Project Roadster: RS Watanabe and Car Make Corn*s

Last Saturday I decided it was time to have a couple of my Watanabes professionally repaired. When I bought my A type set from Japan in 2010 I discovered when unpacking them that one of the 7j wheels had a flat spot. To make matters worse the lip was scored to hell so I knew I'd have to spend money on them at some point. One of my B types I bought in 2009 had slight curbing damage and although the wheel was fine I still wasn't happy and always planned on having the wheel fixed.

Damaged B type outer lip.

Flat spot on A type.

Wheels back from the shop. Flat spot repaired and both lips repaired.

Day light shots of the B type.

Where the rim was welded and then shaped.

I have now painted all my A types, I just need to sand any imperfections and give another light coat of paint.

This morning I picked up my Corn*s exhaust from the welders too. They welded the hanger back on and reinforced it as requested.

I ordered some cone 63mm RS Watanabe centre caps from RHD Japan in the week so they should arrive soon. I'm hoping to have my other Watanabes painted by then. I need to remove the R888 Toyo's off the other B type and strip the paint off those so I can begin prepping them too.

Project Roadster: Fat Buddha

When I found the matt concrete paint for sale at Fat Buddha I thought it was definitely worth a shot. Over the past week I have been trying to perfect the paint finish on my 7.5J A types. If any area was not to my satisfaction I gently sanded it and then gave that area another coat of paint. Both A types are pretty much done now, the one on the right could do with a little more work but I ran out of paint. Here are the results so far.

I really like how the red on the centre cap is a contrast to the concrete and black colour. I quite fancy the items shown in the photos below. Black cone centre caps and gold valves.

I will have to get in touch with Tetsuya Garage and Rod to order me some.

I also sprayed one of my B types and A types with primer.

I took the other A and B type to a wheel specialist today to get repaired. The A type has a flat spot and the lip is scored, whereas the B type has a slight ding in the outer lip so I guess it has been curbed at some point.

The Corn*s exhaust is also being repaired too as the exhaust hanger sheared off in August 2010.

I have asked the machine shop to reinforce the hanger like Corn*s do on the titanium version of my exhaust.

By having an additional piece of metal from the tail pipe welded onto the exhaust hanger this shouldn't break again. I should have the wheels and exhaust back mid week.

Project Roadster: Concreto

A while back I was speaking to a mate and he mentioned about a company selling matt spray paints. He showed me a thread on MX5Nutz where a guy had painted his NA with this matt paint. I had a look through their colour options and one got my attention straight away, concrete.

I've always wanted to have Watanabes painted in a magnesium bronze colour and this seemed to fit the bill. I gave one of my 7.5J rims a quick paint earlier. It is still drying but I'll be interested to see the outcome.

Before I buy any more cans I will be testing how durable the paint is. I previously used Halfords satin black and it lasted very well.

If all goes well I hope I will be able to pull off this look.

Project Roadster: Cusco

Last week I put in a cheeky bid for this Cusco brake master cylinder stopper and I won the auction. I started taking the paint back and then thought I should get some photos. There is quite a bit of corrosion so it will need some work. I'll paint my Cusco strut brace at the same time.

To B or not to B

Yes, I have bought another set of Watanabes.

I'm not being greedy, as two are being sold very soon. But for now I can say that I have finally got 4 Watanabes that are all the same size!

I put my Watanabe centre caps on the Roadster today to see how they look with the current B types fitted. I wasn't that keen on the centre caps when I first bought them but I really like how they look here.

A closer view of the rear wheels and the ducktail. Classic inspired Roadster.

I thought I'd have a bash fixing the wood Nardi myself for now. I fitted my old black leather 365mm Nardi wheel and as the new horn push works with the Works Bell hub I fitted that too.

Both Nardi wheels together.

I sanded down where the wood rim had been chipped. I am applying varnish in an attempt to build up the layers so it will blend with the rest of the wheel.

V Special trim.

A couple of shots of how the interior currently looks.

Gnardi Nardeee

A parcel arrived today that I'd been waiting for a day or two. There's no point in trying to disguise what it is thanks to the shape, and if the title doesn't give it away here are the pics.

There we are, a 365mm wood Nardi wheel with horn push. I also received some mirror plates for a new set of mirrors I want as well as a jdmy0 sticker.

The only snag is that the wheel has a small chip on the rim. I'll get this professionally fixed as I want it to be a good job.

Here are some photos of the wheel fitted.

I also lowered the rear of the car and put the F8's on the back to see how they look.

Another parcel will be arriving tomorrow and the F8s are being sold very soon. Stay tuned!