JMortensen

Strotter- I'm moving back to CA, so I thought I'd take on your argument, which is a good one IMO. If people want the government to spend, someone has to provide the money to be spent (my best paraphrase). The problems as I see it are: 1. A government and a populus that sees government's responsibility wrongly and 2. The horrendously bad spending on the part of the government. 1. The government IMO shouldn't have 1/2 the programs they have in place. Sure people like government programs in place to feed kids lunch at school, and to provide cheap medical care for people who can't aford it, and to feed the elderly lady down the street. But the government shouldn't be doing those things. Those are charity responsibilities, and maybe if we weren't all taxed to death (it's almost as bad here in WA) people would have money to give to charities that performed some or all of these functions. 2. I can't tell you how many times I saw 15 Cal Trans workers standing around 1 guy with a shovel carefully placing asphalt into a pothole. Socialism and Communism exist for the "betterment" of the masses, and 1 way of achieving that is to hire as many people as possible to do a given job. 1 example: When my dad was a kid in the depression (and living under Roosevelt's later overturned communistic style laws), he was 1 of 15 children in rural Utah. They lived in a 1 room cabin that was about 400 sq ft. Their only possession to speak of was a cow. The government came and took their cow. The government then hired 5 people to tend the cow. 1 to feed the cow. 1 to milk the cow. 1 to shovel cow poop. 1 to wash the cow. 1 to take it to the pasture and back. Then they SOLD the milk to my dad's family. Those 15 CalTrans workers are hired under the same philosophy. Its great for reducing the number of unemployed, but not the best for getting work done efficiently. I don't know how many of you have had government jobs, but I've been in a few at the end of the fiscal year. What happens??? Let's SPEND THE WHOLE BUDGET! New staplers for everyone, get new computers and office chairs, new motivational posters on the walls. SPEND SPEND SPEND so we can get a bigger budget next year! I think we need to change the way budgets are set so that there is not this insane drive to spend it all. This spending happens at every step along the way, and there are so many more steps when the government is taking on projects that it shouldn't. I need to shut up now, this is getting kinda like the religious argument that Aux and the others started. I love talking politics and religion. If anyone has a response to this that is too out of hand for the list, PM or email me. Jon

I thought Bugatti invented this in the 1910's or 20's. I saw it on Speedvision maybe a year ago or more, I think it was a vintage formula car with an inline engine, and the cylinders were mounted vertically. Jon

The "faddish" thing that bugs me is the 17, 18, and 20 inch wheels. Nothing is more displeasing to my eye than huge wheels with stock puny brakes in there. I suppose you could argue that you can change the brake pads without taking the wheels off but that's about the only benefit IMO. Although I really have bled the brakes on a Civic at the track by reaching through the wheels with the wrench and the tube on my bleeder bottle. We teased the guy for hours. It was pretty funny, and he took it pretty well. Later on he got a set of 13's and slicks, and was much faster. Faddishness took over though when he ordered 13" rotors that he didn't need (I don't think that car broke 110 mph ever) and had to go back to the 18's. You get to a certain point with wheel diameter when it actually starts to raise the car (nothing uglier to me than a car with almost no suspension sitting 8 inches above the pavement), plus you get much more rotating mass at the end of the wheel. I know I disagree with probably MOST of this list on this one, but the only reason I'll put bigger wheels on my car is to fit bigger brakes under them. That's it. I think the larger contact patch is counteracted by the no sidewall thing. And I see lots of cars with 17's, 18's and bigger driving with a space saver on. Not too much room for potholes in a 35 series tire. One more thing, a 205/superlowpro/17 starts to look like a really fancy WAGON WHEEL at some point. Really tall and skinny. Not the look (or drive) I'm after. FWIW, I like the JDM stuff, and I am considering bolt on flares precisely because they bolt on. If I smack one on a cone, the idea of grabbing a spare and bolting it on is pretty inticing to me. There is a silver 240 I autoxed with in CA who had beautiful steel flares and a beautiful paint job, except for the large dent in the left rear flare from a wayward cone. That must have sucked. OK, I'm done. Lemme have it. Jon

That thing goes from 0 to annoying instantly! Was that Alvin, Simon, or Theodore doing that? Jon

I think Tim had a point that has been overlooked. These cars should be owned by tinkers. If you don't like to work on your car A LOT, and you don't know much about mechanics and don't have any tools, then IMO you're setting yourself up for trouble. I have a friend who has had 5 Z's to date, and 2 currently (including #472 which she is listing on ebay next week I think). She is a little mechanically inclined, but I wouldn't let her work on my Z. She can change her oil and adjust the valves, and knows where and how to change diff and tranny fluid. She even changed a halfshaft recently. BUT, it seems like every two weeks she calls: "My Z is running rough. How to I adjust the idle? How do I synch the carbs? It's making this noise. It's leaking oil." Etc, etc. When I lived in CA, I'd just have her bring it over. Now that I'm in WA, she's spending $$$ at shops trying to get just the trivial stuff taken care of. If you have to pay a shop, and especially if its a hybrid with none of the stock wiring left, these things will nickel and dime you to death, unless you find a Z specific mechanic who is familiar with what you are doing and preferably has done it before. My $.02, Jon

