waynekarnes

Seth, there is a spring set up on the stock door opening system that pushes the opening rod back in place, insuring the door latches and stays closed. i did a test run on mine, door would not stay latched. checked to find out why. the rod wasn't moving back to normal closed position. in stock configuration there is a bracket that holds the rod and spring, sort of looks like the spring set up on a retractable ball point pen. what did you do to keep that spring in place ? i leaning towards the use automotive glue to hold solenoid in place at the bottom of the door instead of bolting it in place. people at 3M distributor say will work just fine. only problem may be if need to replace it. door handles are welded over ( friend did it for me ). no turning back. thanks, wayne

Mike, that 2 speed lincoln fan appears to be exactly the same fan i am using. i cut that tab off to gain clearance. if i remember correctly the sable and taurus are basically the same car. the car i removed the fan i am using came out of a '93 sable wagon with 3.8 V6. i went on half price day at local pick and pull. think i paid 18 bucks including taxes, epa fees, ect.

i have the JTR rad in my Z. used Mike and Greg's rad mounting kit as well as the straps on the mounting kit. took me a while to devise a way of mounting it. i think a lot and act slowly. straps mounted on the rad mounting kit. slotted the hole in the mounting kit to allow the straps to slide left or right. i positioned the fan ( from a 3.8 liter sable ) on the straps. drilled through the edge of the shroud and the straps. one hole either side for the upper mount and one hole on either side for the lower mount. then i tapped the straps ( made threads ). used rubber backed washers and socket bolts to mount the shroud to the straps. on the bottom of the shroud is a mounting tab. i fashioned a brace from the bottom of the shroud to the bottom of the radiator mounting kit. this holds and strenghtens the fan mounting. on the top of the shroud is another hole or mounting tab. i did the same on top as i had done on the bottom. when i placed the set up in the car, a tab sticking out on the driver's side created a problem. used pair of tin snips, cut off the tab. no problems. i used Cozy Cole's schematics to wire up 3 relays, modified his design a bit. i used one 180 degree Zirgo fan switch in the chevy intake manifold and a 203 degree export only 1995 LT-1 fan switch in the water pump. the fan is fully automatic. coolant hit 185, the low speed came on. sitting in my driveway in the san jose ca. heat wave, idling for 15 minutes temp sat steady at 185. i know the 203 works because i bought a 185 camaro sw from an ebay seller protech205. had a temp gauge in rad. temps were at 185, no fan. hit 210, high speed came on. i pulled wire from ea fan sw to determine what was what. proved 203 was working. bought a zirgo from street rodder on ebay. removed defective sw, all is well. with the relay set up, runs on low spd at 185, when hits 200 to 210 relay removes power to low speed motor windings, other relay closes and high speed motor comes on. tested this by grounding the wires that attach to the fan switches. no switches in the car to worry about. with the temp sensitive switches and the relays, it does its own thinking. i have no luck posting pix to the forum. if anyone wants to see my set up, message me and i will email pix to them. thank Larry and his engineering friend for the relay set up. he posted it here about 2 yrs ago. wayne

depending upon who owns the cops and the judges will determine whether the dealership is charged with a crime. 1983, chevy dealership. i traded in corvette on S 10 truck. 2 weeks later, dealership calls me, says bring the truck back to renegotiate the deal. said they gave me too much for the vette and discounted the truck lower than they should have. told me that i did not bring truck back, they would come get it and make me pay for the tow. told em truck was a piece of junk, had already been in for warranty work twice in 1st week i had it. give me back all my money and the vette we have a deal. told me they'd already whole sold at auction the vette. i told them to go pound sand. we have a contract, besides i don't own the truck, bank america owns the truck. i won't own it until it's paid off. if you tow the truck, i call the police and contact b of a, advicing them you stole the truck. they called me 2 or 3 times a day for couple weeks. they never sent bruno to break my legs nor did they tow the truck off. we are in san jose and dealership was in los gatos. if we were in some small town they might have gotten away with stealing the truck from me. an employee, close friend of a friend of mine told me, the owner had dealerships in other places in california and they would go take back cars and get the buyers to come up with more money or sell them a different car. that truck was right up there with the worst cars i have ever owned. was 2nd brand new GM truck i had bought in 3 years. both trucks were lemons.

