I bought the materials from DonJer’s Flocking Supplies, as noted in the Zilvia.net article. However, I opted for the spray gun (saves a lot of time) & got orange flocking fibers and undercoat. DonJer’s site also has very nice write-ups and tips on flocking, so I will just list a quick overview & some results.

I decided to start with a test run of the orange flock fibers on my radio bezel/shifter trim.

Basically:
0) Get material & area ready (the undercoat is kinda stinky, so work in a ventilated area)
1) Sand and clean part to be flocked
2) Apply undercoat
3) Spray on flocking material
4) Let sit for at least 15 hours or so
5) Shake, pat, brush excess material off

The Result:
Super smooth funky suede style interior. This shit feels REALLY soft and nice!

I wasn’t super careful with the amount of undercoat I applied (needed to apply more), but it still turned out good overall for a first piece. I’m starting to get the hang of it now. Hopefully the dashboard & center console will be done within the next couple of weeks!

Close-Ups:

YUMMY!

Like how I killed 2 birds? huh? huh? lol, anyway, saw this little gem on the forums today:

Yup, that’s right. Dillon, the black ranger, drives a red zenki. Best ranger ever… that is all.

A couple months back, I was checking out my uncle’s 240z & noticed a couple really neat things:

1) There is an engine bay “portable” light – super neat! More on that another time.

2) There is an oem fuel splash protector – keeps gas from hitting your paint when fueling!!!

I found a new one made by one of the 240z shops on eBay. Of course, you can probably just buy some rubber piece from home depot, like the ones people make front lips out of, but it was pretty cheap, so I said why not.

After it came in, I tried to install it the same way that it sat on a 240z; however the 240sx fuel sender unit is much smaller, so everything gets really cramped.

I decided to trim the rubber fuel protection thingy & fit it again. I trimmed a little too much – it will fit in but won’t stay connected since I took too much off the top. I was still able to wedge it in between the fuel sender unit & the chassis, so it worked out in the end.

Total project time: about 3-5 minutes

Equipment required:
- Scissors
- Rubber material or a 240z fuel splash guard (or whatever it is really called)

Step 1:
- Trim the splash guard

Step 2:
- Fit the piece – if you trimmed too much like I did (or just got a rectangular piece), you can wedge it between the fuel sender grommet & the chassis.

Great thing is, it actually works pretty decent! Normally I don’t spill any fuel at all: I give the fuel pump the “two shakes” and all is normally good. Yesterday, I went to fuel up & 2-3 drops escaped the fuel sender & landed smack dab onto the splash guard instead of my nice paint, YAY!

The motivation for creating this heat shield came from my exhaust warping the stock rear bumper – and melting/bubbling the paint on my aftermarket rear bumper. This was mostly due to the overly rich tune from the ecu install, but it was easier for me to temporarily install a heat shield, which may be useful later as well, than to tap the downpipe & tune everything now.

I bought a sheet of aluminum (.090″ x 12″ x 24″) for just under $20 delivered via eBay. I got this thickness because I read about how some were too thin – this may actually be a little too thick for some applications, but worked fine for me. I held it down via 5/32″ long aluminum rivets & 1/8″ medium & short aluminum rivets (you may also get away w/ medium, and possibly short, 5/32″ aluminum rivets).

Total Project Time:
This took me about 2 hours taking my sweet ass time with the hand / hack saw & 30 minutes of which was spent going to Home Depot to pick up rivets since I forgot where I put my other pack of rivets from way back when.

Tools:
- Dremel, jigsaw, hack saw, or any other cutting tool you prefer
- Drill w/ 5/32″ & 1/8″ bits, or whatever size rivets you want to use
- Rivets & riveting tool
- Cardboard/paper for creating a template
- Aluminum sheet (again, mine was .090″ x 12″ x 24″)
- Dry erase marker or something to trace the template onto the aluminum
- Optional: I also used a section of aluminum heat shield barrier with adhesive (used for protecting areas in the engine bay from turbo installs)

Step 1:
I found it much easier to remove the rear bumper than to work with it on the car.

Failed attempt of using purely aluminum heat barrier with adhesive (ripped off @ Horse Thief Mile & took some paint with it).

Step 2:
Create a basic template of what you want your shield to look like with cardboard or paper.

Step 3:
Once you are satisfied with your mock up, trace the design onto the aluminum sheet.

Step 4:
Cut away! I first used a dremel with the jigsaw attachment, but I ended up using an old fashioned hack saw. After that, I smoothed the edges with the Dremel w/ sanding & deburring attachments.

Step 5:
Bend the aluminum sheet if necessary for your application. Then, test fit the sheet onto the bumper. At this point, you can drill pilot holes – drill onto the sheet first, then from there, drill through the bumper & place the rivets by hand to hold the position of the sheet.

Step 6:
Finish up by riveting. In my case, I added the optional heat barrier at the bottom of the bumper so that I didn’t have to bend the thick aluminum to cover that area.

Step 7:
Reinstall the bumper on the car. Take some pics and go “oooo, aaaaa”.

Don’t mind the crooked rear bumper – just look at the heat shield, haha.

To get started, I purchased an led interior dome light panel (3×6 leds – 18 total) off eBay. My particular light came from bliss-star for just under $13 shipped to my door. On to the write up w/ pics!

