kenny90

8 hours ago, Mark@Abbey m/s said:

not any takers on this deal? People un-interested or not wanting to come to Abbey for tuning your 350/370Z , I would like to know why TBH

 

Thanks

 

 

Mark

Just too far for me! 

9 hours ago, Fatman said:

I'm new to the site and after reading your story, I'm filled with both admiration( for your tenacity) and dread. I have just got a 350 with high mileage that had supposed to have had a full engine rebuild, 1000 miles ago.Many receipts for parts. And has started smoking badly after getting it home. None when I viewed?? What to do and where to put it is now even more worrying after your story.

Sorry to hear that, are you having any engine lights, Misfire, loss of power etc?

On 08/05/2020 at 14:58, Justthejedi said:

What a nightmare for you! these co called "professionals!" that turn out to be cowboys. Hat off to you sir for sticking with it though. Hope you get many miles of enjoyment out of her, you deserve it!

Thanks man, I appreciate that 

15 hours ago, GoHashiri said:

I hope it serves you well for years to come. 

 

Did you ever get any detail on what the first mechanics screwed up? Perhaps it would be good knowledge for others here. 

Thanks. 

Theres the issue, it wasnt untill the 3rd company got involved and stripped it down that the engine was condemned. By then  the car had been off the road 3 years. They found the crankshaft was bent, the rod was bent and the block was warped, amongst other things. They suspected it was initially down to the crankshaft having too much ground off it, and then the various attempts to get it running, and it being driven by the 2nd guy, despite a slight knocking and misfiring, to my house, instead of him getting it transported. So I'm not really sure of exactly what the first chap did wrong. If I'd gone straight from the 1st chap, to the 3rd, I'd know for sure. 

18 minutes ago, HEADPHONES said:

I know 2 members who had countless problems with having their engines rebuilt.

Both finally accepted defeat and said goodbye to zed ownership.

 

So nice to hear a happy ending for once.

Looking forward to more posts of good progress with your zed

I was close a few times to be honest. When I got it back, I was pessimistic. But to me, doing what I do for a living, everything is fixable somehow Haha. So I just kept hanging on in there! I suppose I was lucky that I didnt need the car so I could just leave it with a company and it was sort of out of sight out of mind, just when they got in touch with a bill and a still bust car that got me down. But the feeling when I started it the other week after replacing the the exhaust and the coil pack was unreal. I've since changed the intake and exhaust cam sensors on bank 1 too. It's all sweet now

I'm going to spend some time and effort getting the rest of it 100% spot on now for sure, so hopefully I'll have plenty of updates In the near future. Ordered a tonne of cleaning and detailing stuff too

20 hours ago, Samoht said:

Wow, what a story!  That's really bad luck to have a bearing go, and then the endless saga of trusting people who say they can help, but actually can't.  Nice work getting the car running properly finally.  You know what they say, if you want a job done properly, do it yourself.

 

Anyone who needs engine work near Doncaster should drop you a line to find out who not to call, I think ;-)

 

Hope everything goes smoothly with the car in future.

Thanks, it's been a long old nightmare but the cars back on the road and I feel pretty good about it! Yeah I'll definitely be the one to advise on who to avoid! 

20 hours ago, Andy_Muxlow said:

Hi and welcome along buddy. That's a right labour of love there. Great to see you are getting all sorted out properly now. Car looks nice though. 

Thanks for that, I'm looking forward to getting the car back to mint condition now and enjoying it like I should have been doing for 5 years! 

2 hours ago, GoHashiri said:

Good work! It's nice to hear it worked out in the end.

 

May i ask, what kind of state it was in for the rod bearing to go? What was the history like? I know it's pot luck on these things.

 

Having owned an RX8 previously, I was always paranoid of the engine blowing but it actually seems like more of a mare with the Z. 

Thank you, 

To be honest, I looked at about 5 or 6 z's before buying this one, all similar age, mileage. All full service history and mint condition. This car stood out as being just a little bit more mint than the others, The guy I bought it from was clued up, only ran it on 98 octane fuel, checked the oil regularly as it's the revup and liable to burning oil an I carried on this practice. I guess I was just unlucky which sucks but that's life haha 

46 minutes ago, ilogikal1 said:

Without knowing your budget or what you already have, if anything, I'm just going to throw everything at you.

 

Personally, I'd do a pre-wash:

Assuming you have  pressure washer;

Snow Foam lance (there are considerably cheaper versions available, they're all the same so find the cheapest source you trust).

Snow foam - it's important that you get 4-8% solution hitting the panel so you'll need to measure the flow rate through your lance and do some maths. I posted a guide somewhere on how to do that if you can search it out.

