i love this front,nice job man

 

I shot a quick email to DressUpBolts.com about only getting 4 titanium nuts. Although I didn't need the 5th... it was the principle of the thing (considering the cost.)

I received a box from them today, and jokingly opened it in front of my wife to show how they sent me an entire shipment for one tiny little M6 nut. Then I was immediately humbled when I realized they sent me a small handful of assorted samples along with it.

That was a truly stand-up thing to do. Now my open-hood sensor is going to be held down by 2 polished titanium, button-head M6 bolts.

Good service indeed.

 

I ordered some new bling-bling hardware as well. I will post some pics when I get them on.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you got, Roy.

I took your advice, and turned the t-bolt clamps around so they're behind the SRI. And I replaced all the long M6 bolts (rusty and black) with shiny new M6 button-head stainless steal bolts, 16mm instead of 20mm, so they're nice and flush. And I used rubber backed SS washers. It looks really clean.

I'm done for now. And I'm not going to get the Apexi adapter. Decided against that.

However, in doing all this, I realized my radiator retention plates need to be repainted again. Seems to be a once-every-2-year kind of thing. Same for my open-hood switch plate. (That one is kind of nasty.)

I'd take more pictures, but you guys are probably sick of seeing my SRI make-over by now.

 

black and shiny >>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Silic...Q5fAccessories

red and shiny >>http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-inc...Q5fAccessories

 

Nice find, Ray.

Those look stronger than those over-priced Spectre couplers I found at Pep-Boys.

 

Meh, I'm going to take pictures anyway. (It's an addiction. Damn camera. )

Here was the SRI configuration before:



And here it is tonight:



The adapter plates (from the old Frankencar kit) are now held in with these stainless steel buttonhead bolts, with stainless rubber-backed washers, nice and flush with the adapter surface:



And here's a close-up of the headlight and bumper tie-downs. Stainless steal flat allen-heads with collars on the headlights, and polished titanium flange nuts on the bumper:

 

Wow, Rochester, those are some nice looking bolts and nuts... I just painted my headlight and bumper tie-down bolts black with some extra paint I had... looks better, but nothing like that! Oh, and I painted my nasty-looking upper radiator brackets black too. Way better now.
Oh! And it's not engine-bay related, but I'm the OP, so I can do this. I just painted my brake calipers red... looks AMAZING. Check out post #7 of my thread here:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....32#post7686732

 

wow, Very perfect Rochester. Wanna do mine next!

 

HaHa! Yeah, um, no.

Nothing is ever "perfect". I'm still using two old t-bolt clamps, that should be replaced. I'm not overly content with these Spectre couplers. And the tie-down bracket on the SRI is a little off.

Once you get on the OCD Trolly, it's hard to get off. I don't know whether to thank jowo9 for this thread, or kick him in the nards.

 

well I guess if you put it that way, that thing looks like an erector set.


That is def not what you wanted to hear!

 

I am in love with that look! So beautiful!! Great job!

 

A little bit, yeah.

Boy, rroderiques is sure getting mad love for his new look. And well deserved, I'd say.

 

where do i go to get my engine lookin pretty lol

 

Here's the thing (problem?) I'm just now figuring out: most SRI mid-pipes, like mine, are made with 3" diameter materials. 3.0" = 76mm.

However, the Throttle Body and the outlet side of the MAF housing are 80mm in diameter, or 3.128". This is why these 3.0" couplers are stretched so tight over the TB and MAF housing.

And as far as I can find, no one makes an 80mm - 76mm reducer for a perfect fit. So either you stretch up, or you clamp down. Right now I'm stretching up, and I don't care for it.

What to do?

No, wait, I take that back. There are 80mm to 76mm couplers out there. Hmm...

 

Looking good. I like the T-bolts turned around much better
Where can I get the shiny couplers? Did you get yours from the e-bay site or did you polish yours?

 

Agreed on the t-bolt orientation. Good call.

They're 3" diameter, 2" length 3-ply couplers made by Spectre, bought off the rack at Pep-Boys. Like I said, I'm not overly pleased with them. They're weak. What I've come to realize is that I need a 4-ply, 80mm-76mm reducer...

...so the tweaking continues, it seems.

 

I called to ask a shipping price for the 5 titanium bolts and was told it's 19 dollars for shipping. F that!! I feel like writing back and asking them if they come in a gold plated box. 19 bucks to stick 5 bolts in a bubble envelope is just silly.

My custom torque link should be ready by end of next week. And I have a few other things that I will be posting in here by the end of the month.

 

I am glad that you found this because at the moment I have a 3.5 to 3.0 spectre coupler and I had to leave that rubber ring that was used to make the MAF housing fit with the stock plumbing. So I am, as you said "clamped down"

 

$14.99 USD + $8 shipping for me down here. Now, I know we don't have a 2:1 conversion rate going on, so I'm going to blame Canada. They're using a standard shipping process, so it's probably the same price whether you buy 5 or 500.

