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EzeePzee’s 2004 350Z APS TT Project Thread


EzeePzee

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Hi all! 

 

So ive been lurking on here for several months now, but as I now own a 350Z I thought it was best to kick off a sort-of Project thread as I plan to do some work to the car I’ve just purchased. Happily though, a lot of the hard work has already been done for me!!

 

The car I purchased used to belong to MartinW on here. It was then sold to Rich260 (also a member on here) before I purchased it this week. (Dec 17) Thanks go to both of these guys for looking after the car very well - it may be nearly 14 years old but it really doesn’t look it!

 

I’ve pulled together a full spec list of the car as it stands today, and listed it below. I’ll keep this thread up to date with photos, changes and updates, and hope to meet some of you in the future at any local meets and shows. (I’m based in Basingstoke, Hampshire and not very far from Horsham Developments or Abbey Motorsport either which is a great result.)

 

 

350Z V6 GT Twin Turbo Specification

 

Power / Performance

· 3.5 Litre 2004 engine

· APS Twin Garret GT2535R Turbo kit (Water-cooled)

· APS design enlarged/high capacity oil sump (6.5 litres)

· APS design High flow Fuel Injectors

· Twin Air intake and comprehensive pipe, ducting and manifold kit

· APS 2.5" True-Dual Exhaust

· Motordyne ART pipes

· UPREV licence, map & 392 BHP at the wheel hubs

· Uprated fuel pump

· APS front mount intercooler 

· Motordyne thermal plenum gasket

· Cosworth head gaskets

· ARP stud kit

· Carbing coolant expansion tank

· Abbey designed self-bleeding cooling system

· ARC Oil catch can 

 

Exterior

· Rear reversing camera mounted in bumper

· 18” Enkei RPF1 alloys

· Spacers front & rear wheels

· Yokohama Advan Sport tyres 

· 2006 Rear LED Light Units

· Ingz style LX sport rear half Spoiler

· Stubby aerial

· Facelift rear lights

· Carbon fibre B pillar trim

 

Interior

· Pioneer AVIC D3 Head Unit (DVD, Sat-Nav, Ipod, Radio, Rear view, Bluetooth)

· Defi Gauges installed in OEM pods -boost, oil pressure, oil temp

· OMP Velocita Superleggero Wheel

· GT fabrications harness 

· Blox gearknob

· Plenum Painted gold

· Carbon fibre rear strut brace trim

 

 

Suspension and Handling

·MeisterR fully adjustable coilovers ( Zeta-S)

· Eibach adjustable ARB's

· Whiteline drop links

· Polybush lower control arms

· SPL upper caster/ camber arms

· Hardrace rear toe/ camber arms

 

 

Braking

· GT spec brembo calipers 

· DBA T2 rotas

· Ferodo DS2500 pads

· Motul rbf600 fluid

· Braided brake lines

 

 

General

· Full Service history (Mostly @ Abbey Motorsport)

· WV2 Gunmetal Paint code 

· UK car with GT spec, heated seats, aircon etc

· Extremely low mileage @ 61,000

· 4 owners (3 of which are forum members on here, MartinW, Rich260 & EzeePzee)

· 430bhp at the fly/ 392bhp at the wheels

· Front bumper respray by TGM, Fleet, 1/12/17

 

Edited by EzeePzee
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So, this thread is useless without pics, right? Sorry, not going to get any just yet - it's cold and miserable and with work taking priority it's normally dark before I get to see the car.

 

However, I intend to keep this thread up to date with 1 post per month on what has been completed. I'll add the placeholder straight after this post, and will edit it throughout the rest of December with updates as they occur.

