Wagz

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.

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.

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!

Man, that sounds sweet and looks like fun. Congrats!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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).

Big changes for me… I’ve been keeping an interested eye on the “relocation†thread that was getting a lot of attention a while back. My wife and I have been getting a bit restless in the Portland, OR area and have spent the last year and a half looking at other places in the country as possible targets for relocation. I really, really like the Portland area. We are an hour from the beach to the west, to good skiing (Mt. Hood) to the east and great water sports (Hood River – Columbia Gorge). The city is nice with lots to do. But, after 12 years here, it’s just gotten too crowded and the long winter months of rain, rain, rain have taken their toll. My work commutes have gotten progressively worse each year. I get home in the evening ready to kill any thing that gets in front of my bumper. So, we are making the big move. Surprisingly, it’s right back to where my wife and I were born and raised in SE Washington State. We’re going to the Tri-Cities, to be more specific. I really had no great desire to go back, but the advantages were to compelling: MUCH nicer weather Real Estate is much more affordable The Tri-Cities is not that large, but not too small, population-wise. We can still get to Portland or Seattle for a dose of civilization within a reasonable drive. My wife and I are really into wine and the region is a premier wine producing region for the state. Lot’s of water sports on the Columbia River and I can afford to have a big boat and keep it in permanent moorage Both families are centered in the area (can be a negative to ) There’s a roundy-round race track (my father was responsible for developing and managing the track in the late ‘60s), an off-road RV park and a good go-kart track for my son. The major potential down-side was in finding jobs for my wife and I. We’re both in high-tech related careers. We put feelers out with friends and immediately found a great job for my wife who is a Sr. Unix Administrator. Our house goes on the market this Friday and the journey begins. We’ve already made trips to find property. We’re looking at 1-2 acre lots so my wife can have a pool and I can have a shop. We’re planning on having a home built while we rent for the first year. We get to be like those Californians who’ve been moving to Oregon. With all the equity we’ve built into our house in Oregon, we’ll be able to buy a good piece of property, build a house, shop, pool and buy a decent (24-28ft) boat that we could never afford in the Portland area. My little consulting company is willing to keep me going while I develop new business in eastern Washington. We’ll see how that works out. I may have to go back to working for someone else managing software development. I’m a little apprehensive, but we’re committed now. My wife moved-in with her folks this weekend and started her new job there today. I have to sell the house and follow later in the summer with my son. So, not much will get done on either of my cars until I get moved into my new shop. I know there are a few HybridZ’ers in the Tri-Cities (Wheelman, Peternell, jwt, and maybe a few others). We’ll have to get a small local chapter going so we can get together for a few cold ones, swap lies, and bench race. The adventure begins…

Wow! Nice work Tim! There's another picture to add to my collection of great ideas to emmulate when I get ready to put my interior together.

Hi Phrozin, I see from your 1st post that you stumbled across my little site on the web. Somewhere I have a picture of the VR header cap installed on my chassis. I'll look around for it and post it on my site. Unfortunately, I haven't posted much to my site (or worked on the project much) in the last year. If I remember what was written in my VR install manual (as Zerrari pointed out) several guys have used 1" rebar drivin down the legs of the windshield frame and welded to the chassis. I followed Pete Paraska's plans for adding subframe connectors and it was pretty impressive how much just adding those stiffened the chassis. I will also be adding permanently welded strut tower bracing in the back and removable bracing in the front. It should be stiff enough to handle V8 torque, especially if you aren't planning on racing I used 5 lug upgrade components from Modern Motorsports and Mike Gibson. The components give you a 5x4.5 bolt pattern (basic Ford pattern). Oh, and before I started this Velo Rossa journey I didn't weld either. Now I own a nice MillerMatic welder and I'm a welding fool. Welcome to the Hybridz and Velo Rossa clubs!