Make that spark plug wire. Sorry. Jon

It connects to the battery for power, then clips over #1 spark plug for the strobe. Jon

Yeah, you have to have a timing gun that has a dial or buttons to plug in the total advance, then you set the timing to O (because the gun is figuring in the advance) at 3000, or whenever the timing maxes out. Jon

It would be safe to say that the Japanese have a flare "faddish". Jon

I used a cell phone to report a drunk driver who was swerving into oncoming traffic (!) a few years ago. The 911 operator just told me to pull over and let him go. She didn't sound very enthusiastic about sending the police out either, I tried to give her the license plate # and she wasn't interested. Maybe that was just CA apathy but it pissed me off... the guy was a serious danger to the people going the other direction. Jon

That's horrible. I watched the Laguna race. That was his first drive in Speedvision GT, wasn't it. He looked pretty dominant. I was looking forward to watching him drive in that series. Sad to see so many dying in small planes. We just lost the Mosers in a small plane crash what 6 months ago? Jon

That's good feedback, thanks David. Anyone agree/disagree with the diagnosis, or have an opinion on the rebuild kit? Easy as it may be, I only want to do it once... Jon

For yourself, or for sale to the public? Jon

I have been driving my Z about once every 2 months or so. Not exactly a daily driver anymore, but I drove it yesterday, and it is popping out of 3rd on decel, and was already starting to pop out of 2nd earlier. There is also a grumbling noise coming from the trans with the clutch out in neutral, which seems to be getting louder as time goes by. Noise disappears when you push the clutch in. It shifts smoothly into all gears. My understanding is that this is pretty common, and the cause is worn countershaft bearings. I got this tranny from a parts ZX about 8 years ago, and I've probably put 50K on it, and I have no idea how many miles it had before that, car looked like it had 250K. I realized I was going to run into this at some point, so I bought a rebuild kit when I worked for a shop. It is an RPM SuperKit. Has anyone used this kit? Are the bearings decent? I would rather use the synchros and buy Timken bearings and National Seals if it would mean that the rebuild would last longer. Also, how hard is the rebuild? That's kind of hard to quantify, but I've only done 1 manual trans in a 4 cyl '79 Mustang, and that was 12 years ago or so, and if this has any quirky stuff that only an expert can do, I don't mind taking it to a shop. FSM has specs on the big nut on the mainshaft and weird stuff like that? I'd need to get one so I'm asking before I plunk down the $$$. Just looking for some feedback. Is my diagnosis correct? Should I attempt myself? FSM have everything I need? Thanks, Jon

Isn't that the guy who is less than reputable??? Jon

Yep, that's for changing outer bushings. Strut inserts and springs are EASY. Jon

Holy CRAP! That car at the bottom has so much powa he's gonna make "neck snapping torque" have some real meaning!!! That velour seat has gotta be good for picking up chicks too. Nothing better than pickin up some fine ass womens then pressing them back in the seat with 2000 hp! That's why he gots that Playboy bunny on the dash. Dis guy is a player. Jon

I think a little more info is necessary. What engine? What do you mean seized? Do you mean the starter won't turn it, or you can't turn it with a breaker bar on the crank pulley bolt? Have you taken the valve cover off? Any broken valves or springs? Jon

Disconnect the rear brake lines and sway bar if you have one, then disconnect the 3 bolts holding the tops of the struts. You should be able to swing the control arms way down so that the struts are very easily accessible. The rears are easier than the fronts, IMO. Jon

That would be even better if it would bolt up to stock hinges. There are some differences in 240/260/280 doors, so watch out for that too. I'll be watching with interest... Jon

I wish I could tell you. Last time I "rolled" a chain onto an L motor (please don't flame - I had no choice) I went to a GOOD import auto parts store and they pulled out a Z chain and a Mercedes chain. The parts guy had heard of this before, so he pulled one out and it was the right one. I have no idea what motor it came off of. It does exist though. I've used it myself. Jon

There is a Mercedes timing chain which fits the Z's and has a master link. You can add/subract links with a chain break also... Jon

Nobody mentioned a roll cage?!?! Just make sure you make it out of exhaust tubing, cuz that other stuff is too heavy and hard to bend. Plastic intercooler for the front too. At least 27hp in those mods. Jon

shoot me an email, I'll get you in on the debate. The more (open-minded) the merrier. Jon

Having a return line helps keep the fuel cooler and helps to cool your fuel pump. It is not absolutely necessary, but a good idea. Jon