jasonfen

I saw them back when OK Computer was released. It was at Glastonbury Festival in England. Nice show. Of course it was 5 days of a drunken blur so I could be wrong. Drove 5 hours to get there with a 100lb bag of our stuff on the car. Ther were 4 of us. Park in a field of mud with 100,000 other people. Walk around 600 acres carrying the bag like a backpack looking for a place to pitch the tents. Drink, eat, drink, drink, pee, drink. Then walk back to the car with everything. Drive home at 125mph and get there in about 3 hours. Never forget it.

Tim, you know my story. That is exactly what happened to me and I bet it was with the same shop. They made tons of runs in near 90 degree heat. It was on the ragged edge with a failing DFI unit. Then I get the car and it blows in less than a week with moderate driving. That is even with an O-ringed motor. Greg Kring who used to tune my Z also thinks a car runs leaner on the street.

Well it is done. The Z is gone. Sold it yesterday morning. It is going to a good home so I feel better about that . Man, it feels like I lost a part of me. I'm sure I will recover in a few days. Now I have to find an outlet for my stress. No more hopping in the Z for a quick tear down a back road. It may be a while before I get another. Next time I"ll probably go the V8 route. Just for a change. I'm sure I will still hang out on the forums reading what everyone else is doing. sniff sniff

Well the money would be nice. The bigger issue is to stop spending more money on it. I got another call from the kid's Mother. I told her that there are two other people in front of them. That is true. I am working with someone now that I think will get it. Hopefully my next conversation with her will to say that it is sold. On one hand part of me wants the kid to get it. You never know. It could end up being the thing that gives his life purpose. He could go on to design a car that would revolutionize the industry. Ok. That may be stretching it a bit. In the end I want it to go to someone who will appreciate it. If I was hard up for the cash, I'm sure my standards would lower. By the way. We had a really nice day on Sunday. The weather was great for driving with the windows open. I put about 80 miles on it. It will be hard to part with.

Brings back memories. I spent 3 years in England. Loved that show.

Thanks guys. This is some good insight. I think it is obvious what is the responsible thing to do. It is a miracle that I survived my younger driving days. My Father's perspective was "Don't kill yourself or I will". When I was about 10, my Dad picked up a nice 23 T-bucket. It was quick. I got the bug eventhough I never got to drive it. My parents got us a gokart thinking it was make us respect speed. Yeah right. 3 engines later and a couple trips to the ER disproved that one. Then in highschool Dad got another 23 T-bucket. This one was faster and nicer than the other. No front brakes and no seatbelt. Guess what happens when you are in highschool and drive up in that thing? You get a big target painted on you. Needless to say, most of the cops knew me. Then I got my Mom's 82 280ZX. Even more dangerous for me. It had great handling and higher top speed. (the bucket had a 2speed powerglide). It was fun and helped make me a better driver. Now I drive much more docile with respect for others on the road. However, I still beat on my chest every once in a while when in the Z. It is difficult not to. I think I will use the WOT method. Then I will set the shocks on thier stiffest setting. Dallas roads are horrible. If she still wants it after that I will just tell her it is sold. It's too bad. How many 17 year olds get a chance to stand out from the rest of the crowd? Actually, they live in Highland Park so BMWs, Porsche, and Mercs are the status quo. His friends may look at it and think it is a beater.

Well crud. The mother just called back. She said they talked about it for a while and now he really wants it. I have another person flying in on the 14th to look at it. He gave me a deposit to hold it until he gets here. I told her that and she sounded sad. I don't know how else to tell her. I explained that it was pretty quick. She just laughed and said she did not want to know that part. It is difficult to try and NOT sell your car. I know she would get upset if I outright told her no. Hopefully everything will work out on the 14th. Jason

Thanks for the input. As for the fuel tank. I know that the shop that set it up dropped the tank to make the necessary changes. Not sure what they did though. It has a NOS fuel pump and half inch fuel line I believe.

