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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

2003 - 2009, roadster, coupe, facelift
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LBZ4
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by LBZ4 » Sun Jan 15, 2017 10:37 pm

Evening guys,

So I have always liked the idea of modifying a convertible and when I came to finally buy something it was very much between the Porsche and the z4. I decided to choose the Z4 because in my opinion the whole shape of the car still looks modern whilst not actually costing a lot.

So I sold my 350z and the journey began:
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I waved goodbye to something I had messed around with for about 2 years and went off to Blackpool to pick up my 3.0 Z4 - I was actually quite surprised at the power of the car I had already accepted I may have felt a change going from a 3.5 v6 to a 3.0 Straight 6 but the weight difference is so clearly apparent that it still had me smiling on the inside.
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The problem I had was that I choose the first 3.0 I found and just got excited the day after picking it up I realized it had been painted on one side ( a bit quickly by the looks of the finish ) and the front bumper was just depressing to look at.. just looks old.

First ever mod was fixing a big dent in the side of the car and fitting the GAPTECH+ thing
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The next step was to sort out the radio. In my opinion, the radio just seemed very old school and although it had an aux cable it wasn't enough for me so we made up a quick template and rerouted the air vents to the side vents then boom sat in a double din surrounded by leather. I was much more happy with this
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Then it was time to think about seats because the leather memory things I had in there just wasn't for me so I let someone take them for £20 and I fitted these
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Much more comfortable and again made me feel like the car was starting to be a little more unique!

Then I needed to make it a little bit lower so I popped on some coil overs and left her like this for quite some time
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Ok so then it snowed a little bit and being so used to the 350z I quite enjoyed having a play around in the snow when we ever got it so the child inside said MORRREEEE and I crashed into a curb and ripped up one of my alloys and popped the airbags and blah blah blah lesson learnt - bigger car park next time.. So I had to source some cr*ppy replica BBS wheels and I lost love with the car for a good few months so it was left like this for many moons
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And I honestly gave up with it. Figured it looked half decent and was an alright runaround but I never had much intention to do anything else to it.. Until some arse hole pulled up on him moped got off and kicked the s**t out of it haha. Turned out it was some boyfriend of my girlfriend who thought I called him a name one day in Narnia whilst he was half cooked on whatever wacky fun stuff he had been snorting ( I'm rambling but I really hope he dies somehow not even an apology )
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So I thought I wouldn't let it bother me and ill just rebuild the bloody thing better than before just to rub it in his face that he rides a moped or his life sucks or whatever reason he trashed the side of the car...

So here we go ( the fun times )
Changed the rear lights to facelift and changed the rear bumper to a msport bumper because it looks so much better than the others in my opinion and would cater for the quad exhaust system I wanted making.

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Also realising the speed bumps and potholes in Hull would probably never get filled in I decided to buy air ride for the car
and replace those god awful rep wheels with some Work wheels which were probably a little but too wide for our back ends but I would solve this later one.
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Now it was time to change the front end up.. I was soo ready to get rid of that dated front end I traveled down to London to pick up my new bumper ( putting it in the cube was a little tricky )
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Holding it up to the car I thought it may be a bit trickier than first thought to make it fit :|
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but anyway next up was replacing the headlights with some chrome angel eye versions ( facelift was my first choice but I couldn't get hold of any )
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Then I decided to take a break from spending on the Z4 and help out my brother with our other project the S14A - I gave him the Recaro seats too to help make the interior nicer!
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So I needed a new set of seats for the z4 - something less race car and more luxury so I went and found myself these :)
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They came out of a new 2015 AMG SLK R132 - shame they have the AMG badge on them but I don't mind

But fitting them was a little bit strange ( making the air scarf and the electrics work was a day long job! )
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But after some sore fingers and loads of multimeter work they are in and working perfectly

I then needed some upgraded audio play things so I opted for Focal speakers with some black air vibes for the footwells
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Then I needed some extra pieces for the M4 bumper to make it look better!
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Then I dropped the car at the same shop I take all my cars and the putting together started
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First was the quad exhaust
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then cutting the car away to make room for the wide arch kit
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Just got the spacers for the rear wheels to fit so they sit flush with the bodywork - the wide arch kit will be smoothed into the actual car so there isn't any joining lines ( i think this kind of kits look rubbish when you can still see where the kit has been usually bolted on )

then moving on to the front end.
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Video of it touching the floor below
View My Video