Note: I also test-fitted this same led panel into the 240sx convertible trunk light – fits perfectly w/ no modding at all!

Tools:
- Philips and flat blade to pry off the dome light and remove it.
- Dremel w/ sanding disc or equivalent tool to cut the plastic in the dome light
- 18 LED Dome Light w/ 194 bulb adapter (the one I bought comes w/ several adapters), or whatever size you like

Total Project Time:
I believe it took me about 15-20 minutes, most of the time moving from my car to the house, setting up the tools, and going back to the car.

Step 1:
Remove your old dome light
- Use a flat blade to pry the plastic panel off, be careful as the cover is probably pretty old & brittle
- Use a philips screwdriver to remove the dome light; unplug the connector & remove the 194 bulb at this time.

Step 2:
Trim the plastic panel so that the led light can fit comfortably with the plastic cover on. I had to trim off about 5-7mm either side of the housing for the light to be able to recess far enough into the housing so the plastic cover cover slip over. YMMV.

Step 3:
Reinstall the light. For the 194 bulb, the red wire is on the bottom (toward the front of the car). If you have it reversed, the light won’t turn on – you can just open/close the door to verify.

The led panel comes with adhesive backing, but I opted to not use it – the pressure between the housing and the plastic light cover are enough to keep it wherever you put it.

Step 4:
Marvel at your super bright LED dome light.

In reality, each of the individual led’s are noticeable (it’s not a blur like how the camera picked it up)

Note: No flash was used for this image; also looks much brighter in person.

Overall Impression:
Looks absolutely fantastic, day & night. Of course, during the day, you don’t gain any light, but the bulbs look cool. At night, there is a very even glow across the entire front and some rear area of the car. I could not accurately capture the lighting at night with my camera, but this should give you some idea.

Compared to stock, it may not be as bright spotlight wise, but it is close enough. It also feels much cleaner, nicer and more modern than the oem bulb.

If you are concerned about possible water leakage into the housing (think you have bigger problems if this is happening), you can always cover up the back of the housing w/ duct tape, glue, adhesive, caulk, etc.

Total Install Time: 2.5 hours (being very relaxed & taking our sweet ass time). This install should be doable in 30 minutes – 1 hour for those who are motivated.

QV: “Hey Chris, I think I can fit your muffler on my 240.”

Equipment Required/Recommended:
- Nismo (or whatever you bought) exhaust
- Replacement exhaust gaskets (2 for cat, 1 for mid-pipe, and 1 ring gasket for mid-pipe to muffler) & bolts or a Nismo exhaust gasket kit
- Jack
- Jack Stands
- PB Blaster (especially handy for the exhaust hanger bushings
- Metric socket & wrench assortment (mostly 10, 12, & 14mm)
- Long screwdriver or something to help pry the hanger bushings
- Breaker bar to make removing old nuts easier
- Possibly a Ford Wrench… just in case something gets stuck
- Metal/Aluminum polish if you wish to make things shiny
- Pimp Khakis & a Dress shirt because 350z guys work on their cars in style (optional)

Step 1 – Prep
- Put the car on jack stands. Chris used the front jacking point & the rear diff to raise the car. He also chose to use the jack points (the spare tire jack ones I believe) for the jack stand support area.
- PB Blast the nuts/bolts if you wish. PB Blast the exhaust hanger bushings to make removal easier. Nothing like a lil lube to make it slide in & out quickly.

Jacking up the rear via the differential.

Jack stands in place.

One more view of jack stands because… why not.

Don’t forget the PB Blaster.

Step 2 – Remove the old exhaust.
This step is fairly straight forward:
- 2 nuts for each cat to y-pipe connection
- 2 nuts for the y-pipe to mid pipe connection
- 3 nuts for the mid-pipe to muffler connection (one side is double nutted for the ground wire connected to the exhaust)
- 1 bolt for the rear exhaust hanger bushing

The toughest part here was getting the muffler off the exhaust hanger bushings. With 2 people (or 1 person and a jack), pry away @ the bushing against the muffler pipe after spraying it down with some PB Blaster.

Also, be careful w/ stripping nuts – I would highly recommend using 6-pt sockets/wrenches.

Removing the bolts from the y-pipe

Mid-pipe removed

Fondling – err, I mean, removing – the muffler

Reverse of removal. I would recommend PB Blasting the exhaust hangers a little more if you haven’t already, makes install that much easier. The Nismo exhaust comes with a separate grounding point on the muffler that uses a 10mm bolt & nut, very spiffy.

Driver side muffler – notice the new grounding point for the exhaust ground wire

Passenger side exhaust hanger – this one was a PITA to get out at first

Passenger rear exhaust hanger – we found it easier to remove the bolt holding it in rather than trying to slip the muffler out of the hanger

Bolting the y-pipe back up

View of Nismo mid-pipe & y-pipe – sexxxy

Step 4 – Clean Up
- Polish/clean up the exhaust if you wish
- Lower car
- Put away tools
- Start car up and pat yourself on the back for a job well done

Crazy Eyes Chris says “This is the best polish evars!”

“Damn QV left finger prints all over my muffler.” *polish polish polish*

We even made a video – the video actually sounds quite louder than what the Nismo exhaust sounds like in person, haha – it’s quieter than stock @ idle.