This is an odd question. Would you ever not sell a car to a particular person? I showed my car to a 17 year old kid this weekend. His mother liked the car more than he did. He didn't seem to be a car person. His current car is a old LTD I believe. Here is what I am selling so that you know where I am coming from. http://hybridz.org/nuke/modules.php?op=modload&name=zClassifieds&file=detail&cat=54&de=552 Here are my concerns. His age. There are few 17 year olds I would trust with a powerful car. Plus this car is guaranteed to draw attention. Friends and other "racers" will test his control and skills. Second is the fact that he knows nothing of the Z's history. It could be that once he owned it, he would become a follower. However, I suspect it would be neglected. I was going over the DFI, turbo, suspension etc with them. I just saw glazed eyes. His Mother then asked me to turn on the radio for him. When they came back from a drive, they said it made a funny noise when shifting to third. I explained that was the BOV. Again, blank stares. The fact that he is not a car guy does worry me. I feel his Mother is trying to boost his confidence with this car. My main concern is the danger factor. If he does not understand and respect the cars potential, he will end up in the ER at best. Or on the other hand, completely waste what the car can offer. Would it be irresponsible to sell it to a person such as this? Or should I just let what happens happen? I really don't get the feeling they are serious, but it could come up again. Thanks for any suggestions.

I envy you. I'm glad you get to keep it. Mine is still up for grabs. I jumped in it yesterday for a little while. I kept trying to convince myself to keep it.

Thanks, yeah I debated for a long time. 4 cars is too many. We are selling my wife's 97 Jetta as well. That will get us down to 2 cars. This is a special type of car. It is a fast 2 seater. Not the idea setup for starting a family. It's great that you get to keep a car you had for so long. I swear this feels like losing a friend. It is even hard to imagine someone else driving it. Jason

Thanks a lot. It is always difficult to sell a car. What looks good to one person may not to another. I hope I don't have to come off the price. I know it is a good Z. I'm not about to give it away. If it comes down to it, I will store it. I've put too much time and money into it to let it go for too little. Mafia? They are lightweights. I've got a WIFE! Now there is something to be scared of. The truth is we have a house that needs some work and we want to start a family. My options are to let it sit or pass it on to someone else to enjoy. It is in too good of shape and too fun to put in a storage shed. I'll definetely get another down the road. I may even go V8 this time. I do know that I will buy one already setup like mine. It can be much less expensive that way. Although putting it together yourself is great too. Jason

Ok, please go back to http://65.68.208.37/z I have posted as many different angles as I could think of. The pictures are not bad. However, keep in mind that the flash really blows the image out. Every little particle of dirt or dust lights up. I tried to take a few without the flash to show the real image. There just was not enough light. Jason

I'm glad you like it. I always have. The first few years were riddled with problems. It blew 3 engines in no time. I had blown through over $10,000 and was really depressed about it. Then we found out the DFI was not reading the sensors correctly. It was running way too lean at times. That is a quick way to mess your pistons up. Well once we sent the DFI off to Mr. Gasket, everything has been great. I had almost given up on the turbo route. The problem is that now that it runs better than ever, my life is moving on and I have other priorities. Things were just getting interesting. I know that some day I will get another. I had toyed with the idea of storing it. It would be much cheaper in the long run. If you add up all the parts I have, it get expensive really quick. In the end I hate to let it sit. I would rather pass it on so that someone else can enjoy it.

No problem. I completely understand what you are saying. I'll try to get the pics up as soon as I can. I'm pretty sure the car has been in Texas its whole life. So that helps a little. When I purchased it a while back, the owner took it down to the metal before painting. I know for a fact that the frain rails and floor are fine. I checked them when I replaced the carpet. There is one person in Arizona that is interested in the car. He wants to fly in to look at the car. I told him to let me know if there are any pictures he would like me to send him. I really don't want anybody going out of their way only to see something they did not like. I can send pictures, video, sound, etc. I might even drive it to meet someone. Although this Texas heat is not very enjoyable. Thanks for spreading the word.