In progress: 300ZX Race Car

This is probably way too ambitious considering it's only really my second model, but stuff it, I wanna :)

The plan is a 300ZX Race Car including interior with quite a few mods.

I had a VERY unbuilt Toyota GTC (?) car in the cupboard which must be 10 years old from the last time I built anything in my early teens
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race0.jpg

It will be donating the brakes, possibly the seat, pedals, maybe the dash with LCD display, and the floor and interior door panels

The body is also my test bitch :)
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race0b.jpg

On to the Z. I'm using a Fujimi model as a base for two reasons, first being it's a slicktop (non targa roof) as any race car would naturally be, and it does not have a pre 93 rear wing, which makes putting on a GT wing easier and will look better (I really wish I knew what happenned to the wing that came with the Toyota model!). The cost is high as the quality is far poorer than the Tamya 300ZX, and the way the Fujimi handles the front fog lights and blinkers will make a custom front much harder.

Getting rid of a few things I won't want.... it will have a race style fuel filler, and just unseen in this shot is the removal of some of the rear number plate surround, as a rear diffuser will go there
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race1.jpg

Rear facing bonnet vent. This was going to be fairly simple and the tests I'd done on the Toyota junk body were good. I wasn't confident the 'side walls' of the duct would hold the plastic of the vent down properly, so I thought I'd heat it up to encourage it to stay in place
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race2.jpg

AAARRRGH!!!! Disaster struck, won't try that again (in retrospect I was using a hand held propane torch thingy, what was I thinking!?)
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race3.jpg

So, the vent became far bigger and more complex than I'd planned, but all up I think it's a reasonable recovery
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race4.jpg

http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race5.jpg

The top side of the Fujimi Z floorpan was totally unsuitable to be seen in the interior, so I've taken the race floor from the Toyota and grafted it on (white is Toyota, grey is orininal Z).
http://yoyo.its.monash.edu.au/~blipman/trash/race6.jpg

Unfortunately it's too narrow (the entire Z floorpan is in fact, the underside of all Fujimi Z's must look crap) so I'll have to make it wider, and the front Toyota wheel arches will be cut up to make the rear ones a little wider (hope it works), and then I can start making a cage, add seat, harness, etc.

The plan is to paint the body the classic Nissan racing red with white bonnet, blue along the side and white stripes (you either know it or you don't :) ) which again is why I think this is probably doomed to failure considering my experience... that's a lot of masking. But, we'll see how it goes.

Ben

dude that sux! with the blow torch i use a handheld lighter when i do that lol. anyways that vent would look pretty cool if you sanded it out abit to make it somewhat flush with the body but overall PIMP!

First thing FIRE & PLASTIC dont get along with each other thats a common rule everybody knows. next time use a drimel to do that air vent but so far its coming out pretty good!!

Haha...awesome recovery on the hood vent, dude! :lol: It'll be interesting to see how this project comes together.

Umm, heat and plastic is a bad idea in general.

Me, I've always used scribers and jeweler's saws to make my cuts. Less wasted material and more precise pieces. Couple that with liquid cement and I very rarely need putty. Thank god.

But you're certainly doing well with the modifications. I hope it goes well for you.

Geez.. this is your second model! I'm surprised you went for it.... good for you! The hood looks great.

Great recovery. The vent looks great. What race team colors are you going to paint it? Keep us posted on how the build goes.

Looking great so far!! I really like that hood! :sunglasse

Good fix on that hood. Looks like it's gonna be a fun project!

Umm, heat and plastic is a bad idea in general.


I wouldn't say in general. Maybe, flame and plastic. I use heat often: hair dryers to make plastic more malleable (for things like hood vents), boiling water to make plastic curl (for things like wheel offsets), and if I ever get around to it, oven for vacuuforming. And actually, I use flame for making antennas out of sprue. Care just must be taken.

Anyway, great work on this model! Very ambitious project, and it should turn out great! I can't wait to see it progress.

the new scoop looks better than the old one, imo. ambitious yes, possible yes, take your precious sweet time.