MusPuppis

I almost dropped my laptop.. HAHAHAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

.. I had to take a shower after watching that. It made me feel dirty. But ya know, in a good way. Someone go buy me that motor, theres a new Z swap!

I just cant see going through all that trouble for a 16.3. I hate ragging on anyones work, but, eh, I dont get it.

What are the specs on that engine? I was under the impression that the 305 in the RS' was pretty poor. I know in the SHO I've trounced more than a few RS Camaro's. I would have gone with a more powerful motor personally I may be mistaken though, I'm not familiar with the Chevy V8's. Still and all, its extremely clean and the swap looks very well done, would be a hell of a sleeper!

ehh... ew.

Ive had that same problem myself, I dont understand it. I know it tough for small independant shops to make it, but if they refuse to be flexible AT ALL, well, sorry for ya.

Very sharp. You werent kidding, the Skyline just FLIES up in the revs. Man that sound was somethin else. I want an RB swap in my Z.. *sigh* Of course, I also want an LSx, and a 350, and a 2jz and an l28et.. Someday I'll stop riding the fence and commit one way or the other. lol. Great vid.

Yeah, for all around ability, features, quality and price the TA 185 really kinda stands out. As soon as I find someone looking for a slightly used kidney (only punched a few times!) I'm gonna be buying one.. Also, I linked to several on ebay, IOC, the ebay retailer is a great company to deal with. Ive bought a few things through them and know of manymany poeple who do business with them almost exclusively and they are top knotch. Also, if you have a local shop you prefer to go through, you may be able to print out the IOC TA adds and take them with you, see how close that shop can come to their prices. Alot of times you can work with the small shops on prices. Sometimes anyway. The poeple I had to deal with in Somerset are such assholes I just gave up, lol.

The car can wave at poeple, thats great. My friend had an 87 Supra a while ago, non turbo, fun car though, just to beat on. I dont know the reason or if its common or not, but if you went crazy flipping the headlights on and off they would un-synchronize after a few seconds. I guess some system was in place to try and correct the problem, cause once they did, they just went crazy, it was the funniest thing I have ever seen. They'd start popping up and down, out of sync, sometmes all the way, sometimes half way, sometimes only a little, for like 5 minutes straight. It looked like the car was having some mild seizure. It had a factory alarm on it to that would just go off from time to time for no reason, like while you were driving the damn thing. The closest I have ever come to causing and accident was in that car. Driving down the road, just goofing off when all of a sudden WAAHHHWWAAAHHHWAAAHHH the alarm went off, which caused the headlights to pop up, but they went out of sync right away so they they started their little dance, with the alarm freaking out while I'm cruising with the top off. I started laughing so hard I almost lost control of the car. I had to pull over until I could control myself. *sigh*

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?sofocus=bs&sbrftog=1&from=R10&satitle=thermal+arc+185&sacat=-1%26catref%3DC6&sargn=-1%26saslc%3D2&sadis=200&fpos=42567&ftrt=1&ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1 Looking at around 2k-ish.

Look into a ThermalArc 185 or so. Its a FANTASTIC TIG unit for the money. Ive been looking at them for ages now but cant possibly afford one. I want it for exactly what you describe needing one for. Ive talked to many TA owners and they all absolutely rave about the unti and its features for the price.

Thats dope Ver, Much appreciated! Oh, I write essays for money! j/k. well, actually, I think 4 or 5 of my friends made it through their english classes without ever typing a word of their own, lol. I wish to hell I could draw. Ive tried for years and years but it is absolutely not in me. I had my hands smashed up bad when i was younger, that may have something to do with it, but I think I was just born without that certain ability, lol. I envy the hell out of anyone who can though.. I appreciate the comments folks, if anyone has suggestions on improvements, I'd love to hear em.

lol. I've written for years. Publishers in one form or another dont really care for my stuff though. Of course, getting poetry published (thats most of what I write) is akin to getting your prostate checked with a miner's spade. A couple of poems, more recent than not. I feel so much of autumn now, the winds and rains and change, as they blow that saintly, earthly dirge, they take bits of me away. again, again, the leaves have fell and with them some of me, so little left to trod this place, so little left to see. O hope and glory long have died my songs have faded, gone. my eyes have lost the shine they held when I was young and strong. age has withered bones and heart where sorrow marked his pass my love, my life is cast aside, as autumn breathes it last. winter holds its laden chill and summer burns like fire spring has never held a grip, beyond the winter's pyre. But aumtumn winds will blow again and carry me away so little left, so little seen I've not that long to stay. In all the world the shadows stir, But no stir of their's is hers. Gone unto the silent dead, No stir of her's is heard. Past at last, this mortal step, Where I am left to mourn, To glide and fly in inky skys, On wings from heaven shorn. No magic and no glory now, Just horrid, lasting days. No comfort, kiss or lasting bliss, Just wretched shades of grey. Until I reach the finish then, I'll mourn that love I'd known With my eyes to frame the sunset and my back turned e'r toward home.

