bronzee Posted December 5, 2011 Share Posted December 5, 2011 Stagea's aren't even common over here, even with all the Jap cars we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Ok so update time and i think you will all love this little bit of work So i started the conversion on thursday morning so here are the pics in the morning Kit positioned Headlights cut into place Test bolt up Semi finished front end etc I can confirm that you can make the factory bonnet catch work you need to drag forward about 2 inches i used stud and nuts to do this however the bonnet catch is quite a stiff bugger so needs to be braced from below or it wont shut and latch also factory hinges with r34 tops dont work for the masa bonnet, it sits far to low and has to be spaced (temporarily) 13 x m8 washers per side to even come close plus the actualt hinge is to far over and has also been spaced to even come close to the mounting holes on the bonnet........ so few more pics now As you can see the bonnet still doesnt line up right i think this is due to the fact there are to many variables on the bonnet line up so need to solve this before i can get the lines right. thought this wont stop me getting the car Wrapped ASAP alll thats left now is the rear Splitter to fit but this requires some modification and it was raining lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Now onto the real fun bit take it all apart again and re align everything from the start so turned out i was missing a headlight bracket so had to order the drivers side one of these whilst i was at it i got the GTR bonnet latch re-locator and GTR hinges i didndnt fancy cutting them apart so i for now have made wood spacers namely due to the fact i was dong this an hour from my metal working facilitys and i want to get the exact height it needs to be so far sitting at 35mm height change whilst still using the R34 GTR hinges complete so with the car now lined up properly we could see the differences in the dimensions of the kit and i wasn't happy so out came the fibreglass and filler etc and here we go gap before fiber glass added Filler added so with the kit now lined up propperly time to get on with the prep to paint we did flat it all down etc and started with the filler primer Unfortunatly there had been some touch up work done and the paint even though flatted reacted badly with the primer so had to be sanded down again and treated with barcoat to plat it safe i did the whole front of the car in it even inside the shuts New coat of primer applied No reaction so carried on so now waititng for that to fully harden for a few days before any base coat is applied but here is the workshop/ Spray shop Here is the foreman slowly getting there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 So 1 week on I had the friday off work so after a early start to get the last few bits done it was time to paint started with the skirts After a few coats we left those to harden and after about 30min in the polly tunnel it was time for the bumper Again few coats later and lunch time for the wings We deliberately sprayed onto the bonnet to get a thick coat on the edges as we're expecting as with most cars that to be the points that could get damaged easy So... Also did the fuel filler car and the bump strips of the new wings Will do another few overall coats this morning then start with the lacquer depending on how quick it all goes off will depend on if it drives away this Sunday or not...... Stay tuned lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 Onto Saturday Ok so end of another day which started off not do well there had been a reaction over night to something we suspect a mixture of 2thinners maybe the culprit so had to sand the wing back again few more costs then again untill no reaction was left didn't fancy going all the way back to Barcoat as thats lots of work etc So once this was do e we carried on few more dustings on the rest of the car then a light rub down and lacquer time now this stuff goes off quick dependant on mixture levels do we had what we thought was a 25min window per load turned out due to mixture and heat that it was a 10- 15 min window lol So after 4 passes this is the state Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 k so thats the second weekend over with an still its not on the road but we do have significant progress there was a few runs so we gave everything a quick rub down and then re lacquered so the moment you have been waiting for well i hope you have anyway lol The body work unfortunately has orange peel i think to do with a mixture of things mainly the heat it got to in the room during the spraying rather than after where you bake it on so this means i have to flat the orrange peel down to get my glass finish i want so that's next weekend sorted here is the comparison what are your views anyone had orange peel from spaying before etc..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted April 26, 2012 Author Share Posted April 26, 2012 must stress this is my 1st attempt at spraying the car so dont shoot me down to much ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted May 4, 2012 Author Share Posted May 4, 2012 OK so with The outlawjapclub.com attending the Ace Cafe on the 5th i set my self a deadline to have it done by that was today lol Well we have success but was without its moments, if anyone attempts painting the car again dont try and use the Meguiers G220 to get out the Orrange peel or even the aftermareth of using 1000 - 2000 gritt paper as its not man enough. i found this the hard way so had to go and buy a new Sander/polisher but once i did wow what a difference cut through the scratches alot easier and brought the car up to a nice shine so here is the finished article prior to leaving the Booth today So i drove it back to the ranch and gave it some love so after a clean and a hit with Poor boys Black Hole we look like this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sized Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Great work dude, love stageas Any other plans for the car? Would look with side skirts and some TE37s on......