My GC Hardtop project

[A112H]

Thanks guys, I am very happy with them. I think they will look mint with the red carpet
They will take upto 6 weeks to get here in a container so fingers crossed by then I will have it running and maybe even back from paint.

Might be selling stock hardtop seats soon, if anyone is interested pm me and we can work out a deal.

Speaking of paint, I am having trouble finding someone to paint it in Acrylic. Everyone uses 2 pack these days and want like $10,000 for a doors closed paint job as they have to use some barrier, then undercoat, then paint, then clear
I don't want a show car. Tape up the windows and blow 5 coats of acrylic over it, sand and polish out any imperfections and its done.

[orangelancer]

those seats are mad bro. great find (Y) i agree with you. they will look pure sex on red carpet. as for paint i thought you would be doing it yourself?

[A112H]

I was thinking about painting it but to be honest I can't be f*cked. I just want it done now

[orangelancer]

well how much of the prep work are you willing to do? obviously the more you do the cheaper it will be. im in sydney but the panel beater my car is at now told me if i were to strip the car for him, remove the engine all moulds glass etc and give it a light scrub. hed charge me around 4k to spray the whole car. i dont know anyone in SA mate. sorry i cant be of any help

[75wagon]

I was thinking about painting it but to be honest I can't be f*cked. I just want it done now

I understand that fully.
However, once you start driving it, you'll wish you would have gone just that bit further and done the paint as well.
It's always easier to work on a car while you are not driving it, but I think you already know that.

If you want it sprayed in Acrylic, and you want it white, it's not a difficult job.
Materials should cost $600 or less.

You should have a go. Being a solid (non metallic) colour, it's pretty hard to stuff it up.

Dave...

[A112H]

well how much of the prep work are you willing to do? obviously the more you do the cheaper it will be. im in sydney but the panel beater my car is at now told me if i were to strip the car for him, remove the engine all moulds glass etc and give it a light scrub. hed charge me around 4k to spray the whole car. i dont know anyone in SA mate. sorry i cant be of any help

It is dead straight, has no chrome, lights, badges or grill and I have sanded it back. As far as I can tell it really is a case of masking up the tail light holes, windows and front end. Prepsol the body and paint. I would have thought this is the sort of cash job spray painters would love for a weekend?

If you want it sprayed in Acrylic, and you want it white, it's not a difficult job.
Materials should cost $600 or less.

You should have a go. Being a solid (non metallic) colour, it's pretty hard to stuff it up.

Yeah I know but ...... I have none of the equipment and do not want to buy it for a once off. This car is it for me.
Also I think having spray equipment is a bit like having a ute, surprising how many friends you suddenly have, lol

See what happens in the next week or two, I think I might have a spray painting fish on the line, just gotta reel him in, lol

[75wagon]

Yeah I know but ...... I have none of the equipment and do not want to buy it for a once off.

Not true, I use mine all the time.
You'd be surprised how often it comes in handy.

Also I think having spray equipment is a bit like having a ute, surprising how many friends you suddenly have, lol

True.
But do what I do. I wont lend it out.
I did once, it was returned with a broken pressure gauge. He wouldn't replace it.

If my friends want to borrow it, I tell them to go and do what I did, buy their own.

Dave...

[Hotwire]

Jason,


I was pm'ing a guy on ns.com about painting my coupe and this was his response, may be an option if you dont DIY:

i can do all that work including the welding. currently doing a ke20 rolla for a street car and a gemini to show standards for other members here.

only issue i have is im fully hooked up til about mid sept at this point. when you thinking of having it done by? im located down south and once sheds free happy to get it here and your welcome to work on it here if it all suits etc.

2k white is pretty cheap. i use lonsdale paint supplies as i get discount due to the amounts of products i buy .
to do a sigma inside and out you would be up for a 2k primer kit =$97 (4lt) and 4l of colour to do insides and out =$393 including thinner and hardner(5.5lt kit total). Consumables like tape,masking paper and sanding paper would be under $100( inc a respirator filter) rest is labour but need to see car and sort out what im doing and what your doing etc.

these are a basic guideline from the prices i spent on weekend on these other jobs. add me on FB and check out some of the other jobs i have done.

prefer to charge per job as per hour can lead to issues if something i overlooked in quote stage jumps out. "rough bsll park" for labour be $600-1400 area all depending on seeing the car tho

like i said once i see the car we can chat about labour. if early next year will have to be latest feb/mar as in april im resigning from my job and spending the month packing up and moving to QLD for drift and work reasons.

and yer that rust is all doable pretty simply. i have a work mate that helps with the cashies so we could knock that out in 2-3 weekends, depending on how long i can spend during week on it. some weeks i get country runs in my truck so im working or sleeping basically

[woops]

Painting the car yourself isn't too hard at all and isn't expensive at all. The cost of the spray equipment is actually pretty cheap. I bought mine a few years ago for under $600 bucks including compressor, gravity feed gun and the other associated accessories. Although that was when you could get a 2.75hp belt drive compressor from supercheap for under 400 bucks. You just need to make sure the compressor is up to the air flow rate otherwise you are constantly waiting for the pressure to build up. And usually belt drive models are the only ones able to attain a sufficient flow rate. You should be able to buy the spray equipment for about $800 brand new or you could look at second hand models to cut the price a bit.

