Hey all....

Kouki front end conversion will be done in a month or so....also getting sideskirts and rear bumper...

Does anyone have any suggestion as to whether or not it would be smarter to paint the new body pieces OFF of the body, or should I have it painted while it is all bolted up and what not?

P.S. In the first case, I would still plan on putting the pieces on first to check for fitment.

Thanks alot fellas

 

It's always smarter to paint the new body pieces while it's OFF the vehicle.

 

paint them while theyre off

 

Any piece you can remove is better painted off.

 

yea like you said fit them and drill the holes before you paint them

 

word. get that shiney stuffs everywere homie

 

Off car for sure.
Do you have a shop picked out? If not I can recommend my local shop. Mine goes in 3weeks finally

 

yeah whats some average costs you guys are looking at and what are some good shops? I would be looking to get paint as well in about a year or so.

p.s. Jspaeth, when you comin down to e-town? wanna see ur car bro and hang.

 

yea test fit and drill holes first..resand around holes..then have the pieces painted and out them all back on

 

^^^^ i think pics of your sexy whip would definitely drive the point home.

 

Well the local shop that is painting our cars 3 guys s14s.(discount) Is charging just about 1500- repaint car, remove dings/dent, even out 1 s14 rear fenders that are pulled,realign front kouki front-tweaked fender. Also cut battery tray weld new piece due to rust, install kit ss,rear bumper. Other car shaved front bumper lights,roll fenders,many dings. Mine will be around there I hope but with color change door jams ..figure 2000- at most.

 

Sorry I've been non-responsive..........had my 2nd (and LAST!!!) cycle of chemotherapy all last week, and have been hunkered down for the past 5-6 days trying to feel better....but I am almost feeling better.

Fortunately, I've had the arrival of my kouki eyelids and turn signals to cheer me up over the past few days hahaha!

Ok. So here's the deal. My best friend has done his own prep-work 3 times now, and we have a semi hook-up...one of our friend's dads owns a MAACO.

I am NOT into show car status.....my buddy has fully prepped his car now 3 times, take it to MAACO....the guy charges him for the cheapest paint job (like $600), but as a kick for doing all the prep, he gives him the next better paint job.

Honest to god, I have another friend with the most prisitne STI you have ever seen, over 30K into the car, and with a ridiculous top of the line paint job, and you put the two cars next to each other (they are both white), you cannot tell the difference.


I just can't see spending that much money on a paint job.....I am already paranoid enough, I don't wanna have to **** myself if I get a small scratch in a $2000+ paint job. I'd rather just MAACO it for $600 and then get a repaint in 2-3 years.


Also, RUIZ.....I will be up to E-town to hang out and run the car in a few weeks-months....I am still getting my strength back from the cancer recovery, but I have some plans for the next few weeks:

1) Install rear upper pillowball mounts, toe arms, and traction rods, which have been in my room sitting there for 3 months
2) Get my fresh rear tires put on, put on summer wheels (Works), and finally get a real alignment
3) Continue purchasing parts for the conversion....hope to be completed and painted by the end of May at latest.

Either way....once I am feeling better, I plan to come up to E-town....I really wanna run my car and get a baseline drag#....the last (and only) time I went up there, my BOV was completely stuck open, and I couldn't build any boost at all.....I ran in the high 14s, low 15s ahahahahaha.

Also, anyone that goes to E-town have a "fire jacket"? Last time they let me go, but they say bc the 240 is not stock f/i, having a turbo on it means they have to make you wear a fire jacket, and I don't really feel like buying one.

Peace

 

Good to hear from you J. Sorry to hear about the cancer, I wasnt evern aware that you were ill. I hope you start to feel better soon bro! Really wanna check out your car and hang at E-town, I plan to be there alot as soon as the weather warms up.....and those ****s open the road course.
If you ever neeed a hand working on getting the car done, lemme know.

 

Depending on what you wanted to do, I use to charge as follows:

Homie deal: 1500 and I make it look like it came from the factory with a custom color (within price range of paint)

Insurance: Depends on how "nice" your adjuster is / was to me. Could be cheap, could be me filing a supplement to charge MORE.

Show Car Quality: Meaning your car comes to me, you tell me exactly to the "T" what and how you wanted things to "flow" on your car, if you wanted the color to blend from light to dark or reverse. and I make all body panels look straighter than a straight line (meaning I took out all dents and I was one of few who used metal finish techniques to do so instead of slapping on gallons of bondo). I keep the car in the shop for about 3 months so I dont rush and make mistakes which in turn make things harder. Cost depending on size of vehicle: 3000 and up. This guy who had a 240Z had an LS6 and a wide body kit that made the Porsche 911 look like a girl. He also had us do a Z32 rear tail light conversion. Had the car for 8 months, total came out to 8500. Best damn job I ever did.

That was then, now I just push papers for the Dept of Health Services.

 

Hey good to see some guys from NJ I am in southern jersey and would be interested in meeting up with some of u guys at the track if you go a lot.as far as the paint is doing it yourself an option I have had verygood results w/ quality paint products and homemade booth setups.