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Month 1: December 2017

 

Completed This Month

  • Removal of faulty rear camera in bumper & replacement blanking plate - £16.38
  • Adjustment of the clutch pedal - £0
  • ODBII Code reader - £8.79
  • Removal of Nokia phone cradle in centre console - £0
  • Pioneer AVIC D3 iPod integration - £11
  • Customised background images on Pioneer AVIC D3 - £0
  • Transfer of Private numberplate - £0
  • Refurbish front wiper arms - £0 (Already had spare paint)
  • Installation of iPod - £0
  • Brodit iPhone 8 phone holder - £14.50 (Already had the cradle, just needed the 350z bracket)
  • Fix interior dome light (replace with LED lights) - £8.99 (Unfortunately ordered the wrong ones, so a few quid wasted)
  • Replacement of boot struts (due to spoiler) - £67.18
  • Clean/Detail car interior - £0
  • Installation of front aero wiper blades - £21

 

Total spent this month: £147.84

 

Photos

 

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Edited by EzeePzee
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Post updated now, with a few photos of some minor jobs completed this month.

 

To do list for next month is starting to take shape, and I'll post up the January log once we're in the new year. Looking forward to getting back out in the car again soon!

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  • 1 month later...

Month 2: January 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • Brand New Genuine 350Z floor mats - £70
  • Plastic cap for wiper arm - (Part No. 28882-6J000) - £6
  • Plastic cap for skuttle tray (Part No. 66820-CD000) - £5
  • 370Z gear knob - £48
  • Ctek Mxs 5.0 battery conditioner/charger - £55
  • Clean +cut/shape boot carpet for harness bar - £0
  • Removal of sticker from boot/spoiler - £0
  • Paint/refurbish drivers door interior grab handle - £0
  • Paint/refurbish and drain ARC oil catch can - £0
  • Re-shape Petrol Cap - £0
  • Interior carbon fibre trim tidy up (strut top cover) - £0
  • Removal of chrome/brushed aluminium trim around internal dash fans - £0
  • Custom-made Enkei RPF01 wheel centre caps - £21
  • Tail light plug (Part No. 26398-CD000) - £7
  • 350Z Connect2 steering wheel integration - £25
  • Wrap B pillars with 3M 1080 Carbon fibre - £7
  • Sale of original catalitic converters.  - -£40

= £204 total spend

 

So most work this month has been a bit random if I'm honest - but lots of odd jobs I felt were needed. To start with, the floor mats were one thing letting the interior down, so they've been swapped for OEM items that fit and look so much better. I also noticed that the front of the car was missing a few trim pieces, so these were purchased direct from Nissan at a higher-than-expected price, but needed doing. (Hey, if you've got a nice car, may as well ensure it's all together without bits missing, right?)

The interior took another few quid from my wallet (and stay tuned for February's update too, I opened a can of worms there!!) and as I wasn't a fan of a cold metal gear knob I decided to switch back to OEM.  I actually managed to pick up a 370Z knob at a decent price and in great condition, so felt that was a step up too.

Given that the car doesn't do many miles at all over the winter months, I decided to invest in a decent battery charger/conditioner. The CTek unit came highly recommended and I can say that so far I've been very impressed, especially as I managed to get one during a 20% discount offer on ebay. :)

 

Another internal annoyance was the boot carpet - it was stained and didn't fit properly with the harness bar. So the use of a decent pair of scissors and some strong cleaner/dye and the carpet looks night-and-day better than before. I then noticed that the interior grab handle on the drivers side was pretty scratched, so rubbed it down and gave it a lick of paint too. Finally, the car had some brushed ali dash trim pieces fitted around the fans but these were peeling off - and as I wasn't a massive fan I decided to remove them, and cleaned up the dash with IPA. The final interior item for January was to purchase the Connect2 steering wheel integration cable. However, this then "encouraged" me to make yet more changes - read on to the Feb update to find out more!

 

In terms of external modifications this month, I realised that the standard RPF1 centre caps were a bit naff and very expensive. As I plan to get the wheels refurbished in black in the near future, I took it upon myself to make some centre caps myself. This consisted of 4 x Honda 68mm caps, sanded & repainted before some custom-designed Enkei domed cap logos were fitted. I'm unsure of whether or not I'll fit these until the wheels have been done though.

