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Unfortunately my daughter had to head back down to Galveston earlier than expected due to her and my wife testing positive for Covid on Monday. She had to go back since the med school has pretty strict policy on quarantining and all that. So, that cut down the time I was hoping to work on the G, but oh well. Main thing is she isn’t having any major complications or issues with the damn virus and neither is my wife. Surprisingly, I tested negative yesterday.
Funny thing is, however, that my daughter texted me today saying she just realized her new ride even has a fancy rearview camera. Guess she didn’t realize that during the few times she drove it while she was home.
Looking forward to her come back some time this spring so I can do an oil change on it.
After checking out Audi, Q50 and 60, Genesis, Kia Stinger and more, I decided to keep my 2012 G37 that I've owned for 8 years.
That meant it was time for a bunch of maintenance over Christmas at 105,000km on the odometer.
Changed every fluid including dropping the tranny pan to inspect for metal gunk (there was almost none). Despite driving in snowy Ontario, the transfer case and front diff fluids looked almost new. They could probably have gone another 300,000 before looking like the rear diff oil.
Replaced the cabin filter.
Did about a dozen touch-up spots on the body paint.
Removed and painted the lower suspension strut that was badly corroded. What a mess! Took the rust off with coarse wire wheel on an angle grinder in a closed garage (it's winter outside). The rust dust was incredible. The air was thick enough that it was visible in a photo (which I would post if I knew how)! My yellow medical mask turned black. And my silver G took on a red hue. Had to go to the cash wash, and I spent about as much time vacuuming the garage afterward as I did on the repair! I should have done it outside in the cold!
Next up: serpentine belt and spark plugs. I'll do that when I install my new CAI.
Took delivery of a Z1 intake kit just before Christmas. I was waiting for my ODBLink MX+ to arrive so I can do some baseline acceleration runs then compare to after CAI installation. Got the OBDLink Dec 31. Haven't got it working yet. I got it paired to my phone, but it's not providing any data. Once I get it figured out, I'll post some real-world data before and after CAI.
Waiting for a lot of other goodies: Stillen CBE, test pipes, Swift springs, Whiteline sways.
NOT looking forward to the exhaust installation. The bolts on both ends of the cats are unrecognizable lumps of rust. Might have to resort to using the oxy-acetylene torch. Not something I'm keen to do with the car up on a Quickjack. 18" of lift still isn't a lot of room. I'll try a few other tricks first.
In non-G news, I finished installing the heads and intake on the Ford 302 that I started rebuilding during covid lockdown. It's destined for my FFR Daytona Coupe kit. It's an old school push rod engine that is a lot simpler than the VQ engine!
After checking out Audi, Q50 and 60, Genesis, Kia Stinger and more, I decided to keep my 2012 G37 that I've owned for 8 years.
That meant it was time for a bunch of maintenance over Christmas at 105,000km on the odometer.
Changed every fluid including dropping the tranny pan to inspect for metal gunk (there was almost none). Despite driving in snowy Ontario, the transfer case and front diff fluids looked almost new. They could probably have gone another 300,000 before looking like the rear diff oil.
Replaced the cabin filter.
Did about a dozen touch-up spots on the body paint.
Removed and painted the lower suspension strut that was badly corroded. What a mess! Took the rust off with coarse wire wheel on an angle grinder in a closed garage (it's winter outside). The rust dust was incredible. The air was thick enough that it was visible in a photo (which I would post if I knew how)! My yellow medical mask turned black. And my silver G took on a red hue. Had to go to the cash wash, and I spent about as much time vacuuming the garage afterward as I did on the repair! I should have done it outside in the cold!
Next up: serpentine belt and spark plugs. I'll do that when I install my new CAI.
Took delivery of a Z1 intake kit just before Christmas. I was waiting for my ODBLink MX+ to arrive so I can do some baseline acceleration runs then compare to after CAI installation. Got the OBDLink Dec 31. Haven't got it working yet. I got it paired to my phone, but it's not providing any data. Once I get it figured out, I'll post some real-world data before and after CAI.
Waiting for a lot of other goodies: Stillen CBE, test pipes, Swift springs, Whiteline sways.
NOT looking forward to the exhaust installation. The bolts on both ends of the cats are unrecognizable lumps of rust. Might have to resort to using the oxy-acetylene torch. Not something I'm keen to do with the car up on a Quickjack. 18" of lift still isn't a lot of room. I'll try a few other tricks first.
