My Project thread

[richardc9052]

I have taken the fto off the road as i want to do some work to it
I want to lower it, prefferably on 2nd hand coilovers or new springs (let me know if you have either) also looking for evo 7 alloys or something that has a little dish or lip..
I am also getting it resprayed... and thats all you need to know

Ill update the thread as i go along!

[TopCat]

Nice one, looking forward to see this progress. Lots of pics please...!

[richardc9052]

Most definately!

[Sebastian]

I hope u have a good engine.

That will explain all the investments you do in the car . best of luck with it !! any cosmetic mods on the cards?

[richardc9052]

I hope u have a good engine.

That will explain all the investments you do in the car . best of luck with it !! any cosmetic mods on the cards?

Need to adjust the tappets and get a new altenator... thats all in my plan

Might mess around with the rear lights... that will be one of the last mods though!
Trying to find an ok facelift bumper cheap that i can fix up and spray... thats not goin too well lol

[TopCat]

Are you keeping the same colour?

[richardc9052]

Are you keeping the same colour?

In a sense.... yes.... the car will stay red............ but not the same red

[Sebastian]

Cheap ? I haven't seen a CHEAP facelift since i'm into FTO's .

And remember , cheap is not always good.

[richardc9052]

Cheap ? I haven't seen a CHEAP facelift since i'm into FTO's .

And remember , cheap is not always good.

Well i very nearly got a facelift bumper including lights and grill plus momo steering wheel all in for €80 euro.. only problem was the prev owner had cut three 1" holes and put mesh behind them (dont ask)... Fiberglass would have fixed that.. but then the car sold whole before i came up with the cash due to my daughters christening.. So cheap facelifts are out there, ya just have to get lucky and have cash too!

[richardc9052]

This is the colour its getting resprayed: also the original pic that gave me the idea



Opinions?

[Dragonheart]

[My comment moved from the for sale thread, could someone delete it from there please?]

You sure about a matt red finish? I can't help but think it would look like severe oxidisation, as in sun fade, and especially in red which is the colour most commonly faded. Something like the left hand side of the pic below, which was originally a red car with extreme sun fading, (the right hand side is the section we corrected);

[richardc9052]

[My comment moved from the for sale thread, could someone delete it from there please?]

You sure about a matt red finish? I can't help but think it would look like severe oxidisation, as in sun fade, and especially in red which is the colour most commonly faded. Something like the left hand side of the pic below, which was originally a red car with extreme sun fading, (the right hand side is the section we corrected);

Of course i am yet to see the sample... but going on the above pic.. i think it looks quite nice. but that is just a pic. hmmm

[Dragonheart]

Well personally, if I saw a matt red car, I would think it needed a good detailing.
The picture you posted looks well, bear in mind though that it is a fresh coat on the car, give it a couple of months for the paint to dull and lose the freshness and it could be a different kettle of fish. If I were you I'd hold off on putting the paint on your car, I'd get the sample and leave it out in the elements for a few months to see how it looks then. Get a second sample and keep it indoors, and then compare the 2 to see the difference that sun, rain, and wind, have on the matt finish.

[richardc9052]

Sounds like a plan!
Im going to do some more research anyway

[Dragonheart]

Do. Bacause once it goes on the car, it'll cost a small fortune to put it right if you dont like it, not to mention the original cost of it. You'd want to be absolutely certain before going with that type of finish.

[TopCat]

Well personally, if I saw a matt red car, I would think it needed a good detailing.

A tad biased don't you think?

Ah no, you do raise a very good point, that I hadn't really thought of before. The Porsche looks great, but its very modern and can take it, nobody will mistake it for old and faded. Matt colours look great when fresh and clean, but I'd be interested to see what they look like with even a little bit of dirt, and certainly after a few months. Plus, I've heard that some of the paints require special cleaning in order to not "polish" off the matt effect?

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see this done, but I wouldn't risk my own car. Good research though should help you.

[Dragonheart]

A tad biased don't you think?

Well I do know of a couple of lads.......

