unek87

15-16's would be perfect I think . Keeps with that old z feel . And run a 55 or 60 series Are you going flares ? 4 lug is a pain to find nice wheels for . My fc was originally 4 lug so feel you on that . What's the bolt pattern by chance , 4x114.3 /4x4.5 ? Diamond and Bassett maybe a route

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Yup, that's the bolt pattern.

Ah, flares...
I like 'em but think they're now so ubiquitous that most probably think they were stock.
Not to mention that they've migrated onto all sorts of Hondas and the like, so as a design element, they've lost their luster.
Our current wheel package doesn't stick out to the point that flares would be actually useful and the fact that our wheel arches are perfect is not something I'm eager to hide. A Z with intact arches and doglegs is a unicorn and I'm kinda liking flaunting it.

Should we do need to do something down the road, rather than the standard ZG flare I'd probably look to something more molded (like VW/Audi or Mini) but haven't gotten serious about the concept.
If we're talking using the flares for aesthetic reasons (because honestly, most of the cars that have them don't have the wheels to fill 'em), I don't have a problem with that in general but have a different approach in mind first.

A lot will depend on how the airdam turns out, it's going to be the first major alteration to the silhouette and we want to spray it with dip to better integrate with the body (not sure if this is possible yet).
Sigfrid wants to go three piece on the dam, a riskier undertaking (the chances of coming across a mint condition pair in the yard again are about nil) with a much higher payoff.
Assuming it all works as planned ( and really, what could go wrong?), we'll have added visual weight at the top of the tail.
Now, were we to add flares, that would be visual weight in the center and I fear she'd begin looking top heavy.
(Another critical detail/accent you've not seen is the antenna. I've about worn S. down and should close the deal this weekend as he sees how it's angle mimics the new rear lip. His only real objection has been that he sees it looking like a RC car, which I find an amusing positive rather than a con.)

Anyway, I'm looking at the rocker/bottom profile next.
She tippytoes on her wheels now, some added form on the bottom might be useful.
Spats, mudflaps, rocker extensions...all worth looking at.

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

I'd black them and clear the face.

15x7 Vintage Vector Cyclone Turbine Hurricane Mag Wheels Rims Old School Chevy | eBay

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

Here's another style.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

I'll admit those are period correct but I wasn't a fan during that era and I'm not now.
I'm more into the sinister, Deco-noir of these:

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

And that's why cars come in different colors.


I still think it would look bitchin'.

TonyD89

iTrader: (10)

Oh yeah baby!

Aluminum Slot Wheels 15x7" GM 5x4 75" Bolt Circle Pontiac Buick Nova SS | eBay

unek87

5 lug sir won't fit on his ride . And really ain't that good looking to be truthful . To each his own like they say . .

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

i agree completely.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

The stars have finally aligned, Sigfrid can work tomorrow and the weather is supposed to be wonderful, nearly 85°.
The main goal is to install the hatch/windshield glass...Sigfrid estimates two hours and done but I'm not that optimistic.
If he's correct, we'll move on and try to get the rear airdam/wing final installed and I'll introduce him to the complications of the HVAC system, install of which I'm trying to pawn off on him.

I'm itching to begin electrical and until I get done there's not much he can do, so the heater can keep him occupied.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

well if we've learned anything, its that if its 85 tomorrow, it'll snow on monday, so heater sounds important!

it did the same here, it rained harder than i've seen it rain in years on friday, and then was over 90 by wednesday...

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Well, the heater is important, I wouldn't build a street car without a fully functional heat/defrost unit.
(And you're also correct about snow...statistics say we'll get at least one more storm)

One of the "small" things we'll do tomorrow is horse the dash down from the attic and see how closely it mates to the Miata center box.
This will be a crucial interface to see because how good it is determines a big decision we've been pondering for months.

There are three major interfaces in the system; blower housing>fresh air intake, blower outlet>heater core inlet, and then to the dash ducts. The first two, which I've been able to actually see, are just OK.
It's doable but not great.

If the third junction also turns out to be crappy, then something has to give.
That something will be the dash.

We (OK, mostly me) have idly discussed this for several months, our dash has several less than desirable features. I did some measuring while pulling the HVAC and a NA Miata dash is within a 1/4" of the Z chassis width, it would fit easily side to side.
I need to make a cardboard template of the stock Z defroster garnish and take it to the yard and see how close the windshield arc is.

I have a feeling that it will be very, very close.

In a perfect world we could find a rear ended Miata and use the engine/trans, dash and seats. And who knows what else.

A boy can dream.

Craze8

If you lived closer to va, I know where such a beast of a miata is. And in a you pull yard at that. Good luck and keep us posted

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Thanks.
Miatas show up pretty regularly in my yard and if we really want one, it'll show up eventually.

This pic shows three of the big things we got done today:


All the glass is in, we drilled/installed the antenna and the wing got trimmed.

Where to begin...OK, the glass.
It was actually more difficult and time consuming to install the trim in the gasket than it was to pop the whole shebang into the chassis. The front trim was particularly difficult due to the compound curves but the gasketed glass almost installed itself...much less stressful than anticipated.
Altogether, three hours to do the hatch and the windshield.

The antenna install was finicky but nothing special.

We had decided on the three piece wing, so the first step was to cut the ends off the center section. There were/are two drain holes cast into the rubber and naturally, they fell dead center where you'd logically want to cut. We opted to cut outside these holes, so the center overlaps the body gap.
After some experimenting, we sanded the cut edges clean and relatively straight (it's hard to cut rubber in a straight line with a hacksaw...).

We thought it looked pretty good just this way and decided to let it sit as is for a while, see if it grows on us.
We still have the cutoff ends and a whole other wing to work with should we decide to proceed, but I'm kinda liking this simple, purposeful aesthetic.
We'll see.