In non-G news, I finished installing the heads and intake on the Ford 302 that I started rebuilding during covid lockdown. It's destined for my FFR Daytona Coupe kit. It's an old school push rod engine that is a lot simpler than the VQ engine!
Nice work on all that. Feels good to do bursts of upgrades/maintenance. Let's see some pics, and of the Ford stuff too! I owned 2 fox bodies and rebuilt the 302 in my 85, that I've since sold. Miss that thing.
Nice work on all that. Feels good to do bursts of upgrades/maintenance. Let's see some pics, and of the Ford stuff too! I owned 2 fox bodies and rebuilt the 302 in my 85, that I've since sold. Miss that thing.
Fox bodies are awesome. I'm a Fox notchback fan, but I've never owned one. The engine below was bought from a wrecked '88 LX. I still own a '95 GT. It has a 347. It's now sacrificing parts for my upcoming Daytona coupe build. Here are some Ford pics:
First pic is the '88 302 back in Feb, 2020. I was just about to begin a teardown. When the pandemic hit, the rebuild became my lockdown project.
Second pic is the same motor as of yesterday (Jan 6, 2021). Almost ready for the dyno. Only the block, crank, rods, and water pump remain. everything else is new. I'm planning to top it off with a Holley Sniper EFI.
Don't you just love shiny new parts?!
You can see from the second pic that my garage got a bit of a makeover during the lockdown. It's now way more organized, and I put in garage tiles (makes the space feel like another room of the house instead of a grubby oily garage).
Here's my G37x on the quickjacks getting a multitude of fluid changes:
Here is the corroded suspension brace (thanks to the salted winter roads of Ontario):
Here is the hazy air in garage after cleaning off all the rust with a wire cup brush on an angle grinder spinning at about 4,000 RPMs:
Here is the clean part after prepping with Metal Ready:
And finally, painted with Eastwood direct-to-metal ceramic 2-part engine paint that I had left over from painting the 302 block.
Awesome paint! When it's sprayed on in fairly thick coats, it levels beautifully, and the part looks like it has been powder coated.
This piece doesn't look that nice, because I didn't put any effort into making it pretty. I just applied it with a crappy foam brush. But it will be more durable than the factory paint.
Installed my Z1 intakes. Also bought, but have not yet installed, Fortune 500 coils, z1 rear traction and camber arms and voodoo front upper control arms. Originally bought HKS Hipermax coils but was told they were out for 4 months and the fortunes were in stock for the 370z. A call to fortune verified that they are the same coils for my RWD sport sedan so everything should be kosher for an install in 2 weeks.
Got the wheels on, and managed to install the front stance coilovers. Ran out of daylight before i could get the rears. But I'll get after it this week) Looks like it will only need about an inch drop in the back.
Fox bodies are awesome. I'm a Fox notchback fan, but I've never owned one.
Back in the late '80s/early '90s, The New York State Police had Mustang SSPs in their fleet. They were essentially notch-back LX 5.0 Mustangs beefed-up for police use. If memory serves, they were stick-shift! Cool cars.
Got the wheels on, and managed to install the front stance coilovers. Ran out of daylight before i could get the rears. But I'll get after it this week) Looks like it will only need about an inch drop in the back.
Wheels are Enkei rs05rr 18x9 5 +35 on 255/40s
Super clean. What did you use to black out the trim around the side windows? I want to black mine out but wrap shops want to charge and arm and a leg, and I've seen people not suggest taking it off to paint it because it could break trying to remove the trim.
Super clean. What did you use to black out the trim around the side windows? I want to black mine out but wrap shops want to charge and arm and a leg, and I've seen people not suggest taking it off to paint it because it could break trying to remove the trim.
Took the new acquisition (2010 G37x) for a 100 mile drive just to see what I got and it performed flawlessly.
Even figured out how to get the streaming from phone to work. LOL! Looks like it needs to be on radio first, then start playing what ever streaming service I want to use and then connect the cable. Sounds kind of weird, so I’m not sure if that’s the way it’s meant to be working, but don’t care. Main thing is it works and can be used. Good to go.
Guess she didn’t realize that during the few times she drove it while she was home. 
) Looks like it will only need about an inch drop in the back.
