Laguna DD/Weekend Warrior

[UlrichFennec]

I actually like the mix of black and green rather than having it blend. It ties in with the rocker panels and the bottom of the rear apron, which I'm gonna end up painting anyway.

The long term goal is to get a set of OZ Futuras or Borbet Type As, do a respray in Technoviolet and find a hardtop. Until then, I'm just gonna have fun with it.

[UlrichFennec]

I got bored and took out my faded, chipping kidneys and plastidipped them. I'd rather have them blacked out until I replace them with some new ones instead of letting it get worse.

Did the centercaps for the bottlecaps too. I think it looks nice, and they're the winter wheels so they don't necessarily need to look pretty. Now we wait for someone to buy my basketweaves and get some new wheels and rubber!

[UlrichFennec]

Last bit of snow that I think is gonna come our way in Colorado Springs, so of course, what better time to get some new wheels and tires? Did my valve adjustment, an oil change and we're getting ready to freshen up the exterior a bit with a set of new kidneys and ellipsoids. The front end needs a little more love. Gotta pick up an is spoiler for the trunk, too.



I bought some TRM C1s. 15x7 25et in gunmetal wrapped in Kumho Ecsta X4 IIs in 205/55/15. Little bigger, a little lighter, and way easier to clean. Gonna get them mounted this weekend, hopefully.

[zwill23]

Nice choice on the TRM C1s, hard to beat for the performance and price point. Hoping to scoop up a set myself in the (hopefully) near future.

[UlrichFennec]

Nice choice on the TRM C1s, hard to beat for the performance and price point. Hoping to scoop up a set myself in the (hopefully) near future.

I was tempted to get Kosei K1s, but an extra 80 bucks for a set of wheels that was a wee bit lighter didn't seem worth it to me. I can't track the vert. It's just a daily that I drive spiritedly and something I rip through the mountains in.

That and they're WAY easier to clean than my old weaves.

[UlrichFennec]

So I went to the local Pull and Pay and scored a few choice parts. I decided I didn't like the blacked out kidneys and found a very nice set off a junked cirrusblau vert.
They look so much better than my old chipped and faded ones. I was hoping to pick up the three spoke wheel it had on there, but there was no key and I didn't bring my drill.
The rear seats were trashed too, so that's a bummer.

Scooped up a hood strut because mine bit the dust and I'd rather not keep my baseball bat in the trunk as a hood prop. Found the interior door handle trim I was missing on the driver's side, a washer fluid pump to replace my broken one, and I snagged all the relays in the fuse box just in case I needed any spares. Only ran me 15 bucks for everything. Good deal, imo.




And I finally decided to do the rest of the decklid trim in black since it started getting warmer. Turned out pretty good, but I could have made it easier on myself and taken the trim off, but eh, it's only plastidip.
Still waiting on my wheels and tires to get shipped to Discount Tire so I can enjoy the spring with a decently refreshed exterior.





Also, obligatory engine shot because I spent a good time cleaning it today. Still gotta work on the valve cover a bit.

[UlrichFennec]

Looking at it during the daytime, I think I did pretty good. That little bit of overspray on the deck can easily be wiped off, but not bad for having not taken off the trim!

[UlrichFennec]

New shoes, dudes. Perfect stance for me, imo.

[Zeemz]

Looking at it during the daytime, I think I did pretty good. That little bit of overspray on the deck can easily be wiped off, but not bad for having not taken off the trim!

Looks good. Saw this awhile ago and found it pretty interesting. You can pull the vinyl off and the under side is body colored. https://www.instagram.com/p/BHCkx_dAPLV/

You vinyl doesn't need it, but still interesting. I had an S2000 and a lot of guys used to pull window tape off kinda like this.

[UlrichFennec]

Looks good. Saw this awhile ago and found it pretty interesting. You can pull the vinyl off and the under side is body colored. https://www.instagram.com/p/BHCkx_dAPLV/

You vinyl doesn't need it, but still interesting. I had an S2000 and a lot of guys used to pull window tape off kinda like this.

I had no knowledge of that! That's actually pretty cool. If my vinyl does ever get trashed hardcore for some reason, I'll remember that. Good info.

[UlrichFennec]

Picked up some goodies so I can paint the headlight grilles and liven up the trim. They're starting to get super faded and grey and I'm not a big fan. The paint on the car I can't save, but the trim pieces I can at least give them some new life.

[UlrichFennec]

We started some prepwork the other day and masked a few panels off. Could have taken the trim pieces off, but I wanted practice with on-car painting. You can see how nasty and greyed/whited out some parts of the trim were. Also, after using "Back To Black" stuff, it left a very bumpy, unpleasant texture with some of it being gummy on the surface, so it all had to be sanded down. Do not ever use that junk. Went from a 200 grit to a 300, then a final scuffing with a scotch-brite pad to get things mostly smooth before painting.



Nastiness built up over the years to:



We start with a light first coat, and then go for a second coat with a bit more heaviness. Then a third coat.



And then we get a lovely result! Nice satin finish. A couple spots I need to touch up around the edges and sand down/repaint, but overall, not bad!





Decided to hit the grilles too. They were fading and looking pretty ugly, so a fresh coat of black more than revived them. Even hit the lip with what I had left and now we're all matchy!





Before. You can see the greying and nastiness up close.







And after! It's crazy how a fresh coat of black on the trim really makes a car look younger. I still need to do the lower trim above the rockers. While I was outside, I figured I'd do my oil change as well, and lo and behold, I find my gearbox is leaking again even after I replaced the selector shaft seal again. Might explain why second gear was being so notchy. I'm gonna end up taking her to my indie and look under the lift with them to see what's up. Either way, I'll need to drop the gearbox, and if I do that, I might as well see how the clutch is doing and check the rear main seal. Preventative maintenance is key!

Will report back with any update on that.

[UlrichFennec]

Looks like gearbox leak was detent cover. It warped! Ended up replacing it for an updated cover and we're back to no leaks again...so far.

[squidmaster]

You realize those trim pieces just pop off right? Probably easier and less worrying than masking off all that

Nice progress still!

[UlrichFennec]

You realize those trim pieces just pop off right? Probably easier and less worrying than masking off all that

Nice progress still!

I wish I knew that beforehand lol

Well, you learn something new everyday. :nice: