pete280z

Ugh. Considering TXU/Oncor just got snarky when I called, I've finished talking to them. Sounds like you're pretty deep into this. Good luck with the arborists. A buddy who manages large construction projects has told me that arborists are not to be messed with. A building inspector could be a PITA, but an arborist could ruin his week.

Ouch! I'm going to try to hire my own tree trimmers before they make it to my part of town. I'd rather have it done on my dime than submit to the butchers with a government mandate.

I've got Wilwood 120-2280 and 120-2281 calipers, which are set up for 0.81" rotors. That should be the correct fit for the AZC rear rotors (12.2" x 0.81"). I think they can be adjusted for different rotor thicknesses by adding/removing spacers in between the caliper halves.

Get 'em! Now I'm glad TXU blew me off. When I bought my lot, the trees in the easement were already well-tangled into the elevated lines. I contacted them to give them a heads-up about the situation. In response I got a cranky phone call and a snotty email. So, the problem remains.

About 5 years ago, several members discussed using Wilwood mechanical spot calipers to serve as a parking brake on rear disc conversions. Does anyone have photos or other documentation of their setup? I've read through pparaska's write up several times now (http://alteredz.com/brakemods.htm). That write-up was very helpful. I think that AZC must have changed the bracket design because there just isn't much material to bolt the additional bracket to on my kit.

225/50/16 and 245/45/16 are both very close to the stock tire height. Search for 16x8 and you should find a thread where it is suggested that 225/50 is the better pick for track day & autocross style handling. I'm not spending big bucks on my first set of tires for these wheels for several reasons. I'll probably buy the BFG g-Force Sport in 225/50. There are fewer options in 245/45 and all of them cost more than the g-Force Sport. I swiped this photo from a 240sx board. It is the 16x8 +10 grids with BFG g-Force Sport 225/50 tires mounted.

Thanks TimZ. I just ordered the AZC setup and was debating getting the ZX master cylinder or a 1" Wilwood tandem. My stock MC looks like it has had the same fluid in it for over 10 years, so I'll be swapping it when I do the brakes regardless. From what you're saying the 15/16" will definitely suffice if everything else is in order.

Hey noodl35 - please post pics when you get the rb. I'm planning to buy an rb26 in a few months and have swapped a couple of messages with racer98.

I've got one of each in my garage right now. I'll try to check that out over the weekend. I know that late 280 wipers will fit an early 280. The previous owner of my 280 preferred the black arms to the polished that originally came on the car.

Actually, my CHL buddies tell me that in Texas after dark + trespassing + vandalizing property = leave the body in the yard.

Wow. Looks amazing. I'm having a harder and harder time resisting cutting up my fenders for ZG flares.

I hit the garage last night to work on my stub axles (I stupidly pulled the struts off the car already). It took about 5 minutes for me to sweat through my shirt. Still, I'd rather this kind of heat than any kind of cold. Cold to this Texan is temperatures below about 60F. Bring on the sun! :flamedevi

I can't see something like this ending well. IMO, we can individually do the most good for HybridZ'ness by building our cars and having fun. In the process, display a HybridZ sticker/t-shirt/hat/whatever and be cool. I guess if friendly rivalries prompted races or contests of some sort that's a different animal. Give one member's privately financed car the nod as the representative in that contest and have fun. Members could lend a hand or expertise along the way. I don't have a huge post count, but I've been hanging around for a very long time. IMO, this is one of the most respected enthusiast sites on the web due to the attitudes of the moderators and members in general. Let's not screw up a good thing with another fiasco.

I just had to look that up. From NASA TT Official National Rules: 9.2 General Car Appearance All vehicles must be in good condition and appearance. Vehicles with excessive body damage, primered body panels, etc., are not permitted. The vehicle must meet the “50/50†rule, which means it must look undamaged and straight at fifty (50) mph from fifty (50) feet away.

A HybridZ vs ZCar race would be awesome. But forget Pinks, just do it at SEZ or down in Daytona for ZCCA 2007. Race for beer and bragging rights, whatever.

It's been 100+ all week around here. I'll still take any time in the garage I can get. My wife is going to make me get a fan for the garage before next weekend though.

Jon, you make a great point. I had almost the same landscaping situation happen to me a few years ago. We had 3 nights to get a lawn planted so we could get a certificate of occupancy for our new house. We promised water, beer and burritos. I was amazed at how many people turned out to help and how eager they were to get the job done. Pay it forward...

Liquid wrench, propane torch, a 4 lb hammer and three different lengths of 1/2" bolts as drifts. The left came our fairly easily. Just got hung on the bushing. Out came the torch for about 20 minutes and that was done. At one point I did hammer the pin back and grind down the mushroomed section, thinking that it might start to be a problem. The right was more challenging. I actually started there, but the pin would only budge about 1/2". Soaked it in liquid wrench and moved to the other side. My theory was that the spindle pin was deformed by the locking pin, making it difficult to slide out. So I heated the strut on the side that the deformed section of pin would be sliding through. Then another liberal dose of liquid wrench and hammer, hammer, hammer. I'm guessing that it took a total of about 100-150 hammer blows to remove each pin. And that last one shot it out about 8 feet.

Isn't that what dads are for Phantom? That's a heck of a weekend, but I bet you make your family proud. I think my friends and family see me as "computer guy," "car guy" and "bicycle repairman." In the past week, a coworker came to my house on two nights to get help plugging a tire, and a friend two states away called me to troubleshoot her DSL installation. I'll pretty regularly tear down a bicycle and rebuild it with a bunch of parts a buddy sourced from ebay. I get a kick out of the car and bicycle stuff still. Computer stuff comes with the territory, especiallly as more and more tech support moves offshore.

100 years old? Maybe the 18 year old stuff isn't as expensive as I thought...

Glenmorangie is my usual stuff. A bottle usually lasts me 9 months to a year so I spend a little more. This particular glass is from a bottle of Macallan I got for my 30th. Not bad at all. Johnny Walker held a tasting here a few months ago. It seemed like it took forever for the blue to come out, but it was worth the wait. Smooth.

or Pete: 2 / Spindle Pins: 0

4" backspacing on an 8" rim is more like -13 offset

RB30DETT or LS?