 

My car came with some carbon fibre B-pillar trims fitted, but one in particular was in a really bad shape. I polished and cleaned it up, but it had several cracks and given that I couldn't buy them individually, I decided to wrap with some 3M 1080 CF vinyl wrap. I actually prefer the look of the wrap and given that it is reversible at a later stage, it was £7 well spent.

 

Selling my OEM cats that came with the car returned a few quid to the project budget too. :)

 

Photos

 

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Edited by EzeePzee
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  • 5 weeks later...

Month 3: February 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • New stereo (Pioneer Carplay)- £300
  • iPod cable - £11
  • Dash vinyl paint - £7.85
  • Paint Brake fluid/Battery text gold - £3
  • Sell old Roof Bars for prev car £ -10
  • Sell old stereo - -£50
  • Sell OEM suspension - £-55

= £207 total spend

 

This month saw me splash out on a new car stereo as the existing Pioneer HU was playing up and not reading DVDs anymore. So I decided to go mechless and get a carplay compatible unit, allowing me to use my iPhone for the majority of the donkey-work. (Satnav, music streaming etc). It's also got a USB thumb drive attached for some local storage. As the dash was scratched I took the opportunity to respray it the OEM colour using some vinyl fabric paint. This has made a massive difference to the interior now, and it doesn't look too bad at all.

I also managed to sell a few components that came with the car originally - the OEM suspension, the old (faulty) stereo and my Thule roof bars for my previous car. All of this drastically reduced my overall spend. :) (This is crucial given that next month the car is going to Abbey for a big service, MOT and some mapping work for the exhaust changes)

 

Photos: (including a photo of the custom centre caps that I forgot to upload last month)

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Edited by EzeePzee
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30 minutes ago, Tom_K said:

Loving the cost breakdown each time! Almost as if it's your way of justifying things ;)

Absolutely. Plus it keeps anyone informed if they a) want to do the same thing or b ) if I ever come to sell I know exactly how much I’ve put into the car (and the thread helps to prove it).

 

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10 minutes ago, G1en@waxandshine said:

Great work so far. Does your partner know how much you spend or does it go under the radar like mine :thumbs:

She knows basically everything, although doesn’t understand it lol. I’ve not actually spent that much on this, and it comes from my pot of “hobby money” so she doesn’t care - hers goes on clothes and shoes most likely :p

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Month 4: March 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • P2 Service
  • Drain, Flush and replace Coolant
  • New Spark Plugs
  • New MOT
  • Dyno tune for exhaust system changes, including adjustment to high idle
  • Replaced missing intake bolt
  • Replaced missing NSR camber adjustment bolt
  • Checked Aux belts and confirmed no replacement needed
  • Fix oil leak
  • Replace coolant expansion tank cap due to perished seal
  • = £1010 total spend

This is an early post for March, but done so on the basis that I can't spend any more due to the size of the spend! (haha)

The car was taken to Abbey Motorsport who are just over an hour away from me. Given that they know this car having worked on it for many years, it made sense to take it back there, and I am very glad I did as the service is excellent and they really know these cars well :)

There isn't really anything exciting this month, but I was surprised to learn of 2 missing bolts - thanks to Scott/Mark for spotting and replacing them. I suspect the camber adjustment bolt was either not tightened when it was aligned back in November or was never installed. Either way slightly worrying, but glad to have them sorted.

The oil leak was only minor but worth doing as well whilst Abbey had the car.

 

I haven't actually collected the car from them yet, but am looking forward to picking it up and seeing the difference since dyno tuning - this was essential as the exhaust is now more free flowing and the increase in torque needed to be mapped under control.

 

I have additional items on the "to do" list based on recommendations from the team at Abbey. Some of these may take priority over the project plans for cosmetic changes, but as with all projects I suppose that's expected!

