VRJoe

If the screws are just turning and not comming out, pull on the arm rest while turning the screw. You should feel it bite then start to back out. If the screwdriver just turns in the head of the screw, first check that the screwdriver is the right size (make sure it's not a hex head). If the head is stripped out get the screw extractor from Sears and give that a shot. - Joe

Just smile and assume they're just telling you their IQ

I'll agree with Tim, the under hood wiring is pretty simple since it is really only lights & horn. The engine is a seperate issue. It would be a good time to put in the headlight relay setup that gets posted all time the time (Pete P's setup). You can use the old wiring as a guide to creating you own, just be sure to have a good wiring diagram and Volt/Ohm Meter. - Joe

You may want to check with a local radiator repair shop, they can usually repair and seal gas tanks. - Joe

The 250 must have been there on Saturday 'cause I missed it . That little red Beck was a sweet. Thanks for the link to the pics. - Joe

Actually she's staring at the highly polished air cleaner cover and telling her friend "Oh wow, the picture on that shiny thing looks just like me !". - Joe

You could always rent a van with a hitch plus the trailer then call some friends and yell "ROAD TRIP !!!!!!!". Maybe you can fool them into splitting the cost . - Joe

We should try to get a Hybidz group together next year. I know your Z would draw a crowd - Joe

What concerns me most about the "ricer" movement is the bad information and attitude they seem to propagate. I agree that there are some of these kids who are modern day "hot rodders" and they deserve all the credit they can get. I've seen some well done cars that would be classed as "ricers", but there seems to be an attitude that is far from what we seem to embody here. The Compact Car show at Carlisle has been cancelled due to the behavior of some of the people in attendance. That is the attitude and behavior the concerns me. I don't think this is a place for "ricer" bashing, but some of the misguided things they do are humorous. - Joe

Pete, It was a great show as always. The Compact Car folks caused so many problems that the show has been cancelled (there was a post about it a while ago). I talked with a few people about it and they said that they just got out of control. It's ashame, but they cost themselves one of the largest Compact Car shows. At the Kit Car show you'd have loved a few of the cars. The T-70 looked great, I'd love to see a coupe. There was a F-50 clone built on a Firebird that was for sale. It was made for a movie and was supposed to be destroyed when the movie was finished, but wasn't. Ferrari sued and lost, so it's a one off, nicely done. Factory Five showed their new drop top Daytona ... oooooohhhhhhhh....... looks good. How about a street legal Indy car, uses a Chrysler 3.5L V6. I could go on for a while. It's become one of the "can't miss" shows for me. Let's see now, cars, tools, cars, parts, cars, informative people, cars ..... what more could you ask for. - Joe

Haven't seen that chart in a while, LOL.

A Halon extinguisher is probably the best for a car. You can find them all over the place, even Lowes and Home Depot. Halon is good for all types of fire and leaves no residue. Dry powder extinguisher would be the next choice, but if you need to use it get ready for a major clean up. Also get the largest you can fit, think of it like horsepower, you can never have too much. - Joe

Mike, once again I'll second your statement. This is one of the better examples of why this board is so unique. Dennis, tried to send you an email, didn't go through. check your email address in your profile. - Joe

Just got back from Carlisle. It rained a bit, but boy did I find some bargins. The rain kept folks away so vendors were dealing left and right. There were some interesitng cars for sure. Ran into one fellow with a 300ZX, but didn't see any 250GTOs A bunch of Fiero-Ferraris. There was a real nice Beck Spider, and of course Cobras out the gills. Always worth the trip, just sometimes better than others. - Joe

Scheez, next you'll ask me if I know where Perkasie is I can make Telford in about 20 minutes, 30 if the cops in Montgomeryville are out. 309 used to a fun road, now there's too much traffic. Espresso, I guess things seem a little slow in Telford compared to the Left Coast. - Joe

It sounds like the Throwout bearing is shot, but the fact the both cylinders went bad also make me wonder if the pressure plate is a problem. I'm afraid the only answer is to pull the trans and check the parts. - Joe

