What Broadfield Has Been Up To......

[Broadfield]

I don't post as much now about what I'm up to with the car since I started my blog back in March. I assume there are a lot of people that don't check the blog, so I figured I would do a mini-build thread. I will update it with new pics and info every day or so..... even though the work is actually all done. However, I am always doing something to it, so I will have more new pics and goodies by the time I make all of the entries for what I have done to date.

As with most of my projects, I start them in late winter/early spring. For this year I wanted to run some wider wheels/tires on the front/rear and a lower offset up front. I also wanted a little lower stance on the car. However, I don't like the look of mega stretched tires. So I didn't want to sacrifice tire width for lower offset and wider wheels. My only option was to run wide front fenders up front and stay with the 25mm pull I have in the back. Even with the last set wheels, the VS-KF's, I still had about 27mm of clearance on the inside on the rears. So I ordered up a set of Work Meister S1-3P's in full polished. Sizing as follows: 18x9.5 +12 R-Disk and 18x11 +30 O-Disk. As far as tire sizing: 245/35 and a 285/30. Done!

Next up, which was actually my main concern, was the front fenders. I knew that most fiberglass wide fenders are garbage. I wanted fitment as close as possible to OEM. I researched and looked at options for 3 months. I finally decided to go with the 20mm ChargeSpeed fenders. My good friend just happen to have a set of new ones in his basement. So I test fit them and was shocked at how well they fit. My only complaint was that they had vents like every other wide fender.

Test fitting the new wheels with the OEM fenders:

[E7-S14]

gah, wonder what its like to live in Ballerville everyday...

Lookin great man!

[simmode1]

gah, wonder what its like to live in Ballerville everyday...

Don't we all?

Your car just keeps getting better and better, Toby...

[laxands13]

I see Broadfield in the title and subconsciously i am already wondering what sex its gonna be this time.
looks great already man, i love meisters. but damn, why only one update per day?!

[southernsteel]

Any time I see a Broadfield thread I have to follow.

Looking good. I prefer the meisters over what you had before.

[Black on Gold]

Didn't you already have SP1's on the car before?

[Broadfield]

but damn, why only one update per day?!

Mainly because of time...... I don't have the time to type out a long thread with a hundred pictures. So I figured I would space it out here and there. However, you are right, I'll give another update!

Time for some ChargeSpeed fender test fitment.



As you can see in the pics below, even the support areas are 100% molded off the original metal version.... like how it has the rib down the length of the support etc.





I was curious how much modification I was going to have to do to get these to fit to my standards. The answer was none These damn things fit near perfect. In the fitment pic below there are literally only 2 bolts holding it on. As you can see it fits very nice.




Next is was time to make them better. I wanted to strengthen all of the mounting points so I could really crank on the bolts to make sure it would fit how and where I wanted it to. So I added some pieces of fiberglass mat and then simply resin them in place. I'm obviously just making the mounting tabs thicker.





This is after resin and I ground the extra down to original shape. Then just drilled the holes back out.

[Broadfield]

Didn't you already have SP1's on the car before?

If you click on my blog link in my sig you will see for yourself. My last blog post just so happens to be a flashback of all of the wheels I have owned, when I owned them and what the specs were. Hell, I'll make it easy for you:

http://broadfield.wordpress.com/

[Steady_One_S13]

Nice! Your build after build never fails. Looks good!

[USAF_S13]

wish i was baller status, i have to plan out my build piece by piece. and get them one at a time, seems like forever. very sexy car anyways.

[Broadfield]

gah, wonder what its like to live in Ballerville everyday...

wish i was baller status

I'm also 36 years old I'm sure you guys will be more baller status than me once you get to that age.

[turbonxsx]

Do you always refer to yourself in third person all the time???

[Dattebayo]

You guys complaining just need to have a DD and a project car. this allows for time to get things done as you don't have to drive the car the next day or whatever. I feel ya on that...

[SolaraOnBronze]

I enjoy the blog for sure, man. I can't wait to see new pictures of the bay and everything when you're done!

[confused9]

broadfield you are a god lol. there's not many people who do such clean and amazing work.

[mattblancarte]

Just browsed through your blog and I like what I see. Super nice work!

[RCA]

Nice wheels!

Amazing as usual Broadfield!

[Dittoz7]

Someone ban him from posting so much p0rn!

