First the stupid shift ****. Nice quality, Nissan.....after less than 6 months, my AE **** has 2 problems, which you can see below - the grid pattern is rubbing off, and the silver coating is peeling off, revealing white plastic beneath.

So...said f-k it and stripped ALL of the silver coating off, primed, masked, and painted it a shade that matches the ***** on my audio and climate controls. Used 3 coats of medium gray metallic paint and 4 coats of acrylic enamel clearcoat, so it's as hard as a rock and won't scratch easily.

then...discovered that it was a slightly different gray than the shifter surround. Dammit. So, of course, had to paint the shifter surround to match.





second mod - I've always hated the gray door switch console trim, especially in a tan interior. Bye bye. now it's a flat black that complements the interior a little better...actually did these a few weeks back, and so far, no problem with scratches,etc.....



third mod - got Jason (soonerfan's) old AE engine cover (he can't use it, obviously)...but you know me...silver ain't gonna do it. So, gloss black it is. Turned out nice I think. I am also re-doing the plexi valence near it this week to "fit" better with the engine cover...looks a little "off" right now. cleaned the engine while I was at it....



fourth - changed the resistors in the climate control LEDs to get a little better color red (was using too small resistors initially)

 

then, I see my neighbor washing his new Mustang GT, and realize DAMN MY CAR IS DIRTY.

So I wash it. Now I can see all the paint chips again, and am saddened

 

I love this pic.. nice job as always....

 

looks good josh...but now you wont know what gear you are in

 

damn that shifter is kinda ghetto...
but you gotta do what you gotta do.
can you just get the 6 speed one and scratch out the #6?
the engine cover is looking nice though..

 

well, it's not beautiful, but it's better than the AE topcoat peeling off, which is really ghetto. The color is actually much nicer in person, taking photos in the dark of shiny paint doesn't really show the true color/luster very well.

I don't think the 6sp shift **** will fit ours, and anyhow it's not worth the $$ to me, since my hand is on the shifter when I drive and I'm not looking at it....

 

wait..howd you get that chip on the shift ****?
damn nissan and their ghetto AE ****...

 

the clear coat rubbed off

 

I was getting ready to buy an AE **** too.

 

im not talking **** josh i promise

thats why i like the 6-speed **** since the gear pattern isnt just painted on

 

yeah the 6speed one does look so much better..
but you still the the home depot mod king irish

 

expect your tires to be slashed tonight..I know where you live. It's ok if you talk ****......you still can't drive worth a damn

did we really need another pic of your shifter, considering:
it's already in your signature

 

he is starting to be the "paint king" since he paints everything
and why you using all my black paint josh??

 

slash my tires...i need to replace them anyway

 

you weren't complaining about my painting skills when I was smoking your side markers and telling you how to smoke your Nissan badge yesterday.

when are you re-installing the t-shirt mod again

 

irish did you atleast get the paint from home depot?
i want to stay outta this, but i think i started it...
you guys are nuts...

 

you guys will be very excited to know that, since I have had the roof rack off for a month trying to save gas (didn't help, by the way)....I am in the process of repainting all the rack components (still black though) and a new fairing design for the summer. I need to put the rack back on now that Jason bought a clone car of mine, and Rob is getting confused...

 

oh i almost forgot, your red leds are lookin pretty cool...
whats up with the flag sticker?

 

Nice job, as always, Josh.

You got pm.....

 

I'm not either... but here's a better pic to show what he's talking about:

 

6-speed

 

The 6 speed shifter is great when it's new, but all the silver finish is rubbing off on mine as well...but at least its black underneath. I need a new shifter now...I can't stand the way it looks.

 

hey Irish Can you pay you do to mine LEDs ?

 

I like the engine cover. Nice work.

 

hey irish..wasnt there a tsb for peeling on 2000-2001's? I got mine done since some plastic stuff was peeling off...

 

there is no TSB..and even if there was he would have to pay for it

 

well i got it done under warranty as my shifter **** was peeling...the dealer initially said that they wouldnt do it and i have to pay for it..i found the tsb and showed it to them

 

I bought the **** used in the first place, and don't have an AE....so would probably be pretty tough to have the dealer replace it....besides, it would just happen again anyhow.

You would have to pay me ALOT to go through that process again

 

Yeah, the Aniversary Ed. shift ***** aren't great, mine's peeling off too, might decide to go irish's way and paint it...

looks good man

 

Sorta off-topic, but since irish44j repainted the engine cover, I have a question. Did you sand and primer the cover before painting? How many coats did you use? I'm thinking of using a can of Graphite wheel enamel I have laying around which I have used to AE my headlights and black-out my corner lights. Do you think this will withstand the heat inside the engine compartment? Sorry for asking too many questions.

 

Yes, since the engine cover wasn't new (and therefore had some grease/oily buildup on them, I wet sanded it, used a prepping spray, washed multiple times, and used black BBQ spray paint on it, topped with gloss black Dupli-color and a clearcoat. Total of 2 base coats, 1 top coat, 1 clear coat.

As to heat, if it's an acrylic enamel, it should hold up to the heat just fine.

 

My shift **** started to wear down too. I picked one up at JC Whitney. What do you guys think. Nice paint job by the way.

 

I have an aftermarket shifter and want to get the OEM 6 speed shifter (I bought my car used with shifter). Where can I find the 6 speed shifter?

 

For some reason the shift **** on my AE doesn't look like the **** they sell at courtesy nissan or other sites. It's basically the same but instead of silver on top, its black. But still, the numbers already rubbed off and the black is starting to come off too. I've looking at other ***** and really want something that looks like the 6spd one. I cant stand all the nismo ones...

 

that looks much better than a lot of the aftermarket ***** ive seen.

 

does anyone know any website to buy a 6 speed shift ****. Mine looks really good but it wouldn't hurt to know where to buy one