strotter

Didn't James Bond (Sean Connery, the real one) get a ride from a gorgeous lady-spy in one of those? In "You Only Live Twice", I think.

Here's one in Manteca, Ca (deep, deep in the central valley...). I know nothing about it other than what the ad says, $500. EDIT: I just noticed this one. Looks rough, but for $350 you might come out ahead. Apparently we're a hotbed of Z distribution.

And the future is - Rio Vista! It's too windy for rocket packs, of course, but the flying robots do fine...

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their..." car.

I dunno about the values going up - don't you think we'd start to see the same situation as you do with the older British sports cars? I mean, for years I thought "An MGA would be great with a 289 in it - sort of a poor man's Cobra". Nowadays, though, they're worth 20k+ in halfway decent shape, and frankly I'd hesitate to maul something worth any real money. If my Z was worth 20k in stock, original condition, I think the 350/T56 might just go bye-bye, soon followed by the car, and my mortgage lender might get a big old check.

This is a thread that will definitely need a resolution. Cyg, please don't forget to update it when you've figured out the problem!

If you want to find any old posts, just go the the "Wayback Machine" ( http://www.archive.org/index.php ). It's a "snapshot" of the internet at times in the past. For instance, you can go to Hybridz.org just before Ernie deleted all his stuff (the end of June, 2007) here. Note that the "search" feature doesn't work "inside" the Wayback Machine (you're not really in a vBulletin forum, just an image of one), but you can navigate to the "Body Kits and Paint" forum just like normal, and look manually.

Another possible source of the problem might be something the steering box, jamming between the gears. When I rebuilt mine, I found a piece of a circlip in the grease inside the housing. If something metallic like that could work its' way between the pinion and rack, it might caused a "springy" (because of the rubber isolator) feeling jam. Probably not, but something else to worry about... BTW, that kind of mechanical failure is the stuff of nightmares. Seriously. Glad you're OK.

No, Aux, you generally look for things that are weird...

There are no public roads perfect for such an incredibly irresponsible stunt.

My girl (who is a chemist) and I (used-to-be-BSME) were talking the other night about how different professionals are portrayed on TV and in the movies. Typically, engineers are weasels of one type or another, and will run away once the bullets start flying. Chemists, in perhaps the same vein, are insane. Mechanics are brutish and often violent. Politicians are corrupt. Lawyers are uncaring monsters drunk with power. Writers of whatever ilk, however, are generally a pretty heroic bunch. Huh.

I'd be willing to bet the results would put an end to many of us using them as daily drivers...

!

Cygnux, I appreciate your posting a conclusion to the thread. So often there's a problem stated, then some speculation, then - nothing. It's refreshing and satisfying to have closure. Thanks.

How about you limit them to donating members - a significant donation - to HybridZ?

...and I'd like to see him get 32k for it. Actually, come to think of it, I would, 'cause that'd mean mine was worth more that the parts I have in it... Also: he stroked a 302?

Second the "behind the passenger seat" thing. It's quick to get to, and quick to remember the location, easy to check the charge level. I used the plastic mount, but I rationalized it by noting that, in the case of breakage in a frontal impact, it'll end up under the passenger seat. Rear impact, no movement, side impact, likely stay in the "well" behind the seat. Frankly, I've used extinguishers in my cars only twice over the years, both times on someone else's car.

Just to throw in my $0.02 in here, I don't think there are many drivers that can reach that "better than ABS" level when under a real panic situation. On an open country road in good weather last year I missed a kid on a minibike by maybe a foot, and only then because I managed, by a huge force of will, to let off the brakes for just a moment and dive for the ditch. There I was looking at this kid - just a little guy - knowing there's going to be a bad SPLAT if I don't go behind him (he was moving from my right to my left), the brakes locked up tight, and I just couldn't for the life of me get my foot to come off the pedal. Later inspection showed I bent the bracket holding the pedal arm, maybe 20°. Heck, I'm one of those guys that goes out and practices his threshold braking in everything I drive, and I can about stand my Z on its' nose, but there was just nothing I could do to convince that foot to let off until it was darned near too late. If I had had, say, 50 milliseconds less time to think I would have hit him. Under those conditions, ABS would have given me a chance to not think and point the car at the dirt sooner. Heck, it might also have kept it under control once it left the pavement.

"Turn off the light" ... what are we turning? Turn what?

Bitter irony that vegetable drivers are legal, whereas vegetable fuel is not...

Yeah, I had to dig around to find noid lights, too. The clerk at Autozone didn't even know what they were, a customer that overheard me asking pointed them out to me as I was walking out. The $32 ID I was talking about is the identification of the software running on your computer. The most common one for the '165 ecu is 32 (hex). That is the number the computer identifies itself as, on the ALDL datastream. However, other software can be run on the same box, pretty much just by swapping out the plug-in PROM board (the "Memcal"), or by reprogramming a replacement EPROM. Most of my experience is with the '7730, which is very similar to the '165. If you start making significant changes to the engine, you'll have to learn to tune the software on the EPROM. You could try buying one of those "performance chips", but the guy setting up that chip won't know anything about your particular motor, ending up at best with a "best guess" setup. It's kind of like ordering a carburetor tune from somebody who has never seen your motor, doesn't make sense. It's fun, though, to learn to do it yourself. There's a forum about it over on thirdgen.org, the "DIY PROM" forum. The stickies at the top are an excellent intro into the whole subject.

I'm assuming you have a 165 ECM and likely the $32 ID software? Though convenient, you don't really need a special tool to pull the codes - ignition off, jumper between the "A" (system ground) and "B" (ECU pin GE12 (I think, check your diagram), "Diagnostic Test Terminal") pins on the ALDL connector, ignition on - will give the codes at the SES light, which itself is pulled low (to ground) at the ECU. It will also put you in limp-home mode, super-rich, retarded timing, injectors clicking merrily away, so on. Also get yourself a "noid light". Autozone carries them (intermittently). It's a little bulb that plugs into the injector connector and blinks when it gets a signal. Great for determining if you're getting a signal during cranking. There are different styles, be sure you get one for your GM injectors. Cost about $2.00.

Maybe not up on the Hill, but out in the water there's a bunch - as a matter of fact, you can go on shark-watching expeditions. From a UC Berkeley site:

They gotcha Cozy!

I know this thread is old, but this information is incorrect. My pan is more-or-less level with the crossmember, perhaps a bit higher by a fraction of an inch. The exhaust system after the collectors is the lowest point by about an inch.