tannji

Yep.... I only get to do this because it is kinda necessary to do it. In otherwords, the front of the property is the high point, with a stong slope to the back. The alley is probably 20 to 25 feet lower than the front curb. In order to build the garage in the traditional house-side posistion, I have to excavate significantly lower than the basement, refill with stable earth, and then as you said, build a strong foundation at the same level as the basement, with a ceiling/upper level floor that is strong enough to support either a concrete slab, or some kind of composite. the lower garage will obviously have access facing the rear of the property, with a driveway bending in from the side of the property. Good thing we are on the corner lot, or it wouldnt really be all that feasible to drive uphill to the garage from the alley. (at least, not in the winter, anyhow.) So far, it looks like a wide 2 car garage upstairs, and a wide 4 car (2x2) down stairs, which I think will be 3 car, with the 4th position taken up with a work area and equipment. The major concern at this point (besides cost) is how to keep the other half's stuff out of the lower garage. The whole addition will be an "L" shaped wrap around our house, with one leg being garage, and the other leg extending our walk-out basement below, and allowing for larger kitchen, separate laundry/utility room, and a very large sunroom above. My girlfriend runs a daycare out of the house now, and we are beyond cramped. The addition will add almost 2/3's to the existing size, but will be cheaper than buying a house that would suit our needs. (actually, between my garage and computer lab, and her daycare, I doubt such a beast exists = ) tannji

that is an interesting look! I would like something similar, with smaller individual vents, more angle side to side. Perhaps when the garage is finished and I have aquired a mig and some skills, I will have to play. tannji

Interesting.... I have never personally rebuilt an engine.... but I would love to. It cant be all that difficult, can it? = ) I am not a master mechanic by any means.... but my greatest fear is not that I cant do something, but that I wont have all the data I need when I attempt it. I would love to be able to say at some point "I built that motor" and not be talking about the 1.5 HP lawnmower over in the corner.... I do build high performance computers.... and that seems to impress some people, whose skills with the innards of motors completely impresses me. tannji

Mikelly, very nice... Love the translucent roofing panels.... If I saw that correctly, wish I could do that with mine, but I will have a garage and laundry/utility room on top of my play area. How much do you think a used lift like yours goes for? I will be trying for a 12 foot ceiling in mine, to allow for storage and lifting cars. Also, it looks like I will be stuck with a 2-car width and depth. was hoping for width as opposed to depth, but cost have to be kept reasonable, and this is far nicer than I ever anticipated getting anyway = ) I already have used appliances, but I have not determined how much of my space I am alotting to them yet. I think I will put a cheap pre-fab shed next to the garage for the unavoidable Z-debris accummulation. As the garage is largely underground, the walls (and most likely the ceiling) will be concrete, so I will pour risers where I want major cabinetry or work stations, with a drain grate down the center, so I can keep the floor as level as possible. Dont even want to think about how many times I have wished for a level floor. I thought about pit access to the garage above, but it would be difficult to do, add to cost, and isnt really justifiable in light of all I will have downstairs. I am taking notes, very good stuff... too bad I havent found any local Z buffs, will be a minor shame not to have anyone to hang out with in a setup like this.... tannji

Does anyone know of a x/y axis gantry/hoist, that mounts to the ceiling? Might be overkill, and too expensive, I imagine I would end up with conventional hoist, but I like the idea. tannji

good stuff.... Davey... I was thinking more about specifics on what people did to customize or make their spaces more functional. like the adjustable or lower height lighting. For instance, I am thinking about a gantry in one bay for lifting and moving engines and such, but why not 2, so that you could have a free-hanging rotisserie? = ) The ceiling is already going to have to have steel members to support the garage above, might as well make use of that strength. I am just looking for things to build into the garage, or take into account, to save me time, money, and headache later, when I would have to alter structure. tannji

Hey all... looks like we are staying in our current house that has no garage, and not enough room. We are currently pricing an extensive addition. The house sits on a fairly steep slope, so that the small basement is a walkout. We are on a corner lot, so the side of the house is also acessible from the side street. I think I can put an attached garage on the side, but because of the hill, will have to do extensive excavation and foundation work, to support the garage. This will mean that there is serious room under the the garage area. I am considering a plain-jane 2 car upstairs, with a 3 car underground garage, which would be "walk-out, like the basement. this would allow me to have a pit opening in the upper garage, which is something I have always wanted. My question is this: with all the experience in home modding and wrenching that is on this site, what are some of the options and accessories that you wished were considered when you garage was built?I am already considering ventilation for projects like painting. I also want to be able to wash the car indoors, so draining is being taken into account. It goes without saying (but I will) that there will be wireless web, sound, and video in the lower garage. I have extra appliances laying around, so I am thinking mini bar/kitchenette. I will stop short of sleeping quarters. throw some practical concerns and ideas at me, including things you have done, or learned the hard way to do differently. thanks, tannji

he didnt say that pic was taken on the road, just that his friend took it while on the bike tannji

CorZette... I am stoked for ya!! I am a navy vet, so cant really help you with the semper fi, but I appreciate the meaning! I am about to do my Ross conversion and switch to 5-lug.... so if you dont need the 240 hubs immediately, I will have them available. If you do need them right away, I am sure someone here has them. tannji

Yeah, that would work.... I would really like a smaller electronic version of that tho... perhaps I will pay a visit to Grainger and see what I come up with. Ok. I am embarrassed to admit I havent looked, and dont remember, but is there a tool box type of cavity on the 240Z's? Right behind the seats, like the 280Z's had, and the ZX's. I had a wild thot.... what about using that cavity for a surge tank, with built-in baffling, Or perhaps an air purging system.... something that keeps it full of fuel, adding to your overall capacity, and making the baffles un-necessary. Perhaps a single tube baffle in the center, top mounted, with a float in it to control the air purge? What would this do to weight balance, and what are the safety concerns, should this secondary tank be a fuel cell? I suppose this tank wouldnt have to be large at all.... But having just done a 2000 mile trip in my Z, even with 26mpg, I would have liked a larger tank, especially since the fuel gague is not accurate, lol. tannji

yeah, I have been giving it some thought. I am considering running the fuel lines in a manner that would allow me to have a FPG in the cockpit. I am not real keen on fuel lines in the cockpit tho. Anyone know if there is an electronic gague that would allow me to run the lines underneath the car, with a feed back into the cabin? Also, I think I will need to replace my fuel pump soon, and definitely need to change out the power and ground lines. As I am currently running a TPI, and hope to switch to LT1 this winter.... any recommendations on fuel pumps, and pressure ranges? Ill do a search, dont want to hijack this thread... = ) I still want to know about the sump the Hybrid member makes = ) tannji

hey, would you post some detail about the sumps you make, here in the thread? I would rather by from a member than another place! (which is why ross is going to get a few K from me = ) thanks, tannji

man, not much left of the original Z, huh?

I am considering some sort of "Bow Tie" reference for my plates.... please suggest options or shoot down the following... BowtieZ is too obvious, been done anyway Zbeauty or beautyz Zbeauti or BeautiZ its a bit obscure I suppose, but "BEAU" means beautiful in french, and is pronounced the same as "BOW" (I know... but I am sure SOME here wouldnt know that, lol) This would then read Beau-Ty-Z or Beau-Ti-Z.... Is it too far fetched? or would that work.. opinions welcome! ........ <--> tannji

Police have a human tendency to become complacent.... I have had several friends on various forces, and I was constantly giving them crap about the little things they took for granted, like always being ceded the right-of-way, because of the cars they drive. I would imagine that officer that got smacked by the porche probably didnt take the time to "look both ways" and assumed anyone coming would slow down in a hurry. tannji

This sounded familiar.... is that 280zxt in cali? orange? or completely different? repost specs and pic please = ) tannji

Hey, re-read what Grump said.... I bought a 240Z with a fairly well done V8 pre-existing. I identified the following needs: Remount motor to JTR spec $200 replace radiator $100 add modest HP (probably means LT1 or LS1) $2000 add T-56 tranny $1500 new drive shaft $200 4 wheel vented disk brake package $700 5-lug hubs $300 16" wheels and tires $800 new springs and struts $500 fix very minor rust $200 rust treat underbody and normal problem areas $200 Paint $3000 update interior $400 Right there is your $10,000 Done fairly cheaply, but with you doing a lot of the work.... If you buy new, expensive parts, it will be Significantly more, if you do all the work well, and find great delas on material and parts, noticably less. Still worth doing, in my opinion. If you pay $4000 for a nice Z, and put $15,000 into it.... you have a very nice car that will kick the snot out any car in the $20,000 to $40,000 range, and probably beyond. tannji

