Falcata Re Body my Zed
#1
New Member
Thread Starter
Falcata Re Body my Zed
Hi everyone
I am building a complete new body for my Zed
Thought I would share
Re Body New and different headlights
Spliter and new nose foamed , working on the fenders
the rear hatch will be replaced with a smaller trunk , no rear window
the whole body will be fiberglass
plug for the roof scoop
the back , new lights , etc
I am building a complete new body for my Zed
Thought I would share
Re Body New and different headlights
Spliter and new nose foamed , working on the fenders
the rear hatch will be replaced with a smaller trunk , no rear window
the whole body will be fiberglass
plug for the roof scoop
the back , new lights , etc
The following 2 users liked this post by fast720:
bmccann101 (05-13-2021),
g356sp (09-11-2020)
#2
General & DIY Moderator
MY350Z.COM
MY350Z.COM
iTrader: (64)
Welcome- this looks like quite a bit of work and thanks for sharing. What kind of condition was the donor Z in when you started this project? Did you retain the OEM quarter panels?
#5
New Member
Thread Starter
So I think I will start from the very beginning
A friend and I were interested in the Vaydor built by Matt McEntegart based on the G35 , so we went to Tampa Florida to visit Matt and check the Vaydor out , we were very fortunate to get to go to a Hot Import Nights car show where Matts Purple convertible was the feature of the show .
The next day we went to Matt's shop and he gave us the tour , answered all our questions , super nice guy not to mention extremely talented.
The Vaydor is a very cool car but the logistics of the price and the difference on the dollar plus shipping to Canada were just not viable .
So on the flight home I thought to myself , hey I am a handy guy why don't I build my own car !!!!
And so I decided to go for it , I picked the Nissan 350 Z because I am already a Nissan guy and the Zed is great bang for the buck .
From the beginning , I had to set up a shop to do Fiberglass work in , my existing shop is attached to my house and you can't do glass there .
So here we go !!!
I built some For wooden wheel to simulate the new 22 inch Rims
this works well for test fitting and the expensive ones don't get destroyed during the build
the fronts are 3 1/4 inches wider and the rears are 5 1/4 inches wider
this was an empty building when I acquired it
Disassembly
the rear hatch will be deleted and so will the rear window
building the mold for the inside hatch replacement
mold for replacement hatch
laying up the inside hatch part
the inside hatch replacement will have a smaller trunk .
A friend and I were interested in the Vaydor built by Matt McEntegart based on the G35 , so we went to Tampa Florida to visit Matt and check the Vaydor out , we were very fortunate to get to go to a Hot Import Nights car show where Matts Purple convertible was the feature of the show .
The next day we went to Matt's shop and he gave us the tour , answered all our questions , super nice guy not to mention extremely talented.
The Vaydor is a very cool car but the logistics of the price and the difference on the dollar plus shipping to Canada were just not viable .
So on the flight home I thought to myself , hey I am a handy guy why don't I build my own car !!!!
And so I decided to go for it , I picked the Nissan 350 Z because I am already a Nissan guy and the Zed is great bang for the buck .
From the beginning , I had to set up a shop to do Fiberglass work in , my existing shop is attached to my house and you can't do glass there .
So here we go !!!
I built some For wooden wheel to simulate the new 22 inch Rims
this works well for test fitting and the expensive ones don't get destroyed during the build
the fronts are 3 1/4 inches wider and the rears are 5 1/4 inches wider
this was an empty building when I acquired it
Disassembly
the rear hatch will be deleted and so will the rear window
building the mold for the inside hatch replacement
mold for replacement hatch
laying up the inside hatch part
the inside hatch replacement will have a smaller trunk .
The following users liked this post:
g356sp (09-11-2020)
#6
New Member
Thread Starter
next is the outer hatch replacement
building the plug to replace the outer hatch panel
tons of glass
laying it up
building a base for it to stand on once it gets flipped over to make the new part from the mold
here is the mold , it's a one time part so no gelcoat
this is it with the filleting wax removed
the two parts sitting together ( inside sitting in the mold for the outside )
laying up the outside part
curing
outside part getting trimmed
the two together on the car
trunk hole cut out
building the plug to replace the outer hatch panel
tons of glass
laying it up
building a base for it to stand on once it gets flipped over to make the new part from the mold
here is the mold , it's a one time part so no gelcoat
this is it with the filleting wax removed
the two parts sitting together ( inside sitting in the mold for the outside )
laying up the outside part
curing
outside part getting trimmed
the two together on the car
trunk hole cut out
The following 2 users liked this post by fast720:
bmccann101 (05-13-2021),
g356sp (09-11-2020)
#7
New Member
Thread Starter
Falcata
Just to let you know I have been building this body for almost 2 years now it's getting close there are like 2000 pictures , hard for me to pick which ones to show you .
On to the the trunk parts the bottom of the truck gets built into the back lid ,until it needs to be cut out .I will make a copy of the bottom so I can build the top of the trunk lid on the bench instead of leaning over the back of the car
this is the plug for the piece that goes over the rear suspension tower brace
laying up the mold
here is the mold ( again a one time part no gelcoat )
the mold trimmed
the part layed up in the mold
the part out of the mold
the part trimmed and on the car
the perimeter for the trunk opening
this will eventually get trimmed off around the very outer edge and the trunk seal will sit on the standing seam
these slats will become ridges in the base of the lid
constantly checking plumb and level to stay on track .
On to the the trunk parts the bottom of the truck gets built into the back lid ,until it needs to be cut out .I will make a copy of the bottom so I can build the top of the trunk lid on the bench instead of leaning over the back of the car
this is the plug for the piece that goes over the rear suspension tower brace
laying up the mold
here is the mold ( again a one time part no gelcoat )
the mold trimmed
the part layed up in the mold
the part out of the mold
the part trimmed and on the car
the perimeter for the trunk opening
this will eventually get trimmed off around the very outer edge and the trunk seal will sit on the standing seam
these slats will become ridges in the base of the lid
constantly checking plumb and level to stay on track .
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#8
New Member
Thread Starter
closing off the trunk from the roof
I made up some flat fiberglass to cut pieces to fit in between the trunk edge and the roof
here you can see I made patterns with bristle board , no cheating here with a $100,000 dollar scanner
here's the pieces traced out on the flat glass
prep for the closer plates
taped into place
then fiber glassed into place
it turned out well I thought
oh no you have seen my signature Exhaust !!!
I made up some flat fiberglass to cut pieces to fit in between the trunk edge and the roof
here you can see I made patterns with bristle board , no cheating here with a $100,000 dollar scanner
here's the pieces traced out on the flat glass
prep for the closer plates
taped into place
then fiber glassed into place
it turned out well I thought
oh no you have seen my signature Exhaust !!!
The following users liked this post:
g356sp (09-11-2020)
#11
New Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the kind words
more on the trunk lid
bottom where the lid fits
adding filler
the part above the yellow tape in the center is going to be the back of the trunk lid
these are just a mock up but this is what the top of the lid will look like
trunk lid louvers
more on the trunk lid
bottom where the lid fits
adding filler
the part above the yellow tape in the center is going to be the back of the trunk lid
these are just a mock up but this is what the top of the lid will look like
trunk lid louvers
#12
New Member
Thread Starter
Falcata
Just wanted to show the lower or bottom half of the hatch replacement , this seals on the factory rubber just like the hatch did .
So here you can see it off the car , on the car and from inside the car .
The flange hanging down will be trimmed off once the upper and lower are bonded together .
off the car
on the car
inside the car
So here you can see it off the car , on the car and from inside the car .
The flange hanging down will be trimmed off once the upper and lower are bonded together .
off the car
on the car
inside the car
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g356sp (09-11-2020)
#13
New Member
Thread Starter
On to the roof scoop !!!
Started with the foam to get the curve of the roof
covered the foam with paneling
the pocket will be where it gets bolted to the roof panel . It will need to be removable to replace the windshield
the pocket will be separate , it will locate and secure the scoop on the roof along with two ridges on the roof to provide stiffening .
there are a lot of hours in these parts
Started with the foam to get the curve of the roof
covered the foam with paneling
the pocket will be where it gets bolted to the roof panel . It will need to be removable to replace the windshield
the pocket will be separate , it will locate and secure the scoop on the roof along with two ridges on the roof to provide stiffening .
there are a lot of hours in these parts
The following users liked this post:
g356sp (09-11-2020)
#15
New Member
Thread Starter
More on the Scoop !!
This was a very difficult part to make and keep symmetrical
Ok this is ready to take a mold of ,the red part is called a plug (a finished part you want to copy )
the plug gets several coats of parting wax (high heat mold release wax ) then gets sprayed with PVA polyvinyl Alcohol another release agent
next it gets black tooling Gelcoat it can take the heat from the part curing in the mold
then it gets several layers of fiberglass
I like to add plywood to help hold the structure and it gives it a base to rest it on to work
So this is the position it will be in to layup the new part
Because of the shape of the part I decided to make the mold in two parts so it wont break getting it out
so I cut the back off and made it removable
Ok its time to take the red plug out !!
