cygnusx1

Great story and a lesson to us all.

 Do you know for a fact that the butterflies are closing all the way.  The little tabs that rest against the stop screw can bend pretty easily.  If they are bent, they could still be preventing the throttles from closing.  Even with the screws backed all the way out.  Also, there could be some carbon build up in the bores preventing free movement of the plates.  Also, sticky accel pump pistons can cause the plates to close slowly or hang.Â

You can just run "colder heat range" pads to take advantage. Â Dave at AZC told me that the brake kit should be good on a Z that reaches up to 150 on the race track, or about 500hp, if I recall correctly.Â

Mine are mounted in a 280Z which is quite different than a 240Z

Nice shots, Paul, P-factor, and tx1021!! Were the shots from the Yak taken with the canopy open, or through very clean glass? Tx, great exposure on that first one. Â Almost looks like HDR. Â I suppose it was a very overcast condition.

Nobody slap me for this...but I got those seats for free.    I gave the guy some beer as a gesture.  He bought a 57 Chevy and they were in it, on top of milk crates. He wanted to go back to an original bench seat or something. Over the years I have come to discover that they are from an early BMW 318i or 320i.  I mean 80's vintage (E21).  I got really lucky with these, but when you wait 16 years or so to do an upgrade, sometimes, luck just finds you.  I hear they are very popular upgrade seats amongst the BMW 2002 crowd.  They do come up for sale rarely, but are usually pricey when they do.  I tried seaching for exact year/model but I come across a ton of cloth versions which don't cut the mustard.  Upholstery kits are available for them. The seats are fairly narrow in between the bolsters but they hold you in like a suction cup would.  I also like the adjustable under-thigh supports.  They extend and retract. http://www.my2002tii...ecaro_seats.htm http://www.2002parts.com/html/recaro_front_seats.html http://cgi.ebay.com/...id=140280028636 http://orangecounty....1646247616.html

 I just tried a few different methods on mine.  First I used a boiled linseed oil to bring out the wood grain from the dried out rim.  The color was nice but I wanted a "glass " look so I then loaded the wheel whith a thick layer of clear epoxy resin used for laying fiberglass.  It looked great at firs,t but then the layer of tung oil caused the resin to fisheye all over the rim, as it cured.  I thought the wheel was ruined.  I sanded off the majority of the hardened resin until the wheel was smooth again.  Then I picked up a can of regular old high gloss clear coat spray.  That worked wonders.  For the spokes I used, GM semi-gloss black, and highlighted the center logo with a silver paint sharpie. It came out OK but I don't know how well the clear will hold up to UV and wear.  The sanding took away some of the deep red color in spots.

It took one can of gunk foam degreaser, one bottle of some enviro-orange spray, a couple of water spray bottles, and a can of brake-cleaner.  All done on the floor in my garage over a baking pan to catch the grease.  No hose, no powerwash, all manual labor. This is called a rattlecan rebuild.    I'm on a budget. The motor is out of my 280Z with about 130K miles on it.  Running strong when I pulled it, so no reason to open it up.

I was browsing some cell phone videos on QIK.com and came across this video from Japan taken on a cell phone a few hours ago. Â The guy says RX-7 at the end of the video. Â It sure does look nice. Â Is it a body kit, or a concept? Â It looks awesome from what I can see. http://qik.com/video/5562996

When is he running for office? Â 1 vote here.

The face mask I tried was totally claustrophobia enducing. I am using the nostril thingy and it's not too bothersome.  I have to keep my mouth shut or I get the instant wind-tunnel effect. I was able to fall asleep with it on but it woke me up in the middle of the night and I ripped it off.  I figured I wouldn't make it all night.  The pressure isn't bothering me as much as the noise of the machine.  I am going to try to put it further away and maybe inside a cabinet to keep the noise down.  I have it set to ramp pressure up over a half an hour.  To tell you the truth, after about an hour, I feel uncomfortable when I take it off.  I am slightly over my weight range but not much.  I have snored most of my adult life.  I agree,  those ENT guys are all a bit NUTS.  I don't trust any of them so far, and would never let one operate on me!  I have seen so many ENT surgeries gone wrong.

Anyone else on here sleep "turbocharged"?  I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea a few months ago.  I knew I had it but it isn't official until the guy with the medical papers says it is.  Anyhow, tonight will be my first night sleeping with a CPAP machine.  Basically it blows compressed air in your airway to keep your  throat opened up so you can breath.  Turbocharged!  I hear it takes a while to get used to.  I am willing to try, to avoid the headaches, the lethargy, and the possible early death.  My blood oxygen levels were dropping into the 80% levels during sleep.  I don't think that it's supposed to go below about 95%... BOOSTED!  Â

You have seen the light! Â Congrats. oh yeah PICS VIDS!!??

IN PROGRESS

I actually like the metal/glass work on the front end.

When I first saw it, I got a bitter taste in my mouth, but when I got past that, I thought it looked really cool. Not my cup of tea, but well done for an "art car". http://www.zenthusia...leared-t189.htm http://www.zenthusiast.net/first-gen-240z-260z-280z-f18/update-on-my-brother-s-280-paint-job-t182.htm

Suspension/Body/Electrical/Brakes all done...phase 14.5 has begun! Project Phase: Grease Ball Z...

Who turned that car inside out?

There was no seam sealer where the sill meets the quarters.  The water just ran right into the joint there.  The seam sealer under the sill, where it meets the tail panel was cracked, and the sill was bent down a bit.  I think someone sat or stepped on the sill, bent it, and destroyed the joints.  Water could enter the joint freely, and it would sit there hidden in the seam.  All it took was  a little water from rain, or from washing the car once, for the water to fill the seam.  It's repaired now, temporarily.  Came out OK.  Better than when I started, so that's progress, no? Â

 What do you want to learn? Driving too? I found this book helpful for driving techniques.

Or you can do what I did. Â Cut a slit in the end of a broomstick, fold up some emery cloth. Â Slide it into the slot and wrap it around the stick a few times. Â Insert stick into housing and rotate and slide. Â Cleaned out enough gunk/rust/paint to make the Tokicos fit easily.

The key buzzer is OBNOXIOS!  I just wanted to make it work so I could say I did, and then I'll disconnect it like everyone did. I am REALLY bad at bodywork.  My idea is to slow the corrosion until I can have it done right.  I know it's not right, but with the way I will be using the car, it should last a while.  I can't really defend my method of repair which is mainly cosmetic.  The car will likely never see rain, and will be garaged full time so preservation for a year or two is my immediate goal. I think i will buy the replacement panel and hang on to it just to remind me to have it fixed right. BTW, there are steps I took that are not shown in the pics.  I brushed off all the loose rust, sanded it, dug deep into the seam with a steel blade.  Then I soaked rust converter in the seams and let it run through all the gaps in the panel.  I wiped it all down with degreaser, and sprayed it with paint.  Then I sealed the seam.  I will patch the holes with JB weld, then skim coat with a filler.  I'll top it off with a quick spray of color after sanding again.  I think it will hold for a couple of dry years.Â

 Right on, thanks guys! I forgot to update that I did get the blinkers working.  The flasher unit near the column was missing and a couple of spade connectors under the column were criss crossed.  Now everything electrical works.  Even the key buzzer!Â

Off the jackstands and officially now a ROLLER again. Time to build the motor. Never say never...if you look in the right places, even a rust free Z can have some rust. This should be pretty easy to take care of as a temporary fix until it goes to a body shop in a couple of years.