Vaguely along the same theme.... Back when I had my first V8 240, I lived in Long Island, NY. I dont know how it is now, but the Major "strip" back then was Hempstead Turnpike..... about 2 miles worth was urban, and had the requesite donut shop to park at. I had great times there, being young, dumb.... and owning a fast car. One time in particular, a friend with a wicked hemi-based car, (forget the exact model) wanted to play... which sucked, as he was consistently faster than I. (must have been the 100+ HP difference) Occasionly, your basic carbed V8 feels like its on steroids, whether its the humidity, barometric pressure, or fortune smiling. As soon as I started the Z, I knew it was a good night to be out.... and then my friend wanted to play. I didnt mind another beating, so we ran, and I won by a car length or so.... and did it again.... so he wants one more chance. I get off the line perfect, while he spins, as he REALLY wants redemption. Because of his spin, i get out to probably 10 car lengths on him, and about 75mps, before I let up. A light is coming up, and I am slowing down, bumping my Hurst shifter back into drive, and just beginning to touch the brakes. Well, there is no reverse lockout, I miss drive and neutral, find reverse at about 65mph. I am not sure what is happening to me... but I hear and feel a bang, and suddenly my rear end is very greasy. I touch the brakes again, and I do a perfect stunt-driver's 180.... and I am looking into the rapid approaching windshield of my friend's car.... probably less than 2 car lengths away.... We are still around 60mph... and I will never forget it, face to face with his car, going backwards..... and my passenger has BOTH feet on the dash and is making this odd screetch... I ended up curbing it and wiping out the (thank god) steel rims. Two Z cars pulled up, helped me into the adjacent parking lot, and got their spares on my car, so we could bug out before someone called the cops. I doubt anyone who was there will ever forget it... I know I wont, my body has probably never excreted that much adreneline since.... tannji

It seemed to me that the owner of this thread was commenting on so many people choosing the neon over the Z06... the vote over there is currently 71 for the Z06 to 28 for the Neon. That is still a lot for the neon.... but hey... They are ricers... at least they are consistent... = ) tannji

Mike, good to see your income and job will not prevent the Z-lifestyle from asserting itself still. From what I have seen, you would have been greatly missed around here! I personally would have asked for more to live where you do..... But that is just based on my experiences on the fringes of the military-industrial complex. I am in Iowa... and spent about 9 months last year unemployed. Then the girl friend with 2 degrees suddenly couldnt hold a job. She started doing daycare out of our house to get by, and I took a marginal job managing a cellular store. Our combined salaries dont add up to yours..... but $80K-$95K goes a long way in Iowa.... (BTW, gut check in progress here.... My girlfriend currently nets almost 3x as much as I do..... and worries that it is damaging to my self esteem. Heck, she works at least 3x as hard as I do.... no probs here ) tannji

I dont think anyone has ever established the limits of the R200. However, it wont be the first thing to break, if you put loads of power to the pavement. You will lose half shafts and U-joints first. tannji

The thing to do with the actuators and motors would be to call the manufacturer and found out what kind of duty cycle rating they have. I agree that many are designed for withstanding the environment, but will they withstand several hours of use per day for years? I am thinking of something similar for swapping out the cams, Joe.... but it will have to be a bit down the road, if it becomes popular.... the cost of my first actual machined unit, (as opposed to the rough ones I will make at home) will be rather high. The only major wrinkle I have come across is making the cams fit all carbs and throttle bodies. I can either provide a blank cam (to anyone besides myself who like this idea) and the end user can drill the opening for the TB axle, or I could have special mounting center pieces made for each person (very expensive) or the whole assembly could be unattached to the actual TB, and instead tie into the existing throttle cable. The good news is that once the design is finalized, the actual cost of machining the components does not appear to be very high. Most of the cutting will be by laser, Approx $35 setup fee per component. If I can avoid machining completely, material and cutting costs will be very reasonable. laser cuts are actually inexpensive, once the cad is setup. tannji

Joe... I like your idea a lot... but like the reliability, or perhaps predictability of the mechanical cam better personally. Like I said, I would love to see it done your way tho.... it would own Pete, you have put me over the top, I will start the test fab on it soon, but I will design it so that the cam is easily and quickly swappable.... so that you could have 2 or more "profiles" available with about 20 seconds of labor. I still need to find a kit for fabbing custom throttle cable lengths, and putting the end-caps on them, but that and the mounting hardware are the only real concerns.... thanks for the input, everyone!! this will be a fun and probably useful mod to implement. I will keep ya updated. tannji

If you ever do it using that type of servo.... be sure to let us all know! pretty trick, to be sure. It would make me a little nervous, personally... but I would love to see it done I am going to use servos and retention springs in the hatch and bonnet, as I want to convert to remote entry, and possibly shaved handles and lock cylinders..... not sure about that yet tho... If I do, the license plate will be hinged to cover terminals for a remote charge station for the battery, just in case . Anyone know off the top of their head where to get the kit that allows you to alter the length of a throttle cable, and put a new head on it? I have seen people talk about it, but dont remember the name of it to search for it. The more I think about this, the more I think it could be done easily and cheaply, and finely adustable, to boot. I wonder if Ross wants to add a new item to his inventory??? tannji

you guys kinda missed where I stated that each of the cams would be adustable.... multiple pinout points on each cam.... so it isnt necessary to redisign cams, just have multiple connection points on each cam, with a tensioner and cable length aduster to take care of the cable's resulting movement. simple, one size fits all, and much more reliable and probably less expensive than trying to use actuators and variable potentiometers. tannji