with the header off the car or lifted away from the head, use a quality drill bit that is the same size as the existing hole. run the bit about a 1/4 way through the hole. using variable speed drill, on about half speed, some cutting oil, work the bit in and out. without removing the bit from the hole, work your way towards the direction you want to slot the hole. angle the bit so you are cutting material as the bit moves. rock the bit back and forth. probably take you about 6 minutes or so to ream it out. i've done this bunches of times. works well. good luck, wayne

officially, the moment you found employment in the state of california and drive in the state, you are supposed to register your vehicle. there are so many tourists here it is doubtful that an officer is gonna stop and ticket you. i drove my 70 LT-1 vette with nevada plates ( i had registered it, plates and tags were under the seat ) for almost 2 years with 4 yr old expired tags. i was never questioned. however, i drove my 86 nissan pick up for 7 years with no plates, white paper taped to windshield. started taking same route every morning to work. campbell cop got curious. flipped u turn, red lights, blip of siren. checked reg. checked paper from dealer on windshield. i handed him plates still in envelope from under the seat. he told me, plates are correct ones for my truck, best be on there next time he sees me. keep doing what you are doing. chances are you won't be stopped. if you are, courts give you chance to get registered, bring proof to court and you pay a fine. think one has 10 days to register car they have bought, within the state or from out of state. be advised that if you are caught, to register your out of state car, it will be required to pass a smog inspection. oh and you will be required to have a valid ca driver's lic as well. http://www.caldrive.com/law.html http://www.dmv.ca.gov/newtoca/newtoca.htm check there for more info. the bottom link is calif dmv website secret is, don't get caught.

the intent is to export the california smog laws for new car standards to all 50 states. what is being considered is the entire package deal. all vehicles newer than 74, will be required to pass a smog test. this set of smog laws has already passed legal challenges. other states would not have to do any leaping through hoops. just adopt and adapt. the farm equipment and small engine people are upset about this and fighting it. more air pollution comes from cows and pig farms than from cars, but that's another story ( methane and other gases ). most people seem to think that california registered vehicles older than 1975 are smog exempt. this is not true. you must still have all the smog equipment that was federally mandated as well as any factory installed smog for the region is which the car was originally sold. if you get a job here ( military and politicians exempted ) and are driving a vehicle on calif roads you must register that vehicle within 10 days of your arrival in the state with the calfornia dept of motor vehicles. in the 70's la county and santa clara county had stricter smog laws that did say santa barbara. my mother's 69 firebird does not have a smog pump. was originally sold in the truckee/tahoe area in 1969. never had a smog pump, nor egr valve. i bought it for her in 1974 from 2nd owner. so, you need to know the laws to keep the smog inspector from yanking you around. back to the ca standards. if you decide to remove all the smog controls from your pre 1975 car and you get pulled over by the hi way patrol or other law enforcement agency, remember the supreme court says they no longer have to knock if they suspect danger to the community or individuals, they may open your hood for a visual inspection. if officer suspects modifications, you may be given a summons for tampering. this may be a fix it ticket or worse. i have heard officers are authorized ( in some counties ) impound such vehicles. they are after the boy/girl tuner racers with the fart can exhausts strapped to the back bumper. figure it cuts down on what are called side shows and street racing among the rug rats. driver/owner, if found guilty of tampering, pays a 500 dollar ( min ) fine, must take said vehicle to smog referee for inspection. there are rumors afloat the female rep from san jose that got the rolling smog law squashed, wants that car to be tagged for the rest of its life. has to get a smog test once a year for as long as it's registered in the state of ca even if it changes hands. in california, the smog test exemption is strictly for change of title and the biannual testing. there are still requirements to have operational smog controls on all vehicles that were required to have smog controls when the vehicle left the factory. in general, engine swaps are permitted within the same family line. engine must be same year as chassis or newer. smog controls are from the newer of the two, unless cannot be reasonably installed. nissan into nissan, ford to ford, chevy to chevy. engine can not be from a truck and dropped into a car. passenger car to passenger car. truck to truck. you may do hybrid swaps. engine must be same year as chassis or newer. as above, the newer smog controls will apply, unless unreasonable ( car came without cats, no heat shields, be unsafe, so you don't need cats ) you may not use truck engine in passenger car. no pass in trucks. in calif. all engine swaps would go to the smog referee for inspection. once determined legal, car gets a sticker with all the state required smog controls stamped on it. after that, should an inspection occurs, lead the inspector to the sticker. the sticker is the mandate that the inspector must follow. my V8 z has such a sticker.

