Wagz
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Posts posted by Wagz
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Excellent! What do you want for them including shipping to 99338?
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Excellent. Thanks!
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Somehow my fuel line retainers/clips and the rubber insulators disappeared from my pile of parts. In any case I am in need of a set of 4 clips/retainers. These are the ones that are slotted in one end to slip over the bracket (see attached pic of bracket) and have a screw hole in the other end. I'd love to get the insulators too, but I can make do without them.
Any leads on used ones or even a source for new ones would be great. I can't find them in Motorsport or Black Dragon catalogues.
Thanks!
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Thank you all. I appreciate everyone's sentiments. In a perfect world, we wouldn't have to make choices like this. The issue for me is purely one of economics. I just won't have the cash (or the time) to devote to the car for the foreseeable future and I don't want to be aggravated and depressed by the site of all the dust building up on projects in the shop. (That, and I need the cash.
)It's been tough watching my mom go through this. This situation is her worst nightmare. Her mother dealt with dementia and my mom was her caregiver for my entire childhood. My mom's worst fear is that she would end up in the same situation. It was a self-fulfilling prophesy.
My sisters and I are lucky in that we were able to keep her in her own home for the first couple of years of this ordeal. We've recently had to move her to a wonderful private home that specializes in caring for alzheimer's patients. The staff is great. The cost isn't great.
So, if anyone is interested in a Velo Rossa body kit, let me know. I'll save you a LOT of money over buying brand new.
Thanks!
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Phil/Owen - Thanks. It's definitely not fun to watch my mom deteriorate. Makes me nervous about my own occasional memory glitch.
Jeff - Nope. Wasn't me. I did have a pilot from Vancouver, WA approach me about buying my project a year or two ago. Not sure if he found one or not.
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Wow, it's been a looooonnnnggg time since I've been on HybridZ. Unfortunately, my reason for visiting was to post my Velo Rossa project in the classifieds.
I swore I would not be one of those guys that starts, but never finishes a big project like this. Yet, here I am.
I started my VR many years ago and immediately became addicted to HybridZ. I remember not being able to go more than half a day without checking the site. Unfortunately, over time, life got in the way of my addiction and the project: putting my oldest through college (she graduates this year), big job change, moving to a new state, building a custom home, etc. All those things conspired to separate me from my VR. It's been sitting, gathering dust in my brother-in-law's airplane hangar for a couple of years now. I really thought I would get it back on track in the next year or so, but that just isn't going to happen.
The economy has killed my cash reserves and my new house and job suck up all my time. On top of that (and the real killer) is that my elderly mother is suffering from Alzheimer's and needs 24x7 care. That will require a bunch of $$.
Oh well, enough of the whining and waxing nostalgic. It's kind of a sad day, but in the long run it's all good. My time and money are going to more worthy causes for now. Maybe someday I'll get back to the Z addiction (I've still got an another unfinished Z hiding in a garage).
In the mean time, it's been fun to cruise the old forums here and see what's going on. Good luck to all with your great project cars.
Later,
Wagz
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Ernie -
I'm sorry to see you are moving on. I've been a fairly silent member for years. I don't post much, but I read regularly. Your posts alway seem to be well thought out, well written and based on solid experience. I've never seen one of your posts take the tone that you claimed to "know it all" with respect to body/paint work. You seemed to be genuinely interested in helping other members out and sharing your knowledge and experience. It seemed to me you embody the true spirit of this site. I always enjoyed reading your posts and I alway felt I learned something or, at least, heard about something I needed to explore further.
Questioning what you read online and questioning someone else's knowledge is a fairly healthy habit when dealing with folks over the net, but attacking someone's credibility or their right to be a part of this community isn't what this site is about. Sorry you had to deal with the many egos that seem to pop-up on this site from time to time.
In any case, I wish you the best in your new adventure.
-Wagz
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This about sums up my career since 1993:
- Software Engineer
- Systems Analyst
- Project Manager
- Software Development Manager - Java Systems
- Software Development Manager - .Net Systems
- Director of IT Services
After burning-out on managing egos and personalities, I've gone back to being an IT Project Manager for Lockheed Martin. Amazingly, I have a life again.
- Software Engineer
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You should be able to buy it the way it is for that price and just take the body kit and you will come out ahead. I think that front end is a tilt front end so it won't require much to remove it.
True. For the price it's probably a good deal. It's not a VR front clip so, it doesn't tilt. It has the VR rear and the front is from one of the other vendors. It has the small hood to access the engine bay. If the chassis truly is beyond hope, removing the front might be fairly simple, but removing the rest, if it's bonded like it's supposed to be, might be a nightmare.
I used to have this guy's personal phone number and email address, but he disappeared after he and Larry had the legal problems...
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I've personally helped the previous owner (The person who Larry had trouble with) work out some electrical issues on that car. It's a mess! If someone buys it, they should plan on a complete mechanical and electrical rebuild. Buyer beware...
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Welcome (back) to the Great Northwest! We're going to have to put an Eastern Washington HybridZ meet together sometime next spring/summer.