 

Last thoughts for March - depending on weather I may get a chance to paint the door handles as they are pretty scuffed. I've already got the paint I wish to use (from a previous month) so this will only cost me time :)

 

Photos: (TBC - Dyno Print-out and stuff)

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18 hours ago, Flashback said:

What was the fabric paint  that you used on the centre console?  It looks spot on.

I used “TRG Super Colour” fabric and vinyl spray. Small 150ml can for about £4.95 usually, even the shoe shop Timpson sell it.

This stuff, obviously in black.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/TRG-Super-Colour-Spray-150ml/dp/B00GNDN0BE

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One thing I noted on the drive home - once up to temperature and at idle, the low oil pressure warning on my Defi gauge was going off at 1.2bar. However, not believed to be a cause for concern as previous owner set this warning level (~17.4psi) which is quite high anyway, and given that my idle speed has been reduced slightly and it is clean/fresh oil actually that reading is, as I understand it, perfectly acceptable. I’ve now adjusted the warning to 1bar (14.5psi) And hope never to hear the alarm again! :-)

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  • 2 weeks later...

So tonight I’ve ordered my Japfest ticket, so I’ll see a large number of you on the club stand - should be a great show.

 

Have a few plans lined up for April now, so I need to crack on with those and get a few jobs finished before show season :) 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Month 5: April 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • Painted interior passenger door grab handle - £0 (same paint as purchased previously)
  • Painted exterior door handles x 2 - £0 (as above)
  • Numberplate bulb swap to LED bulbs - £0 (Had some lying around)
  • Front badge replacement - black - £15
  • Retrimmed OEM Steering wheel swap (Royals Steering Wheels) - £155
  • Replaced APS Air Filters x 2 - K&N RD-0720 - £65
  • Installed K&N Pre-filters x 2 - K&N RD - £30
  • Replaced surface-mount LEDs in climate control unit - £1
  • Hose braiding installed on cooling system hoses - £13

= £279 total spend

 

A busy month this month, hoping to get the car together in preparation for Japfest in a few weeks time. As I had lots of WV2 paint spare in the can I decided to spray both some interior and exterior door handles. A simple task really although the drivers door had the added complication of the key barrel that most online guides don't seem to cover, but a few hours work and I'm impressed with the finish I've achieved.
After the service, Abbey noted that the air filters were pretty bad. I had no idea how bad until I removed the wheel arch liners to replace them! I took their advice too and installed some pre-filters that I'm assured don't impact performance whatsoever but do help to protect the filter from the elements which is quite a benefit given they are located right down in the arches and close to the road/wheels.
Another interesting issue since purchasing the car was the fact that the aircon LED never turned on when pressing the button. I also noted that the air diverter LED was intermittent, and so put this down to either loose connections or bad LEDs. Upon disassembly, I could stick my meter across the LEDs to confirm that they were indeed faulty and £1 later (ebay, next day delivery) I had a pack of 10 replacements. I actually thought it'd be nice to have a slightly different colour of LED too - so opted for an orange LED for the aircon and air diverter based on my theory that other cars I've owned before had different colours for the different settings. I'm very happy to get this one fixed!
Cosmetic change next - hose braiding. Given the colour "scheme" throughout the car was gold and silver, having blue Samco pipes in the engine bay upset me somewhat. Cheaper than replacing the hoses completely, I simply installed some hose braid over the top with some heatshrink at either end to secure it. Looks sweet and was very cheap to do.
Finally, the biggest expense of the month was the steering wheel retrimmed. When I purchased the car, I was given both the standard wheel and an OMP aftermarket wheel. (The latter being fitted to the car) It wasn't to my taste (the rest of the car is pretty "sleeper" image) I decided to get the standard wheel retrimed by Jack @ Royal with a few nice tweaks - 2mm thicker, 2 different leathers, orange sticking and an orange TDC ring to match with the rest of the internal lighting/colours. Although this was the most expensive item this month, I'm actually selling the OMP wheel (and NRG short hub) which should recoup the majority, if not all, of the spend. Result!

