cracks. The plastic also tends to deteriorate over time. My plan was to sand back the lenses and then clear them the same as I did the tail lights.

I spotted some clear lenses on Yahoo Japan which I was considering using when what do you know, a brand new set popped up on eBay from the UK! I was wrapped when I found these.

The last part is the gaskets to seal the units. There are some on Yahoo Japan which I'm looking to get, I could make a set but these are pretty cheap. The old gaskets are too hard and cracked with age, I'm pretty sure they leak at the first sign of water.

I'll assemble these when the gaskets arrive and post some pictures.

[Adzmax]

I called into my parents placed recently to pick up some parts they are kindly storing for me, I've got pretty limited space at home so I only take parts around as I'm really to deal with them. I picked up a lot of this gear back in 2008/9 and it's been sitting in their roof since so it was nice to pull it out and get it cleaned up.

They came up really well. I'll remove the wood grain inserts from the centre console (although it almost seems a shame) and fit some stainless inserts to match the GTR. Pics to come.

Edited April 13, 2012 by Adzmax

[Adzmax]

The GTR tail lights I brought out from Japan were in reasonably good condition but the ring surrounds had been knocked about and the chrome was stained and damaged. I considered buying some replica rings but I'm keen to use as many genuine parts as possible so I looked into having them stripped and re-chrome plated.

I also wanted to have the rear bumper indicator housings cleaned up too. A common problem with these die-cast housings is that the bolts used to hold them rust. Because the housings are under so much stress, the rust seems to make the plastic swell and crack and eventually the mounts snap off.

I stripped the chrome plating off these parts by soaking them in household bleach. I planned to clean then up then etch prime and high fill but ultimately this proved to be messy, time consuming and a waste as the electro platers could easily strip the chrome and would prep them as part of the job. I should have called first :oops:

I received the parts back this week after about 2 months of waiting but it was certianly worth it! The finish on them is perfect.

The mounts for the reflectors are all fixed!

I also went to work on the reflectors when the housings were away. They were pretty dull and scratched so I hit them with some Novus plastic polish. I highly recommend this stuff, it worked really well! Here's a before and after shot of the completed units.

Now all that is left to do is mask and spray the tail lights rings

[uras1]

keen to sell wood grain insert?

[Adzmax]

Yeah I don't see why not if I decide to replace it. I'll let you know when it's out.

[Laggy6]

You are such a perfectionist!, keep up the awesome work.

[240K&Beyond]

WoW - Thats going to be a new car once you have finished.

I'm green with envy.

Inspiration:

[Adzmax]

This is my inspiration

Yeah I'm a self confessed perfectionist. It's a blessing and a curse!