Foam on a dry car, leave to dwell for a few minutes and rinse thoroughly with the pressure washer.

OR if you don't have a pressure washer, citrus pre-wash would be better but don't expect miracles without a p/w.

 

Personally I prefer to do the wheels first (with its own dedicated wheel bucket) but others prefer to do them last or as they do the rest of the car. My deep clean process on the wheels is the same as the rest of the car (more details for each follows, but in summary - foam, rinse, wash using these, rinse, de-tar, rinse, fallout remover, rinse, clay, polish, protect). For deep cleans I also prefer to remove the wheels to attack them properly rather than leavingthem on the car.

 

Wash: Car Chem 1900:1 shampoo, 2 buckets and a proper mitt, pad or sponge (yes, I said sponge!).

Rinse.

Degrease/APC - attack all plastic trim with an appropriate brush at this point. When doing the wheels, use this to properly clean your tyres using a more appropriate brush.

Rinse.

Tar remover.

Rinse.

Fallout remover.

Rinse.

Clay - either use shampoo and hot water with a cloth or get a Bilt Hamber clay bar to save of needing a dedicated lubricant.

Rinse.

Dry.

Beer.

Paint cleaner.

Polish - Scholl S20 for heavier cut if needed, Scholl S30+ for single stage or jewelling.

If polishing by machine: Lake Country Hydrotech - tangerine for heavier cut or crimson for single stage or finishing, both 5.5" and 4" pads with an appropriate backing plate (I use Flexipads plates) are recommended for a Z - are my current go-to's but I'm told by a trusted source that Scholl Spider pads are better still, although yet to confirm this for myself.

If polishing by hand: you'd benefit from using appropriate pads still (medium or light cut), but you'll get limited results by hand (and sore arms), so don't expect miracles again but do consider using a filler glaze and a wax to finish (more on this later).

Work in small areas and always check your work with appropriate lighting and a proper panel wipe down/IPA wipe down to remove any remaining oils.

Glass "polish" (this is just a deep cleaner, not a polish by any means).

Glass cleaner.

More beer.

Protect - the optons here almost endless here;

For glass, coatings are worth the effort and difficult to get wrong but can be pricey. Sealants are cheaper, a little easier to apply but don't last as long.

For trim, coatings are worth the effort and difficult to get wrong but can be pricey. Sealants are cheaper, no easier to apply and don't last as long.

For wheels, it's really not worth considering anything other coatings. It's just not.

For metalwork (exhaust) use your wheel coating.

For tyres, this.

For the paintwork - wax is easy to apply but shorter durabilty, acrylic sealants are about as easy to apply and about as durable these days, spray sealants can vary from very easy to apply to a pain in the arse and fall off instantly to last a few months, and then you've got various coating options in a similar vein - typically the more involved it is to apply, the longer it'll last. There are so many options, I've not linked ot anything... yet.

 

As mentioned earlier if you're polishing by hand and/or you've still got swirls/RDS you want to mask, use a filler glaze and a decent paste wax - the oilier the better (within reason) for this.

If your paintwork is immaculate by this point, you've got a garage and you're confident to apply it then a ceramic coating is always a good option and can last a couple of years, but is a higher outlay.

 

If you let us know your budget (which no doubt I've just blown on the above), and preferences I'm sure we can offer some specific products for just about everything.

Also if you want some guidence on some of the stuff I've mentioned that you don't have already, I'm happy to expand on anything.

 

 

And then once you've done the exterior, there's the interior to think about too....

That is awesome, thanks for that. It's great that you've taken the time to reply like that.

Ill probably add a couple more beer breaks in though!

I do have a pressure washer but I'm going to start again from scratch with products, so I'd probably be looking to spend a couple of hundred quid up to around 300 if necessary!

16 minutes ago, ballistic said:

It depends on how much time, effort and money you want to put in and what products and tools you have. Can you let us know. Ideally you want a dual action polisher for the best results when it comes to the polishing stage. 

 

First thing you need to do is prepare the paint for correction (swirl and defect removal) which will require a thorough decontamination and clean:

 

Pre Wash:

1/ Thorough pressure wash rinse. Youre not just getting the car wet. you want to remove as much dirt as possible with the jet wash. 

2/ Optional: Nice if you have it, snow Foam and/or traffic film remover. Allow to dwell for a few minutes, follow product directions

3/ Rinse

 

Basically you are trying to remove as much dirt as possible before making contact with the paint. It will reduce the chances of inflicting any damage during the cleaning.

 

Contact wash:

Wash with a microfibre or wool mitt and car shampoo (look up 2 bucket method if you need). If you have a detailing brush you want to work it into areas such as sill, trims and badges etc.