[Metal Angel]

Are there any gross old parts on your car? I mean... it's an S13. It is a damn old car. There is never any part of your car that looks old in your pictures. Also, all the rest of our S13s all have creaks, rattles, and sqeaks as we drive down even the smoothest roads. Does your's do that at all? I sort of imagine it sounding like a brand new infinity on the inside (although your exhaust has to be pretty loud)

[Broadfield]

Are there any gross old parts on your car? I mean... it's an S13. It is a damn old car. There is never any part of your car that looks old in your pictures. Also, all the rest of our S13s all have creaks, rattles, and sqeaks as we drive down even the smoothest roads. Does your's do that at all? I sort of imagine it sounding like a brand new infinity on the inside (although your exhaust has to be pretty loud)

LOL, thanks man! Actually, there are no rattles or squeaks. I am very impressed with it. It has 140,000 miles on the chassis. My good friend bought it about 7 years ago when it was completely stock.... it was in pristine condition when he bought it.

[Broadfield]

Most everyone knows that I'm not a huge fan of most body kits. That also includes those damn vents on fiberglass fenders. I mean they are "alright" on some 240's that have a big kit and therefore look a little more at home. However, my car is virtually stock looking on the outside..... so the vents had to go.

I simply cut the vent back pieces out:



Then placed some plastic and cardboard backer on the front to keep a rough shaped for the fiberglass to sit on:





Then some fiberglass mat and resin to give it support:







This is what you have after the cardboard and plastic are removed:



I also took this time to grind down the inner lip of the fender:



Time to rough sand the front of the fender vents with 24-grit to knock down the high spots:





Now it's time to add mat and resin to the front of the vents to fill in the low spots and add even more strength:



Then knock that back down with 24-grit:





Also went ahead and trimmed the walls of the vents down flush on the back side:



Rage Gold time:





My time with the fenders were done after this. My good friend at the body shop that paints all of my stuff, gave the entire fender a complete wipe of metal glaze filler. Then blocked that completely down. Then gave each fender a coat of spray polyester(basically spray filler). Blocked the entire fender down again. Then sprayed primer and blocked it down again. Then paint. Needless to say they are perfect.

[laxands13]

wow. how much time did that take you? looks awesome though!

[Broadfield]

wow. how much time did that take you? looks awesome though!

It wasn't that bad..... I was probably at work doing it for 8 hours or so. You also have to realize that there is setup time for resin and filler. So I would try to work on one fender while the resin or filler was drying on the other. So actual labor/work time I would say 6 hours.

[lemon]

hey man, im just wondering if you would and how much it would cost....say i shipped you my gauge cluster/steering wheel covers/pieces ect ect...would ya set me up with a custom set up like yours? and if so how much would it cost

[Broadfield]

hey man, im just wondering if you would and how much it would cost....say i shipped you my gauge cluster/steering wheel covers/pieces ect ect...would ya set me up with a custom set up like yours? and if so how much would it cost

Yes, I make clusters. I don't sell gauges though. Do you already have the gauges, HUD etc.? If so, then it's $700 to do the cluster, HUD molded in the steering shroud and then the 3 gauges in the center vent area with rock solid mounting system. Email me if you have anymore questions. Most people get sticker shock when I throw out prices.... but that's actually really cheap for custom labor.

[lemon]

so its 700 + cost of gauges + cost of hud ? thats not to bad, im in the middle of trying to sell my sbc top end kit i have, then i'll hit you up

[Broadfield]

so its 700 + cost of gauges + cost of hud ? thats not to bad, im in the middle of trying to sell my sbc top end kit i have, then i'll hit you up

Correct, $700 is just for labor and fabrication materials.

[Travisty]

The vents on widebody kits are something that bothers me often also, looking forward to seeing what the finished product looks like.

[simmode1]

The vents on widebody kits are something that bothers me often also, looking forward to seeing what the finished product looks like.

For real. It's a crying shame that no one in the US sells a ventless 20mm fender set that actually fits.

[motoman399]

wow looks very good as usual!

have a couple questions.. what were your least favorite to favorite coilover setup in order? i see you have had a few of them. also how did you go about filling the license plate bolt holes on the abs front bumper. i did it to my jdm rear bumper because the cut out in the bumper is wider than the USDM plate. i made fiberglass "biscuits" and then used 40 grid on the back of the bumper and fiberglass pieces i made then molded them in.

thanks and keep up the mighty fine craftsmanship!!!