you have to be careful here not to scratch the mold with any tools
So we use wooden wedges
and Baam it's out Shitty part is the red plug is now garbage !!! Plugs usually bust because they aren't very strong
Ok so next is prepping the mold to make a part it now gets several coats of wax and also gets sprayed with PVA
ready for the white gelcoat
the white gelcoat is applied , it needs to dry overnight usually
next day two units of Fiberglass
here it is layed up and still wet and curing
next day its ready to get popped out of the mold
I trimmed the edges first here just for safety , the flange will still need to get trimmed to go on the car
Here it is out of the mold
Here you can see pulling off the PVA the PVA is like liquid saran wrap , you can usually pull most of it off in large sections
one of the nice things about PVA is it water soluble
here it is ready to be trimmed
and sitting on the car
This was a very difficult part to make and keep symmetrical
Ok this is ready to take a mold of ,the red part is called a plug (a finished part you want to copy )
the plug gets several coats of parting wax (high heat mold release wax ) then gets sprayed with PVA polyvinyl Alcohol another release agent
next it gets black tooling Gelcoat it can take the heat from the part curing in the mold
then it gets several layers of fiberglass
I like to add plywood to help hold the structure and it gives it a base to rest it on to work
So this is the position it will be in to layup the new part
Because of the shape of the part I decided to make the mold in two parts so it wont break getting it out
so I cut the back off and made it removable
Ok its time to take the red plug out !!
you have to be careful here not to scratch the mold with any tools
So we use wooden wedges
and Baam it's out Shitty part is the red plug is now garbage !!! Plugs usually bust because they aren't very strong
Ok so next is prepping the mold to make a part it now gets several coats of wax and also gets sprayed with PVA
ready for the white gelcoat
the white gelcoat is applied , it needs to dry overnight usually
next day two units of Fiberglass
here it is layed up and still wet and curing
next day its ready to get popped out of the mold
I trimmed the edges first here just for safety , the flange will still need to get trimmed to go on the car
Here it is out of the mold
Here you can see pulling off the PVA the PVA is like liquid saran wrap , you can usually pull most of it off in large sections
one of the nice things about PVA is it water soluble
here it is ready to be trimmed
and sitting on the car
#16
New Member
Thread Starter
Falcata
Thanks again for your interest .
Cheers
#18
New Member
iTrader: (6)
I used to make copies of evo hood scoops to install on factory hoods. I would use bowling alley wax as a release agent. It worked perfectly. I had the mold for so long before i got rid of it from not really being in that type of scene anymore.
Is this what you do for work, or just a great hobby that you decided to take on?
Is this what you do for work, or just a great hobby that you decided to take on?
#19
New Member
Thread Starter
Hey thanks for the support guys , I am actually a welder , fabricator , mechanic .
But I have worked in many different fields and picked up a few things along the way .
Lets take a look at the front of the car .
These are the headlight buckets, made of wood and body worked. These are the plugs to make the part
so next is make a copy of them and then make the part form them
so this is the first layup of fiberglass
Now it gets popped of the plug with little wooden wedges , not to damage the fiberglass
here is a good shot of the PVA getting pulled off
So now these get waxed and PVA so they can be layed up with fiberglass
here they are glassed
and here they are on the car after being trimmed up
This one needed some clearance for the windshield washer bottle
These headlight buckets will get glassed into the the whole front under the bumper piece , that the nose and front fenders and hood all come together .
But I have worked in many different fields and picked up a few things along the way .
Lets take a look at the front of the car .
These are the headlight buckets, made of wood and body worked. These are the plugs to make the part
so next is make a copy of them and then make the part form them
so this is the first layup of fiberglass
Now it gets popped of the plug with little wooden wedges , not to damage the fiberglass
here is a good shot of the PVA getting pulled off
So now these get waxed and PVA so they can be layed up with fiberglass
here they are glassed
and here they are on the car after being trimmed up
This one needed some clearance for the windshield washer bottle
These headlight buckets will get glassed into the the whole front under the bumper piece , that the nose and front fenders and hood all come together .
#20
New Member
Thread Starter
Falcata
Next is the front lower bumper , spliter and fender support
So this piece ties the front of the car together , The spliter will bolt to this and the fenders at the bottom and inside under the hood
there are provisions to run air ducts to the brakes and cold air intakes , not to mention a large are to cut out for the radiator
tons of hours have gone into this project
I don't know who invented sanding ..........
after all these parts are fiber glassed together the plug goes in the garbage ...........totally disheartening
I have extended the front bumper 2 inches giving more room for inter coolers and oil coolers , still retaining the factory tow fixture
so here you see the white part with the purple this is ready to be glassed , this ties the headlight pots and the front fender fastening area together
this whole nose should have been glassed at this time but I got too excited and wanted to see some foam and shape happening , it's ok I just have to do it after the nose gets glassed and pulled off .
So this piece ties the front of the car together , The spliter will bolt to this and the fenders at the bottom and inside under the hood
there are provisions to run air ducts to the brakes and cold air intakes , not to mention a large are to cut out for the radiator
tons of hours have gone into this project
I don't know who invented sanding ..........
after all these parts are fiber glassed together the plug goes in the garbage ...........totally disheartening
I have extended the front bumper 2 inches giving more room for inter coolers and oil coolers , still retaining the factory tow fixture
so here you see the white part with the purple this is ready to be glassed , this ties the headlight pots and the front fender fastening area together
this whole nose should have been glassed at this time but I got too excited and wanted to see some foam and shape happening , it's ok I just have to do it after the nose gets glassed and pulled off .