Dennis, let me know next time you're out this way and we can get some coffee. I'm in the process of sticking a 94'LT1 and T56 in a 78 280Z. Once this gets far enough along I'll order the Velo Rossa kit from John Washington as a coupe. I love the lines of the Ferrari 250GTO, when you add the full tilt front clip of the VR it became a no brainer. That run around the lake sounds great, one of those tempations that just couldn't be resisted. I don't post all that often, but this thread caught me, there's been a lot of thought put into the responses members have left. I'll definately be keeping an eye out for the verdict ( and apeals ). If you know Philadelphia at all picture a run around the Art Museam circle, up Kelly Drive (used to be East River Drive), over the Falls Bridge and back down West River Drive. I'd love to see a race set up there that way, maybe a Grand Prix or such. If I could just convince them to close Kelly Drive for a day .............. :flamedevil: Road Racer Heaven..... Thanks Again for keeping us posted - Joe

Gee, I'm really torn on this, I've always liked the Opel GT and the Allison V12 is stuff of legend, But the mix ....... you've got to admit it'd be WILD :flamedevil: - Joe

Dennis, I hope you don't unload any of your great cars. The main problem with street racing these days is that there are so many cars on the road. Years ago you could find an empty stretch of road and go at it safely, now a days it seems like the only time you can find an empty road is between 4:10 and 4:20 AM. One other problem I've noted is that cars handle better now. Back in the 70's if you fiddled with the car you'd start to see handling problems around 50MPH and cars normaly topped out a little over 100. Now you can get a car that will go 120 in a heartbeat, when the kids start to tinker with the car and change suspension the car handles so well that they don't know there's a problem until they're loosing it at 90 in a curve. I'm convinced that this is why the death rate is high, it's happening at higher speeds and the younger drivers don't have to experience to recover. The better handling of the car gives them a false sense of ability, I can't convince these kids that they don't have the skill to drive fast on the street. I'll be running autocross to get my speed fix, I love a road course. I sadly miss being able to run a couple of the roads around here at good speeds, but the traffic has made it too dangerous ( I know I can handle it, but the other drivers scare the heck out of me ), so I'll set up for the track. I also suspect that these poor fellows would be a friend if I'd known them. I hope the jury has some common sense. I hope you consider us here on the board friends and I can't believe the fat fender boys don't drool over the SBC-Z. Unfortunatley we all get painted with the same racing brush, around Philadelphia 87 in 50MPH zone won't even rate as speeding durring rush hour, but add the word race .......... Sorry for running on, thanks for keeping us updated - Joe

I think you missed my point about the publicity and severity, slowing someone down is the ONLY good thing I could see coming out of this trial. The loss associated with the families involved on both sides is too great to imagine. Does that mean I agree with the charges, no, but that's the way the courts work. I think the decision about the turn will open a hole for the defense to downplay the speed issue, even more so if she wasn't wearing her glasses. I've never know street racing to be legal, I've just seen times and places where enforcement was lienient, and that's where things get squirley for these guys. No matter what, it's a terrible thing, but if it makes you think for an instant about you own speed then these people have not paid the price in vain, something good can be derived. - Joe

There are a lot of issues to consider with this. Should they be drag racing on a public street ? If he had been going the speed limit would he have been able to avoid the accident? Is there a street racing problem the city is trying to stop? The classification of charges can be interesting also, a death occcuring durring the comission of a felony can be classed as murder one. Blatant disregard of the law resulting in a death can be classed as murder two. In civil court, and yes I have no doubt the victims family will sue the drivers, the fact they failed to yield will come into play, but in criminal court it will be negated by the speeding/racing of the drivers. There are more and more DUIs where ther driver is charged with murder two, especially where it is a repeat offender. It will be interesting to see the outcome, of course it will be years before the apeals are finished. Best we can hope for is it will cause someone else to back off the pedal and think about the proper place to race, in that sense the publicity and severitymay be a good thing. JMHO - Joe

Mike, I get the feeling you'll be glad when May's over. I can hear it now, a few years down the road you're sitting with Donna, arm over her sholder saying 'Heck we survived May '03 ......" - Joe

Once again proof that gravity doesn't pull, it sucks - Joe

There are different V angles on V-belts, if the angle on the belt doesn't match the angle of the pulley the belt will get thrown off. Also be sure the pulley V angles match, if they're different you'll never get a belt to stay on ( all the pulleys must match the belt ). It also sounds like the guage needs to checked out. If you hear a whiring sound at the guage, then the trans is probably OK. -Joe

Hang in there Mike, Give Donna a big hug for me and tell her how much we care. UVA is pretty good so that's a good sign. - Joe