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Virginia plates. Hmmmmmmm. Did our Mr. Kelly REALLY get rid of his 'Vette. Or, did he just not want us to know what he really planned for his next project?
C'mon Mike, fess up.
Oh, wait. Mike had a C5. I guess he's off the hook for this bit of bad judgment...
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Wheelman -
We just moved back in the last two weeks. We've leased a condo on the 5th fairway at Meadow Springs for the time being. We just closed on 2.5 acres at the far west end of Rancho Reatta (Badger Mountain Plateau) and are working with an architect on a home plan (stand-alone shop included!
).I don't have a road-worthy Z to bring to the autocross, but I may come out to watch. I assume it's the Sand & Sage club. What day/time are you running?
A local buddy of mine spent an hour yesterday talking about us partnering on my 260Z and turning it into an autocross car. We used to run his Renault with the Sand & Sage club...
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Going back and reading my previous post, I realize I painted a pretty bleak picture of the place. It is, after all, only my opinion based on my unique perspective/experience there. 1989 was the last time I actually lived there. So, I'm sure a lot has changed.
It sounds like you have realistic expectations and realize all cities have their good and not so good points. Yakima, like most places in Eastern WA can get pretty darn hot during the day, but the evenings are almost always pretty cool. Obviously, the Northwest in general is a lot cooler than the "ring of fire."
Yakima is a pretty hard core motorhead town. I used to work as an auto parts counterman (both times I lived there) for a few different parts houses. There were lots of cruises, car shows, etc. The Vintiques car club hosts a huge (at least it used to be huge) rod run every year at the fair grounds.
When I lived there, the west-side of Yakima seemed to be the nicest part of town. Nice older and newer neighborhoods. The lower income parts of town and drug problems seemed to be centered on the east side of Yakima.
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Like Larry and Wheelman, I live in the Tri-Cities. I was born and raised in the area and just moved back here after 12+ years in the Portland, OR area. There are a lot of good reasons to locate in eastern Washington. The above posts did a good job of covering the pros/cons so, I won't repeat them. I've decided I prefer Eastern WA over the over-crowded, expensive and generally wetter western portions of Oregon and Washington.
I've lived in Yakima twice. Each time I lived there for a little over a year. Once, in the west side of town. Once, on the extreme eastern edge of town. Personally, I did not like the city of Yakima at all. There is very little to do in town. There isn't a lot of entertainment options. There are few good restaurants, theaters, or other cultural attractions. The city is poorly laid-out like Wheelman said. My opinion is that it's kind of a dirty run-down little place. However, it is in close proximity to some good outdoor activities (hiking, camping, fishing, hunting, etc). As stated, it is only a few hours drive to Seattle or Portland which are both great places to spend some time.
The Yakima valley used to be a major distribution point for drugs in the Northwest. I don't know if that is still true, but when I lived there, I had people step off curbs in front of my car at stop signs and very openly try to sell pot, cocaine, etc. to me.
I've spent time in both Yakima and Boise in the last several months. Based on what I saw and experienced in those visits, I would have to disagree with Wheelman. I really liked the changes in Boise that have come about over the last several years. I would not hesistate to live there if the right opportunity came up. On the other hand, I personally would not even consider living in Yakima again.
Obviously, I haven't lived there for more than a decade and my recent visits were only over a day or two so, things could be very different now. Check it out and make up you own mind. Good luck with the job and decisions.
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I just picked up a lightly used and pretty nice tow rig. I'm generally a Chevy guy, but I got a smoking deal on a very well taken care of Ford F150 XLT that has been babied by the previous owner. Anyway, I want to dress it up a bit with some 20" wheels and tires. I've done some shopping with local dealers, but I was checking out some web-based deals and was wondering if any of you guys have had particularly good or bad experience with either of these dealers:
Discounted Wheel Warehouse: http://www.discountedwheelwarehouse.com
Performance Plus: http://www.performanceplustire.com
I'm trying to keep the total package under $2k. If you guys know of other mail-order places you would recommend, let me know.
Thanks!
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Man, that sounds sweet and looks like fun. Congrats!
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Electric cars have existed for years. What makes you guys think this car is going to be anymore successful than an EV1?
The guy who wrote that article is a moron. This thing' date=' if it even sells 1000 units, will do absolutely zero to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Fuel cost will not be zero because electricity is expensive. The car will not be zero emissions because it will still be charged by an electric plant fueled by some type of fossil fuel or nuclear power.
Face it, all these guys did was put a bunch of lap top batteries and an electric motor in a Lotus. Big whoop. Cushman has been doing it for decades.[/quote']
From the Tesla site: the EV1 is known for a 60 mile range, the EV2 slightly better, the Tesla has 250 mile range. A 250 mile range is very usable as a daily driver, commuter car.
It uses Lithium Ion battery technology instead of the usual (and toxic) lead-acid or nickel metal hydride batteries. So, from that respect a better car to.
