No doubt. It probably took me 8-10 hours so far to mod that cover.
Dan
Small update.
Got the car rolled up in prep for the raptor.
Welded the oil drain I fabbed a few months ago to the new oil pan. The top 1/4" was a hoot to get to under the flange.
Also deburred a bit of the casting lines and crap on the head and got everything packed up so I can hopefully drop it off at the machine shop tomorrow.
Dan
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I hope the machine shop is aware of your extreme attention to detail. lol
Itll be ok. I just got back from dropping it off.
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big step! eta to you?
I feel like once the shell is sprayed this will take final form rather quickly. Living vicariously through this one, man!
No ETA. He said, āshould be pretty quickā. Which could be a month or three knowing machine shop time.
In all honesty Im hoping its slower than faster so I can delay paying for it. haha
Also its still going to be months before its even close. There is infinity work to do yet. I doubt ill even have time to do interior before next winter.
Dan
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Huge progress this weekend.
Saturday I masked off a few areas that I didnt want the Raptor texture on (mainly suspension / steering mount points) and sprayed them with some single stage Audi Silver (LY7M).
The tunnel so I can apply some thermal film
Also sprayed the brake booster bracket that I modified a while back since it was ready and I had lots of paint mixed. I was pretty happy how it turned out considering this was my first time spraying something other than primer.
Sunday I did the biggest pain in the ass masking job maybe ever. Took me over 3 hours.
All so I could Raptor the subframe bracing red to try and match the other powder coated pieces. I was very happy that the color came out damn near perfect - considering I picked it out of a book of like a billion red chips.
Yup, was worth it.
Color match
Im gona try like hell to get the bottom in the silver raptor this week, but there may not be time.
Dan
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Prepped for Raptor.
Dan
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Sprayed the silver Raptor last night. A little darker than I was hoping, but maybe itll dry lighterā¦
Either way Im stoked. Taking a few days off while that cures before I put it back on the dolley. Prob next wed/thurs.
Dan
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So have you ever considered doing this for money? Because I have a 300zx sitting in my garage that Iād love to have someone make the bottom look this clean, lol.
Iām years away from attempting a a full ārestoreā on my car, but seeing this thread really makes me feel like Iāve neglected it.
Even at 10/hr this would be a million restore. 
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Yea, def not doing this for money. Id have no time to do my own stuff.
I probably have 100 hours just into the bottom of this thing. Between stripping it, mods, the subframe, battery box, priming, coating, MASKING. Ugh.
Yeah, uhhā¦ @juicedz4 makes me look like iām neglecting pretty much every aspect of my life.
Inspiring stuff.
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Epic progress over the last week. The engine bay is now DONE.
Did a quick final sand and spot filler here / there.
Spraying prepsol is a great way to see how it will look finished.
Then masked and did a final primer to have an even base for the Audi silver Raptor application.
And finally, with the silver Raptor. I went back and forth about top painting this the silver, but its staying matteā¦ its just too good.
Closeup. Its a pretty fine texture as Im using the adjustable Raptor gun on basically the finest texture and not the generic schutz gun.
Strut bar in place
Next Ill probably do the black raptor in the wheel wells and then its back to body work on the doors and get the hood started.
Dan
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After yet more damn masking the black raptor is done on the wings and rear wheel wells. Now I can get back to the parts youāll actually see.
Dan
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Painted the wiper and brake parts with some single stage matte Audi silver to match the raptor engine bay. I did run the paint on the booster so Ill need to sand it down and respray it.
I smoothed out the OE brake reservior of all the lettering and straightened out where the two halves were fused together. I might make a replacement aluminum one someday but this will work for now.
Funny it looks rough but its actually smooth. Matting agent is a weird thing.
Dan
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Did a test fit of the painted brake and wiper parts. The color / gloss is damn close to the raptor which helps them disappear as planned.
Dan
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Lots more progress this weekend (its nice actually being home).
Doors blocked and body filler complete.
Epoxy
And a couple coats of Slicksand
I think they are going to end up pretty damn straight.
Blocked out the fenders where I shaved the markers as well. I thought I had done this, but apparently not. Anyway they are ready for Slicksand now.
Lastly, cut the tow hooks off the front bumper mounts which can go out for powder.
This week Im planning to get Slicksand on the fenders and do the tiny bit of body work to the inside of the doors where I shaved the window track holes previously and start on the hood.
Dan
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Finished blocking the fenders last night, did a little spot primer, and then sprayed the Slicksand. It laid down pretty well, I cant wait to sand it out in a couple weeks.
Going to start stripping the hood tomorrow night.
Dan
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Stripped the outside of the hood. I swear there was 20-30 thou of paint / primer / clear on it.
I stripped it, then blocked a lot of it by hand and finally went over it with 80 grit on the D/A.
This will be the first metal panel that doesnt need any filler. The plan is just to spray epoxy then slicksand to block out later.
Blocked
All stripped
D/A sanded
Dan
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