Warren

Yes, they are still available. An automotive locksmith will either have them in stock, or know where to buy them. I'm not trying to make this difficult, but most locksmith supply shops won't sell to the general public. There is a guy on Zcar.com called "ZmanofWashington" that rebuilds them if you send them to him. He's somewhere near seattle if I recall. His prices are a little high, but that's just MY opinion. I gave up on rebuilding them simply because most of the time when someone would send them to me, they were JUNK, with broken tailpiece retainer parts or just plain worn out, or corroded so bad that bead-blasting them doesn't even help. New locks are too cheap to buy (for the locksmith) to even worry about the old junk. They can be keyed to an existing key and match whatever other locks are on the car. Warren

Find another locksmith, preferrably one that does automotive work. They'll have the new caps for the locks, as the old ones almost have to be destroyed to get them off. (Don't ask me how I know.)

Now you have to get that double car enclosed car hauler and tow vehicle to get them both to the DNI Shootout... (as if, right?) Congrats. Warren

I've got an older red top that I've discharged slowly with the car, accidently, on my way to SEZ 7... had one of the wires on the CS connector break on me, alternator never charged, reserve capacity is 90 minutes, and the car drove for exactly 90 minutes. Charged it back up, been fine ever since. My car lives in the garage and hasn't been driven in months at a time. Charge it with a trickle charger every now and then. Never a problem. Obviously not ALL Optima's are junk, so I vote we change the title of the thread to include the word "SOME"...

PETA would just LOVE reading that one... HAHAHHAH

I saw the "Rich idiot" and immediately thought it was something about "PINKS"... hahahaha

It varies slightly by model and equipment... see http://carfiche.com/fiche009/s130/1/b03.gif

Is this anybody we know here? http://atlanta.craigslist.org/car/523014425.html

it reads P90...an 8 wouldn't look like that...the bottom part of the 8 would be round, not the top.

Yasin, That IS in fact, one of the neatest ones I've seen...with the ducting built in and gives me an idea of what to do to the MSA Style II that I have on my car to direct the air more into the radiator/intercooler without having to shape a bunch of aluminum and try to squeeze it in place. Of course, in my particular instance, the body kit is molded in anyway, so adding to it wouldn't pose any problems related to removeability. Thanks for showing that picture...it's rather "inspiring" to say the least. Warren

There was never really a doubt of the strength of the nutsert itself, and now that you've said the frame rails are 1/8" wall tube steel, that makes a BIG difference. I doubt I'd trust sheetmetal alone to hold a tranny rear, even with a midplate, but that's just me erring on the side of caution. Warren

Have to agree with James on this one...(not uncommon ) They're great for mounting Adrian Steel cabinets in service vans and the like, but that's about as much stress as I'd personally trust them with. Although you're able to tighten up bolts going through them, the sheet metal that they're attached to will be the weak link now. Backing plates on those two items in particular would be adviseable, hence, ruling out the use of the nutserts. (Don't ya just hate when somebody rains on your parade?) Just looking out for ya in the long run. Warren

Wait a minute, if she already got it for you as in "the wife got me a car trailer", isn't it a little late to worry about what to get?

Never know till ya ask, right?

Don't guess you're including the crank for the VO7 Block, huh?

Mine weren't torn up or anything so I simply reused them. They should be in good condition on your car, unless somebody's been doing Monster Jam with it.

If I'm not mistaken, the bolts are 1 solid piece, threaded on both ends...turning the bottom nut will turn the top one with the bolt itself. It appears, you'll have to hold the top one (inside the car) while loosening the bottom one (outside the car). Figure shown here, is a breakdown. The figure linked above is a little misleading, as it doesn't show where the floor of the car actually goes. The floor of the car is actually ABOVE Part #7. I was able to obtain NEW bushings (part #2 in the figure above) from Nissan, however, the round serrated pads that go above the crossmember (part #7 in the figure above) are NLA. Good luck finding those. Hope it helps, Warren

There are such things as "title bonds" too. Look into that as well. It might be a little more expensive (usually around $160), but it basically assures the DMV that the car is not stolen and if it does turn up stolen, or another claim to it's title is applied for, it covers your butt. The DMV will usually issue a title without a problem if you've attained a title bond. Here is a link to a company in Sacramento that can help you. (note, I have no affiliation with them whatsoever, just did an internet search on Vehicle Title Bonds and they turned up.) Click Here This is NOT legal advice, and I am certainly NOT an attorney, just a suggestion of an avenue that you might investigate. Hope it helps. Warren

Yep, the stuff went to a nice guy...I'm sure he'll put it to good use. The powertrains are gone...I'll be listing a bunch of little stuff in the for sale section in the next few days. Thanks for everything ya'll. Warren

Just an idea...since no trailers are allowed through the pass, you want the car and don't have anything in it financially, why not call a flatbed wrecker truck and have it delivered to you? Then you can work on it at your leisure and not have to worry about it.

PM Recieved and replied to. Thanks, Warren

I have 2 pretty beat up ZX parts cars that I'm going to cut up and dispose of TODAY. 1 car is an 82 N/A Hardtop with a 5 speed, the other is an 83 Turbo T-Top (they're alreday gone) with a 5 speed. The bodies are completely shot, and most of the interiors are junk, but there are still lots of hard parts available. Because of the short notice I've been given, I'm bringing my body saw with me to hack these babies apart, so don't expect any good body parts. If you need any parts, call me at 770-919-1699 and we can discuss which part & how much plus shipping. Things will be cheap as I'm not saving ANYTHING except the power steering rack & pinion from the 83 Turbo car. Both powertrains are complete and worth saving, but I have NO place to store them. If you're local and would like to pull parts yourself, please call me. Sorry for putting this in the Non-Tech instead of the For Sale section, but the guy who has been storing them for me called and said they will be hauled to the crusher on Monday. So here is your chance. I know, it's a shame, but they've GOT to go. Warren

Almost anybody can do a sheetmetal and bondo hack job with trailer lights, (No offense intended to anyone.) but making the finished product look like it came that way and the lights actually belonged on that car from the beginning is the hard part. Creativity goes a LONG way. Dan's car was quite instrumental in my deciding which lights to use on my S130. Since the Z32 lights had already been done on an S30, I didn't want to simply carry that design to the S130, in which it wouldn't look right anyway, because of the size and shape differences. It's not quite as easy as you might think it would be to transplant a different car model's lights and make it look "right". Getting back to the original part of the thread, "how bout a thread to compile all the different ideas out there.", this has been covered several times before, but here's a link anyway. Zparts.com's gallery of tailight treatments. That may give you some ideas of what different things look like. Warren

See it in person at the DNI Shootout in March...you might change your mind. The slight angle at the bottom is barely noticeable once you see the car in 3D. The photos don't do it justice as the rear is slightly rounded, not perfectly flat. I do, however, respect your opinion. Warren