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06 Interlagos Fire Build Thread. Started 5/22/2015
I have wanted a 350z since they first came out, but couldn't afford one. I was working for a car dealer at the time and I saw one come up in an auction. I fell in love with the color and had to have it. Here is a picture of the Z on the first day I got it in May of 2015.
Things to note are the Cracked windshield, missing front reflectors, plasti-dipped wheels, large dent in the hood, broken driver's side exterior a pillar finisher, bald tires, rotted brakes, missing an exhaust system from the downpipe out, slammed to the ground on what I thought were cut springs, shitty aftermarket tail lights, poorly night-shaded reverse lights, broken radio, missing undercarriage, missing wheel wells, grinding transmission, etc. I thought this thing was a mess. It took me some time to see the better parts, but I was determined to restore her and take this car to it's full potential.
Last edited by Mike Giordano; Nov 4, 2016 at 10:55 AM.
The first thing I did was clean up the wheels. I painstakingly removed all of the plasti dip from every nook and cranny I could. This stuff was awful. It was so incredibly difficult to get off, but I spent hours with a detail brush, power washer, and dip dissolve doing the best I could. After getting through all the plasti-dip, to my surprise, was a set of 4 authentic Rays 2 piece wheels. Looking through the rims I could tell there was also a set of Stance Coilovers installed on her. I was starting to think this build would be easier than I previously thought.
Last edited by Mike Giordano; Nov 4, 2016 at 12:16 PM.
Knowing that the exhaust was missing and seeing the reactions on my neighbor's faces as I drove by meant that next I had to do something about the ridiculous noise my Z was making. I bought the DC Sports Stainless exhaust system because I was short on cash and it seemed like a decent system. I was pretty impressed with the quality of it and took it into the dealership to have one of my friends put it on a lift and install the new exhaust. He also pulled apart my transmission to find out where the grinding noise was coming from. It turned out it was a faulty throw-out bearing. During the install of the exhaust system he brought me back to see something he found interesting. Turns out she already had aftermarket catless long-tube headers installed, so by adding this catback setup, the exhaust system would be completely done.
At this point it was time to put her away for the winter. During this time I collected parts to fix certain nit-picky things. I installed the wheel wells, a new aluminum undercarriage, got a shorty antenna, rebadged her, and of course, I got some new shoes.
Found on Yahoo Auctions Japan, these were the only chrome te's I'd ever seen and I had to have them. 19" wheels with 9.5" barrels in front and 10.5" barrels in the rear. +22 offset. I fitted them with Nitto NT555's all around.
Unable to wait until getting the Z out of storage, I peeled back the covers to put the new set of wheels on. At this point the brakes are still rotted out, but I just had to see how it'd look.
Upon getting her out of storage I replaced the pads/rotors, refinished the calipers, replaced the windshield, installed a brand new pioneer head unit and complete pioneer speaker setup, and removed the rear wiper.
Last edited by Mike Giordano; Nov 4, 2016 at 12:12 PM.
My next step was to take her for a serious ride. I bought the track day package through SCCA and took her to blackhawk farms raceway. There were definitely some mishaps, including spinning out into the grass, and understeering straight through a turn. All in all there was no damage and I had an amazing adrenaline rush.
At this point I'm thinking about how I've already got the JDM badge, so I might as well try out the JDM tail lights as well. There was a local guy selling them and I thought they'd look good, or at least better than these eBay ones from the previous owner. During the process I also replaced the reverse light housings that were covered in poorly applied nightshade.
Last edited by Mike Giordano; Nov 4, 2016 at 12:31 PM.
My reaction was exactly what you think it was. I hated the JDM tails. They looked good on lighter colored cars like a silver or white, but definitely not the dark maroon. After a couple of days I decided to sell them and get my hands on the original tail lights that were supposed to be on my 06 from the beginning. At this point, out of all those problems I started with, the only remaining things I have to fix are the broken driver's side exterior a pillar, and the dented hood. After that I can really pursue what I want to do with this car. You'll have to stay tuned to see how I take it from here. Rest assured, nothing will be cheap, everything will be done correctly.
Come on man. I've never evolved from five. Pictures is all I see lol
Lol well there will be more pics. It'll be years before I'm done man. First thing is cleaning up the body, then comes the performance. Do you have a build thread?
06 Interlagos Fire Build Thread. Started 5/22/2015