True, you are moving the production of power from its own internal combustion engine to some other source, but the sources are fewer and are supposedly more efficient at reducing emissions. From the Tesla site:
Electric power generation in the USA does not use oil. Coal, hydro, nuclear, solar, and natural gas are typical sources for generating electricity. Power generation plants, even coal burning ones, are inherently more efficient and less polluting than vehicles due to economies of scale and the ability to more efficiently remove pollutants from a smaller number of much larger fixed locations. Also, an electric car is far more efficient than a gasoline car, so the amount of pollution generated by producing the electricity to drive an EV a given distance is much less than the pollution from the gasoline to drive an internal combustion car the same distance.I agree about the author of the article. I stopped reading his rant after a few paragraphs, but I did spend some time cruising the Tesla web site. I think these guys are onto something.
The car appears to be far more usable than the EV1/EV2 cars from GM (if we can believe the marketing hype). It has much better range and fairly impressive performance specs. Electricity isn't cheap, but it's cheaper than gas when you look at costs per mile driven. You get the benefits of economies of scale with respect to greenhouse emissions when using far fewer power plants to produce electricity over millions of gas burning cars. My choice would be to purchase the Solar charging units Tesla offers that they will have installed at your home. It's a great option if you live in the southern parts of the US.
Will this particular car be any more successful than the EV1/EV2? Nope. Not at that price. But, if the marketing can be somewhat trusted, the Tesla is a big step in the right direction.
I may live in Oregon, but I'm no Geenpeace card carrying, tree hugger. I own a Ford truck with a big V8 that is my daily driver and I like to put big old V8s in little sports cars and drive 'em like I stole 'em. However, dependence on foreign oil and the ever increasing environmental issues have my attention. This car may lead to other advances that will eventually produce a car the masses can afford and will want to drive.
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Where did they setup the course? Years ago I used to autoX with the Sand and Sage guys running my buddy's Renault or one of my Fiat Spiders. We used to run in the WPPS parking lot in Richland or at the colesium parking lot in Kennewick. It was always a blast.
Now that I'm moving back, I'll have to get the VR done so I can run against ya!
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I've got to second the suggestion to look at a Maxima. I've got a '98 SE with a 5-speed that I absolutely love. A good, used one is in your budget. It has plenty of power to get off the line in a hurry and down the road (225 hp). It's smooth and predictable even at tripple digit speeds (which it will easily cruise at - I do it often between the Tri-Cities and Portland). It handles very well and is very comfortable. I bought it in 2001 with 20k miles on it. It now has over 100k miles on it and it hasn't lost a step. I've only had to replace the alternator in over 80k miles. I love this car so much, I will drive it until it dies. Mileage, of course, depends on your right foot.my girlfriend just traded in her 2000 maxima with 90k miles on it for a 2006 honda accord v6 coupe.she only got $6900 for the trade in.the maxima was lighting the check engine light for a weak cat convertor and she didnt want to fix it.but the maxima seemed faster than the accord even though the accord seems like a lighter car.the maxima would run out to 130 mph and cruised easy at 100mph.usually got about 28 mpg on the freeway at 75.kind of like a japanese 5 series bmw.i would have bought it but there was a bank loan involved on it.
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... (could I actaully BE that old???)... Yeah, that two-by-four hit me between the eyes when my 18 yr. old graduated HS last month. She's headed for OSU this fall. Now I have to figure out how to pay for college AND finish my Velo Rossa... I'll be too old to keep it between the lines or take it past 15 mph by the time I actually complete it.
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Thanks for the well wishes, guys. I know its going to be a good move over-all. We'll certainly be able to live a little better than we could if we stay in Portland. It'll be good from a family stand-point. My son will get to spend more quality time with grandparents and he's pretty stoked about that. One of the major reasons for deciding to go back there is my mother's health. She has Alzheimer's and is starting to deteriorate pretty quickly. She still has some good days left and I want my son to know her better before she fades completely.
On the home hunting front, my wife called tonight after looking at several existing homes. She found one that sounds great: 4000+ sq. feet, unobstructed river view, nice pool, professional land-scaping... but my wife says "there's not enough room for you to build a shop so, I told the realator to keep looking." ...I love my wife! We're still leaning toward buying land and building, but she needs someting to do until I get there.
Al: yeah, I used to commute on 26 all the time. I hate it, even with the expanded number of lanes. My office is in Vancouver these days so I take a route that takes me through Forest Park on Germantown Rd and into St. John's. I get onto I-5 at Delta Park and up to SR-500. It's not too bad, relatively speaking. Oh, and speaking of family, how is your little guy doing these days? I seem to remember him having some health issues a while back. Hope all is well.
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Woo hoo! JP! major headway on the VR. I like what you did with the access panels and gas tank. That plastic looks very nice sitting on your Z.
I'll be putting the plastic on my Z soon too. Unfortunately, it will only be for a short time while I trailer the whole project to my new home (when I buy one) in Washington later this summer.
I am soooooo jealous! Keep cranking out the great work (and pictures).
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I am soooooo jealous!
250 GTO Owners Thread
in Body Kits & Paint
Posted
I'll echo the comments about John Washington/Reaction Research. Good guy to work with and VERY knowledgible.