tannji

After 4 years of "Storage" in my detached garage, I finally rescued the Z from our version of Fibber McGee's closet. The GF had stuffed anything visually undesirable into the garage, to the point where not only could I not get in.. but I couldn't even see the Z. I spent 2 hours loading stuff directly into a 2-yard garbage truck, and another couple of hours cleaning the mess left behind by the raccoon family who recently got evicted. I don't know who rolled down the driver's side window, but that led to a number of unpleasant discoveries within the Z. Apparently this family lived, loved, and fought in my car. They also had a taste for squirrels, if detached tails are a good indicator. Given a couple hours with a dust mask, shopVac, F'breeze, and a strong mix of glass and surface cleaner, the Z now looks merely neglected, instead of criminally violated. Pictures DO NOT do justice, this paint looks infinitely worse in person. Non-JTR mounting of a 87 Camero TPI 350. Between the forward positioning, low-end torque of the TPI, and the 700r tranny, I am not in love with driving this car. Fun, but not ideal. Someone thought that running the fuel pump wiring up through a raw drilled hole in the hatch was a good idea. The resulting short toasted one, and possibly two TPI ECU's. (wiring tastefully secured and blended with duct tape.) meh. Someone liked the seats... I hope. You can see Nissan wiring for ZX power mirrors along the tranny hump. The raccoons are only the latest reason the seats are leaving. Raccoon tracks around the large light leak in my roof. They add character to the ghetto paint, I think. Humble pie workbench... I actually like this better than the paint on the Z. First time in daylight for about 4 years. So... my car has been introduced. As soon as I add proper electrical service to the garage, progress updates will follow. Next step is to see how badly I was lied to about rust on the car. I am severely tempted to make a rotisserie and do any repair, re-enforcing, stitch-welding required before deciding how much of the body gets converted to Reaction Research stock. Hood, nose, and tail for sure, haven't decided between ZG arches and SubtleZ flairs. After the body is "done", I start on the new powerplant that will replace the 350. That most likely means that a good condition 350 TPI and 700r combo will soon be on the market. tannji

Jeez, Dude... nice recovery! Good luck tuning, cant wait to hear more and see results from your first trip to the strip.

IMO, you cant go wrong with Thermal Dynamics, the Cutmaster series would probably be my suggestion. Model numbers suggest the rated good quality cut, so a Cutmaster 51 is rated for about 1/2 inch cuts, though I have seen decent cuts over 1 inch from the machine. As JohnC related, dry air helps loads, though Thermal Dynamics products do not seem as finicky as others in this regard. An important aspect to consider is the price of consumables... Hypertherm or Miller products tend to be spendy and less durable. Thermal Dynamics is part of a large corporate family that includes Thermal Arc, Thermadyne, Tweco, and Victor torches. When someone comes in looking for consumables, the first thing we ask is what torch they are using, as it is probable that they are using Tweco, or a part produced by the Thermal family. (Lincoln Magnum MIG guns are a Tweco design for Lincoln) Lincoln also makes a decent product, but IMO not as reliable, and you get to deal with Lincolns horrible parts catalog and numbering system. If your local welding supply has good traffic and good people, this wont be much of a problem. Stay far away from anything "cheap".... I don't have ANY good stories about a cheap Plasma performing better than expected. If I were unscrupulous, I could hook you up with a really good deal this weekend, the Thermal Dynamics Demo truck is parked in my lot... the Rep's house is under construction and has no parking = ) Alas, my morals don't allow for 5-fingered discounts, but let me know what you see for prices, I may beat them... particularly on consumables.