Rinse off

 

Decontamination

Apply tar remover, especially around arches, bumpers and lower areas, look for trouble spots. Wipe or rinse off (follow product directions). It will be harder to see the tar a black car.

Spray on fallout remover, it will break down any iron fallout that has embedded into your paintwork from brakes and general environmental exposure.

Rinse off

 

Now onto claying, this is there to remove contaminants of all kinds embedded into your paintwork. The decontamination step previously will reduce the chances of you dragging heavy contaminants across your paint.

Think of it like a face scrub. Go slowly with plenty of clay lube. If you drop it get a new piece. Cut a fresh piece every couple panels. Thin slice that you flattened out into a usable shape. It should go yellow and will prob have spots in it. Work the lower parts of the car last. You can also opt for a clay cloth if you want something easier and more forgiving to use.

 

All of this is done to ensure you have the cleanest and best surface you can to start the polishing process to revive the paint, it will enable you to remove the most amount of defects without creating new issues, and will yield the best results. You can skip some  stages such as fallout and tar etc. Its all down to how much you want to put in.  

 

Main thing is a clean car to start the next stage

 

 

Paint correction:

You have choices here, but from what you have said and the pictures you have two main options:

 

1) A two stage process, starting with a compund (heavy cut polish) and finishing with a fine polish (finishing polish)

1) The other option is to use a one step polish, they contain heavy cutting abrasives that break down as you polish the area to fine abrasives to give you a finish in one step. The first option will likely yield the best results but is at least twice the time and effort

 

Polish

Whether you do it by hand or machine, take your time here. Work in small sections (2x2ft), and strait lines when possible, not circular motions. so up and down and then side to side, 4-6 passes. Then check your work. The more swirls and defects you can remove the better the end result. Some areas may need a second pass. 

 

Protection

There are a lot of options here but the idea is that you are trying to 'seal' in the finish you have worked to hard to create above.

 

To sum up

It may well seem a bit daunting but you can split this over a a few days if you're not driving, weather permitting. So wash and decon one day, next day lightly dust the panel you will work on and start on the polishing.

 

Or wash the car and do the decon step. Then next time you wash do the clay step. Then the next time you wash do the polishing.

 

Honestly its well worth the effort in my opinion, you will love the results of the effort you put in. Its very rewarding and makes the car look so good. Theres plenty of Youtube videos and guides on detailing and loads of helpful people here.

 

Im happy to recommend products for each step or anything else you that im able to help with. Heres my recent thread LOCKDOWN DETAILING . Its not overly detailed but it has some info in there.

Wow, thanks for taking the time to go so in depth, I really appreciate that. I'm prepared to put the work in over a weekend, I've been without the car for so long so I'm looking forward to it in a weird way. I've not got any really decent detailing products, I've always just washed the other car with a shampoo and then whatever wax was available, so I'm prepared to purchase whatever products necessary.  I've looked into getting a dual action polished too 

19 minutes ago, ATTAK Z said:

Welcome to our club ... the experts will be along shortly ... in the meantime, some pictures may well enable an assessment to be made prior to any advice.

I've just nipped out to take some photos, it was quite hard to capture the swirls and scratches on camera in this lighting and where the car is parked 

Hi guys,

Ive noticed that there are some really clued up people on here with regards to detailing and some of the work looks absolutely excellent so I'm after some advice please,

My Z has been off the road for almost 5 years, as you can imagine it's been pretty neglected in this time and has been gathering dust. (I've explained the situation on my introduction post) it's kuro black, I'd like to do a proper job on it, but my heads fried reading various forums as how best to start. So I thought I'd ask here. I want to properly clean the car, remove as many swirls and scratches as possible and get a great finish on it,

I understand people may be sick of answering such question, but if anyone can give me an idea as what steps to take from cleaning the car to the final finish, or recommend some products I would be massively grateful,

Thanks

49 minutes ago, zelda said:

Wow, what a story. Massive kudos for percerveering with it. I had a similar story with an MR2 I owned. Everything was going wrong with it and as you said, people thought I was mad investing so much energy and money in it. 

 

When it's all back together it's so worth it. 

 

Look forward to reading more of your journey!

Thanks, it's been a real slog but the moment I started the car last weekend, and heard no misfire or no lumpy idle was a huge moment. And then when I took it for a spin, I was grinning from ear to ear, the car was back and I felt on top of the world! 

34 minutes ago, Mikey_S said:

Glad to see it's back on track! 

Sounds like a right nightmare. Hopefully you can get it it to a point its a joy to drive again! 

