RPMS

It looks like you cut off the Cadillac on your left after turning, you almost rear-ended the BMW you were chasing, you cut off the Suburban on your right, you were within a single car length of the BMW when accelerating onto the freeway (at, what, 45 mph?) and you violated the gore at the end of the on-ramp. On a busy public street. That's - what, four legitimate public safety violations in the span of ten seconds? HybridZ is a community of people who look out for each other, and right now I'm taking the role of the mean big brother when I say, "Dude. Not cool." You may now feel free to tell me to f*k off.

Yeah, it's fascinating to watch this process! Watching all the work that goes into making a mold makes me feel a little better about paying an arm and a leg for fiberglass parts that "only cost $5 in materials". I'm in awe.

What you're showing looks correct to me. The stock bumpers I've worked with in the past weren't designed to bolt directly to the body. There's a rubber stand-off that goes between the bumper and the body. If MSA is making a replacement-style bumper made out of fiberglass, then what you've got looks correct.

Hey there! I don't know why, but I can see your pictures in the previous posts, but I can't see these. Are they stored in different locations? Thanks!

It's always good to see another vendor come on line. Good luck! I hope you get all the business you can handle.

They don't salt the roads in Georgia (as I found out during last year's flustercuck of an ice storm), so anyone up north with a hybrid Z can kennel it in my garage! I promise to keep it well exercised.

Any progress, 2JZtank? When you figure out the problem, this thread will be valuable for helping other people get their cars running. In addition, I admire the way you're taking criticism from the other members. I've been on many enthusiast forums where the original poster (ie: you) would have devolved into a tantrum by now. Hell, *I* would probably have devolved into a tantrum by now! By and large we're a crotchety bunch, but the way people keep coming back to help shows that they really do care.

Important question: is the candy bar essential to the build, and if so, which brand/style was it? Can you post links? Seriously, I found this to be an excellent and entertaining writeup, the sort of thing that makes me want to work on cars. Actually, I do have a question: are you certain that your car ever had more than a cardboard glovebox? I seem to remember that neither of my 240s had anything but that magnificently fragile piece of crap. I wonder if an early 260 box would interchange?

Hey, TheDarkie! Your car is a late 260, right? My early 260 had 240-style rails and a narrow transmission tunnel. Oh, have you read any reviews on the Sparcos? What I've seen hasn't been very good. I was all excited by them until reading what some people have to say about their comfort and durability. There have been enough negative comments that I've reverted back to wanting BMW e30 sport seats.

That looks incredible!

I can't tell you how much easier it is to pressure- (or vacuum-) bleed the system. Sooo nice to not have to go through the "Push....release....push...release..." rigamarole.

True, you can spend a heck of a lot of money building a car, but how many people who spend that kind of money get it back out when they sell?

I shouldn't think you'd have problems. If it was a left-right balance issue I'd advise against it, but with a front-back setup like you're running, there should be no issue.

Interesting! Thank you.

Edit: never mind! I Googled it. Thanks!

Your point about repainting after sanding is a good one, with the caveat that the primer will build up in the he areas where it didn't get sanded off. It took me a half dozen tries before I was satisfied with my body filler. That's a lot of coats of paint, but if he's better at managing overspray than I am, it might not be a big deal. I ask this out of ignorance, since I've seen both paint and filler pop off. Is there hard evidence that primer adheres better than properly applied filler? Whichever adheres better should obviously go against the metal.

My last Z had a full cap on it, and nobody knew it was there unless they knew what to look for. Perhaps it's brand specific, but mine looked darned good. Not that there's anything wrong with them, but new dashes are waaay more than I can afford.

Welding in an aftermarket rear panel would be more trouble than filling the holes in the existing panel. But if your existing panel is bunged up, this logic might not hold true for you.

Bondo first, or you will break through the primer when you sand it down.

Very little on an early Z can't be fixed. If it's a coupe, there isn't much rust and it's under 2000, buy it. They are wonderful cars. Oh, POST PICS!!

Deleted. Double post.

Hey, Rookie! +1 on the injector cleaning advise. What Tony says is gospel in the BMW community and it should work well here. Sorry, don't remember, did you change all the filters? I'm sure you must have. Regardless of what happens, PLEASE post the results. All too often, people forget to update their posts so others can benefit in the future. Good luck!

I have to wonder how many of these big-dollar bidders back out after the auction. $35,000 for a Z, even a really nicely modified one, seems... how to say this politely... crazy? Maybe it's just because I've built them up myself, but....wow.

I'm going to be "that guy", who throws another variable into the mix. Is it possible that the fans are throwing enough noise into your electrical system that it is affecting your fuel injection computer? Low, fluctuating voltage can really mess up an otherwise stable system. Just a thought.

It takes a special kind of cojones to take students out on the track. Heck, I have a tough time keeping my mouth shut in the passenger seat on the freeway. "Uh... Honey? Remember that "two-second" rule?