cob1980 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 (edited) I managed to fend off Zeditus for about 10 years by not actually buying one but a few months ago I finally caved and bought a 2005 350z GT Azure, so I've decided to start a build thread for a few reasons... 1) Bit of a diary for the work I do 2) Advice / contacts, hopefully some compliments but expect difference of opinion also! 3) Get to know some of the regulars on here in case I ever go to a meet This will be a bit of a slow burner as I don't have bags of time or money but I expect to keep it for a good while so I'm not in too much of a hurry. Been reading bits and pieces of info over the years mainly on here (thanks everyone); one of the tips was not to buy the first 350 I went to see. So I did exactly that and bought the first one I saw It's done 45k, last owner of 8 years kept it garaged and just used it at the weekends, which is exactly what I'm doing - lucky enough now to have this as a second car - more of a hobby / bit of fun at the weekend during the summer months. Had to be an Azure so that ruled out the HR straight away. Anyway... let's get started.... So here she is parked up on a lovely cloudy day... Mods by previous owner: - 19" Linea Corse Dyna alloys, I think chrome finish 8.5j ET 15 on the front and 10j ET 20 on the rear - Teins-S springs - Zunsport front grill - Clear rear fog light with LED - LED sidelights - Stubby aerial! I'm a bit hopeless with taking lots of pics esp before and after's, either I forget to take before, or I just want to drive it and don't bother with the after's! First things first, get the Nismo exhaust fitted that I bought 18 months ago (early sign of Zeditus) Off with the old, on with the new... Sounds ace ! Love the V6, makes me everytime I drive it. Next I stopped off at a valet place to get the engine bay cleaned (no before photo unfortunately)... Cheap mod time... I hated the standard key, so bought the flip key for £6.99 and got the key cut for £3.75. Sadly the key did not key not fit so I took a file to it and carefully trimmed it down a little until it looked perfect to my eye. Tried again... it worked ! Boom! Found these on eBay from a breaker for £400... Annoyingly they didn't come with any bulbs as advertised but still...only £400... that's about half as what I'd have expected to buy them for. Hopefully I will get most of that £ back selling my current ones. Not fitted them yet as the lens' are quite scratched and I plan on getting the insides painted. Parked mod for the time being... Next up, with a help in hand from a mate from work (cheers James) we booked a day off to get her nice and shiny. The paint work had quite a lot of swirls and marks (see below). I was a bit nervous at machine polishing as not done this before and heard stories of how thin the paint was. Process was two bucket wash, clay bar, wash, DA compound, DA polish... and by that time it was 4pm so didn't have time to wax Lucky I have the garage. A week later I got the wax on, and also swapped back to the original wheels so that I can take the Dyna's to be refurbished. Oh...also used the Meguire's headlight restorer as the headlights were quite oxidised. Here she is looking shiny shiny... Ok that's all for this eve. Lot's more planned and decisions to make. Will try update tomorrow as I can't decide on wheel colour. Iain Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Images 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl92 Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Good job with the DA buddy, been looking into doing this aswell myself thanks Karl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted May 19, 2016 Author Share Posted May 19, 2016 Good job with the DA buddy, been looking into doing this aswell myself thanks Karl Thanks Karl. You should, it's pretty easy and made light work of applying. Still a ball ache removing the polish though ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Lovely looking car buddy. Welcome along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy225 Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Great find on the headlights!! Absolute bargain! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FiddyZed Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Love the after shots of the polishing! Have you switched the wheels over? Also, I'm assuming that's a Nismo s tune exhaust? where/how did you come across that - bet it sounds stunning! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synx Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Oohh you finally got round to your own build thread. NICE! Love this car. Kind reminds me of mine........ hahahaha Look forward to seeing what you have planned and then I can see if I like it and do it to mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted May 20, 2016 Author Share Posted May 20, 2016 Lovely looking car buddy. Welcome along. Cheers! Great find on the headlights!! Absolute bargain! Yep, clearly the breaker didn't know their true value Love the after shots of the polishing! Have you switched the wheels over? Also, I'm assuming that's a Nismo s tune exhaust? where/how did you come across that - bet it sounds stunning! Thanks, those two photos are the wrong way around. I switched back to the original alloys when I waxed it. I'll be get the Dyna's refurbished at some point. Yep Nismo S-tune, I bought it off a member on here (mouthwash) well over a year ago. I saw it for sale and knew how they are like hens teeth so I bought it ready for when I eventually got a 350. I know people have different tastes but in my opinion it sounds perfect, lovely deep V6 rumble, no rasp, no drone...just music to the ears haha. Oohh you finally got round to your own build thread. NICE! Love this car. Kind reminds me of mine........ hahahaha Look forward to seeing what you have planned and then I can see if I like it and do it to mine Hi mate yep haha got round to it. No no no it's the other way around you need to do the work first and make the mistakes then I can copy you 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopedmark Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 good work on the polishing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted June 8, 2016 Author Share Posted June 8, 2016 (edited) Mopedmark said: good work on the polishing Cheers Mopedmark! Minor update; the Zunsport grille has gone so it's looking very standard right now: Also the Dyna's have now been refurbished, I will be picking them up at the weekend. Kept changing my mind on the colour even after I had dropped them off - decided on a gloss anthracite in the end. More pics to follow this weekend.... Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Images 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 (edited) Got the refurbished Dyna's on today. Mixed feelings about them, pleased with how the colour because I can visualise how I want it to look when done i.e. colour coded headlights, carbon fibre kit. But honestly as it is as the moment I'm not a massive fan of the dark wheels lol! Sorry only the one photo as started to lash it down... Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synx Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 They look great. But then again I would say that. Hahahahahahahahahhaa just think of it as a work in progress Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted June 11, 2016 Author Share Posted June 11, 2016 Ha ha is that because our 350s look almost identical now?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synx Posted June 11, 2016 Share Posted June 11, 2016 Yes they do look pretty similar. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted June 12, 2016 Author Share Posted June 12, 2016 Almost twins ha ha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Looking good, how hard was the flip key mod as I've been wanting to do that as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_83 Posted June 12, 2016 Share Posted June 12, 2016 Looks wonderfuk, I really like those wheels reminds me of zonda r wheels 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted June 16, 2016 Author Share Posted June 16, 2016 Looking good, how hard was the flip key mod as I've been wanting to do that as well Easy, just swap bits over from your current key, take a bit of time to align the buttons up. I used glue gun to fit parts. The transponder just needs to go as close to top/key as you can. I also used to bluetack to give it a bit of weight. The only trouble I had was the key wasn't cut very well so had to file it a little until it worked. Looks wonderfuk, I really like those wheels reminds me of zonda r wheels Ha yes, they do look a similar design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted January 28, 2017 Author Share Posted January 28, 2017 (edited) Righto... I know it's been a very long time since I updated this, as I said I don't have much time but there has been stuff going on (mainly buying stuff and it sitting in my garage lol) ! Not sure if this is a good idea or not but I thought about doing a running list of costs along side parts bought. Here's a reminder of the mods that came with the car: - 19" Linea Corse Dyna alloys, I think chrome finish 8.5j ET 15 on the front and 10j ET 20 on the rear £0 - Teins-S springs £0 - Clear rear fog light with LED £0 - LED sidelights £0 - Stubby aerial! £0 So first up I got busy selling up some parts that I didn't want or need: - Zunsport front grill - SOLD for £30 - Decats - SOLD for £40 - OEM Y-pipe - SOLD for £30 - OEM Touring alloys - SOLD for £265 - OEM Exhaust - SOLD for £35 - OEM Mats - SOLD for £30 - OEM Gearknob - SOLD for £15 - OEM springs - given away for £Free Total: £445 I decided to replace the mats, they weren't in bad condition but I just wanted new ones. I came across these on ebay: Made by ambassadorcarmats.co.uk, I asked them to be made similar to the OEM ones. Cost £53.49 inc boot mat. Next up was a new leather gear gaiter £7.45, and second hand MOMO knob £20: It seems that the Azure Blue paintwork is high maintenance and even after using the DA some of the panels were still niggling me so I took the 350 to a chap that knows more about paint than me - 'Detailed by Dale' to have a varied paint correction, wax finish, and ceramic coating on the wheels. Here's the results: The results were stunning. Cost: £399. He advised me to maintain using: - Valet pro PH neutral snow - Valet pro concentrate shampoo - Carpro Reload for drying aid / quick top coat - Fusso Light wax No pressure on me keeping it like that.... That's all for tonight...hopefully I'll bring more updates tomorrow... Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Images 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamBlueGT Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 £399! Bloody hell! You must be very anal about the paintwork haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted January 29, 2017 Author Share Posted January 29, 2017 (edited) On 2017-1-29 at 9:55 AM, SamBlueGT said: £399! Bloody hell! You must be very anal about the paintwork haha Ha, I know, and that was the cheaper option! More expensive to have the whole lot ceramic but he said in all honestly it was probably not worth it as it's not my daily plus ceramics can accentuate any blemishes in the paintwork apparently. The wax he put on is good for a year in normal conditions. But yer you could say I'm a bit anal about it, I think partly because I wasn't able to buy a 350z new back in the day I want it looking like new! Also I wanted someone to use the paint depth gauge on it so that I knew where the weak spots were, and to bring it out in its best possible condition. There are still some marks in the clear-coat in places but I am being very picky! Think I'm used to metallic silver, hides the marks much better. Onwards... next up was a pair of carbon fibre side steps. I really wanted Charge Speed Bottom Line ones but didn't want to part with £1000 for them. So I opted for these regular looking ones from G.R.A.M.S Styling for £250. I have a bit of a plan up sleeve to make them custom at some point. Love this shot.... More to follow inc plenum spacer, rear lights, engine bay bling.... Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Images Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted March 24, 2017 Author Share Posted March 24, 2017 (edited) I've had a busy few weeks working on the Z. First up is the Motordyne plenum spacer with Iso thermal gasket. Bought this brand new off a fellow member for £160. Yuk... Out with the old plugs too... ready for a new set of Denso Iridiums from Clark Motorsport for £50 Lower plenum all cleaned up... Now for some nice shiny bits. Mopedmark has worked his magic. £200 for the upper plenum, throttle body, strut brace, and bonnet latch. Time to get them all fitted... Not the best photo but looking good nonetheless. I don't plan on much more under the bonnet as I wish to keep it standard but clean looking. Next up, something not so interested but needed to be done... the rusty old W brace. I also decided to replace the subframe brackets whilst there. Before I fitted I coated them in black Hammerite smooth paint to give it a little extra protection. I bought these from Torqen for an eye watering £391 that was to include all the nuts and bolts to replace the old ones. Some more updates soon (new lip, facelift rear lights, wheel nuts, and wipers) just no photos as yet TTFN. Iain. Edited July 8, 2017 by cob1980 Images 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mopedmark Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Good job mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted March 26, 2017 Author Share Posted March 26, 2017 Good job mate Thanks Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cob1980 Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) Bit of an update. I bought this carbon fibre lip from Redline Styling for a very reasonable £150. Only took a very small amount of tweaking to fit. I used Sikaflex to fit and seal the gaps. Pre-fit: And also I managed to get my mitts on these side canards for £96 off a seller on ebay, smidge excited at these: Pre-fit: They were a PITA to fit, but worth it. And here she is as of last Saturday, just snow foamed it and then it lashed it down Getting there!! Service and MOT this week at Cougar Store, fingers crossed!! -Iain. Edited July 3, 2017 by cob1980 Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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