The matt paint can't be polished or corrected, or treated with ordinary wax, theres a special wax that you use for matt finishes, that keeps the dull matt look to the paint.
Theres a story about a guy who did a lovely RS500 and was delighted with the shine he brought to the surface, until someone pointed out that the best thing about the car was the evil matt finish....oh dear.

[colm_mcm]

Before doing any major modifications I'd do the following:

Get compression test done on engine
Get the mivec working
Make sure the clutch/gearbox is 100%(fluid change if auto)
Check the underbody for rust and get an estimate for eliminating it
Make sure the timing belt is done
Price tyres if they're on the way out
Price the respray from someone with a good reputation
Price facelift bumper

If all this comes to over €2k then the project is a money pit and you should start thinking about picking up a newer cleaner car that doesn't need the work.

A decent respray would be 2k at least and the other jobs mentioned if needed would be the same again. This added to your purchase price would make the car quite expensive and the car would only worth a small bit more than what you paid on day one.

[colm_mcm]

Example:
Miss enzos 97 gpx manual for 3k

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=12725

[Dragonheart]

The matt paint can't be polished or corrected, or treated with ordinary wax, theres a special wax that you use for matt finishes, that keeps the dull matt look to the paint.

This is the special cleaning pack you will need for maintaining the paintwork if going with a matte finish. Its not cheap per wash! But its what you'll need if you don't want to ruin the effect. Maybe that'll help you decide.
http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/swissvax-discovery-kit-opaque.html

[Gerry]

What Colm sayes is correct,

if your going to get ur own car resprayed and then do a couple of jobs to get her right, this is going to cost at least a couple of grand.
why not sell ur own and buy miss enzo´s car, for the money its going for, it would seem like a much better deal in my eye´s.
Personally i think u paid over the odds for a car with bad paint work and im only saying this because this is an honest forum.
At the end of the day your in charge mate.

[Mitsubishi-Mental]

Well man, i wouldn't go painting Matt red personally, i'd keep it standard Mitsubishi red. get it detailed and the bonnet sprayed if needed.

Honestly a car is what you make it though and its not the same satisfaction buying one already modified and custom sprayed etc. doing the work yourself gives the greatest pleasure. its your blood, sweat, tears and cash going into it.

I must of invested in excess of €10,000 on a 1.3 Colt on modifications, engine transplants paint work etc, and i wouldn't change it, great experience and learning curve.

If your happy with the car work away with it, focusing on performance and having it running A1. then move onto the likes of resprays if ya eventually want one.

I think your car is a very nice red and really stands out just detail it. see how things go and keep us posted

[richardc9052]

Sorry guys,

I havnt been on in a few days!

Anyway i am taking all comments into account and i am thinking harder about this now all the above points have been mentioned..

Only thing is.. i bought a car already modified before and i loved it for the 5 months it worked before it fell apart..

I dont like many "Modern Cars" as such.. I love the style, sound and bit of power the fto has and yes i understand that it could cost well over 2k to get the finished product, which is why i will be taking my time if i decide to go ahead.. the car would pass an nct apart from the cat has a small hole in it ... Thats acording to a free nct pre-test i got.. the cat was checked by myself after it went over on emmisions..

Anyway i will go away and think more while i save.. i will post pics up when i get the springs on.. going to see the sample of paint in a few days. (it does look like hard work to keep it though so i may change my mind)

Thanks for all the input!

[StewyD32]

If your going to keep the FTO do it what ever way you want as it is your car. Everyone has different tastes, I think the matt red would look nice but everything else exterior wise would have to be pristine to carry off the look
I have my cat of the FTO after the nct so you can have mine when ever ya want

[richardc9052]

If your going to keep the FTO do it what ever way you want as it is your car. Everyone has different tastes, I think the matt red would look nice but everything else exterior wise would have to be pristine to carry off the look
I have my cat of the FTO after the nct so you can have mine when ever ya want

Thanks man.
Yea.. i want everything looking perfect.. im even going to take the mirrors apart to clean them and get them sprayed seperately... i will be de-spoilering it in the next few days too id say... you should call over to see it reborn on the other side haha