The welders sold as retail packs generally do not have continuous voltage adjustment, but use tapped adjustment. Many also do not come with regulators or solenoids for gas, though this seems to be changing. I would not recommend buying a flux-core welder regardless of budget, spend the extra now for a better product, there is generally a difference in quality and features between similar flux-core and gas-shielded welders. I have found (by over-spending, lol) that many state and vocational schools have degree curriculum courses in welding that are technically not open to enthusiasts, unless you are taking the entire curriculum. You may be able to sweet-talk your way into these classes, especially if the course is under-booked, and at a discounted rate. I have a free pass into a local college's classes because I already took one of their production classes, got along well with the instructor, I take care of him from a retail perspective, and he appreciates an extra hand around occasionally. you can often pay a discounted or "pro-rated" fee for learning part of what they are covering that term. I suspect that most of the welders here could get by with a decent 140 spec machine... but once you have developed some skills and learned techniques and tricks with a hotter, fuller featured welder, it is hard to look at the smaller machine in a truly fair light. One of my co-workers was a weld shop super for a number of years. I have seen him take a miller 350P (pulse) and run a HOT, FAST fillette weld on sheet aluminum (appox. 1/16) with 3/64 wire without burn through, both on pulse and off pulse. The beads were beautiful, particularly when on pulse. I tried it as well, and the highlight of my efforts was finally getting the work-piece tacked into position.... it went RAPIDLY downhill from there, lol. I will say this... get what you can afford. Skills learned on the 140 will still help later, should you ever need to use a bigger machine... they will just generally be easier to do.

Of the three I liked the Lincoln's arc start the best, especially when welding thinner sheet... didn't feel like burn-through was much of a problem. Admittedly, this was in Lincoln's lab, under pretty ideal conditions. However, I used the Miller in the same lab under the same conditions... The 140c "felt" better than the 140 Auto, and it was about the same between the two 180s. One thing that I REALLY like better on the Lincoln is the drive wheel mechanism. I don't see you ever getting a rats nest, it is obvious to the naked eye that it is a better solution for feeding wire reliably over the life of the machine. (forged Aluminum, no plastic) I didn't like misplacing the thumb-screw, but they have since then made the thumb-screw a captive fastener. Give either company 10 minutes and you will buy into either cooling arrangement, but I think Lincoln put a little more effort into real-world thermal dynamics, and they took it a step further by potting and encapsulating their boards, which protects them from dust and metal fines. Again, (for me) having a $200 spoolgun with adapter is pretty huge. Lincoln has taken some heat in recent years for various issues, their recent new models in MIG and TIG show their desire to take back some market share from ITW's Blue division. Now, if they would only stop changing part numbers every few months....

I agree with Grumpy, mostly because I hear it almost everyday from customers, especially those on a budget who already bought some flavor of 110-volt welder. Collision repair shops have a tendency to run 110-volt, but I am selling a lot of the various 180's to shops, because the higher heat range and slightly better control speeds up their work. If you intend to finish this project, and then get out of the garage and on to other interests, buy the 140 auto or 140c. If you anticipate years of metal working, get a 180.

My '79 back when had one key for all three... but I dont think the gas key cylinder would be the best to take for keying... for that matter, I believe you could just go to a Nissan dealership with a title or bill of sale and the VIN number, they should be able to make new keys from the VIN.

speechless.

My .02.... adjusted for inflation = ) If you were thinking about the 140c for $770 (that cant be right, WAY high) and want to do some aluminum, how about the Lincoln 180c, which is a 180 amp (duh, lol) for ~$720??! I dont remember the exact price I can get that down to, but $720 is approximate, and it lists for $900. I could also do the 140c for a good deal. Both have a decent hobby-quality spoolgun available for $200, (no additional money for the adapter, comes with the spoolgun) might even be able to adjust that down a few bucks as well. Miller's intermediate spoolgun is pricey for its quality IMO, and is around $500. I am also currently more impressed with the low-end Lincoln welders than I am with Millers, though you would be fine with either. If you decide to go for a less expensive option, I would watch Ebay and local retailers for sales on Lincoln, Miller, and Hobart 110-volt welders. With the new models out and doing well... someone has to be overstocked on the prior models and looking to unload. I am in Iowa, so shipping is something to consider, but I am happy to help anyone from HybridZ out. (I am not a commissioned sales rep, so I gain nothing but a good feeling for this. )

I am tired, its been a long day... I stared for a minute before it dawned on me. I am still laughing...slap-happy maybe...but good one none the less = )

Quoted for truth = )

That last one of the Ferrari 412 gave me goosebumps... but my favorite of the bunch was the KPGC10. Some of that might be due to nostalgia and the visual.... but regardless, such a great sound.