I'm tellin ya, Makers Mark. As good as it gets!

I hope this is appropriate to post. Its a little out of the ordinary. I've been a little out of sorts lately and decided to write a little bit. This is what I ended up with. Also a number of poems, but I'll only post those if theres any interest in them. I figured I'd toss this up here since I figured some folks may get a little enjoyment out of it. I like it anyway and it was fun to write. A quick note, historical facts may be skewed! This was not a research paper, simply something I wanted to write, so I kinda pulled it together from my jarbled imagination and hazy remembrance of facts, names, deeds, places and the like. Patton and Hirohito being an example. If I offend anyone - sorry. Theres only one line that might, and I'll leave it to the reader to find it. An Evening of Theatre with the Dead. An autumn night, clouded and gemmed was host to a most gala and rare occasion. In a small valley, well away from the prying eyes of any souls not yet departed a curious cadre was to be seen erecting a stage, setting out chairs, and decorating the dusty floor of the clearing in which they labored. Zombies rung the outskirts, tying corpse candles to poles dug into the ground and festooning them with crimson and black wisps of silk, their struggles adding an air of pallid motion to the scene, wavering and flitting about as they tried to escape. There was much to do before the guests started to arrive. A grand night! A gala night! A play for the gaunt, blessed and damned offering the best the living world had to offer by way of entertainment. The guest-list was a who’s who of corpses. The very cream of the reaped crop. The royalty of all time was due to arrive, the most famous, loved, hated, feared and rejoiced. The shepherds floated listlessly about, waiting to usher in those under their wing, or sickle, whatever the case may have been. It seemed to be taking over-long but finally the stage was set and the scene was prepared. Word was given to the shepherds and the gateways opened. The corpses began arriving bit by bit. (Some quite literally). At least 80% of Hitler was in attendance, the other 20 some odd percent expected before the show was due to commence. Henry VIII was sporting three wives in six pieces. Ty Cobb was to be heard long before he was seen but all in all he was said to have behaved himself admirably. Keith Richards had to be turned away when it was realized he was not actually dead. Many of the deceased had to be assisted; being in no shape to move about on their own but a few industrious souls had sewn themselves together with twine or other implements of the grave. While still others were seen to lend appendages and aparati invented, borrowed or stolen to those in more dire need than themselves. Good will was much in evidence. Mr. Poe and Mr. Lovecraft seated themselves in the shadow of a twisted pine and were seen to murmur and whisper to one another through-out the night, not socializing over-much but still, they were in high spirits and amicable enough. All were draped in the finest their respective graveyards had to offer. Victorian dress seemed to hold most preferred but the collection of costumes was as diverse as the shambling mass that dawned them. A name tag was dispatched to each corpse as it arrived. Stating the deceased’s name, where they now resided and the means and method of their demise. Trouble arose when Joan of Arc arrived however. The concierge found it impossible to affix her tags as they simply burst into flame. She was also damaging the ambience by casting a most tawdry light over the proceedings. The corpse candles were flat-out terrified of her. A solution was quickly thought up and a deceased midget was summoned, his job being to hold a small wooden sign giving the details normally contained on the badge as well as thin gauze of smoked silk to slightly alleviate Joan’s glare. Similar problems arose in other areas but the dead are industrious and clever and none proved impossible to overcome. Hitler, once fully arrived was placed in a zip-lock bag an attendant had been smothered in and his tag stuck to that. No pets were to be allowed but upon Hemmingway's arrival it was seen that the rule would have to be waived, Mr. Hemmingway sharing company with no less than 12 cats in various stages of decay. The cats proved a great hit in the end, fanning out amongst the audience in search of laps still ample enough provide a comfortable spot to wile away the night. Oh what a fantastic night! It was even thought the occasional heartbeat could be heard amongst the guests. A grand occasion indeed! Some minor bickering was to be seen. Patton and Hirohito nearly came to blows, but politics were strictly disallowed and considering the motley and diverse assemblage things went very well indeed. The night was not for bickering or the renewal of hostilities and in general the gravity and rarity of the occasion was enough to suppress most of the disagreements that would normally plague (the bubonic variety being the cause of most concern) such an event. The front row was reserved for the guests of honor. Garland Workman was first on the list, and first to arrive. He was dressed in a fine suit of black Italian silk with a stunning pink under-shirt. In his hand a cigar, on his feet a most curious pair of shoes. The other spots were taken by an assortment of other great artists, religious leaders and dignitaries. A small, decrepit and out-of-the-way table marked with a folded piece of velum that read "Press Table" was to accommodate the various reviewers and journalists enlisted to cover the event. A curious