Dembflyr's Journal
 

After over a year of being a member on this site and almost a year of owning my Z, I figured I would start a journal. I have used the journals of others to find just what it is that I want to do to my car so I figured I'd share just what I've done with mine

I never imagined that I would have done as much to my car as I have. And I'm not done yet! :tup: But are we ever really done?

I found my car online in Connecticut. I live in Indiana now but I used to live in CT so I recruited a friend to pick me up and bring me to the dealer.

Purchased 3/31/10

I was so excited that I really didn't give the car a good once over. Don't be like me.

I got about 50 miles away and stopped to buy lunch for my friend and saw this:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...aler-grrrr.jpg

I called the dealer right away and emailed the picture but, long story short, I didn't get anywhere with them. They knew they'd never see me again so customer service wasn't high on their list.

I decided, after some schooling on here, that It was my fault for not checking the car properly before signing the papers. Lesson learned.

I fixed it myself with some touch up:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...d-touch-up.jpg

So, on with the good stuff.....

Here she is after getting her back to Indiana:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...ure30018-a.jpg

My first mod was Berk high flow cats. I ordered on 4/14/10. I got the cats on 4/21/10. I also ordered the CBE and wound up waiting until August for delivery. But in the end it was well worth it.

That demon bolt was a bitch though:
http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...last-bolt.html

Second mod:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...fairlady-z.jpg
My dad had a 1970 240Z and told me all about the Fairlady Z so I had to put this on.

Nismo engine cover:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...-look-good.jpg
Some tape and red paint is all you need!

Cobb Post MAF Tubes:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...-maf-tubes.jpg

My Berk CBE arrived August 2010:

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...ure19751-a.jpg
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...-nice-even.jpg

Love the sound with this exhaust. Looks stock but with HFC's or TP's it's pretty loud under throttle. Nice and quiet at cruise.
I swapped out the Berk HFC's for resonated test pipes over the winter. There was very little change in the sound. Maybe a little louder under throttle but still quiet at highway speeds.

Here is my thread about my powder coated calipers:
http://www.the370z.com/brakes-suspen...ated-mike.html

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...ure22894-a.jpg

Then, right before I was to put the car away for the winter, my girlfriend backed into it. :shakes head:
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...-into-my-z.jpg

I found a great body shop and it was fixed in about a week.
http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...girlfriend.jpg


I did a little shopping over the winter. Nismo Springs and shocks along with Eibach sway bars and some H&R spacers.

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...like-march.jpg

Added a TWM Type R shift knob in satin finish and dyed my stitching blue.

I came up with a neat solution for making the shift boot fit better with this knob. If you remove the plastic ring that is zip tied to the boot and replace it with a section from the bottom of the thread area of a water bottle, you get a ring that is smaller and will still allow you to zip tie the boot in place. I'll try to post pics when I get back home next week.

Here is the thread about changing the stitching color:http://www.the370z.com/exterior-inte...nough-try.html

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...shift-knob.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...27458-nice.jpg

This is where I got the confidence to do the headlight mod:
http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...-blackout.html
I did not like the headlight blackout look but I did want to accent the inside of the housings so I just painted the rings and added the angel eye and landing strip mod.

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...k-together.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...ches-great.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...ure29786-a.jpg

I also added a switch panel inside of the center console to control the headlight LED's

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...itch-panel.jpg

I have done all of these mods myself. I love working on my car even if I am not 100% sure what I am doing. That how you learn!

That is what I have right now. I am planning on getting the GTM stage II supercharger when it is released later this month.

As far a other mods.... Well, you never know. If I see something that I like, I'll do it. Maybe some body mods next year.

Big thanks again to everyone on here for the ideas and support!! :tiphat:

Very nice job with the switch panel man, looks very clean!

Car looks great, and thats a nice little road in the video.

Thanks, It is very important to me to make things look right. I hate it when people take a nice car and hack them.
I worked for many years installing car audio and security. You would be amazed at what some think is a good install.

Thank you too! I think I need some track time now. :D

good build so far!

Damn, I can't believe I actually read through all of that lol.
Great looking Z, although I recommend not doing the led's in the headlight because of the leds wearing out unevenly and it'll look retarded.
Other than that I like what you have done for the cash you spent.
Keep it up.
Oh and btw it's better to keep the engine cover off during the spring/summer time.

Car looks great. I look forward to pictures of the S/C install.

I guess I shouldve started a journal sooner huh? Thanks for checking it out. :tiphat:

I was unsure about the LED's as well but in the end I figured that LED's aren't like regular bulbs and should last a long time. The main thing that I wanted was to paint the rings and my thought was that I might as well do the LED's while I had it apart.
With that said, that is also why I put in the switch panel. I can turn off any part individually.
Unfortunately I already have one out on the angel eye, but I think it is a loose connection. When I take the front end off for the SC I will take it apart and see. If I wind up with more problems from the LED's I'll just leave the switches off.

The headlights look good. I need to work up enough nerve to take mine apart and do some white accents.

nice work!

Looking good dude

switch panel is very creative idea

I also added a rear fog light but every one knows what they look like.

Here is how I wired it.

I put a dual filament socket and bulb. I wanted to have it on as a parking light and wire it to a switch so that it will still be a fog light.

After a little while I also wanted a flashing brake light too.

Here is the schematic:

http://www.the370z.com/members/dembf...-schematic.jpg

I still haven't added the flashing brake light relay but in theory it will work. This should isolate everything and allow the fog light to flash when stepping on the brake even with the switch for the fog light on.

The other two are in and working perfectly.

Yeah, it took me a while also. But as soon as you get the first one in the oven it gets easier. :D

Hey Dave...Good job with the Jorunal....Car's lookin great...thnx for sharing