Thanks, I'm weirdly looking forward to the detailing side of it now haha

Just now, MONKEYSOCKS said:

Nightmare! You've got more patience than most! I love my gt4, but if all that happened I'd break. Well done for hanging in. 

Thanks! Numerous times I was very very close to scrapping it, but luckily I was in a position where I have a company vehicle, and had another car for personal use too. In the end, I'd come so far I just didnt see the point in giving up. It was made even better by it being myself that actually got it running sweet again. 

Hi All,

hope everyone is doing ok in these weird times. Its a long story but ill try and give a brief a history of the car. I've owned a kuro black gt4 since may 2015, it was my pride and joy and i loved it, for 3 months. In august 2015 the bottom end bearing went, the day after id used the car for my best friends wedding. It then went a way for a rebuild, to a company that claimed to have experience, the start of what seemed like a never ending nightmare. The company, after 4 months and numerous arguments over the phone, claimed to have rebuilt the engine, but the car wouldn't start so they sent it away to 3 autoelectrical companies, who all said it wasn't electrical, but more than likely the engine incorrectly built, so they took the car back and tried to fix it after having the car around 18 months i finally lost patience, agreed a fee for the works and got the car back.

In the mean time a local engine builder id got talking to through a mutual friend was adamant he could sort it as hes rebuilt top end engines for years, so the car then went to him. He straight away found the flywheel on wrong apparently, the timing was incorrect, the oil ports were full of sealant, a whole bunch of stuff really so much, and so long ago i cant remember exactly. So he set about trying to get the car running. I got weekly updates of what hed found to start with, but after about 4 months it was like pulling teeth. He had the car just over a year in total suspecting all sorts of faults, giving it back to me with the car now running but misfiring.

By luck, i found a company, outlaw customs, local to me that specialised in older z cars, and race engines.(i was walking to my van after having my hair cut when i saw their van drive passed), So i gave them a call, they collected the car, stripped the engine down and within 2 days of my call told me that the engine was a total mess, and beyond repair, it had been rebuilt horrendously. I sourced a replacement with a warranty and the engine was delivered and fitted by outlaw, within a week. The nightmare didn't end there though, the car was smoking horrendously, misfiring, and filling one cylinder with oil. I got in touch with the supplier as they offered a warranty, they collected the car and promised if it was the engine that was the issue, to sort it without charge. So many months went by, the engine was stripped down and rebuilt, once by the suppliers engineer, and once by some outside firm they got in, and still the car wast running right. The ecu was replaced, and then the immobilizer and the ignition barrel before i got the call around 3 months ago saying the car was ready for its MOT and then i could collect it 

I went down  to collect the car, it started and idled OK, but itd been that long since id had the car i couldn't really remember what it was like originally. The washers didn't work, the drivers window didn't work and due to the ecu swap, the stereo didn't work, and i now have one key to unlock the car and one to start it.  On the drive home the engine light came on, the car was misfiring intermittently and was rough as a dog. It had sat on the drive in this state until the start of lockdown when i decided to try and sort it myself. I found the passenger side cat was buggered, so i got some axle stands and decided to replace both cats with japspeed sports cats, as i've already spent upwards of 8k getting the car back im now on a budget. The resonance was terrible so replaced the full system with a japspeed K4 again, budget made the decision. I also replaced the window motor, the washer pumps and the radiator fans, which i replaced with mishimoto. The car ran better but still misfiring. I removed and cleaned the maf, and found the connector on one of the Coil packs broken, meaning it wasn't latching correctly. I replaced this and as of typing this post, the engine runs absolutely sweet now and the car sounds absolutely superb.

I've also replaced the defunct head unit with a pioneer unit, following a guide on here.

Everyone thinks im mad for spending so much, and having so much determination to get the car back, ive had 4 cars in the time this has been off the road, but for me, it was all worth it.

So much id do differently in hindsight but thats by the by now. 

Everything i've done to get the car running, is directly down to me reading stuff from this forum,  so i just really want to say a massive thanks, and sorry for the long post. 

The car now needs a really good detail and some body work, it was mint when it went away 5 years ago but now there are scratches, dents and scuffed alloys, but im so looking forward to finally being able to enjoy the car again. 

Ill include a pic of the car before the wedding 5 years ago and some progress pics i've taken recently. i'll get some advice on detailing, order some stuff and take some updated pics soon hopefully,

If you've read this, cheers,

Kenny

Thanks for the welcome looking forward to getting to know you all

Hi guys,cracking forum.

Go by the name Kenny and I'm based in Doncaster/Sheffield. Got a gt4 in kuro black 149/176. Absolutely over the moon with it. Cant wait to crack on with some modifications and I know the Knowledge on here will be priceless.