m tr4nch's restoration/build thread !! (56k = death)

[splintercell]

herculiner looks great!

[m tr4nch]

thanks all

great news! the car is officially in the body shop!


last week or so i cut out the intercooler piping holes and sprayed some sem high build primer in the engine bay.






loaded up

[KAman19]

Awesome man love seeing your updates!

[S13_RB25]

I love this thread !! Its been awhile since i've been on nico and i was wondering aren't you located somewhere in Jersey???

[m tr4nch]

thanks d00ds!

I love this thread !! Its been awhile since i've been on nico and i was wondering aren't you located somewhere in Jersey???

yessir i'm in neptune.

[homeslicej2]

So glad you're still at this. Do it all proper, the entire restoration, even if it takes another yr or so. You'll be so happy with the build and know that it'll last. Take your time with everything and it'll turn out great

[m tr4nch]

So glad you're still at this. Do it all proper, the entire restoration, even if it takes another yr or so. You'll be so happy with the build and know that it'll last. Take your time with everything and it'll turn out great

thanks bro. that is the plan! but i'm really hoping it won't take another year lol. hopefully running this summer.
right now i'm trying to sort out all the suspension stuff and the rest of the work i have to do with that and the engine stuff, etc. so i can start tossing things on after the paint is done.

[streetspirit7]

Can't wait to see parts start going back on this car!!

[Jagdman]

We need more pics!!! I just started off on my coupe lots of great ideas in this forum and extraordinary inspiration/motivation you got going on here for many of us 240sx Lovers. KEEP it up THUMBS up! =D

[jsturges18]

can't wait for an update! also through out this whole process have you ever thought about changing your decision on what motor. i do think you did bang out the tunnel for an rb25. and if thats what your still doing, what are you doing to it?

[m tr4nch]

can't wait for an update! also through out this whole process have you ever thought about changing your decision on what motor. i do think you did bang out the tunnel for an rb25. and if thats what your still doing, what are you doing to it?

i have thought before that i should have stuck with a KA in the beginning and waited to get the RB just to get the rest of the car broken in and used to driving it again, and then do a swap. not only for that, but i'd have a few more grand in my pocket to spend on the rest of the car. but oh well, i'm sticking with the rb25 now. it will basically be stock until i can get used to the car again and it's power, then when i get bored i'll probably build it for low to mid 300's whp, or maybe more, who knows.

[m tr4nch]

soo the car is still in the body shop. i've been working on getting a bunch of things cleaned up in the mean time.


separated the brake/fuel hard lines that run under the car, cleaned all the road grime off and wire wheeled the rusted areas.







separated all the plastic clips from the metal brackets and cleaned them up. those 4 on the right are the ones in the engine bay which happen to be discontinued. thankfully i could remove them without breaking any of the clips since the plastic is getting brittle. since they are discontinued i've been researching mold making and will probably attempt to copy them and make some new ones myself. more on that later



dug out most if not all of the bare metal interior brackets that were rusting. i've been trying out eastwood's rust dissolver on them and other random pieces, and they've been coming out great so far. the bare metal still has to be acid etched/pickled after you take the pieces out of the liquid, or it will rust up again quickly. also this stuff will strip zinc plating, but won't harm paint/rubber/plastic apparently.

before:






during:




after:






also separated the e-brake handle from the T cable and cleaned it up. didn't want to dunk it in the rust dissolver so i just wire wheeled it and it came out awesome!




old vs. new e-brake T cable



group shot



everything will get painted, not sure what kind of paint or color just yet but i will figure that out soon.
still need to clean up engine bay hard lines, dash support, steering rack & column, and a few other little things. hopefully will have another update soon!

[240sxcl50]

Someone call the awesome police you clearly have to much awesome per sq foot going on there.

[Razi]

That is awesome!

Just paint em black or silver.

[DaniMike]

Amazing work!!

[240jp]

Let me just say you are very inspiring to me and my project. I did have a couple questions tho like where are you ordering all the OEM parts and how long of periods can you sandblast with the size air compressor you are using and what type if sandblaster you are using is it just the bucket of sand with the hose. Also why have you not taken out the quarter glass yet. Thanks again this is an awesome thread.

[m tr4nch]

thanks guys!
oem parts i order from midway nissan in phoenix, az. for sandblasting i can usually go for about an hour or so continuous before i start getting moisture shooting out with the sand (moisture filters are helpful). the compressor i have is a 33 gal tank, i could blast all day with it if it weren't for moisture build up from constantly refilling it. and yes i use the gun with hose attached and a bucket of sand.

[m tr4nch]

so the chassis is done being painted!
the body panels are still being worked on but should be done in the next week. so far i'm pretty happy with the way it's turned out. it's not a *perfect* show winning job, but for gloss black it is pretty decent. anyways, on to the pics.

windshield and quarter windows removed.



door hinge areas were smoothed out a little






seriously couldn't even tell i pieced this on..





then.. when i first saw it completed







and today when i picked it up




loaded up and strapped down. the hood was completed also, so i bolted it on temporarily to transport it so i didn't have to
risk scratching it by shoving it in the back of the truck (only fits at a vertical angle).
sooo nice and glossy!





it's now sitting in my storage unit, can't wait to start bolting pieces on!

[Hijacker]

As usual, your progress just gets me motivated to start work on my car. She looks beautiful.

[Jagdman]

GOOSEBUMPS!!!!

[SX APPEAL]

I'm a fan

[240jp]

Lookin awesome just one more question man what type of sand did you use for your blasting

[Chaotic_Warlord]

Do you have another car? I only ask this BC once you finish your not going to want to drive it on the road, Jersey drivers are insane especially in your area the roads suck.

[m tr4nch]

thanks everyone!

Lookin awesome just one more question man what type of sand did you use for your blasting

i picked up a bag of sanitized play sand from home depot to use.

Do you have another car? I only ask this BC once you finish your not going to want to drive it on the road, Jersey drivers are insane especially in your area the roads suck.

yeah i have 2 other cars, this will be the nice weather car . the roads aren't all that bad around here, some suck while others are nice. it's probably like 60/40 good/suck.

[m tr4nch]

still cleaning some things up. took care of the dash support today, came out pretty clean.






will probably be painting all these pieces next week some time.

[Razi]

Oooo pretty.
Good to see the chassis finally painted.

[m tr4nch]

painted all the interior brackets and stuff with masterseries silver. brushed on the first coat, sprayed the second coat for a nice even finish.





also did some of the steering column



sprayed the underbody fuel/brake lines with rubberized undercoating, also did the metal floor plugs.




painted hatch hinges and front brake line brackets with some gloss black epoxy, and rubberized undercoat on the fender stay bars.




still working on a few other things!

[splintercell]

good god you have clearly mastered the art of OCD over me A+++ WORK

[m tr4nch]

good god you have clearly mastered the art of OCD over me A+++ WORK

lol thanks bro! yeah i admit it's a little bit ocd haha

[SX APPEAL]

Dude you've probably spend more on paint, cleaning and coating products then I did on my turbo!