Lexx

It's been a while 👀

1998 JDM LWB. Build date of October 1998 making it a genuine 99 spec. Includes the optional marble effect interior plastics. Midnight Purple LP2 from build. Manual conversion. Odo reading 101500 Km. Bimta cert confirming mileage in Japan resulting in current mileage of 88,268. MOT April 2025. No advisories. 120k service completed in June 2022. Driven 200 miles since. Photo evidence of service available. OEM parts used throughout. At same time as the service spark plugs were replaced, rocker covers removed, powder coated, refitted. Fuel lines replaced with OEM hose and OEM double skin spring clips, all aux belts replaced, all OEM fittings replaced with stainless items. EGR removed. Plenum water lines removed/bypassed. Japspeed exhaust. Quality HID kit. Ignition, doors, boot, and glove box locks all replaced with a brand new OEM kit from Japan (manual version). Comes with 2 keys. MeisterR CRD coilovers. Suspension overhaul completed 400 miles ago: All rear bushes replaced with Nismo ones. Moog lower ball joints FUCAs fitted with Whiteline adjustable bushings. Whiteline drop links. Power Enterprise ARB bushes and clamps. All arms removed, cleaned / stripped, painted with Marine spec epoxy paints. Rota GTR 18" alloys in bronze. All 4 tyres good and legal. May 2022: Rear Sills cut out, rot removed, new steel in, epoxy coated. Rear pockets remade. Rear arches cut out and replaced. March 2024: Both chassis rails full length replaced with new steel. Treated and coated. All brake and fuel hardlines replaced in their entirety. Photos off all the above work (before/during/after) are available. Targa blinds, bags, and straps present. As is OEM tool kit and owners book. Original shagpile carpets come with the car (though aftermarket ones are currently fitted). Large folder of JDM and UK history will be provided to the new owner. As well as a USB will all the photographs of work during my ownership. Paintwork is presentable but would benefit from attention in a few places (primarily around the door handles). Box of spare parts will come - airbox, window roller, IACV, New OEM centre prop bearing and carrier, and various other items.

Been a wee while since I updated this. So for anyone still following then read on. I put the Zed away for the winter and concentrated on other things. I had planned on sending it to the UK expert on Z32s for a 120k service and a few other bits. But as he's based in Bristol is was immensely impractical for me in the end. So I bit the bullet and ordered everything up myself from various US and UK suppliers. Planned works: Plenum pull for plenum coolant line delete. New spark plugs Replace the felxi fuel line on the fuel rail Replace all vacuum and fuel lines in the engine bay 120k service - usual suspects but also includes cam seals, crank sprocket, bypass hoses. As you'd expect there's been a degree of mission creep already. Mostly involving cleaning up of various aluminium bits. Valve covers have been sent off for powder coating. As of today I'm at the stage we're I'm about to remove the harmonic balancer and get on to do water pump, tensioner, idlers, belt, seals etc. Scattering of pics below (probably on a random order).

Was only swinging by here to check on something else. Seen this. Have to reply. Graham you're a stand out gent and always have been. The support you offered during my tenure first as mod and then as Admin was invaluable. The place simply wouldn't be what it is today without you.

Search for them on FB. He posts intermittently the cars he's working on.

Yeah no complaints at all about Ali's work. He seems to do quite a lot on 350s, and owns one himself.

😂 No idea yet. Pick her up tomorrow to drive home. Considering I've not driven it more than 150 meters in the past year it's going to be enlightening.

Yesterday was a milestone day. I'll just leave this pic here.....

Not long now till I can drive her again. MOT this week or next hopefully. Huge thanks to Ali at AB Autoworx for his time and effort and skill so far.

Slow and steady progress by my welder guy. Few more bodges found and fixed.

Update time. Look away now if allergic to rust. Both sills are complete and now in primer. Drivers side rear bumper pocket is 90% sorted. Passenger side up next.