So next month, Japfest! I'll still have more jobs to do on the car, but these probably won't be in place until after the show. Looking forward to it.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Month 6: May 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • Purchase (but not install) Black Muteki SR48 wheel lug nuts & locking nuts
  • Sell OMP Steering wheel
  • Paint & install radiator slam panel
  • Install custom boot divider
  • Bonnet catch clean & refurb

= £-27 total (Earned not spent!!)

 

So by refitting the retrimmed OEM steering wheel last month, it left me with an genuine OMP steering wheel and NRG boss spare. I promptly sold these for £220 - netting me a tidy £60 profit from the retrim swap! This drastically reduced the overall project spend this month..

As I attended Japfest (great show, great day out!) I took the advantage of negating postage fees and collected both a radiator slam panel (RickDon) and a custom boot divider (IanH). Both of which were dead easy to fit, although I decided to prime (etch-prime) the slam panel and paint with some gloss black paint instead. This finishes off the front of the engine bay nicely.

 

June should bring a few more cosmetic changes and I've booked the Enkei alloys in for a refurb (gloss black) in very early July - cannot wait! When these are refitted to the car, I'll also get the new Muteki nuts installed (As these are black they'll go with the new wheel finish nicely). This means that the blue Muteki's I have will be up for sale soon!

 

Photos

 

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  • 1 month later...

Month 7: June 2018

 

Completed This Month:

  • Replaced blue engine bay dress up bolts with gold
  • Finished heat reflective tape on intake pipe
  • Clear fog light LED conversion

= £50 total 

 

So not a massively exciting month on the modification front at least, but some well overdue tidy-up jobs have been completed. First, replacing the rather badly mismatched engine bay dress-up bolts and washer (Well, currently all bar the plenum bolts anyway) to at least have a bit of consistency with the colour theme throughout the car. The blue samco hoses still upset my OCD somewhat, but I'll hopefully get around to them at some point soon.

The previous owner felt there was some value in using some gold heat reflective tape on the metal intake pipe, but apparently ran out half way through the job. I'm not convinced that it gives massive value, but at the cost of a few pints, I finished the job off with some Funk Motorsport heat reflective tape that seems to get some good reviews. (I wasn't going to buy any unbranded tape given that it probably poses more of a fire risk than heat reflective quantities!)

Finally, another OCD-satisfying job was to remove the red lens from within the rear bumper light cluster, and then install a high-quality red LED bulb. I managed to locate an Osram LED bulb that does the job very well indeed. :)

 

Next month - well this is the next big month really! The Enkei RPF1's go in for a refurb, and will be coming out gloss black. I've also had some bespoke Enkei rim logos created, again in a colour that goes with the theme, and these will get added once the wheels are back on the car. I'll also be installing the black Muteki nuts and locking wheel nuts that were purchased last month.

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  • 1 month later...

Month 8: July 2018

 

Completed This Month:
Refurbished Enkei RPF1 alloys in Dark Anthracite
Added Enkei decals to wheels
Installed black Volks metal tyre valves
Installed new Muteki black wheel nuts & lockers

= £300 total spend

 

So the first major cosmetic change is complete! After a painful wait for the car to go in, July finally saw the car to go MyAlloys in Basingstoke for a full refurb. The wheels were not in bad condition before hand, with only minor kerb rash. However, I wanted a colour change and I am super happy with the finished result. Colour chosen was "Dark Anthracite" which I think really goes well with the WV2 paint on the bodywork.
Whilst the wheels were being refurbished, it made sense to get the replacement Enkei decals ready. When the car was returned, I installed my custom centre caps and the decals, and I feel they finish the wheels off perfectly.
Once on, the wheels were properly cleaned with Bilt Hamber Auto wheels, and sealed with Poorboys wheel sealant. Finger crossed this keeps them in mint condition.

I hope you like as much as I do!

 

Photos

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