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The anniversay I did remember...


evest

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One year on and I can bite my thumb to all those who said the hours of loving care would just be 'a phase'...

 

I love my Zed.

A bit too much for my fiancee's liking, but then she has her cat... I dry her at night when she's wet (I'm talking about the car now); I clean her often, always slowly and with care; and I even talk to her on occasion - ok, probably getting a bit weird now. Anyway, I thought I would share what I have done to the engine bay so far - my theme is Red & Silver:

 

Stock plus Nismo oil filler and radiator caps

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Polished plenum - I did this myself using the advice on this forum - it took ages and I was bloody nervous the first time I took it off. :scare: It looks quite good but admittedly still needs some more work to touch up the edges and fiddly bits.

SAMCO Hose Kit Silver - again I used the guides on here to install this.

Grounding kit (red)

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Engine cover - I sanded this down, primed it and then built up the paint layers. I used masking tape the create the striped effect. However, I got impatient between layers and ended up making a right dogs dinner of the first one, as you can see! Plus, I completely mucked up the lacquer application. I had no choice but to strip it, sand it and start again (it was here that I decided to go with the bolder red/silver theme).

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You can see in the first pic where the intended stripes have flooded out a bit at the sides - this is because I left the masking tape in place while the layer dried and it wicked some of the wet paint away. On my second attempt I learnt that it works better to take the tape of immediate when the paint has been applied, and this got a much sharper line.

 

My second attempt with the bold red and slightly different strip design - this was inspired by a Mustang I saw in town with a similar exterior paint job. I'm not about to win any prizes but I think it's starting to look good (IMHO!) but need a bit of touch up as you can see, prior to the lacquer and I will replace the Nissan badge. I haven't decided whether or not to paint the V6 figures. If it all goes wrong then I know I can at least strip it down and try again!

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Well that's it for now - I've loved working on it so far and it helps me to learn more about the car as I go. I have an engine damper and some steel braiding ready to install, and a Stillen Hi Flow intake on it's way. Future ideas are polished reservoir tanks, new intake pipe, gallery bolts, carbon cooling plate, and a new strut bar.

 

But all that will have to wait; got clutch/flywheel and exhaust to go in...oh yeah, and a house to buy... coming dear!

 

ps - As I've used a lot of information on here to help me so far, I genuinely hope when I've finished the engine bay to be able to give a fuller review and offer back some help for others - but for now just wanted to post up some pics and see what people think so far.

Cheers :thumbs:

 

Sleechy

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Thanks for the feedback guys - good to know I'm not going bonkers! The Zed; so much more than just a car... Agree it's a bit unusually but hopefully when it's finished it will look B)

 

Below is a link to the plenum removal thread - good guide on how to remove and replace it:

viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11091&start=0

 

Here is a link to another thread on polishing up the plenum:

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=16755&start=0&hilit=wire+drill

 

Shieldsie - If I'm honest, polishing the plenum myself did become a bit of a ball-ache without a proper workshop and professional tools. It will take many hours to achieve as you need to grind back the rough cast with wire drill bits, then sand repeatedly. A professional polisher with do it in half the time and get a much better result - cost I guess anything up to £100? But of course you will be minus plenum/car while they do it.

 

If you already have the necessary tools to remove the plenum, then your only outlay for a DIY job will be for wire drill bits, various sandpaper and metal polish - I reckon less than £20 easy. If you want to get into all the fiddly bits then you will really need a Dremel and plenty of spare time! The advantage for me (as a novice) was gaining confidence working in the engine bay and knowing I can take bits off and put them back on without wrecking anything.

 

Cheers :thumbs:

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Cheers evest, for the info and links. I will give this a shot when the weather improves and I actually get my car back home. Snowed in at work for last 2 days :bang: Using dads Qashqai which I`m more than happy with :thumbs: Polishing the plenum looks a little daunting, has always :scare: but after baking the back light and other stuff I have managed with the z its another task that requires time and patience :headhurt: If I get half the result you have I`ll be happy :)

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