Customizing Zip Zaps

#1 10-03-2002, 12:15 AM

hey guys, just wondering if anyone here with the Zip Zaps is planning on customizing their's with new paint jobs and such

i'm working on my RX-7 right now...will get pics when complete

maybe a day or so

also if you have pics, post them

MTL · #2 10-03-2002, 03:14 AM

so far, i have an awsome Eclipse...heres a list of what ive done:

-shaved some of the insides thinner
-cut out the passenger and driver side window
-dropped my ride height at least 5-6 milimeters, and it sits approx 3-4 milimeters high from the floor, although my front end is slightly lower
-removed the plastic pcboard cover so that its lighter, and so i could drop my car further. my current cover is paper and a strip of tape

-shaved the fender walls slightly higher and thinner so that i could fit my "dubs" in

without the wheels touching the body
-cut out the front middle air damn, and added a non fucntional intercooler made of flat "snap-apart" nails...U JUST GOTTA SEE IT!!
-cut a slit in the rally style roof scoop [this is only available on the FF Eclipse body i think] to make it actually functional
-took the front off a HotWheels MT-Suzuka, and for the moment its fastened down with poster puddy

and thats about it so far...

my next project will be to either remove all of the paint, and repaint it all black or another color
and also work on fastening the misc body parts like the intercooler and the front undersweep
i will have picks as soon as i get my camera working!!!!

MTL · #3 10-03-2002, 03:53 AM

also..if/when i get the Supra body, i will do the same mods...

lowerdfool · #4 10-03-2002, 08:43 AM

I lowered one of the aluminum wings that comes with the f & f kit to make it look like a drag spoiler off the back of my civic. I also dropped the body over the chassis about 5 mm. shaved the inside to clear for the rear wheels. I made a front lip for it as well out of a peice of silver plastic card and krazy glued it to the front. I'll probably cut out the side windows as well and the rear also.

In my mustang which I started playing with last night I cut out the rear and side windows and shaved the inside of the body a little.

tinyrc · #5 10-04-2002, 12:02 PM

Quote:

U JUST GOTTA SEE IT!!

Yes, we gotta see it, get that cam working!

brianpipa · #6 10-04-2002, 06:16 PM

http://www.thebrokenjoystick.com/zipzaps
http://www.thebrokenjoystick.com/zipzaps2

I used cheap $0.99 bodies from Big Lots

brian

MTL · #7 10-05-2002, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by tinyrc
Yes, we gotta see it, get that cam working!

im thinkin of just buying a cheap web cam...i saw one for like 20$...but i bet the visual quality is low...but oh welll...thats what u get for 20 bucks...

..those custom bodies rock!!

that porshe looks alot better than the ZZ one

catman25 · #8 10-05-2002, 09:39 AM

get your self a respectable digi cAM .i found a 1.2 megapixel with a 1.2 inch screen on ebay for 28.00 brand new.works great

Baller Status · #9 10-06-2002, 01:00 AM

So far I got the yellow civic body, put a graphite vinyl piece on hood and trimmed it with hobby knife (looks like a perfectly scaled CF hood!)
Put that APR wing form the FNF supra, and painted the taillights in.

Any methods on clearing the headlights, in order to accomodate functioning LEDs?

tuner00 · #10 10-06-2002, 03:46 PM

scraping out the silver off the headlights should work. I was scraping off the yellow on my hood and that worked pretty well. Only problem I had was painting it since I was a little impatient and it ran.

GryphicRacing · #11 10-07-2002, 10:55 AM

I had done some custom decals on my mustang and added a heavy layer of clearcoat to seal them that ended up being too thick (it remained tacky forever.) So I decided to strip all the paint off and start over. Then, my custom paint job didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I stripped the paint again.

Here are a couple things I learned:

1. Nail polish remover works well on removing the paint, BUT if you use it, carefully tape off BOTH the inside and the outside of any window glass that you want to remain clear. The acetone in the nail polish remover will essentially "etch" the plastic, leaving it kinda milky and foggy looking.

2. A better way to strip off all lacquer paint is to use Castrol SuperClean. It's a strong automotive degreaser that is sold everywhere (Wal-Mart, etc.) Just fill an old bowl with it and leave the body completely submerged in it overnight. Then just use an old toothbrush to scrub off the paint. You may still want to tape off windows as I don't know if this will affect the plastic, but it doesn't seem to. My mustang body was already fogged from the previous use of nail polish remover so I didn't bother, but I didn't notice any further changes as a result of the Castrol product.

The Castrol product works great, and is biodegradable so you can pour it down the drain when you are done. The lacquer I had applied came right off with very little effort. Getting the paint out of the detail work is the most time consuming part.

Beauty Tip

: The Castrol stuff does exactly what it says it does: removes oil and grease...including the natural oils in skin. I didn't read the warnings and had my hands totally covered in this stuff for long periods of time. My skin got extremely dry as a result. You may wish to limit direct contact with this stuff by wearing dishwashing gloves or using tongs, etc.

#12 10-08-2002, 10:47 AM

Okay here are some of the minor issues I had while modding big lots cars to fit zipzaps. This so far only relates to the Porche clone pack since thats the only one I have messed with thusfar.

1) The quality of the plastic is absolute crap. Had issues with the plastic filings melting on both speeds of my Dremel. So you have to keep removing them during the process regularly with an exacto knife.

2) Obstruction of the stearing. Removed all the initial plastic and placed the shell on without issue. Thought to myself this was far easier than I thought. Charged my ZZ and realised much to my dismay that the stearing mechanism was completely obstructed and the car could only move straight. Quickly disassembled the car and began removing plastic. You have to remove a prodigous amount of plastic to get the mod to work at all. Also had to wide the front wheel wells.

3) Plastic has thin spots. The plastic is much thinner in spots and it is very easy to go too far during the thinning process as mentioned above. I have a small spot on the hood that is going to need some "greenstuff" touchup work.

Other than the issues mentioned above the Porche mod is pretty straight forward. Just thought I would share some of the problems I had with the group so someone in the future can know to watch out for them.

Ex

Mattydiah · #13 10-08-2002, 04:06 PM

I've been going the sleeper route. My PT Cruiser looks completely stock outside except for the antena coming out of the hood. Underneath, the body is shaved, it has the FNF upgrade, powdered graphite running gear lube job, I've got new batteries coming from that Able Battery place that was giving out free samples and just last night, I ordered suspension springs from QFM for independent suspension.

I love the sleeper idea, it looks like a regular old dumpy PT Cruiser on the outside, but underneath, its ready to rip.

See my sig for a summary

Spitfire7001 · #14 10-08-2002, 07:48 PM

here is my RX-7 paint mod
http://www.sal.wronger.com/mods.html