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Thread: HarryB's Strato blue NB2

  1. #151
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Update; wheels are ready and on the car! Work was done by a local place/tires and wheels shop, which I had used for some work-related stuff in the past and was cooperative enough. Owner's son (around 20) is now in charge of the powder coating side of the business, and he was very enthusiastic of undertaking the work. I explained to him as much as I could that I wanted to keep the wheels as original as possible. That meant polishing and not chroming the outer lips, cleaning the inner barrels but keeping the original SSR/Watanabe stickers and cleaning/reusing the original rim bolts if possible. Rim nuts were far too gone due to salt of UK roads and brake dust, so they were replaced with brand new ones.

    He first made sure the wheels ran true. One lip was slightly bent, so it was pressed back in shape. Then he welded all curb rashing to fill it, and cut back. Lips were polished to a mirror-like finish, centers disassembled and sandblasted to remove the previous flaking coat of paint and tons of primer. After that, the centers were powdercoated a champagne, sand-like textured powder that was custom-ordered. Really cannot describe the colour/feel of it, and it cannot be easily put into photos; the colour is really sparkling and deep but matte at the same time. Gold sand is the best description I can come up with.

    Before/after



    Polished bolts



    End result, out on the sun, the colour is simply amazing up close!



    ...and not too bad in the shade either!



    And on the car!



    Since the SUV height and the ding on the hood bugged me, did a quick & dirty attempt on PS until I respray the car and install my Maruha coilovers



    Quite happy overall!
    Last edited by HarryB; 09-18-2017 at 12:41 PM.

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  3. #152
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Have to add a funny story; when I got to pick them up, the guy realized that the center of all my rotors had rust on it, which I did not had time to take care of. So he refused to install the wheels! He left off, coming back 5' later with some high-temp black spray paint, cleaned them up and sprayed them. I was in a rush, else he also wanted to remove and respray calipers and rotor shields as well!!!

    And of course he charged nothing for it.... :O

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  5. #153
    2,000 rpm - light wheelspin, no bog here! rhadamanthes's Avatar
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    I guess i'll move to Greece very soon then
    Amazing attention to details ! Maruha coilovers are indeed more than necessary
    Any spacers for the rear ? just to get flush ? when you will lower it, you will have some very small natural camber

    In all the cases, i am a fan !
    BlueStar build thread .............. ..........

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  7. #154
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Thanks for the kind words Paulo! I already have 3mm spacers all around to clear the brake calipers (in front). I will only moderately lower it and I was debating over getting some 10mm spacers, but they will require longer studs which is a pain. We'll see...

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  9. #155
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift theothersawyer's Avatar
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    Great work! Wheels look great!

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    HarryB (09-19-2017)

  11. #156
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Not much lately, but quite a lot happening at the same time. Dropped off the car for a complete respray.

















    Wanted to do this since day 1, but could not justify it. That accident last year though was the perfect excuse. Exterior was completely stripped, ordered brand new OEM beltline trim, and waiting to be painted and reassembled at the moment. Hopefully I will have Ganbaru back by the weekend!

    Time to start moving....

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  13. #157
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Since the car was at that state, decided it was the appropriate time to install fender braces, as I could inspect fenders for rust and all panel gaps will be aligned when putting the car back together; no need to risk fucking it up later down the road. Had the guy who makes these powdercoat them in black; my OCD could not live with other colours, albeit hidden under the fenders.

    So, the body shop guy sent me those yesterday night.





    Hope they will make some difference other than adding weight.

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  15. #158
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Things started getting really interesting now. Bodyshop teasing me with pics:




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  17. #159
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Things have been done; got the car back from the body shop 2 weeks ago!! Still half-assembled (on the interior) as I want everything squeaky clean, and body filler dust gets everywhere. Car also needs a wet sanding and polishing (minimal orange peel out of the paint booth), which will be happening in a couple of weeks. Apologize for the lack of photos, but I am waiting for a friend to take some decent ones once the polishing is done! Until then some right after the paint booth:







    The paintjob was a great chance for me to replace all belt line mouldings, doors/windows and at the rear of the car. Fresh OEM goodness:



    Also installed brand new Watanabe center caps on my wheels, to match the Watanabe lug nuts. Valve caps still live in my glovebox:



    Had an incident with a malfunctioning trunk release cable, and some adventures with taillight and 3rd stop gaskets, but these are now fixed. Dropped off the valve cover for powdercoating today, did a VERY complete list on maintenance items as car is now on 170k kms, and getting prepped for installing suspension, roll bar & new brake lines.
    Last edited by HarryB; 11-25-2017 at 07:02 AM.

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  19. #160
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift Demon I Am's Avatar
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    STUNNER in progress! can't wait to see it in sunlight

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  21. #161
    3,000 rpm - starting to feel the power BRGNA8's Avatar
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    wow! that paint looks incredible Harry! nice work! and yes, cant wait to see photos in the sunlight

  22. #162
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Thanks for your kind words! It is quite satisfying, but to be completely honest, it has some minor orange peel, thus the need for a wetsand/polish and the reason that no photos have been uploaded just yet. Waiting for the paint to outgas completely before doing so, as it will be a great chance to seal it as well.

    And having a freshly painted car can be a stressful experience; parking spots, weather, bird poo, bugs, all become highly significant.

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  24. #163
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    So...updates! Dropped my spare VC for a fresh powdercoat in crinkle black, came out rather nice, and paired nicely with a gold Mazdaspeed oil cap.





    I liked it so much that I am also going to do the intake manifold as well, after cleaning up any casting lines. Plan to drop everything in after the next big service (water pump, timing kit, all seals, intake/exhaust gaskets, ACT flywheel/clutch, new clutch hydraulics, Mazda Motorsport engine mounts and "new" powdercoated VC and IM)

    I also have this to drop in at the same time, albeit it needs some love before installation. Thinking about polishing and giving it some Vodka love:





    In other news, went for a couple of days to visit my parents during Christmas, so grabbed the chance to properly wash the car and take some half-decent photos out in the sun.











    Still extending the outgas period, so no sealants, glaze, wax, whatever. I will give it another month before cutting/polishing to make sure everything sets properly. I also picked up a brand new JDM roadster badge for the rear bumper. At the same time, another nice package came in from motherland; brand new NB specific Daikei hub, the elusive oval-badged Roadster mats...



    ...and what I was expecting to be a used black KG Works panel that turned out to be brand new!





    This was bought in order to install a set of AWD rings and caps I had scored. Mocked up over the original:



    and half-half comparison



    Turns out that the AWD rings need much larger holes than the KGW, and since I am not willing to butcher up a brand new KGW panel, I will laser cut my exact replica, transfer over the bulbs and store the original. Until this is done, I am thinking of installing it temporarely as it will be a nice change over my current stainless one.

    And I think I may have a problem!



    Meanwhile, I dediced to take a 10-day break from madness and visited my girfriend who's in Bangkok for a while. Had an amazing time; this city is rather impressive. In the process, I picked up this:



    Coming back, nad driving the 250km distance from the nearest airport, I noticed a weird smell. Turns out I had forgot a 4L bottle of Bilt Hamber Surfex degreaser behind my seat. The parking guy at the airport was signifgicantly larger, so he dragged the seat all the way back, puncturing the bottle. Considering that normaly this is used in a 1:100 diulution rate, you can imagine the mess. Thankfully I did not had the time to wet-vac the carpet before. So, seats and center console out, and the car dropped for a pro to clean up all carpets. I was amazed from how clean they turned out; plus it was a great chance to remove the dust and grime from the paint shop! Crappy phone pic of results:



    And poser artsy bonus pic



    Hopefully I will have some time during the weekend to thoroughly wash and reinstall sill covers and center console. I also intend to install my black radio bezel with a 3D printed HU surround to cover the huuuge gaps, as well as a JDM Roadster stainless gear surround I have laying around. Maybe also the rollbar if work allows for it..

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  26. #164
    Nukuler banned! chiefmg's Avatar
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    She looks yummy Harry.
    '00 SE, intercooled BRP MP62, Reverant MS2, Ohlins DFV, Konig Flatout (now X 2)
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  28. #165
    6,000 rpm - mere mortals would shift HarryB's Avatar
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    Let some steam off yesterday. Good friend comes to visit, surprisingly with his AE86. This car was a massive project once, that he practically abandoned once finished due to work obligations. Has been driven once a year maybe for the past 6-7 years, as he lacked motivation. Thankfully, things changed and to my surprise he turned up with this; so, local touge time!


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