there was a 3 or so paragraph article in san jose murky news stating the feds are considering making california's smog laws the nation's standards. you want fed highway funds, you comply to the national standards. anyone else hear anything about this ? http://www.pbs.org/now/science/caautoemissions2.html http://www.gainesville.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060629/APF/606290980 http://cleanairarticles.blogspot.com/2006/03/few-stories-on-national-research.html

Kidneys ? was that from the poison in the system ? meds ?? or not enough fluids ? thought might affect the liver more than the kidneys. man, you are really having it rough to say the least ! one of my best friend's sisters is a bone cracker, taught at palmer. i'm still not to keen on the shakra alignment and misalignment of the spine being the cause of most of the body's ills. but with your kidneys getting messed up because your spine is out of synch has me thinking. hang in there buddy ! weird isn't it how muscling around heavy stuff has almost killed you. knocking over dominoes ? good friend of mine from over at classicz, Carl Stahlnecker aka Bambi Killer ( deer commited suicide and tore up Carl's 240z in the process), just passed at 54 years of age ( june 16th ). on the 10th of june, we had attended the black hoawk event hosted by ZONC. we were looking forward to the kit car bash in sept. diabetes, high blood pressure, ect. lost his job, health insurance, could afford his meds, thought he was getting by alright on the meds he could afford. health can go to pieces in a few months, amazing how rapidly small changes can do us in. take care and take charge, get those meds, ask questions. what you wrote about your kidneys and infection really shook me up. sorry if i'm wandering, i'm still at a loss over what to think about Carl's passing. again, shook me to read that we may have almost lost you !!! was thinking you were sipping ice tea, watching the weather outside and hoping you didn't get flooded, and planning the next upgrades on my z, the one you have guardianship over. seriously, get your wife to slap those doctors around a bit ! glad you are still here !!!!! wayne

get well, my friend !!! in two days when you start getting bored, and decide to ignore doctor's advise, let someone else mow the lawn and paint the living room. this should give you time to think about a hybrid rider mower. maybe get Alex to give you some pointers, i understand those rotary Rx 7 engines are fairly light, might make a good power plant for your mower. titanium parts in one's back. used to be goat spines, now light weight racing material. again, take care of yourself, i need someone to properly maintain my z. no one will spoil it like you do. seriously, be good to yourself, don't do more than what doc wants you to do, and get that physical therapy going as soon as possible. wayne

The benefit is you CAN use a heat gun without blowing yourself up. You don't know me very well ! LOL i am still very tempted to try this. if i do screw up, looks like i can remove it and pay a pro to paint for me a lot easier than if i screwed up with acrylic enamel.

