JoeinCA

The word flagellation sounds much more fun than the activity actually is. Consider yourself warned. Joe

Never get into a flatulence contest with a woman you would like to sleep with. It can be hard to erase that memory. Especially if she cheats to win. Joe

Do not shampoo and condition your eyelashes. It just isn't worth it. Tune in tomorrow. Joe

I had pretty much ruled out the possibility of having my 14" rims still fit on the car with the 4x4 front and the 240sx rear conversion. But with just a little clearancing on the calipers, I am sure that they will work! WOOOHOOO. That means I will have the car on the road a full month sooner! I'm pretty stoked. I really should put up a build thread soon. Just sharing my joy with people that understand. Joe

Ok Grumpy. I'm having trouble properly identifying an sbc. The block casting is 3970010. The Stamped Engine ID : V0618HV The stamped VIN: 19J280937 The date code: F 17 8 The Cylinder heads : 3814480 The WInters intake : 3917610 I know the intake is off of a 1969 camaro 302. The heads are 70 cc chamber with 1.72/1.5 valves. I think. I know it was built in Flint, on june 17... 1968? The HV is throwing me off, as well as the Stamped VIN. One guy told me it was a 9:1 compression 255 hp Impala engine. But he also said that it was built in in Janesville.... I'm trying to sell it, so I just want to be able to correctly target my advertising. I initially thought it was from a 65 vette, 350hp 327. I'm confused after seeing all the different information out there. Joe

ooh.. 3 red xs. I hear that can be dangerous. You caught this at a car cruise? You need to be more careful.

Find a new caddy with the cooled seats. Snag all related parts. install and enjoy. Or build it yourself. Or you can extend some of the a/c vent hoses, connect one to each pant leg, and one up your shirt. Cloth seats maybe? I got it! Just dont wear a shirt or pants while driving. When you arrive at your destination, you can retrieve your nice and dry clothes from the hatch area and dress yourself. Make sure to wear a speedo so that if anyone asks what you are doing, just say you are Micheal Phelps coming back from "practice" while you mime the action of smoking a marijuana cigarette. Hum various Sublime tunes. Hmm. The beads arent that bad. Joe

I shaved the handles on my z in 2003. The system worked great... about 50 times. Completely my fault. The heavy duty 50lb solenoids were just not strong enough to cope with the way i installed them, coupled with really old and completely unserviced latches. I eventually left a long hooked peice of metal in the hatch area, that i used to hook the inner door handle from the back. Climbing in through the hatch makes you look and feel very stupid for shaving your door handles off... Like "Look what I can do!". Genius. I would also sometimes reach in the window and rool it up as far as i could with my arm still inside, and then take the window handle with me... Is that a window crank in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? I took a lot of crap about the whole deal from my fellow wyotech classmates. It really was funny. Now. Anyhow. Moral of the story is. Replace, or refresh your door hardware. I do plan to do it again, correctly. I plan on using autoloc door latches with the solenoid built into them. And I have a few ideas for making sure I will be able to manually release them. Thinking of a keyed release under the gas cap for the passenger door. This is all way in the future for the project. Joe

pictures:

Money has been very tight for me for the past year or so, and I have been resisting selling any of my accumulated chevy parts and engines... I broke down today and began checking casting numbers on the 327 I had in my first hybrid z. I knew it had a vintage winters mid rise holley flange intake. A rarity in itself. Todays investigation revealed a bit more. The intake manifold has part # 3917610. Which indicates that it was originally installed on a 302 camaro engine, which is pretty neat. The engine propelled my little 280z much like a scalded feline. Up to a very unreliably indicated 150mph plus top speed when joined with my 89 firebird t5 wc, 3.54 rear, and stock tires. (please refrain from the obvious "what the hell were you thinking" commentary. I'm not always the sharpest crayon in the 6 pack, I have accepted this.) Anyhoo, I also already knew that the block is an 010 block, or the "high nickel content" casting. I'm obviously no expert, but that precluded the chance that it was in fact a 302 engine. However, today's wire brush work finally revealed to me the actual VIN and serial numbers. V0618HV. Which breaks down to being built in Flint Michigan, on June 18th, for a 1965 corvette h/p 350hp (no wonder the car was so darn fast). So, My question is simple. Who should I try to sell this engine to, and for how much? I assume that the value of the 302 would be higher than that of the corvette engine. But would a corvette engine with a 302 aluminum midrise winters intake technically be worth more than one with a stock intake? I'm feeling kinda lucky right now, but now i don't want to sell this engine to your average Joe... as it was sold to me. Someone out there is probably searching for an engine to complete a numbers matching build on a poor engineless 65 vette somewhere. And I would hate to deprive them of the chance to purchase mine. What do ya'll think?