And I bought a new steering wheel today to match the interior and make it feel. a little bit nicer for me
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Oh and the paint arrived also I choose an Aventador color because I think gun metal really is one of the best colors for a car like this
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So that's all your getting guys :) il update this probably when it's all finished maybe if I remember I'm terrible at updating things haha! and if you were wondering - hey lew what happened with your Silvia project? here you go
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This is kind of just a diary thing for me to look back on i hope you enjoy reading through it. I appriciate this look and butchering of a car wont be for everyone but im a firm believer of not giving a s**t what people think so do what you like haha :) until next time guys :)
Last edited by LBZ4 on Sun Feb 12, 2017 10:13 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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ben g
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My E85 Project Thread

Post by ben g » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:25 pm

Wow! This is like a decent version of that crap marmite project thing :lol: top job. Looks great. Can't wait to see it finished.
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Buckz
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My E85 Project Thread

Post by Buckz » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:29 pm

That's quite a lot of work you're putting in it! I'm interested to see where it ends up!
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LBZ4
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My E85 Project Thread

Post by LBZ4 » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:34 pm

ben g wrote:Wow! This is like a decent version of that crap marmite project thing :lol: top job. Looks great. Can't wait to see it finished.
haha yeah I read through that and watched the youtube video... hopefully, it won't look anything like that haha but as long as he liked it that's all that matters!!! and there your old facelift lights :D so your a part of it haha! so... who's gonna donate and get their name engraved under the hood :rofl:

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My E85 Project Thread

Post by Marlon » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:38 pm

Looks an amazing project - keep us updated. Like ben g says its sort of a classy proper version of that other 'project'.
I'm honoured that a part of my car will also be included in this unique Zed :thumbsup:
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MrPT
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My E85 Project Thread

Post by MrPT » Sun Jan 15, 2017 11:50 pm

ben g wrote:Wow! This is like a decent version of that crap marmite project thing :lol: top job. Looks great. Can't wait to see it finished.
That is exactly what I was thinking! :rofl:
2008 Z4MC: heavy wheels | crap suspension | skittish rear end | wobbly engine | not enough induction noise | underwhelming turn in | inconsistent braking | lardy battery | chubby steering wheel
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My E85 Project Thread

Post by buzyg » Mon Jan 16, 2017 12:59 am

Some one's been busy. :thumbsup:
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LBZ4
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by LBZ4 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:42 am

buzyg wrote:Some one's been busy. :thumbsup:
lol just a bit

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hopz121
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by hopz121 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 7:55 am

Looking forward to seeing it finished.

Looks great so far :thumbsup:
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by jamie_z4 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:33 am

Wow hats off to you for all the work you've put in!

Looks fantastic mate
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by Darkangelv2 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:50 am

Awesome - I've really wanted to see someone over here do the M4 conversion to the front.

Have you seen how Level Up Bodyworks in Korea have matched the lights and grills in as well?
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LBZ4
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by LBZ4 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 9:58 am

Darkangelv2 wrote:Awesome - I've really wanted to see someone over here do the M4 conversion to the front.

Have you seen how Level Up Bodyworks in Korea have matched the lights and grills in as well?
absolutely not - send it across in a link if you can! i did consider the grills and the lights but i just didn't want to mess with the proportions too much! too many times I've seen people do conversions and end up with a odd looking car haha! my goal was to keep this as close to OEM as possible haha - if thats possible !

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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by JINGLE » Mon Jan 16, 2017 10:44 am

Looks great Lewis!!! I started reading this and didn't recognise your name and saw the 350Z and though I'll message Lewis about this.... then started to add up that you have changed your name :rofl:

Can't wait for the updates!!!

Now you make me think I need to do some more mods to mine.... hard top, coilovers, new front bumper, angel eyes, rear diffuser, rear spoiler :fuelfire:

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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by Darkangelv2 » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:17 am

LBZ4 wrote:
Darkangelv2 wrote:Awesome - I've really wanted to see someone over here do the M4 conversion to the front.

Have you seen how Level Up Bodyworks in Korea have matched the lights and grills in as well?
absolutely not - send it across in a link if you can! i did consider the grills and the lights but i just didn't want to mess with the proportions too much! too many times I've seen people do conversions and end up with a odd looking car haha! my goal was to keep this as close to OEM as possible haha - if thats possible !
Check them out.

They've done 4 or 5 of these from what I can see but they're all a little different. I'm not sure if they've got the rear quite right yet but the front end looks great and they've integrated DRLs nicely.

http://instagram.com/levelup_body_factory
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My E85 Project Thread - Project Nutella

Post by Chris_D » Mon Jan 16, 2017 11:19 am

that air-scarf must be a real treat to use! is it effective with the top down?
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