Well that was a success, it still has the VQ rasp but the shitty trumpet sound has been eliminated at the exact rpm it was occurring. Math works!

Took some time off work and decided I wanted to punish myself by tackling my dashboard. It has the cracks and peeling that is common and since a used dash is going to be $1k by the time I get it, figured I would try covering it in a basic wet lay up “forged” carbon fiber.
http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...2e0aec933.jpeg
How it started

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...0390decdd.jpeg
After heating and scraping the plastic crap off the foam. I also decided to smooth in the gauges, some 2” pvc pipe and body filler got the result I was after.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...4983e90de.jpeg
Had to use some filler in a few spots, then a coat of glazing putty. I sanded it very lightly with 220grit

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...4324440fb.jpeg
Using a half pound of 1/4” carbon flakes and epoxy resin I got 3 layers. Was a pain in the *** because you can’t brush on the resin, will just end up with clumps of grey hair. So after the epoxy set up I had to drizzle on more then toss more flakes on.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...76038b145.jpeg
Current status. I have about another 6 hours of sanding with 80grit to do a final brush on of epoxy to fill in any small pin holes. After that I have some tinted and matted PPG high solid clear to be the final layer.

I’m looking forward to the outcome of the dash project!

Me too! :icon17:

Sanding, what a **** ton of sanding. Between waiting for the epoxy to set up and sanding this is taking ages. Patience is not one of my virtues so I have been limiting my time on it to 1-2 hours at a time each day.

Basically there's no way to use body filler and a few spots are thin on the carbon flake layers so I cannot just sand down to carbon and am having to use the epoxy itself to build up. Not ideal but another 2 coat's build up, sand smooth and then a last thin sealing coat of epoxy and it will be done.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...4-17-27-36.jpg
You can see the low spots at the top of the picture.

I was thinking about making a CF dash later... That looks like a huge PITA. lol

It is a pain. If you could find someone that could figure out how to vacuum bag it, it wouldn't be so much "body work" to do.

I can't say I will be in a rush to do this on any other parts

After 2 hours of sanding and the final coat of epoxy it’s 95% complete!

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...7abf43d18.jpeg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...d3ebf10f1.jpeg

Last steps will be to dremel out the excess that’s in the vent and defroster holes.

I know a few people that can vacuum bag and that's exactly how I was going to attempt it.

If I were to attempt this ever again in life there are a few things my amateur self would do differently.

Use filler over the entire dash and not glazing putty

Reinstall the dash after the body work to confirm dry fitment of the rest of the interior

Do a black basecoat, tape off all the vent trim pieces and reinstall them before doing any resin

Do not use the flakes without a vacuum. Matter of fact figure out a way to use regular carbon cloth but again with a vacuum. With just a wet lay up and sanding you still end up with areas that are too thick for other trim pieces to fit properly.

Later on this year I will get another dashboard but for now this will do.

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...8b231f804d.jpg

http://www.the370z.com/members/sirni...8f122f8c50.jpg

Swapped out the rear brakes last night to the 350z base model brakes.

Used the Powerstop kit KC17926 from rock auto. Red calipers, pads and drilled/slotted rotors. So far driving it this morning there is no noticeable difference in the brakes. Will be taking the slicks to get mounted today and then confirm fitment and clearance.

The 26th is the "test and tune" day so I'm scheduling some time with Husam to finish the ethanol tune.

Only goals I have are:
A) 1.4x 60ft
B) 6.9x second pass (1/8th mile)

Excellent build thread dude!

Eventually, I'll do the built engine + cams route.

I'm concentrating on suspension, drivetrain and aero now.

Thanks man. It's been a long journey. Good luck with your build!

The front of the car got jealous that I swapped the rear brakes. I noticed it was getting lazy to start and then it blew the main starter fuse for some reason. I have the fuse bypassed temporarily as there are none of the OEM style battery terminal fuse block things on island. I also swapped back to regular battery for the interim.

Yesterday the slicks got mounted on the 15s, will test fit them tomorrow and post a pic.

Yeah if you fall for the VQ37 high power meme then you deserve it LOL
Suspected blown head gasket, happened randomly traveling between stores at work.

Officially at the end of my rope so it will sit again until I can put something that isn’t a steaming pile of **** between the frame rails.

You lost the headgasket? What did you do to help keep it sealed up?

It’s a pretty basic build, oem head gaskets and ARP L19s.