fellow wearing a name tag that read "Dr. Gonzo" sat at the far right, buzzing and flitting about in a most disordered fashion. It was quickly realized he was in fact one Hunter S. Thompson and only recently deceased. Death was a disorienting experience and his odd behavior was generally contributed to that. He settled in after a few moments and was seen to stare at one of his fingers for the remainder of the night. Little attention was paid him however and the other members of the press were simply thankful he had found a way to occupy his time. ____ The crowd had settled down and it appeared everyone had arrived. Not an empty seat in the house. The refreshment tables, having been picked clean by the arriving guests were disassembled and then removed. The show was still a moment in the commencement but the time had very early arrived and it was reflected in the anticipation seen on the faces of the be-stilled audience. Those with a face at all, that is to say. A large number of the guests were little more than bones adorned in finery. The players themselves, or at least those able bodied enough, sat behind the curtain going over lines, practicing their breathing (a much needed exercise since many had been long removed from its practice.) and generally making themselves ready. This was to be a grand play, adapted by Shakespeare from a classic comedy airing some decades removed in the living world. It was unfortunate however that the production was presided over by allegations of misconduct on the part of Mr. Shakespeare. Accusations of stolen ideas and failure to give credit had been brought to light by the Marquis de Sade , who it was well known had originally been a collaborator on the project but was fired under suspicious circumstances midway through pre-production. Mr. Shakespeare was adamant however that the Marquis’ contributions to the play had been few to begin with and all very much removed. Proof of this was offered in some 60 deleted pages regarding bathing in the blood of virgins, eating children and setting puppies on fire. This out-of-character writing coupled with the Marquis having flayed several of the stage hands forced Mr. Shakespeare to let him go. He looked forward to being vindicated when the case went before the angelic courts in the fall. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity the hubbub was quieted by the right hand of the concierge, held in his left and waved about like a baton. "Quiet everyone, quiet, the play is about to commence! Everyone please take your seats". A motion was given signaling the zombies ringing the proceedings to dim the lights, which they did by using simple clubs to bludgeon approximately 2/3rds of the Will-O-The-Wisps held captive to the poles. This was also assisted by moving Ms. Arc to the rear-most row of seats. She protested but the midget calmed her and the ambience was set! The curtain was drawn back by a beleaguered stage-hand with one arm, revealing the opening act’s first scene; what looked to be a circa-1950’s modern apartment. The audience lightly clapped to show their support of Mr. Reeves, who, having been cast into the role of a sofa, was playing it to perfection, holding perfectly still and not moving a muscle. The gentle clapping reached a fevered climax though when Desi Arnes slid into the scene exclaiming as loud as his decimated lungs would allow "LLUUUUCCCYYYY, I’M HHOOMMEE!" It nearly brought down the house. The scene now was Miss Lucille Ball herself, playing the part of a drunk to dead perfection trying to utter the convoluted phrase "vitametavegiman". Disaster was narrowly avoided though when her jaw, under the strain, very nearly fell off. Being a consummate professional, she caught herself and moved on as if nothing astray had occurred. Her performance was agreed to be powerful and moving. The scene changed again, displaying a factory producing hamburgers at an alarming rate. Lucy struggled to keep up and the comic hilarity nearly shook the already poorly assembled audience apart. She was assisted by Ethel, played by the immortal (well, not really, clearly evidenced by her participation in the play) Norma Jean who had been criticized originally for her inclusion, critics owing it to sex appeal and not talent. They were silenced though as she gave a performance to rival her part in Billy Wilder’s "7 Year Itch". Oh it was a grand night, speckled in old elegance and splendor, with the trappings of comedy and sadness. It had to come to an end though, Entropy holds sway in all things and finality is unavoidable. The shepherds came and there was some fuss. Stalin and Hitler tried to sneak into heaven but Baal caught them before they made it very far. An addled Ronald Reagan had wondered off during the performance and had to be located while Henry VIII raised the alarm when he couldn’t find the head of his 3rd wife. All was settled, the head was found, Mr. Reagan was corralled and the remaining swamp lights were set free. The stage was taken down, the chairs packed back up and all was peaceful as the grave (pun very much intended) in a very short period of time. Death comes to all things and after that most excellent show, this decaying observer isn’t nearly as upset at the driver of that Wonder Bread truck as he was this morning, having been witness to so stellar a performance and seeing, in person, those very souls that shook the world with laughter, fear, hope, pride, love, prejudice and wonder. The dead stir in the old places and are not idle. - This is to the departed, both dearly and welcomed and to our place in the finish. Who knows what’s to come and who knows who we’ll see again.