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 Ok so as you can see i did the front end and got it all sorted however this was not the end of the fun it turned out that in some light it was perfect in other lights it was pee poor So here we go this was the paint match So i tried to polish but no such luck due to being the wrong paint on the rest of the car so on sunday afternoon i started masking up and monday morning / Lunchtime it got bar-coated sanded the high spots of then hit it with colour So after 3 and a bit coats of paint It was time to leave it over night the roof isnt right and requires a further coat as its so big and such a pain to paint its got alot of imperfections but im hoping that i can get lacquer on it tonight and maybe tomorrow sand the lacquer again and hit another coat on keep your eyes open for more updates lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 New Paint match Complete car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 wow thats looking really good! the colour match looks spot on, you must be pleased with the finish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted June 26, 2012 Author Share Posted June 26, 2012 It will do for the rest of this year then i plan on buying 4 doors and a tailgate and re doing the whole car again but i will do the doors and tailgate in advance then wrap them up and store them that way i can concentrate a bit more on the rest of the car it will be a case of stripping everything again So all glass out pannles that can come off will come off be up on stands may even look at making the arches a bit wider to match the r34 front as its a bit wider new bumpers and skirts etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Thats some good work there,fair play. Love these cars, especially as most people dont know what they are. Looks very much like a large version of the Gallant VR4. (Another under rated car) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoogyRev Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 Nice work, looks stunning kinda Knight Rider meets Ghostbusters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 28, 2012 Author Share Posted July 28, 2012 Ok so car has been going well i have been away with work so when i got back due to UK weather i ahve still been using this and then on wednesday was driving to work and got a blow out luckily i was coming off onto a slip road so was reducing speed when it happened it was passenger rear but lucily no real damage got a new tire fitted and onto the car what i have now noticed is the paint isnt the best but hey it was my 1st attempt so i cant complain to much, i have been quoted just under 4k to have it done by a very good body shop but dont think its worth spending that amount on when i can buy the paints etc for less than £500 and do it in my own time....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 ok so as all of you know i did some work on the car last year when i fitted the r34 bodykit as shown in this thread LINKY i was not overly happy with it so this year i decided to bring the car back out of storage and give it a new lease of life this consisted of the following New alarm Viper 5904 New Nismo Bonnet New Nismo Bumper New Aerokit Rear Spoiler New Rear Skirt De handle the car New Car pc System Complete color change so up until this year the car went from This To this New Images to follow Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 so stage one of the new work consisted of stripping the bits i didnt need off the car and then prepping the new bits and the car ready for the transformation to start Bonnet Bumper Rear Doors Front Doors Car Reassembled ready for more primer including door shuts Now it was time for base coat Rear Bumper Spoiler Tailgate Bonnet Side of car Random Plastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 now for the lacquer Wing Mirrors Side Skirts Wind deflectors and other parts Tailgate Tailgate area Bumper Bonnet Side of the car next step was to flat the lacquer and give it a polish this does however show where you didnt put enough lacquer on as im no professional i did cut to far on a few bits and have had to redo some bits but we all have to learn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 so here it is after the 1st cut and buff then i had to go away for a while so the car was left like this First of was to give the car a full polish before applying branding a quick polish up with the G220 and some Decent polish it was then time to apply some branding for the shows Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 during the spray session the wheels got a bit of over spray so it was time to give them a new lease of life but being wolfrace wheels they are not worth refurbishing professionally so i gave them a quick going over to see what they would look like then it was time to re assemble the car i put the wheels on the decide the Green had to go it just didnt look right with the car almost nearing completion and all dirty work out side the car done i installed the aero catches as well so with all the big bits done now it was time to start the more smaller less obvious bits lol Fitted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theheff Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Can't say I'm a fan of the car but that is some awesome teckers with the painting. Are you a painter by trade or is it a hobby. Wish I had the funds and the facilities to have a go at something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabster Posted July 20, 2013 Author Share Posted July 20, 2013 Can't say I'm a fan of the car but that is some awesome teckers with the painting. Are you a painter by trade or is it a hobby. Wish I had the funds and the facilities to have a go at something like that. I'm an av designer by trade this is a new acquired hobby lol I'm no professional but I'm enjoying it I think it's cost about 600 in paint this year to do it all and been working on it in between trips abroad lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paddy78 Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Love it Rabster, it looks awesome and a really professional looking job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LRF4N Posted July 20, 2013 Share Posted July 20, 2013 Stageas will always be marmite but as a skyline driver myself I can appreciate what they are. Front end 34 conversions always look good and the painting is great but I wouldve went for a more funky colour myself Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.