OH.. Yes, The wiring insulation was designed to be "green"(back in the 80s!). They use a biodegradeable insulation... which degrades well before the vehicle does. Germans are strange. Working on German cars can give you some insight into just how strange. If you buy the car, plan on having a tool box dedicated to just MB tools. Joe

Are you sure of the year? The r129 chassis SL (89-02) is actually a very nice platform. The cars perform well, and have a very comfortable, yet responsive ride. I havent personally driven the previous generation, r107, enough to make a judgement call. Overall, I like the way the pre 90s Mercedes are built and how they drive. Mercedes parts are very expensive though. klaupunktundi

2 out of 3 of the suggested activities can end in meaningless sex.

^^This may be sig worthy because I'm giggling like a 16 year old girl recieving MJ joke texts while driving.

A little background: I built my first bare unibody up v8z by the time I was 18. That was 2003, Before the 30 year rolling smog exemption (CA) was repealed. The v8z was a 1977. I did the actual V8 swap in the month before I moved to wyoming for 15 months, figuring that by the time i got back, with "legal" registration overlapses, I would be close enough to be exempt and re-register my Z with no smog. No dice. The car was eventually torn down to a roller and sent to the yard. (I was not happy) So, I recently bought a 75 280z, because the stars aligned, and I apparently needed some more crazy in my life. Which is exactly what I got, in the form of a now "torn down by random helpers" Z sitting at a wierd angle on many jackstands, looking very much like a hybridz equivalent of an amatuer alien autopsy scene has played out, in my garage. I cannot safely do any of the heavy work because I have a very bad back. I have walked with a cane for the vast majority of the past 3 years. So doing 99% of the work myself like i did the first time is not an option. I get to "stupervize", and clean up parts. (I'm not terribly pleased about that either) But I finished refreshing one header today. It took a few hours of tedium, gave me a dead leg, but came out looking passably decent. I haven't done work like this in years. Even with the increase in pain, it feels good to do something productive. Whether the balance between pain and pleasure is sustainable... I dunno. But I like the picture i just took, and I want to show it off. So there. Ive explained myself. Look at the darn pictures. Thank you for your time,

Wow... Josh... was that really necessary? The train already derailed with the hemorrhoid and hernia mix-up, heading straight for the ass area by way of taint... lmfao....and you go ahead and turn what could have simply been a very bumpy derailment, into a full on trainwreck with amazing precision. Very kinda ninja. I am amazed and amused. Judge if you must. But that ""'s funny.

This clip made me think of this...

Wow. Not only do you have great memory, but you can HOLD a grudge. lol. I never had a problem with that tranny with my little stock 2.8l. I had actually completely forgotten about that. And now I'm scarred for life. Awesome.

I made it to 1:43... and my brain exploded a little. wow. Painful. Alex.... why?

cigars... Though its nicorette for me. Bone stock daily driver Z or Jackstand racer Z? Funny side note, I have both a garage full of tools and very little space, and a lot of time and no money. I guess it could be worse...

The loss of good power trains and parts is sad. The damage to the used car market... is temporary and probably more minimal than you would think. The gas guzzler market is already pretty dead. On an economic note, I dont personally believe that artificial manipulation of any market is a good thing. Quite the opposite. mmmm. That wonderful feeling of posting in a doomed thread. do you feel it? It's like prepping and painting a part you know you are going to replace at the first possible chance.

Both at the same time. Mexican or chinese food?

And I thought us Z guys were always trying to get RID of rust. With the lengths Ive seen people go through, if you painted their bathroom a rust color in the middle of the night... They may be found the next morning curled up in the fetal position in the middle of the bathroom. possibly floating in a puddle of thier own tears. Ive been kinda lucky with the Zs.. But the trunk of my 57 haunts me. I thought it was funny anyhow. Good luck with the home improvement project. They are usually no fun at all. Joe

Phil, I'm sure you've been told this before: you are one strange dude. Keep being a weirdo- it helps the rest of us feel like we are flying under the radar. Joe

20.. really? what do you need 20 for? a dash? Wheels?