Hello from Indianapolis

[HMBAtrail]

It occurred to me that I haven't actually formally introduced myself despite already asking questions in the tech section.

My name is Tim and I just recently purchased a 69 R16. The car is in decent shape (no rust and recent paint) but has required a fair amount of time and money chasing down electrical and mechanical gremlins.

What was originally planned to be a "buy it, drive it, enjoy it" kinda deal went off the rails over the winter. And those dreaded words "while I'm at it" have been very very expensive.

I just finished the front end and went with new ball joints, tie rods, a arm spindles, springs, shocks, bushings, and sway bar. I also went the brake upgrade route and have 300ZX brakes on it. 15" wheels with 185/55/15 Summer rubber.

I have the dash and console off at Just Dashes getting re-covered. New steering wheel, Retro Sound stereo, amp, sub and speakers ready to install. Re-covering seats right now. I am also putting the heating back in the car. It may not have needed it in Nevada but it sure needs it here. So I've been acquiring all the parts needed to get that accomplished.

This will ever be a show car or anything but it will be reliable and fun. That's all I'm after.

[notoptoy]

Welcome! Glad to have another addition to the community!
Sounds like you are appropriately smitten. Hopefully you had enough time to drive and bond with it before starting all the great repairs and upgrades. That way you'll enjoy all the work even more!

[Gregs672000]

Another victim of the "while I'm in there", but you won't regret it. There's just something about these darn cars! We'll need pictures!

[HMBAtrail]

I just brought it down off the jack stands last night after it being 8" off the ground for three months. Interior is basically new. If it stops it, suspends it or steers it I probably replaced it. Still need to finish running the fuel lines and such but it is mostly done. On Monday it goes in for a new top and a front end alignment. It has been fun working on this little car and the problem solving aspect of it has really been a frustrating joy. Especially considering I knew absolutely zero about this thing about 6 months ago. I have a bit more knowledge now.

image4.JPG

[HMBAtrail]

Once I roll it out of the garage and into the sunlight I will take more pics.

[Gregs672000]

Looks great! Um, I AM kinda wondering how the soft top and the rollbar are going to get along???

[HMBAtrail]

It clears, but just. Much mock-up as I was bending and welding. The photo from the back makes the bars look a little taller than what they actually are.

[jheck]

Tim,
Looks amazing! What's your experience been with JustDashes? I'm interested in quality and turn around. Was the price reasonable?

Cheers,
Jason

[HMBAtrail]

Just Dashes was Just Amazing. Dash and console came back absolutely flawless. It wasn't cheap but it isn't a skillset I possess so I had to have someone else do it. If I was going to have someone else do it I may as well use the best. It was about $2000 for dash and console and it took about 14 weeks.

[goldbug]

Another Q: regarding JustDashes; I'm thinking about sending my dash out to them soon (also from Indpls area, hey!), did you leave the VIN plate attached and they worked around it, or removed? For some reason the whole VIN plate thing is giving me (undue) pause.

[HMBAtrail]

They reattached it

[rahjr60]

Great looking build. What brand of seats are those?

[HMBAtrail]

Cobra seats. I originally had two passenger seats so I had to replace anyway. Went the easy route and bought new seats.

[HMBAtrail]

More pics.

[mshort07]

Welcome to the group. Nice looking car. What type of wheels are those?