abarclay's "It's only a model" sort of build Fread
 

What's up everyone :cool:

Welcome to my build/progress/money wasting thread. I've had my Z since 2006, and its been through quite a few changes since I got it. This is actually the first car I've ever heavily modified, and I figure now's as good a time as any to share with you where it's been and hopefully where it's going. I'll try to keep my mod list updated in this first post, as well as what's next down the road. As always, feel free to comment and give whatever feedback you want, although I seriously doubt you need me to tell you that :icon17:

Andy

03/20/2016
Exterior:
MCR Hood, Aero Catch Locking Latches, Charge Speed Type II, ings+1 LX Sport Hybrid side skirts, Vorschlag Design Version 1 rear bumper, Weber Sports Spoiler, Craft Square Mirrors, Perrin 2 in. Antenna, Rear Wiper/Squirter Delete, Tommy Kaira Z Emblem, Clear JDM Reflectors, Diode Dynamics 6000k Cool White City Light LEDs, SilverStar Turn Signals, Magnetic Black Painted Roof, Window Tint Sides/Back 15%, Front Windshield 45%
Engine/Exhaust:
NGK Iridium 1-Step Colder Plugs, Injen CAI, 5/16 Iso Copper Thermal Spacer, Polished Plenum, MREV2, Berk HFCs, Motordyne Duel V2 Shockwave Exhaust, Zspeedperformance Undershroud, Purple Samco Hoses, Purple HKS Oil Cap, HKS Radiator Cap, Cusco Strut Tower, Burnt Titanium DressUpBolts, NRG Polished Hood Dampers, CZP Radiator Cooling Panel, Rare JDM Engine Harness Cover, Zeetoyz Polished Fluid Caps, Forged Performance UpRev Reflash
Wheels/Tires/Brakes:
Work Zeast ST1 Imperial Gold 19x9.5 +11 & 19x10.5 +11, Michelin Pilot Sport 245/35/19 & 275/35/19, Muteki Purple SR48 Lug Nuts with locks, 14in Stoptech 4 piston F&R BBK, Steel Braided Brake Lines
Suspension/Clutch:
KW Variant II Coilovers, SPC Front Control Arms & Rear Toe Bolts, Motordyne Swaybars, Whiteline Endlinks, GTspec Rear Lateral Brace (purple), Competition Stage II Clutch & Light-weight Flywheel, Steel Braided Clutch Line, RJM Clutch Pedal Kit
Interior:
Tommy Kaira Hebi Bebi Shift Knob, Dark Dog Customs Suede Interior, Leatherseats.com Seat Covers, Carbon Fiber Element (flat bottom OEM steering wheel, triple gauge pod, cubby door switch, shifter surround, passenger door handle cover), JPM Coachworks Suede Wrap Steering Wheel, Blendmount & Valentine V1, Pioneer Double Din Headunit

annnnnd a current pic of those mods...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....db59b9baa3.jpg

It would take me way too long to post a pic of every mod I've done, so here's a cliff notes version...

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....41d9c8926b.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....eaaed7e928.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....f0db8fd2c0.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....a659da9c5e.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....15aa09ef13.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....4140db432c.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....c9d4a288f1.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....59e95b23e6.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....a29bf278a9.jpg
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....10a73019ca.jpg
http://i785.photobucket.com/albums/y...psf5wr5efb.jpg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....87824c08df.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....7785ad6a19.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....43ad22f701.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....03362da3d9.jpg


Somewhat current engine bay and interior...


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....517315780c.jpg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....99be909141.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....20799c0117.jpg


So what the hell's next you ask...
ART Pipes
Engine bay stuff
I guess a stereo build
and probably a bunch of random smaller parts


Thanks for looking! :thumbup:

Love some of your interior touches. Really adds a nice touch.

Nice looking car.

Gorgeous car man tastefully done!

Pictures do this car no justice. So clean in person.

Super clean. Love the current set of wheels :thumbup:

Very nice car! Wheels, front lip, and sides are my favorite part.

By the way I love the steering wheel. Mine has a couple nicks on it and wanted to do something like this since I don't want to install an aftermarket steering wheel. Did you do the work yourself or did you send it out?

Beautiful car... Attention to detail is top notch.

Thanks! I'm think I'm going to give my dash and doors some attention next.

:thumbup:

Thanks man!

I really appreciate that Eddie, thanks dude! Any chance you can get away from work for a little ZdayZ this year?

Thank ya! Yeah, when I get this next set it's going to be really hard to let my current ones go, might just end of keeping them for a 2nd set :icon17:

Thanks SQualZ! I ended up buying a wheel off eBay and shipping directly to Tony at Carbon Fiber Element. He did all the CF work and had someone else wrap it in leather. After getting the wheel back, the leather wrap wasn't really that good, so I had JPM Coachwork rewrap it in suede.

I've got my old wheel just sitting around, hit me up if you might be interested in it :thumbup:

Thanks man! It's definitely been through some changes, but I'm really happy with where it's at now.

Nice man!

Very nice, clean and well-balanced. :thumbup:

Very professional looking interion, love it. The whole car looks awsome.

Great looking z!

Thanks dude!

Thanks John, we definitely need to meet up at ZdayZ!

Thank ya sir :) Yeah, I've been nothing but impressed with Mike at Dark Dog Customs.

:thumbup:

I wish. Hopefully next year or Z Nats again this year.

the entire car looks good man

did a shop do the work and if so...which one? Im not too far from you and my next project is the interior.

My second favorite SilverStone on the forum :thumbup:

Love your interior, very unique

Thanks man!

Mike, who owns Dark Dog Customs, did all of my suede work other than my steering wheel. Headliner, A Pillars, waterfall, center console, all the door work, etc. He also installed my leather seat covers. Definitely does a stand up job.

Wow, thanks Waiz! I think I know your favorite :icon17:

I'll go ahead and let the cat out of the bag, my Z is currently in the shop getting an MCR hood painted and my door handles painted as well. Doing a little something different with the paint. I'll just say that Nissan's Night Armor, from the Frontier and Xterra, is being used on it.

I probably don't need them, as I haven't seen anyone run them with the MCR hood, but I'm getting some aerocatch latches installed as well. I just hope they don't take away from the lines of the hood. I got a little update from my body shop saying that because of the slope of the hood and the difference in the radiator support, the pins from the latch wouldn't match up, so they're fabricating some brackets to fix it.

I think I dropped it off on 3/31, hoping to have it back maybe by next week. Pics will follow!

The car looks great abarclay, you have done a fine job! :icon38:

I WANT THAT WING. Where can I find one?

Thanks Blue!

I'm definitely excited to join the Crowd that is Matchless hood group :thumbup:

Weber Sports Spoiler and rhdjapan.com my friend :icon38:

Thank you. By the way, I love everything about your car.

Love this car. So fresh and clean clean...

I want to see what they do with the latches for the MCR. We accept you in the MCR army :D

I hope this is all for Zdayz prep... Cant wait to see this car again.

Chris

Haha thanks Chris!

Happy to be finally joining the MCR gang. Might have to have a little MCR bro shoot up at ZdayZ, no homo :icon17:

Yeah, I'm definitely curious to see how they attached the latches. Fingers crossed for next week.

Swung by the body shop last Friday and talked with the painter about the hood. Also saw the brackets that they had to make for the hood latches to work. They said it should be done with paint today or tomorrow, hoping to pick it up towards the end of the week.

Erbody be on the look out for OEM HR Silverstone hood for sale, 9/10, underside painted as well, trying to sell local first.

Also got some new parts in, I'll take pics this week.

Torch Red floor mats
Diode Dynamics 6000k Cool White City Light LEDs
SilverStar turn signals
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....d6be1c991b.jpg

I also need to install my Z1 Motorsports polished intake tube and ARC polished intake.

Annnnnd last but not least, hoping to put a downpayment on some new SSR's this week as well. That's all for now, pics to follow soon :fingersx:

Nice! Getting close and I look forward to your pics; hopefully your hands will not be shaking too bad! One question, did you already have the 2 little weather strips (whatever the are called) that attach across front and rear of latch area? On mine I had them remove them from the stock hood. *I'm also interested in how the latch pins work out for you; had thought about that when I was getting my hood also. :icon38:

:icon30: not gonna, this month has been crawling by for me ever since I dropped it off. I couldn't imagine leveling at a shop for an engine built. Anyway, we briefly talked about it when I brought the hood in, and I'm not sure if they're adding the weather strip or not. I'd probably go the route of a new one so I can leave my OEM fully intact. I guess I can alway bring it back in if need be?

