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Re-body My Zed


Falcata

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Hi everyone
I am building a complete new body for my Nissan 350 Z
I have and been at it for almost two years and can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel .

Getting started I built a dust collection system that spins 360 degrees because as we all know fiberglass dust is no fun , next was to build some wooden wheels to simulate the new wide ones to help with clearances and fender lips . the rear hatch and window is deleted and replaced with a smaller trunk lid .

 

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Thanks for the kind words chaps , I have over 1000 picks of the build so hang on for some cool stuff !!!

Lets continue with the rear hatch / trunk of the car shall we .

 

Ok this piece is a buck to make the cover for the rear suspension tower brace .

 

 

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I was originally planing to have a small rear window , but I just couldn't get the the water to flow over the suspension brace , so with all the rear view camera tech out there I decided to delete the window all together 

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Continuing on with the rear deck area .

Building the trunk ( rear bonnet ) opening 

 

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This raised perimeter once glassed will be cut so that there will be a standing edge for the trunk seal to slid over

 

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my plan was to cut this guitar shape out after the rear deck was finished and it would become the bottom of the opening lid .

Next is adding some stiffening to to this piece with some bars going across .

 

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I use lasers levels to help keep everything as level and symmetrical as possible .

 

 

 

 

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 Some more on the rear deck area .

Taping up the underneath in case any resin gets through 

1694290378_IMG_20190416_154327069(500x281).jpg.d1cffb1c2d39efb8f00c29f5cbf9fb1d.jpg 

 

here I am making patterns to trace onto some super thin fiberglass sheet that I made to go in here

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Here is the thin glass 

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Roof Scoop , this sounds easy to make ......first the cardboard mock up then foam board , we can't get the green foam board the guys in the US get which you can glass right over , the blue stuff melts with just about anything you touch it with , so i cover it with tinfoil first , what a pain , because it's great to work with you can cut shape sand all very easily .
The roof scoop is just for the cool factor plus it helps keep the roof rigged , and will be removable to change the windshield if required , and house the third brake light .


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I have to say now in retrospect , if I was to build this again I would not have done it this way , it took way too long .

But it turned out ok in the end .

 

 

 

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I decided to make the mold two parts so I wouldn't bust the part trying to get it out .

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I made the end cap removable

 

here I am taking the plug out

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Here is the mold with the black tooling gel coat 

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the mold prepped to make the first one

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white Gel coat

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laying up the fiberglass

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removing the part

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roughly trimmed up and on the roof

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I made this part in the winter and had some issues but it still very serviceable  

 

 

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Thanks for the kind words , this project is a huge undertaking , I am not a composite expert by any means , i worked in a custom yacht place over twenty years ago , now of coarse there are many new products and Technics .

So lets move to the front of the car .

Headlights are Mazda 3 the aftermarket Angel Eyes Projectors
Had to make pots for them to bolt into , I tried to make the Plug for pots with two part foam , that didn't work very well , so I made them out of wood , as usual that was a pain in the butt , and a ton of work to make one part , as these pots will become integral with the substructure .

 

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More front end , i decided to build a one piece structure to support the headlights and the front fenders and the bumper cover and the splitter , with fixtures for the air ducts .

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Again wood.....not the best because it's so porous it soaks up everything so it needs to be sealed before filling , painting etc .

 

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I have spaced out the factory bumper 2 1/2 inches to make extra room for inter coolers and or oil coolers .

The factory impact foam will be retained also

 

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it's a shame all these pieces being made to form the fiberglass all go in the bin when the car is complete

 

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I made a copy of the bottom of the factory hood so I could see for clearance to add or remove space , I had some old resin that had some chunks in it from being in the cold , so the quality is bad but is going in the bin later anyway .

Also retaining the factory tow hook !!!

 

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This is the upper section of the substructure .

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I have time for one more post before heading to the shop to work on the car ( everyday )

I should have glassed this front sub structure at this point , but I was too excited to see some shape in the car 

More front end ....Fun with foam !!!!!!

the foam cuts and sands like butter , it's very easy to go too far .

 

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Here you can see making a moat for the two part Polyurethane foam

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I carved this all by hand , a large bread knife works quite nice for the initial shape

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I built a device to measure , its like trying to measure an egg .

Edited by Falcata
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Foam Friend lol. 

 

That's some work you are doing. Ive completed my molds for the wide body arches but still to do the front and rear bumper. 

Takes so much time when you are just doing it for an hour or so each night.

 

Paul 

IMG_20200118_003307.jpg

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7 hours ago, P15UL T said:

Foam Friend lol. 

 

That's some work you are doing. Ive completed my molds for the wide body arches but still to do the front and rear bumper. 

Takes so much time when you are just doing it for an hour or so each night.

 

Paul 

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Hi Fellow Foamer

Wow , you are pretty trusting not to get that foam on the wheels or anywhere else , nothing takes it off !!!! I got some on my tool box and its there for good , I will check out your car after i post some more stuff .

I don't know if you have tried this but I learned a trick when doing my front fenders , take the time to put that clear packing tape on the inside of your cardboard dam and put mold release wax on it , helps the foam spread and stops the cardboard from sticking !!! comes out smooth .

Cheers

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I must thank everyone for all the positive feedback , it helps two years in 7 days a week .

Some more of the front shall we .

I built this device to measure to insure both sides come out the same .

I might look int lasers and scanning before the final filling and sanding .

 

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On to the fenders 

I made copies of the factory ones for a couple of reasons .

First I want to use the factory fastening for most of the top and bottom , and second the wheel arch size  , shape and it helps with location for the new one .

 

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Next I used some 1 x 1/8 flat bar and 3/16th round bar to set the shape of the new fender , once I was happy I tack welded them in place .

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