Ray, use your machine shop connections to get basic, stainless steel M6 flange nuts. Or go to Home Depot and get some M6 Nuts and SS washers. It will be just as good, and 1/5 the cost.

That said, I maintain that the service at DressUpBolts.com was excellent. And the titanium hardware is kind of neat.

 

$30/each + shipping is steep. And I'd be needing 2.

Here's an ebay link. Understand that the photo is obviously not for an 80mm-76mm reducer.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-3-1...Q5fAccessories

 

Cripes! That's alot for a coupler! I think I may stick to my ghetto way right now.

 

That's the 4-ply. The 3-ply would be less expensive.

Here's the HPS Website, to buy the 80mm - 76mm, 3-ply reducer direct:

http://www.hiprospeed.com/HPS-3-ply-...0-312-3ply.htm

 

Got some things planned for the engine bay. Its gonna be sweet. Gonna get it done while my car is down because of the cracked radiator

 

For me, clean = pretty. I use simple green to clean my bay. Mask electric parts first (alternator, battery terminal and so on).Spray simple green and let it sit for 5 minutes. Rinse the bay thoroughly and it is pretty

 

Finally got some new hardware.

Driver's side


Passenger side


Strut towers


And just for you Rochester. Got rid of the ugly worm clamps. (Pardon the dirty engine cover).


I also ordered a side cover from a 6th generation for a match-up. It was way off as expected. I now know what I need to do to make this work. I will probably build some out of sheet metal and paint/clear them. I am still undecided what color and whether or not I want to build one for the gap between the radiator and the grill.

 

76-80 or 3.125 to 3 is an odd size. If you needed 3.125 to 3.5 they are only 18 bucks with free shipping on ebay


BTY loving the titanium hardware

 

Way to go, Roy! Are those gold colored pieces all titanium, from DressUpBolts.com?

Love the strut tower bolts. (Pillowball mounts, too, I see. You go the whole nine yards, don't you?) You know what I like, is the tapered strut tower bolts coming through the frame. That looks really good with these titanium nuts.

And those wide t-bolt hose clamps look fantastic. What size please, Ray? I'm wanting me a set of those.

 

I know, but that's what it is. The Frankencar mid-pipe is a 3" diameter, as are the 2 adapter plates. But the MAF housing and TB are each 80mm.

So... 76mm to 80mm. Go figure.

Honestly, I'm not doing a damn thing about it at the moment. $70 for 2 couplers is insane, considering my recent trip down Crazy Road with those titanium nuts and aluminum bolt collars. I need to chill and apply money to real things, like getting these ball joints installed.

 

Anybody notice the reflection?

Roy, do you have a "Fidanza" decal on the underside of your new carbon fiber hood?

 

these guys are much cheaper for the titanium stuff...

www.torontocycles.com

 

 

Who makes that battery tie-down? Never saw it before.

What's that on your upper radiator hose? Some kind of mesh? Let's see a better picture.

The red V6 3.5 is kind of cool.

A 4 megabyte sig photo... not so much.

 

I got some awesome SAMCO 3" x 3" from Vibrant Performance but ordered thru sport compact warehouse and I'm not near my pricing info but I think they were $9 ea iirc....

 

Now you tell us Knight... But is shipping from Canada to the States more?

Among others




Here are some better photos. Notice the t-bolt clamps around the down pipe area.

 

Love those wide t-bolts around the radiator hose. I want them, Roy. PM me the specs on your purchase, please.

I wasn't going to do anything about my strut nuts, but now that I see yours, I'm thinking I can part with another $30 for that little bling. Not right away, however... I need to chill for a bit, and put that on my list. Thanks, Roy!

And I'm happy to see where your decal placement has evolved. Clean on the outside, and proud on the inside. Very nice.

 

Last night, I ground down the radiator retainers, and the open-hood switch plate. Then I primed and painted with a satin black stove-paint. They aren't perfect, not by a long shot. But they aren't rusty eyesores anymore, either.



And then behind the SRI, I sanded down and repainted this retention clip holding something against the strut tower. (LOL, but I really don't know what that is. Embarrassing, I know. )

Anyway, it was also rusting, too. Now it's painted clean, and held to the tower with one of those extra Titanium buttonheads DressUpBolts.com sent me.

Oh, and I ditched the red-collar bolt on the SRI tie-down, in favor of the other extra Titanium buttonhead. Flows better with the other hardware, IMO.

 

I'm not too sure. But after looking online for an alternative to the two wesites posted in here, I was able to order 20 nuts and bolts with washers for less than 100 bucks, and they will all be anodized titanium. A few places actually wanted 13.99 per bolt!! LOL

For the major bling, these are the nicest I found so far, but again, tres expensive... www.tastynuts.com



Notice the hexes are drilled for routing wire if you are worried about them coming loose. But even without wire these are damn sexy

 

What is this thing (circled in red), and can it be relocated under the engine cover now that I've deleted the VIAS vacuum tank? Slam me if you want... I'm no mechanic.

 

throttle body harness and I think IACV harness.