Love that steering wheel but don't know much about the company or companies that can make those. Would you mind telling me where I can look, if you have a recommendation, and how much? PM if you need to.

my shop had checked into new ones from a local Nissan dealer and they told me it was over $90 so I had them remove from stock hood and install, they just pop into holes, but not sure if the mcr had the holes already there or not.

PM'd :thumbup:

I don't remember it have holes for it, but I should probably just tell them to order one and throw it on while they have it there. Are you glad you had your shop add it to the hood?

New wheels ordered :icon21:

SSR Executor CV01
19x9.5 Concave - Normal Disk, 78mm, +25
19x10.5 Super Concave - Super Low Disk, 104mm, +18

Center Caps - Black
Disks - Super Black Coat
Inner and Outer Rim - Black Anodized

And now the wait of a thousand moons (or 90) begins :icon27:

Good stuff, Andy! Mr K would be so proud.

Yeah, the front one is the material that compresses between the front edge of the hood and top of bumper cover; probably good to block possible air flow under hood especially at higher speeds.

Hell of compliment right there, thanks John!

I'm down for anything that helps me from having to buy a new windshield, roof, fenders...and pants :icon17:

Stopped by the body shop again and talked with the painter, word on the street is they'll be finished up this upcoming Tuesday/Wednesday. Than I'm taking Friday off to get new manual transmission fluid, clutch fluid, and an oil change at Z1. ZdayZ prep in full swing!

I think these mats are going to look great with my red seats. They've got the anchor points just like the OEM ones, only thing I wish they had was the heal pad, but I couldn't find any in this color red with the pad.

I really excited about the turn signals, reviews said they give off a blueish tint during the day (no more egg color turn signals :icon38:) and light up a bit brighter than the OEM ones. I didn't take any pics of the LED parking lights, but those are going in too.

ARC Intake will go on after I buy the polished Z1 Intake tube on Friday.

Pics...

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....1437304963.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....29d2375755.jpg
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....8662bda308.jpg

That's all for now, I'll post up some pics of new hood and painted door handles next week :icon04:

Beautiful mats, bro. I'd have to take my shoes off first...very nice!

^ haha thanks dude!

New MCR hood is on, its really hard to tell in direct sunlight but the sides of the vented areas are painted Nissan Night Armor. My door handles and the Aero Catch latches are painted Night Armor as well. I wanted to do a dark color, but not Metallic Black. Night Armor is almost a charcoal color, and I thought it would draw your eye towards the vents, but not overpower them, if that makes sense.

This is just a quick iPhone pic, I'll try to get some better ones over the weekend.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....e877f23a1d.jpg

That looks great! I predict that you will get to like the hood even more over time haha! :thumbup:

I think you might be right on that one haha!

Found out that my driver's side floor mat doesn't fit. Part of it hits the left seat rail and the anchor point in the mat doesn't match up. Plus it's a totally different color red than the rest of my interior...oh well, more $ for my mirrors I guess :dunno:

Oh and I don't think my ARC intake will fit now because of the custom brackets for the hood latches, awesome. Anyone interested in a used ARC intake?

Andy, you goonie!!!

My MCR hood was shipped last week and I saw this thread again. Thinking that Weber is growing on me. I was going to order it tomorrow. You pull this crap. LOL. At least I know how it looks.

My B :bowrofl:

MCR goodies make me all giddy. Can't wait to see more pictures!

Really interested in seeing more with the aerocatch latches on a color matched hood since I am debating on that for my car. Looks good as always!

^ I actually asked my body to paint the hood latches silverstone to match the hood, but they got a little confused and ended up painting them Night Armor as well. The look is actually growing on me though and they match the door handles so that works I guess haha.


Removed my OEM hood latch mechanism, I can really feel the weight reduction, almost too much to handle!

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....56d1df80dc.jpg

And here's a pic of how they installed the actual hood pin so it would better match the angle of the hood

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....d9aa224cb9.jpg

It's a race car now!!!

Hahaha

I vote ban for tease shot.... Unacceptable Sir!!! That looks killer. Welcome to the Hood(mcr Hood) very bad play on words hahaha.

Cant wait to see this at Zdayz brother.

Chris

Awesome in every way !