This is not an economical solution, but if you have the the ability to share the initial expense with others who might need it.... take a look at the SurfOx, distributed through Walter Abrasives. It is used for finishing stainless welds, instead of grinding and pickling them. When run across a stencil over stainless, it leaves a permanent "patina" of text or graphics, looks very clean and professional. If you do any amount of stainless welding, this might be a good multi-purpose solution for weld passivation and product marking. Try as I might, I was unable to find any images of a stenciled item online... but I have seen it and done it... very nice machine, for those who need it. http://www.jwalterinc.com/walter_us/servlet/ProdSummary?measure=M&franchise=surfox&criteria=prod&category=126&cbopgroup=127

I havent pulled it up on a map yet, but I would likely attempt to participate... I am right on the Iowa/Illinois border, Quad City area... should be able to get away occasionaly.

It seems to me that while you should see gains, the same gains or better should be seen from a properly designed windage tray and crank-scraper. I am considering a dry sump as well... but am very interested to see what some of the more experienced members have to say, especially as to the necessity of combining scrapers and windage trays with the dry sump.

Done = )

That dual-plane was very nice.... but man that teaser clip of the cerbera gives you chills. Love that sound.

My shop's rate is $75 an hour, and I would imagine that is fairly common. It wouldn't be worth shipping to me obviously, but if you run into something part-wise that seems to have high mark-up, let me know and I'll see if I can shave some margin for you.... Machines don't make us any money, so we live on margin on everything else = ) I can probably do a decent deal on torches and consumable parts, and possibly consumable metals as well.

There was Z.A.N.Y (Z Assoc. of NY) in the Wyantskill area, Chris Holmes was involved starting and running it, but I do not know if it is a current affair. There are also clubs for upstate and the L.I./ Metro area, if I recall correctly. They were doing rather large shows and get togethers for a while, involving several different Z clubs, and usually well sponsored by the local Nissan dealer. In fact, calling the Nissan dealer in the Albany or Schenectady (?) area might be the best place to start looking. ps: D'oh! AFK for a couple of hours, meant to post this earlier.

Damn, dude.

For it to be practical or relatively easily done, the 2-way would need to be Bluetooth compatible as well. I would imagine that your 2-way has a dual plug for mic and earpiece, and you might be able to direct the output from the ear piece to an 1/8" jack input on your stereo, if it has that option. The output from the 2-way will be a Mono output, not stereo. you can run the monaural signal from the 1/8" output into a stereo jack (from radioshack) hooking up the positive feed from the 2-way to the left and right contacts, and the negative output to the stereo jack's common ground. With an external clipped mike you could even use the voice-activated mic option, (if your 2-way has it), but this would require keeping your speakers turned low to prevent them from activating the mic and initiating a feed-back loop.

Too embarrassed to post mine... perhaps I'll shoot a couple pics of the remedy, involving a large rental dumpster and the absence of my GF.... who filled the garage up but wont go in anymore since she was chased out by a territorial raccoon

The car in Bruce Almighty was a 280Z, second row from the top under 280Z. Nice looking 260Z in this Herbie movie: http://www.imcdb.org/vehicle_1683-Datsun-260Z.html

Jim.... ya, I assumed that the quotes would work on the initial search string as well. That irked me enough to figure out what WOULD work. = ) I agree thread titles should be better thought through, or thought through at all, lol.... but the main reason for that being such an issue (IMO only) is that forums usually have such crappy search engines. When you google a forum... it is not such a big issue, as long as you know the mechanics of a good search query, and have an appropriate name or term that wont be mangled too badly in common usage. Really, in a forum as big as this... there are going to be searches using only thread titles that will waste enough time to justify googling for specific terms rather than topics.

Here is how: go to search, choose the google search option. Search for 2*2 When you get your large and useless result, scroll to the bottom of the page and choose the option "Search within Results". Now search for this exactly: "2+2" (using the quotation marks means you want that exact phrase, essentially) Apprently, Googles weighted search parameters don't allow for that specific and confusing numeric string in the initial search, but will "believe" you really want it after refining your search. hope that helped = )