I'm unable to confirm this, but I've heard from a number of very highly respected Ricers in Somerset (Two are reportedly pushing for the 15's this season!) that bright, neon colors like green and purple will add approx. 11hp per square foot of coverage. In all seriousness, I dont think it would make any difference in the performance realm, but Ive been wrong before (so say the witness') and may even be wrong again..

Little update. The Z Rags brought down is in the shop and we're beating the hell out of it. =] The roof is DONE! It was pretty wavy. Rags had done some filler work before it arrived but the car got rained on during the trip so I went ahead and backed the filler completely out. Its smooth as glass now though, came out very politely. Air file + Rage Gold = yay. The doors, hood, both fenders, hatch and buckets are completely done and ready for paint. Everything received a total of 8 coats of primer spread across 3 applications. A pair of 3 coat sprays we blocked out (car is going to be black so I'm making sure it is FLAT) and a final 2 coat spray I reduced slightly so it would wet out better, that coat was wetsanded, to prepare for color. we'll be using sealer of course to ensure color uniformity. Space is limited in the shop and a large portion of the poeple milling about are idiots that I wouldnt let mix my filler for me, so I've been mulling over the best course of action when it comes time to paint the car and I think I've decided that we'll paint the car itself, hood, doors all removable parts OFF. then it'll get wetsanded and buffed out only then will I paint the fendes and such, that way, once they get painted, sanded and buffed they can be immediatly installed for safekeeping (its just not safe to leave anything anywhere in the shop for any real length of time, lol). This should allow us to buff every inch of every peice, reduce the change of burnthrough and allow a tighter quality control sort of thing. Still do to: Rust niblit on rear quarter cut rocker seams prep rear of the car Begin long and drawn out process of priming and blocking. Progress has slowed slightly due to the fact I dont actually have a home anymore, I'm out of school for a week or two while I try to find a place to live, but we're still chugging along at a pretty reasonable pace and even with the setbacks of late I expect to be done midish October. Again, I sincerely apologize for my personal life encroaching on the car's completion, but, we'll get her buttoned up! ohh, random pic is of a (I think) '39 International we have in the shop. I'm not working on it sadly (I strongly disagree with how their doing alot of the work.. the yokels have control of the poor thing) but its still a cool truck!

Pics of the Z should follow tomarrow. I'll have the doors, buckets,hatch, hood, fenders and vents off to get primed, front and back, then blocked out. edging to follow!

I love this guy.. Wow. That is one kick-ass car. I think the paint is sleeper paint personally, you'd never expect something that looks like that and is painted like that to be worth a damn in the speed depo. It looks like one of those goofy paint jobs gasping hippies that managed to survive throw on little Bugs and the like to be 'different'. Such a great car.

The Fairlady Roadster was a 4 cylinder wasnt it? I know my base model Fairlady Z came with the L20, but its still a 6. Anyone wanna buy it? =/ My meaning about cost effectiveness wasnt expressed as well as it should have been. Indeed an L28 and SBC are the 'cheapest' choices but the LSx swaps have the advantages of being very new technology and very very bad-ass when you start looking for serious power. The SBC certainly puts down some violent numbers but lacks the refinement of the LS swaps. Now, again, I'm all for the swap, I just dont see anyone/many doing it because it doesnt offer anything another swap doesnt offer for considerably less. The SR20 swap is a turbo 4 that is proven to be one bad-ass little motor and the cost (I will admit to not having researched this much) will end up a little less steep. That said, down the road some if the SRT motor prices start to come down it could start looking like a very cool option. Whats the deal with the SRT motor in Dodge thingy. What the hell is it called.. Caliber or whatever. Isnt it based on the SRT-4 in the Neon? Wonder how it would work out...

What in the hell?

Very impressive. I've always liked Miatas.. I'd love to get one and toss a little turbo on it.. I'd love to see an LS series motor in one, jeebus. whats the LS1 weigh in comparison to the 5.0?

I dont have a Z tat yet but I'll get one before long. I'm also getting Entropy on my back and a tail down my leg >=]

Ive always been a big fan of snakes. Glad to know you didnt bust out the big guns and blow the little guys up. Their harmless and will wipe out any rodents that come into the area, good to have them around. Where-abouts in Maryland ya live? I was born in Annapolis, spent summers in Glen Burnie and Baltimore. Moving back there when school is out and I can locate a decent job.

I have the compressor Cody linked, Its not a super duper name brand dealy but I have beat the living crap out of it for about a year and a half now, maybe a little more and it hasnt skipped a beat. I've run everything from my Iwata to a plethora of random air tools and I've never had an issue. Its not real crazy loud, smooth, fills up quickly, seems to be a high quality unit.