[A112H]

I have just been discussing this with my Wife and I figure if I pay someone to do it on the cheap it is still going to cost me $2000 to $2500
And I figure I can get all the stuff for under $1500 including, compressor, paint, tape, sandpaper, orbital sander, buff, polish and plastic sheeting.
You guys are talking me around to it, lol
I rang paint supplies sa today and they will do Mitsubishi 380 (Mawson white) in acrylic 4lt for $210. Seems pretty good price.

Am I correct in thinking that acrylic doesn't need a clear coat?

[tubby]

If you want a great finish. clear makes it look tops and isnt that expensive.

[BOOTS]

there is no need for clear on solid colours whether acrylic or 2k! putting clear on a solid colour doesnt make a difference unless its a wet look show clear.... but hey what would i know? i only spray cars for a living

[A112H]

I just want it one colour, smooth and shiney

[75wagon]

If you want a great finish. clear makes it look tops and isnt that expensive.

There are different schools of thought on whether clear is a good thing or not?

Clear is designed for use over metallic paints, as metallic paint finishes can't be cut back and polished without ruining the finish as the layer is cut through.
For metallic paints, clear is a necessity.

For solid colours it's a different story.
Putting clear over a solid colour means that over time as the paint deteriorates and fades, then cut back polishing will only return the shine and not the colour, because you are polishing the clear and not the colour.

I would not put clear coat over solid colour as there is no point, however, you can mix clear coat and colour together in a 50/50 mix, it increases the amount of colour coat therefore, allows you to put more coats on the car. 4lts of clear coat is around the $50 to $60 mark, as opposed to $200ish for 4lts of colour coat.

Dave...

[Hotwire]

The more I read this thread, the more i want Jason to paint his own car.... so he can then paint mine

But seriously Jason, I'm keen for painting my own car, perhaps we can work something out with regard to if you buy all the equipment, i'll rent it off you for a while after for the painting of my car?

[tubby]

or sneakily swap your car into his garage, then grab it when he's done

[A112H]

There are two factors steering me towards doing it myself. 1, I love the idea of having done the whole car myself and 2, It dosn't look like anyone can do it in time at a reasonable cost
I will be really disapointed if it isn't done by the middle / end of October. If I paint it myself all I am relying on other for is the exhaust and that is only 3 days.
Just on the exhaust, I have spoken to Everlast at Modbury and they will be doing it for me. About the same money but they just sounded a bit better. $8-900 for the extractors and $350 for the exhaust.

[dvsfin]

800-900 for extractors??? am I reading right?

[A112H]

Yeah, they will be custom made as I can't find any to fit.

[A112H]

Okay, so I have found a guy selling custom alloy radiators. I have given him Galant dimensions and will post any positive results.
This is the info I have given, if it suits Lancers too well it is a double win
620mm Wide
450mm High
100mm Deep
Top outlet on passenger side
Bottom outlet on drivers side.

[GB_BB4C]

Yeah, they will be custom made as I can't find any to fit.

Pacemaker's will fit with a very slight modification that isnt hard to do. Just need to alter the bottom two pipes to run at a slightly different angle. I have a set here that i had done (need to re-do them as they got bent when i smashed my car). Will dig them out and take a photo over the weekend... if i can find them.

Photo's found

[77galantv6]

lucky, the price for my extractors that i want to get done is around 1200
kinda sucks having a v6 in the place of a 4 sometimes

[dvsfin]

I had my extractors made for I think $500 and he redid half of my exhaust and fixed the leaks :S

[Tj.]

My zorst from ports to bumper cost $1800. And that was the best quote I had. That included completely custom made extractors (definitely no off the shelf for my car XD ) that extend past the cross member, a cat converter and all the rest.

I think I got taken for a ride a little, plus the paint on the extractors bubbled off the very moment I got The engine running

[webby]

i think Jase is going with equal length 4-1 octopus pipes, amirite? Along the lines of the ones i posted a couple pages back?
If so, nice

[A112H]

Jase is going for the octopus style 4 into 1 extractors and thay will be CERMAKROME coated

Something like this but coated

[A112H]

Just got an interior update

Arrived at Japanese Warehouse
Explanation: Your item has arrived at our Japanese warehouse and is awaiting international delivery. Items being shipped via EMS/Air will be processed shortly. Items being shipped via Sea/Container will be packed in the next available container.

I should have them by the end of September
I have never been so excited about seats, lol

[webby]

rad

[A112H]

Okay, so while it is still about 2 months away from finished I have been having a wheel dilema that I need some advice on.
I am running the steelies as my everyday and show wheel but want something a bit lighter to run semis on for track days and hill climbs.
Now most of the 70's Jap saloon cars ran Watanabes or meshies and that is the style I want to keep but I am not fan of Watanabes or banana spoke or mini lites or what ever else they have been called over the years so I was just about settled on buying these



When I came across these



Now I know the Southern Ways are probably more 80's but they are pretty cool and I think will look sweet on the hardtop wrapped in some super sticky semi slicks.

What do ya reckon?

[Hotwire]

Meshies any day of the week - and wont cook your brakes like those other horrid things when on the track