GoldZilla

I'm up for that Mike. Last time I discussed this with beastien (which was a while ago, admittedly), he said he wouldn't mind coming down to Sydney. Our last cruise was pretty good, with myself, beastien (Brendan), EGA41T (Andy) and r33stagea (Jay) meeting up at Soldiers Beach in Norah Head (Central Coast). Was a nice spot to meet up, and there's plenty of parking, but it's not quite half-way to Newie for those heading South to meet us. BBQ or similar would be good, too. Or we could find a pub/bistro or small restaurant or take-away (with enough seating) and sit down and chat there. A few people who we could PM (as they haven't been on here in a while too): Mum's Taxi (Krissy - Newcastle); AMS (Chris, might still be interested even though he sold his Stagea - Newcastle); neostagea; Talej. Sounds like a good plan.

Dammit, now I'm hungry... I don't eat a lot of chilli, but what I do eat I enjoy And it's true what rukus said - if you aren't sweating, it's not hot enough! We had a backyard over-run with chillies where we used to live (literally 60-70% of the plants were chilli trees), and had a huge variety too. Since we've moved we've tried to get it going again, but the drought doesn't help... Someone sent me this quite a while back at work, and I thought I'd add it for your amusement. Only a few varieties listed, though. The Big Jim-style chillies (or similar) are good as a pre-meal snack or entree if you dip them in a batter and deep-fry them, Tempura style. The Black Cubans pack a punch, so many seeds in such a small package! Pictures_of_Chillis.pdf

Happy B'day dude!

As far as the TV/DVD player is concerned, Alpine have just put out a range of new products under the title of "Vehicle Hub" which basically allows you to keep the factory unit and adapt new items to it. Not sure if they cover the V35 (or any imports, for that matter), but it might be worth a try... Otherwise, there are always new ideas and products coming up.

Ideas added to list... Thanks Andrew. Mouse pad is up high on the agenda, as it's pretty easy to organise and have done. Will look into the other two later on, hopefully.

Can't really recommend anyone else because I haven't been there to experience their work for myself, but I bought my car from Alan and can vouch for his honesty. The car I bought off him is a Stagea, and he did the manual conversion on it himself. He did an excellent job with the conversion, and when I went to look at the car he went over it with a fine-toothed comb for me and had nothing to hide. He did indeed live in Japan for a while, and did a few similar Stagea auto-to-manual conversions while he was living there, one with an RB26 too... Nice guy, I'd recommend him, assuming he's still there.

Best bet is to either surf an importer's website to see what cars they have coming up for auction, or have recently sold, or sign up to their mailing lists. http://www.j-spec.com.au or http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au

Any more ideas or suggestions, people?

Yep, was done by the previous owner - I snapped up this car because I'd started reading about how much of a hassle it would be, especially with obtaining parts for the interior... The last (and only) cruise, we went up to Soldier's Beach @ Norah Head, which is on the Central Coast. I just decided to make the meet-up spot there because there were some people coming from the Newcastle/Hunter region and a few of us from Sydney, and that was kinda meeting in the middle. Like I said, someone else can organise this one!

See, that's what I was talking about! The Gialla kit looks crap in silver on the four-door, especially with that rear spoiler and those shocker wheels. It looks too high and narrow, which is a problem all the four-door V35's suffer from, in my eyes. That second silver four-door with the WALD kit looks awesome though, and would work with or without the Gialla front grill... The wheels suit it perfectly, and the tiny lip spoiler don't mess up the lines of the car. Nice choice, Tooly! Looking at the kit on the coupe, in black with black wheels and no rear spoiler, and it looks HOT! It looks low, wide and aggressive.

Hmmm, definitely a good idea! *Notes idea on list...

HEY, YOU CAN'T USE THAT TERM, MIKE!!! MINE is the DragonWagon! *shakes fist* Oh, alright - you can use it. I should have copyrighted the name as soon as I thought of it, though...

Don't worry, Ben - apart from the manual conversion and an exhaust, mine is still stock anyway...

Spotted 4 Skylines today: Gunmetal R32 GT-R on Seven Hills Road, reg AYZ-something White R34 GTt on Herewood Highway, Blacktown (too far to see the plates, looked really clean though). Gunmetal R32 GTSt with kit in primer only, plates GTS-747 at Seven Hills shops. Black R34 GTt with white speed-stripes heading up Station Rd heading towards Seven Hills.

Agreed, especially considring Summer is so near!

Wise words, listen to the man! In other words, do it once, and do it properly - you skimp now on cheap parts and labour, and it may well cost you more in the end.

However, should you choose to use fibro guards, please use a water-based paint when you get to that point - it's better for you AND the environment!

Sydney's Stagea network is growing very quickly! Who's gonna organise a meet-up, I did the last one (which feels like it was aaaaaaaages ago)?

Cool, thanks for that Jeremy!

Mona, is that babak as in TUFKA (The User Formerly Known As) kabab? That is super-super "olde skoole!" Wonder if he still is the owner?

Kinda what was in my head, Shan - replacing the GT-R logo with the SAU one! Good work! I would actually prefer this to the Nismo leather one in my car. How does that look, everyone? Now, where to find the gearknobs?

Cool, thx Wil. I might have a link in the Stagea thread as well, I'll chase this up too...

An awesome pizza place I went to a few times was Arthur's Pizza on Oxford Street in Paddo - not sure if it's still there, and it would be shit for parking too unfortunately. When are we doing Indian? I know two restaurants I'd absolutely love to dine at again, one in Crows Nest and one in Blacktown (closer to home for me, but VERY highly rated, so it would be worth the travel for those East, North or South).

steve, book a few tables... ice cream cake for all...

Like these... Now, if there's a kit that can make the sedans look THIS good, then I'll start saving!