She's back on her wheels and running for the first time in 5 months! Gets loaded onto a trailer on Tuesday. Then hopefully 4 weeks after that she'll have a clean MOT and I can drive and enjoy it over the summer before f**king around with it some more.

Various bits and bobs done since the last update. More parts from US and Japan arrived. Though they're mostly for when it comes back from getting the sills replaced - booked in for that on May 4th. Finally. Spent the past few days dealing with 2 snapped exhaust bolts (which I've still not managed to sort as they ended up with me visited eye casualty to have a shard of metal removed from me eye. Not something I recommend. So started dealing with the advisories from the last MOT and a few other things. Crappy Midori style adjustable FUCAs removed. Finished painting the OEM units today and they'll be fitted with whiteline adjustable bushes. Buggered drop links removed (needed the angry spanner to get them off as they were well shagged). New Moog units in place. Front Sway bar removed, cleaned, painted. Will be refitted with new D bushes and brackets. New wheel nuts to replace the corroded chrome plated ones. As said above - car is off for metal work, some paint in places, alignment, and hopefully a clean MOT. Once all that's done I'll enjoy driving for a few months before she goes back on axle stands and the whole of the front suspension comes off, along with the main cross member, and I get them all cleaned up and painted. All the interior and trim bits and bobs I've got recently will be fitted over the summer.

Kids are finally back at school! Which means I've been able to do some work on the car. This mainly involved a minor panic when I was poking at the rusty sill and found out how bad it was near the axle stand point. So a day was spent finally putting the back end back together. Booked in for sill repairs and a 120k service later in the year. Heap of parts on the way from Japan and the US to start tidying up the interior, exterior, and the front suspension.

More stuff painted and bushes installed. Bit of a pause now as I need to replace brake lines on the chassis and then so some paint work on the chassis rails too.

Damn right. Larger selection of tools than my own house!

Nismo - a sure way to bankrupt myself! They dodged customs luckily so saved a heap. There's about £12k worth of diesel behind that cat flap. Lol

Small, dull update. Almost finished painting all the bits and bobs. Bushes in next. And then good for putting it all back together.

I can't raise a dram in your honour today Martin. Will have to settle for a coffee in a LakeZ mug. Still sucks not having you around old man.

I'd genuinely sell a kidney for a 2 post lift and the space for it!

Small update. Suspension fully stripped down at the rear. Got the rear subframe in primer today (Jotamastic 87). 2nd coat tomorrow. And then top coated in a few weeks. All the arms have been stripped, just need to get time to press the bushes out before they're painted. Differential scaling has been started. Hoping to finish that off and have it painted before Christmas. Heap of Nismo bushes on the way from Japan. Might even get it all back together before the new year.

Full overhaul of all the suspension including painting of all components and new bushes. Full clean, treat, paint of underside. Booked in for early next year to get some rust in the sills cut out and replaced. Then after that's it's all about keeping it OEM+ and starting to enjoy driving it.

Moral of today - don't buy old cars. After 2 days, 3 snapped bolts, 1 bust lip, and much much swearing I finally got the rear subframe dropped. Doing this on axle stands is not something I recommend. I'd kill for a 2 post lift! On the plus side I discovered my car has ABS fitted which is rare. Down side is dropping the frame has revealed all the brake lines above are completely buggered. At least I've found them before they fail. Tomorrow is strip down of the suspension and figure out which bushes can be used again and which need replaced.

The inner support sill requires seam welding. Whilst I can stick two pieces of metal together it isn't pretty and would take a body shop longer to sort out for paint than it would for them to just do it. I'd hoped to get it booked in before Christmas for the work, but I don't see that happening.

Had a little time to muck about with the Zed the past couple of days. Mostly involving removing stuff to be honest. Instrument cluster removed to replace a duff bulb and trace some wiring. Drivers side door lock replaced. Full rear interior stripped out so that I could get a boroscope into the sills. Although the sills are bad (I was aware of it) they are way way better than I expected and don't need full replacement. Just the rear sill returns on both sides. My mig welding sucks unfortunately so will have to pay for this to be done. Hey-ho.