wow Pete, sorry to read about your pain and suffering. been busy, not spending much time at the site, really knocked for a loop to read that you hurt yourself, twice ! feel badly for you. back pain just never goes away. i am hoping mine is just angry muscles. at work opening lid to telephone box in sidewalk, lid is supposed to be 55 pounds. apparently customer replaced it with something more sturdy, told me after the fact was surprised i could lift it, little on move it. guess it weighs over 100 lbs. crushed discs and you were mowing the lawn ? you are way too smart for that. must of been the painkillers making you feel like superman. take care of yourself, being greedy on my end, need you to be able to sit and type on that key board, answer all my stupid questions and slap my hare brained idea out of my head. more than that, you are the universe to your family ! get better, friend ! wayne

i'm kinda considering the stuff to be a kin to laquer. thin coats, if one screws up a little sanding, spray another thin coat. have sprayed laquer, have sanded laquer, again i have never sprayed a whole car. door and front fender of 65 corvette. painter let me get some practice in. his shop, his car. he'd strip the vette bare and repaint it every couple years. Bill Wright in san jose. lost contact with him many years ago. with the exception of the heat curing, this auto air formulated paint, from what i have read, very much reminds me of laquer. thin coats, sand between. spray 12 or so coats of laquer, let it dry color sand it and clear coat it. get high as a kite spraying laquer. i didn't get high, gave me a horrible headache and stomach ache. maybe this stuff is water based laquer LOL ... i know it's not but could be what they were shooting for. might try it on the baja bug my son and i are slowly building. remember, quality requires time and attention !!!

i was rereading at the website. says to use heat to cure the paint. i had read that before but, don't remember there being as much emphasis on the heat. must be because of what you mentioned about the bleed through. says to make sure it's a warm day, the layers of paint are sprayed on thin. how long does it take to dry ? they suggest on a tank or something you should use a hair dryer or something. street rodder painted a 32 ford door, used a hot air gun to dry it. is drying time a big issue ? i don't own an oven big enough to roast a 3700 pound car. website and magazine articles present this as being a paint that is user friendly. that heat thing has me perplexed.

Racer X, various magazines have had articles on the paint. couple years back ( give or take ) street rodder magazine did a write up on it. to show how easy it was to use, they painted a 32 ford pickup door. they spent most of the article showing how to paint flames and such. eastwood sells it. i think this is the official website http://www.autoaircolors.com/features.htm from what i read, makes it appear that a person of limited talent can paint with it. means i might be able to paint a car with it. i am real tempted to try it. i have the compressor and a hvlp gun. hoses, air dryer and filter. various body working tools. of course having the stuff doesn't mean i know how to use it. the auto air stuff looks to be very forgiving. i really want to try it.

Racer X, have been toying with idea of spraying the auto color water based paints on my son's baja. been reading about it in magazines and on the web for couple years now. how'd you find it ? E Z for a beginner that's only assisted others when they were painting cars ? articles make it seem that any competent fool can use it. i think i fit in that category. thanks, wayne

no worries yet. the epa wants to phase out allowing hobbyists to paint their own car and parts starting in 2007, completely removing products from those that are not certified by the epa to use paint products by 2011. this is not yet carved in stone. it has been presented to congress. we need to contact our congressmen, and sema. let em know how you feel about this. talk at this point it won't matter if water base or petroluem based, no spray paints will be available to hobbyist period. this is the epa's plan.

Racer X, value your opinion and comments ! i remember the how in the late 70's they tried to outlaw home paint jobs. this time they have the industry behind them. from what i have read the epa wants to hold the paint manufacturers responsible for the poisons that enter the air, water and soil. means the paint formulas must be modified. much easier to control the end user than to spend all that money modifying the product. body shops have scrubbers in the vent systems to remove most of the poisons from airborne paint before being released from the sealed paint booth. by regulating the end use of the products, the paint companies are 98% off the hook for VOC requirements. thus they are getting in goose step with the epa to stop hobbyists from being able to spray paint. it's sort of the same way the epa says that performance modified vehicles contribute more smog than the beat up clap trap being driven to work everyday. these people are working hard to outlaw our hobby !