More wing:




We also got to bluesky a few ideas, see what we thought.
The Honda rocker trim I tried is a go, it fits perfectly...now I need to acquire a good set.
Sigfrid came up with a genius idea for the mirror mount/window trim, I'm irritated I didn't see it myself because it's been staring us in the face for a few weeks now.
Need a yard trip for that as well and I'll show it as it gets built.
This is an excellent example of the benefits of "fresh eyes" on a problem, it's a freakishly simple solution to which I was oblivious.

We hauled the dash down and Sigfrid freaked out to find obvious signs of rodent infestation...must have been from before we picked up the car because I've never seen mice in the attic and it all looked old and desiccated.
That alone pushed him 75% of the way to a Miata dash.

We played with the HVAC components and decided I should pull the AC box from the Miata in the yard. Just like the FC, the Miata sandwiches the AC evaporator between the blower and the heater core and that would solve our second interface issue right there.
It's a work in progress and Sigfrid is on it.

At this point the dash doesn't matter to my electrical work, so we can think about that as we go on, make a decision if a good deal pops up.

We discussed lots more little things but this was the big stuff.

I was very happy with today's progress and finally, after months of waiting, I got to wash the car off:


That made my day, it did.

We actually washed it twice (again after drilling the roof for the antenna) and were very pleased to see that all you have to do to maintain Plastidip is wash it and hose it off.
It airdries with no waterspotting and looks good.

We've traded a gloss finish for practically zero maintenance and I can live with that.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

"we've traded a gloss finish for practically zero maintenance" ...You cannot dispute how good that car looks wet in a gloss finish though. Oh man. I would be polishing that girl all the time. But that is the **** detailer in me. Either way, we both made good progress it seems this weekend. Nice work good sir.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Yes, I broke my neck watching your video.
I'll try again when out of traction.

Well yeah, we'd like a gloss finish also but made the decision early on that until we knew the car was sound and could evolve into something we were interested in, that real paint was way down the list of priorities.
The Plastidip was the fastest, easiest and cheapest way to get a reasonable overall appearance without committing a lot of cash upfront.

The fact that it's easily removeable (relative to regular paint) and we could spray it in the driveway was the clincher.
All the bodywork you see in these pics will be getting one final beauty coat after the car is running and we finish paint the remaining panels.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

Still looks damned good though.

The new upload should of fixed the head/neck breaking. IDK what happened first time round?

unek87

Wait what spoiler is that now . The Saab cut down ?

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Yes, it is.
We were/are planning on a three piece spoiler but decided to pause and consider what we already have.
I figure we'll revisit the design as time goes on, see how our opinions develop.

The problem with this Saab part is that even though it's flexible (being rubber, duh...) it does have a natural, relaxed position; a position that needs to be slightly tweaked to fit nicely on the quarter flanks.
It can be done but then the end pieces don't align very well with the center section.
The uncertainty stems from just how far off they might be and there's no good way of telling without actually fastening the end pieces down.
It could be a minor, acceptable misalignment but then again, it could be awful.

Right now I can see how it may be controversial but neither Sigfrid or I think it looks terrible, in fact, we kind of like it.
As we develop the body further, we'll keep evaluating in the context of the overall appearance.

The frustrating thing is...while playing with the newly lopped off ends, I slid the piece about 10" up the flank and it fits the body contour exactly...and I mean perfect. The contours diminish/converge as they approach the tail and the end piece fit degrades to just "very close".

There's a "she said" joke in there about 10" and good fit but I'll leave that to the rabble.

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Big day at the junkyard, almost miraculous.

A S4 FC showed up finally and I was able to get the gas filler neck, bellows connector and cap...a stupid little mod I've been dying to try (that probably only Sigfrid and I will appreciate) which replaces our awful key locked original cap. From a casual inspection, I think it may just bolt in.

I also scored a perfect set of rocker trim from a '91 Accord.
With a bit of trimmage it's scary how well they fit the Z and what a subtle yet interesting difference they make. I can't do much with them till the fenders are mounted but I'm very happy to have them in hand.
See, it's not enough to find the parts in the yard- you have to find a car with both sides present, not all chewed to hell and most importantly, accessible. Yard cars have no wheels and are sitting on stands...stands which are right under the rockers, so most of the time the whole car is sitting on the very part you want.
It's very frustrating and I have in the past flipped cars over, but that's rarely possible and I'd guess the yard guys don't appreciate it much.
So, actually procuring a nice set is kinda a big deal for me.
A personal triumph as it were.

I also nabbed the AC box from the Miata, our HVAC test fitting last weekend showed it might be useful.
I had brought our Z defroster garnish into the yard so I could see how closely it matched the Miata chassis. We already knew the Miata dash width was right for the Z, now I needed to know if it'd fit at the windshield.
To the millimeter, it does.
Far as I'm concerned the Miata dash swap is now a full on GO.

And there's more...
Snagged four Honda window/door garnish pieces so the side window treatment- which includes figuring out mirror mounting- can be completed.

OK, that's it.

I spent five hours and $50 to get enough stuff to keep me busy for a few days.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

nice.

what would it be worth to you to nab me an N/A axel off that S4? I pay shipping of course. actually..... The trailing arm bolt/washer adjusters.... That I really need

clokker

iTrader: (2)

It's a bare shell, no suspension left.

There's a rotary club decal on the window and the yard guys said the car had been hit and the owner swapped everything over to another chassis.

About the only thing left was the wiper motor.

archaphil

iTrader: (1)

*****...

clokker

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, that's life in the junk lane.

scrapp

iTrader: (1)

Ive been so AFK from the forums, Im trying to catch up.... Is the FC officially completed and its all Z stuff now?