It's not really a question of love. It's got more to do with the fact that all the answers to your questions have been asked and answered many times and most folks here don't really feel like re-hashing some of these questions over and over. There is no single previous thread that will answer your question. The answer is likely in MANY threads and it requires a fair amount of research (searching)to find what you are looking for. The other problem is that your question is pretty subjective. If you ask a dozen different members what is "fastest, easiest, cheapest, and most reliable" you will get a dozen (or more) different opinions that may all have merit. I know that's not all that helpful to you, but it's an answer to why not many people are responding. Good luck on your research.

Pete, Glad to hear the surgery went well. I hope your recovery is quick and pain free. Good luck and best wishes!

Dang Pete! I feel your pain! I have a herniated disk in exactly the same spot (between L4 and L5). It is easily the most painful thing I've ever dealt with. It's really frustrating being in so much pain and being told (twice) that I wasn't a surgery candidate after each MRI. All the surgeon would offer was Cortizone shots and physical therapy. Both of which did little with respect to long-term relief. I have the same issue with the sciatic (sp?) nerve being compressed and causing my left leg to become useless or extremely painful. I scared the hell out of a hotel manger when I collapsed in his lobby carrying luggage and couldn't get back up. He thought I possibly fell and was looking to file a suite. Two guys had to pick me up under my arms and almost carry me to my car. Another time I ended up in an Anaheim hospital after having another "episode" at Disneyland with my family. They had to get me stupid on Vicodin before I was able to sit-up in a seat for the plane trip home. I finally went to a chiropracter out of sheer desperation. The surgeon that consulted on my case warned me that a chiropracter could really screw me up permanently. Fortunately, it worked extremely well for me. It's been almost two and a half years since I've had any serious problems. I still get sore pretty easy and muscle spasms are something that learned to live with. My left leg is spasming almost daily, especially when I go to bed. Being careful about what and how I lift things has become second nature. Your warning to everyone is right on. This kind of injury can screw you up for life. I still don't really know what caused my injury. There was no specific incident that I can recall. I have never really done a lot of heavy lifting. I've always been pretty decent shape and I weigh 165lbs soaking-wet. So, it's not like packing around a lot of body mass did it either. The bottom line (especially for us *cough* middle-aged guys) be careful how/what you lift and bend at the knees.

The Chrysler driver ...

Dan's car is everywhere! I picked up the latest issue of Kit Car Builder magazine and saw an there was an article on "How to make simple fiberglass molds." Cool, I thought. I want to read that. I bought the mag and brought it home. When I started reading the article I thought I recognized the subject car.... Hmmmm? Sure enough, Dan's car! When you got a nice ride, everyone wants a piece of it. John Washington did a nice write up.

Well, if this really happenened and isn't some a$$ trolling for fun, then I wish natural selection had caught up with him BEFORE he had a chance to procreate. Freakin' moron!

I used Rust Remover, metal prep and tank sealer from here: http://www.hirschauto.com/ I restored a very rusty tank in my 260Z. This stuff was highly recommended in several articles I read. It worked great. I've had no issues with the stuff coming loose and clogging fuel filters/lines. If you don't seal your tank after removing the rust, you'll just end up with a rusty tank again.

I bought my Outlaw big brake kits from Mike as well. Good guy.

I just happen to have what you need. I had an engine fire in my '87 and repaired it. Fun, fun, fun... Right click and "save as"

Your right, but that's because so many kit cars designer of the last 20 years got their inpiration from the original Miura. I love it!

Mike - How much did you thin the paint? I stopped at Home Depot tonight to check the labels on the Professional and 'standard' Stops Rust products. I know you sprayed yours on. The label says don't thin more than 5% when rolling/brushing. I would be concerned about the paint not self-leveling well enough when rolling on at only 5% thinning. I also found this Rustoleum flyer. The paint dept. guy says they'll mix the colors right on site for you: I won't paint the VR this way, but It's a viable option for my barnyard resurrected 260...

That is one clean, beautiful Z! Nice work on smoothing out that rear panel. :2thumbs: