I hate teaser threads!

 

Great! That car really needed a change. I can't wait to see the finished product.

 

Hey. You know I had purchased another kit and was ready to proceed with the project. ASM always impressed me in the photos I saw and had that look that always grabbed my attention more, but the pricing kept me at a distance. But after my initial purchase I started seeing more and more photos of your car and seeds of doubt started sprouting with my initial decision. I'd be lying if I said that your car and the photos of your car didn't influence my decision in the direction I went with this project. You and one other forum member's ride helped me decide what I'm attempting with this project.

As to the ASM stuff. I and the shop love it. They are quite happy with the quality and non issues they encountered with ASM products. Not sure on them loving ME (coming in everyday... asking a ton of questions... overlooking all the stuff.... taking a ton of photos....) part but I do know that they are loving the ASM stuff as much as I am.

I will summarize that up at the end of this project. I don't think it would be fair to throw out some number with out a photo of the finished result.

I've been saving awhile and few things happened recently that made me feel i could use a reward to myself so I figured now is the time more than ever. But my advice to you if you're looking into a project like this is not to skimp. I almost did and was going to go with a lower priced kit due to price and availability. I'm sure i could have made it work but this isn't going to be something that I would enjoy doing again too soon. So make sure you get what you want. The other bit of advice is set a budget. Then the most important bit of advice is take that budget and multiply it by 10!

I shopped around a bunch and tried to get the best price on everything but with parts like with what we deal with it'll get costly for the initial investment but even though you got good parts if they aren't put together well it could still end up not looking good. Starting to ramble sorry... just start saving is all i'm gonna keep it at.

I'll put the info in the posting as this project comes to being finalized.

That's ok, already placed a tracking device on the hood

Managed to snag a few photos of you and your project that i'm going to throw in here as well.

Thanks for the advice.

I have been holding onto the stock parts but it's getting to the point of taking up way too much room and the cash I get for selling them would help offset some of the cost of this project and.... well... eating LOL! I'm fighting the urge to sell some of the stock parts but garage space is become a much needed resource.

As to visiting the shop, LOL. I'm beginning to wonder if a few of the people there are starting to think I'm a new worker there. I've been there almost everyday checking stuff out, taking photos and asking questions. Nice thing is every time I'm in i get a full report of all that's encountered. I'm shown what parts need a little extra attention and why. As to the paint I'll be all over that too. They guarantee color match and as many people that I've talked to and consulted with prior to coming into D&V and all the praises I've heard about them without one complaint yet. They got to be doing something right. All other shops that I checked out prior to this had some complaints that were very detailed and after finding out more on those situations it helped me decide to go with these guys.

As to your other advice I'll check those items out and have pics too. Several other Z owners are having project running along side mine also, so I'll check in on their projects as well. I'll keep posting on this and let you know what I find out.

Yeah, I'm a little intimidated by it as well. But I am going to have the hood and front bumper and part of the rear bumper, with most of the side skirts and handles clear bra'd to help protect the outcome of this project.

LOL! So do I!


OK Enough reading lets see some pics:

ASM hood moving right along:




Underside of hood:



ASM front bumper moving on for the next step:





ChargeSpeed rear bumper:



You may see some pieces of tape indicating areas that need attention. There was a crack that was discovered during pre-fit that needs to be addressed. Talking with Kevin he ensures me that "Bondo IS NOT THE ANSWER" and that the crack will be fixed so that it will not be an issue in the future. There were other minor spots that needed to be addressed with the rear bumper such as a little overhang in lining up with the rear fender and a few spots that needed a little more touching up. Kevin informed me that with rear bumpers it's common to see the rear fender and the bumper not line up but they will be able to take care of the issue and have it flow nicely. The other spots I tried to get on the pics but they may not appear, unfortunately i put my Asian stereo type to shame with my picture taking capabilities

Here is the crack, it doesn't appear to be showing up too well:


Another area that needs attention:

Logo will be covered up:

Area that need evened out:


Even with those areas that needed addressed Kevin informed me that he still considers the ChargeSpeed quality really good and has worked with their stuff before. IIRC though this is the first ChargeSpeed item they are doing for a Z though.

The Z waiting for the next stage:



Forum member Driven1 is also having his Z worked on. Driven had a little mishap with his front bumper so he's taking this opportunity to having a Shine Auto's Amuse kit installed and I managed to take a few pics (with his permission) of his project too:



Kevin explaining the work needed to be done to bumper:


A few areas that needed addressed:


I believe Driven1 indicated he wanted the flats by the vents painted a different color shown by the markings:


Another area that needed to be addressed on the Driven1's front bumper:


I believe this is the emotional drop off of Driven1's Z to D & V: j/k


More to come....

 

I hate you.

 

I hope you have some go to go with that show. I remember the first day I got my car out of the body shop, it was 1 week before I installed the turbo kit, I couldn't stand driving it around, I felt like a big rice bowl rolling down the road.

Looking forward to seeing some updated pictures.

 

Working in stages. First was wheels, then some suspensions work, exhaust and intake.

Now, some visuals.

Next will either be go or interior, depends on what's available for the 07s when I get around to it. But I"ll have to recoup a little prior to next stages.

I'm currently looking for new sponsors. I'm having difficulty agreeing to the terms of my current sponsors. Although they are very big sponsors some of their requirements are just rediculous. You may be aware of my sponsors Visa, American Express and Master Card.

 

 

looks great Ross, cannot wait to see the after-pics!

 

Wow. I have never seen a body shop so clean. They're clearly a cut above.
It appears they actually wear uniforms! The asm parts also look very very
well formed. I think you're well on the path... Are you painting the canards to
match? Maybe some photoshops... If I recall there were some nice canards
in grey on a cwest longnose (for a ZR) shown here recently... K11 is the paint
code to match the Nismo grey if you're inclined... IN FOR THE WIN!

glgl

 

Their shop is absolutely spotless. They don't wear uniforms (that i saw)...that's actually one of the shop managers going over things with me to make sure everything is right.

 

Subscribed for updates, I love that bumper and hood!

 

in for updates as well!! car will look great! Let me know how that hood turns out..

 

Excellent write up! Can't wait to see the completed project either!
Thanks for the great comments everyone! Ross, I left you a message to call me.
Robbie, the only ununiformed techs are the ones who haven't yet made the 90 day mark. I push the tech's pretty hard to see if they'll make the cut.

Kevin

 

That makes sense. lol I wasn't really paying all that much attention to everyone else.

 

Subscribed for future awesomeness.

 

It will look siiick!!

 

Prior to the project I took my vehicle in for the State inspection and was required to give the keys to unlock the wheel lugs. I provided the keys I had in the glove box and they performed the inspection. Messed up though. I assumed that the keys I gave them were the correct keys b/c the vehicle passed inspection. BUT, no it was not the correct key b/c the correct one was in my garage at home. So while I was at work D&V could not mount and balance the wheels

Once out of work I received several voice mails from Kevin. Drove home like a madman and got the correct key. Went to D&V and had them perform some of their magic on my Z. Here is some of the outcome...

Z hanging around waiting for the key...



After D & V performed their magic.... Black magic






Money shots...




After catching my breath seeing the new wheels on the Z Kevin and I decided that lowering the back end slightly would make it look much nicer.

Some of the other pieces of the puzzle primed and ready to go...




Showing where the canards will be placed:








Side skirts awaiting next step...



Sorry but this update is going to be short and sweet. I've got plenty of pics still ready to show and will provide more shortly.

 

damn i love how you update us! the wheels look awsome! what size tire is in the rear? looks huge!

 

^+1 Very organized thread. Wheels are hot!

 

Thanks for the compliments guys.

I've been there a lot in the past week and a half and I have never seen that shop a mess.

As for the canards I'm going to keep it simple and keep with the Magnetic black.

Couldn't sleep so figured I'd get some more of the pics posted.

Speaking of the shop I thought I'd walk around and take photos of the rest of the facility for all to see.

The paint stations:



Other beauties getting the magic touch...


Here is $15,000 worth of damage. Kevin informed me that the customizing aspect of the business is his passion but the bread and butter of D&V is the auto collision side of the business. This vehicle will require extensive welding and reinforcing to get it back on the road again and I was filled in on finer points of the job.




Here is the computer assisted welder that takes all the guess work out of the job that's ahead of them with the above photos:


Techs taking care of business


The place is huge! This is just a portion of how big the facility is.



Snooping around I managed to find an Evo for sale


More work on Driven1's ride.


Some work performed on Driven1's front bumper.



Working on the rear.




Stay tuned to see what gets completed tomorrow!