starting in 2007 the epa is out to make automotive paints unavailable to hobbyists and noncertified users. plan to phase out all noncertified use of automotive spray paint by 2011. in other words you will not be able to paint/primer your car or any parts at home. for info go to: http://www.asashop.org/takingthehill/10-05asanada.doc

when one removes the factory steel wheels, replaces em with after market aluminum wheels, what is the proper amount of torque ( ft lbs ) to tighten the lug nuts ( to ) ? i know on my nissan p.u. it shows higher torque specs ( tighter ) for the aluminum wheels than the steel wheels. i haven't seen torque specs on new wheels. there certainly aren't any specs with used wheels. how tight is safe without warping the rotors. how loose is unsafe at any speed. yes, unless i am changing a flat on the side of the road, i use a torque wrench when tightening lug nuts. i will then, later check those lugs when i get home. have used a torque wrench on lug nuts since 1972. thanks, wayne

rain and more rain. thinking of adding plantoons, triple screws and a rudder to one of my cars. i do like the yellow on a z.

fun for the whole family ! the harder rubber tires with higher carbon content, the dry air passing over the body of the car builds static electricity. you discharge it when you touch the car and the ground at the same time. you can discharge the car by earth grounding the metal. any conductive strap to the earth will do it. otherwise, as you get in or out of the car, hold onto the door, be touching a metal part of the car as your feet touch the ground. no arc spark. or carry a wet cat, let it shunt the spark to ground for you.

the seats fit real nice in a z car or a dune buggy. betcha someone already snagged em.

my buddy went through same thing when the 65 fuel injected corvette roadster was "totaled" by the insurance company. he refused to sign anything. picked up the vette from the tow company impound before the insurance company could get to it ( often when no death or extreme human damage is done, they will claim the car, auction or destroy it, without owners consent, put hands in the air and say, whoops !!! " ). he had restored the car himself, all the body, paint, rebuilt engine, trans, rear end, suspension, frame off, all himself. after the accident took him about 6 months, convinced em to pay him to start from scratch, restore his vette all over again. they paid for all parts and material, he did all the labor. think it cost them around 7200 bucks. that was around 1981 or 82. one of the companies that advertises in the meyers manx dune buggy club's newsletter maybe something to consider. i have no experience with them. i do know that dune buggies are hard to insure, figure if they insure em, may not have issues with modified z cars. Irma Huizing Insurance Agency. fax 714 449 1973 voice 714 449 1970 sorry, ad doesn't show email nor website.

run in here, do a search, run back to the z. ignore what i read, try it my way, spend way more money and time than i should. lick my wounds, read more posts, more searches, check the balance on my credit card, more engineering on the fly, toss out 98% of what i've done, start over. bounce a few messages off the usual people, thanks for putting up with the penniless dreamer !!! the shoulders with the good angel and the bad angel on either shoulder, you guys here are the good ones, much appreciate it !!! i may wrench by myself, but i don't think i am alone. got dsl and the website. all of my car friends have long since married and moved away, others have passed to a place where i hope the air is clean, racing fuel runs free and they never bust a knuckle ( sometime i feels like they are with me, lending a hand, holding that washer in place, putting great and crazy ideas in my head ). my son is 17, to make me happy he really wants to be a car guy, he has the gift, i show him once, he's got it. new drums, seals, wheel cylinders, hoses, ect brake job on his 72 baja bug( our project ). as i watched and advised he did the passenger side. did the driver's side on his own, plus changed the front shocks. he wants to help on the z, but it's all custom stuff, trail and error. he has several other hobbies as well as home work, saxophone in school band, drummer/lead singer in couple garage bands, the only child of a single parent ( just the 2 of us since '95 ). with my son, i do have someone to help lift, shove or hold something in place. bring me a cold soda, reminds me to stop and eat something. that's always a big help ! i might be out there by myself, but i don't think i'm alone. kinda corny, hey ?? thanks again to everyone !