Project Z33: Slowly but Surely...

The wheels are in and back from the powdercoater, of course. Other than that, I have not shared too much about the progress of this project. The main reason for that is because nothing has been done yet. I am basically stockpiling parts at this juncture.

Given that the Z is ten years old and the odometer is a trip to the gas station away from hitting the century mark, the interior is showing some signs of wear. A few spots of heavy traffic are the door finishers (plastic pieces where the window buttons are located) and the center console finisher (area where the shift boot is located). I have in my possession new OEM pieces from Nissan to replace these worn and distressed panels. These pieces are not incredibly exciting, so I did not bother to snap any pictures. This boringness, however, is something that I desire. I dislike too much effort as it pertains to interior panels. I do not want to wrap anything in fake carbon fiber or do anything that takes attention away from the rest of the interior. I see the interiors of some vehicles that leave me with the impression that the owner was, quite simply, just looking for "something else" to do, thus causing nothing more than a distraction. Not my thing. I am happy with keeping the interior panels that are meant to be plain, well, plain.

Anyway… My biggest purchase for this project up to this point is not yet in my possession, but I am pretty excited for the arrival. I believe it will be a few months until I receive that package, but I have a feeling it will be worth the wait. Other than that, I have a few smaller items occupying space. A few snaps:

Kics Project Shell Type Lock and Nut Set (Duralumin Shell, Chromoly Lock)

These are two-piece nuts. The black portion is the locking part. The blue "sleeve" basically screws onto the nut, making it virtually impossibly to scratch or damage the lug. I think this is pretty awesome, considering every time I have ever removed a wheel, I have been terrified of damaging the nut. These appear to be a great new product from Kics! I opted for the open-ended version in the blue, of course. I was nervous ordering the blue as I was not sure if it would match the Daytona Blue of the Z. I have to say, it is a VERY close match. Relieved.

Works Bell Rapfix II Quick Release and Hub

As seen with the custom TE37SL spoke decals we had done, we are going full orange here. As I said in my previous post, blue and orange will not meet the approval of everyone, but it is the theme I upon which I have decided and, bluntly, I am pretty amped up for it. That said, I was able to track down the orange Works Bell unit.

Vertex 330MM 10-Star Deep Dish Steering Wheel

This is a thing of beauty. I love this steering wheel. The attention to detail is second-to-none. The size is perfect and, though I have not driven the car with the wheel installed yet, I think I will really like the deep dish. Super stoked about this piece!

I do have a few other parts waiting patiently to find their home on this car, but I will hold off on posting them for now. Stay tuned...

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation