Mikelly

Well we made an offer and they countered. Not sure what we're going to do at this point. We're down in Savannah all this weekend and won't be back in town until Monday... Mike

Only in Texas! Mike

So we've found a couple of very nice homes in our price range and within the family critieria... And we're going forward tomorrow to make an offer on atleast one home that is perfect for us... It's a 2750SQFT rancher w/bonus room above, stone gas fire place, custom everything, on five acres in the center of the lot, wooded, no neighbors to see or deal with, and two garages, one 26X20 attached and one 36X26 detached... They want a bit more than I think it's worth money-wise, but we'll see how the negotiations go... This one is as close to plug and play as I can get, without have to build a shop or deal with some of the headaches of building custom... It's about as close to what we'd spec... Wish us luck! Mike

Yes, the Howe unit is J-U-N-K... It isn't designed for anything other than a stock 250CRANK HP power rating. The idiot (not me for a change) who installed it saw it in the documentation warning of the lower power rating and when I told him to CALL HOWE and NOT to install it until the issue was confirmed or denied, chose to ignore it and install... It lasted about 150 miles and is one of the reasons Jim's car isn't running... Hydraulic release bearings are nothing to go cheap on, unless you like dropping the tranny multiple times! Mike

Some of you guys seriously need to pull your heads out of your arses and get back to the garage, or whatever part of your lives is lacking... Knock it off... A few of us who normally police this garbage out of this very holy of internet houses are busy as of late, and we'd expect the more senior and well spoken members to help keep the riffraff at bay and NOT JOIN IN... So knock it off... Mike

Pretty much we hang out and look at some cool stuff that members make, cars, and eat, drink and tell lies... It can go as many as 25 people and as few as four... We generally have quite a good time. All are welcome to come and hang out... Mike

Probably second weekend in June... Bastaad, You probably want to think about this area too before you get to settled in down in Newportnews/Norfolk... The work in Fredericksburg is EVERYWHERE and paying well. I'm getting ready to hire a part time admin assistant and I'm paying her $15 per hour and providing health care... The money in and around Fredericksburg is amazing. Mike

Ya know Pete, i'd call you a dumbass, but I've been there... And I know that it'll eventually happen to me... The problem is we forget we're starting to age... It's that transition into our 40s and beyond... Keep your chin up and let me know if I can help out. Mike

I'd not be pissed in the least to own that Enzo or to have my *** handed to me in it... It's a bone stock car... What did the AMG55 Cost to build and troubleshoot? That car's probably got a lot of labor hours and an SLR motor/drivertrain cost... That's no small bill, trust me... Mike

Go to your local carquest or napa and buy the universal kit for about $20. It has reducers to work with every size imaginable and well worth the money... I use mine all the time. Mike

Yes... Mike

Sounds correct to me... Mine is knocking down 27MPG on the hiway and my car is atleast 500# heavier than yours. Mike

Bill I"ve got a set of those tall Edlebrock covers I'll ship you for $20 to cover shipping... If you're feeling generous, donate the rest to Mike's (ON3Go) "project"... Let me know if you want them... Mike

Jon, I've been looking at other brands of alignment racks, and as long as I can get the scales with the unit, I'll pay the man... The whole goal is to be able to do inhouse suspension settings on the cars I drive on the street and at the track. I really want to have this ability in-house! I've seen some of these units sell used for less than $7K! Mike

Bill, I've not installed the parts yet, as the Vette has been taking up space on the lift for the last week and ahalf. I've got the parts in and I'll be putting it back together today. Them I'll be removing the motor/trans from the Zcar tomorrow so I can get the car to Jamie for paint. While it is out, I plan to go ahead and install the Tilton pieces. Doug, I'll confirm with Jamie the day (Probably Wednesday evening after work) and give you a ring. Once I drop the car off with Jamie, I'm taking the trailer to pick up Jim's Red Zcar and bring it to my place for some de-bugging. It hasn't run since two weeks after the last Zcar shindig JIm drove it to. I'll be fixing HIS hydraulic clutch issue, as well as his electrical issues so we can get the car down to North Carolina for some much needed tuning. We're also gonna start tearing into Jim's Black Z06 to upgrade it in a couple of areas that will help it be much more competitive at the track... Mike

Some of you may remember that I broke the vette back in March at VIR. We thought is was a clutch hydraulics issue, but it ended up being the internals of the torque tube, which is a complex driveshaft for the C5 Corvette. So I've been tearing that down and diagnosing it, as well as getting it ready to sell... Yes, I've supposedly got her sold to a new owner who is also a track day junky/ car guy friend of mine. At this point I could just keep the car and not sell it, as it's almost perfect as is, and with the new carbon drive shaft and hardware, you'll be able to twist the motor up to the 6900RPM redline... SAFELY! On the company front, we've won three government subcontracts for our consulting services in the last 6 months and are working hard to staff the work. We expect to meet our first year goal of 10 full time consultants on contract by the end of the summer. And if that goal is met, we may double our initial number by the end of the year, as lots of contracts are awarded and staffed in September and early October before the annual Federal budget dance begins. I've also taken steps to hire an administrative assistant to help with our HR/Recruiting/staffing issues. Adding someone in this role allows me to focus on getting more business and less on sorting through the mountains of paperwork required to staff the slots. JamieT called me on Wednesday of this week and I will be delivering my Zcar to him next week for paint and body, maybe some electrical, and some welding for my Kirkey seat mounts. Basically I'm gonna pay Jamie to get the car as close to completion as he can, since I don't think I'll have the time soon and I want to drive it this year. The wife and I are shopping for land and plan to build something new within the year. What this means it that we will be relocating the HybdridZ mid-Atlantic shindigs to a place near you (If you're near Fredericksburg Va.!) soon. We're going to build a much larger shop to go along with about the same sized house that we already have... I'll be taking my lift with me, and plan to buy a hunter alignment rack and other tools to support this sick hobbie. I'm also looking at replacements for the existing C5. I won't buy or order anything until this fall now. After some preliminary talks with 5 dealerships over the phone, I've decided that I probably won't get a 2007 C6 Z06 in the timeframe I want it, so I'm looking at some stock C6 Vettes as well as some 2004-2005 Convertible Vipers and used 996 Porsches as viable alternatives. I'll also be keeping my eyes open for a clean, restored V8Zcar as a possible daily driver. Right now my commute is only about 30 minutes in ZERO traffic, and with my 8500 passport fired up, I can make it in even less time! Fun and games! Mike

Yup, 2003 is correct. By and large, you won't buy a better built car overall. The C5 is an amazing car, and the C6 is just an extention on that design. On the plus side, there is so much attention being give to the new Z06s that dealerships don't quibble about warranty work on the new Z06. On the negative side, the wait is on average 9 months for a 2007 model Z06, I know because I was going to order one last week and couldn't find anyone to give me list pricing and 5 months to delivery. Guess I let that car out of the bag, Huh? So I'm looking at used 996 Porsches and 2004-2005 Vipers, as well as 2006 C6s as replacements for my 99C5 modified vette. I am installing a new carbon fiber drive shaft in it this weekend and hope to have her delivered to her new home within the first couple weeks of May! Mike

Crap... I'd consider one of three ways to go... Custom cage to fit the cage to you and the car. Buy a real tubing bender (not a harnor freight unit) for $400 and bend your own. Buy an autopower cage through IO Port racing and call it a day! Mike

People are complete idiots when it comes to explaining the values of tuning a car properly with the best tools available, one of them being the DYNO. In my 2.5 years of owning the Vette, the car has been on the rollers four times. Once was for numbers, and the other three times were to tune. Twice on the same dyno, and twice at other locations, which does make a difference. That said, people clearly do NOT understand what they are looking at, or what they should be looking at. You can tune your car for peak dyno numbers and the car will suffer majorly with drivability issues. You can tune it for peak overall power and broad range, lose a couple HP at redline and BOY HOWDY, All the sudden the car is a DREAM to drive again! My 99c5 has gone through a huge transition over the last 2.5 years of owning it. And it all started when I took it to a Dyno after the first 5 months of owning it, and doing the simple mods every vette owner does.... Cat back and CAI. I remember standing in the bay and having the guy say "so what do you think it will pull?" and I said "310 hp if I'm luck..." He was SHOCKED... Had fully expected me to say "Oh 375HP at the wheels for sure..." It turned 296whp and 301#ft. torque. After some LGM headers, hi flowing exhaust and new cats, and an LS6 intake w/Shaner ported Tbody, the car laid down 335WHP and 353#ft. torque on a very modest track day friendly tune. The car made over 250#ft. torque off idle. and it was a simple joy to drive at the track. The Z06's wouldn't walk me if I had a head of steam coming out of the corners... After the heads and cam motor went in, I had Jeff tune it at his shop and we went from a baseline of 358WHP and 364#ft. torque to 374.5 and 369.7, so I rounded up to 375WHP and 370#ft. torque. The car came alive and I felt the power everywhere... The new cam brought the torque out at a different place, changing the characteristics of the ride, but making it like a sledge hammer as by 2000RPMs the torque was there at over 300#ft... Now here is why it is important to understand why it is so important to tune your car... After a simple change of MUFFLERS from Borlas to Z06 mufflers, my car was running pig rich and had to be retuned. At the next Dyno day at Jeff's shop, We retuned the fuel and picked up 11whp and 10#ft. of torque... ON MUFFLERS! Mike

There's good and bad everywhere... But you're in the right place... We'll be having a Car guy Shindig (Dare I mix the corvette, track day, and Zcar guys all in one shop??) in June. Probably 2nd week, so mark those calanders. Basstaad, Come visit. I'm only a couple hours north. maybe you could grab Synlubes on the way so he can get his frame rails! Mike

Jodey (aka Mayor, Big Pine Key) is just an awesome guy. Drives smooth, great attitude and simply great to be around... I'm trying to get back there soonest in some kind of four wheels contraption... Maybe the Zcar if I can get it painted in time! Mike

Guys Dan Baldwin brings up a very good point about brake bias and setting up your car with these large brakes up front. Take the time to plumb in an aftermarket bias adjuster so you can balance the system. Even though you may end up having to use the shoes on the rear, you'll still be able to balance the system to work well if you take the time to properly adjust the bias between both. Also, don't cheap out on cheap brake fluid, especially now that you've spend all that coin on good brakes! Mike

I have a buddy who lives on the corner up the street from me. He paints for a living for a collision center and uses his own garage for some paint work side jobs. He actually rolls everything out of his shop, pressure washes the floors and leaf blows the walls and ceilings BEFORE putting up a plastic tent. All this is done before he starts spraying his base and clear coats... This kid does amazing work and works with lots of house-of-Kolor paints. His projects always end up winning at car shows and I believe if is because of his attention to prep, his anal approach to creating a perfectly clean environment (He sets a day asside for prepping his shop to paint the car, because it takes time to dry the floor after his powerwashing, which removes a TON of dust particles from the environment!) and patience. Mike

Two things come to mind here... In the instance you mention where your employer is paying you $8 and making $30 an hour, that is the norm and you should understand that everywhere you work for someone else, they are making money off your ability to work in their position. If you don't like that scenario (Which is truly part of life) then you certainly should think about becoming your own boss... To be your own boss, and not get into trouble with the IRS or the state, you really need a couple of key people in your life. They don't come cheap, and are factored into your employers $30 cost, and why he can only pay you $8 an hour. CPA or bookkeeping firms are expensive, but worth every penny they charge. They keep the IRS and your state happy, and they also make sure you claim everything you're in titled to when writting off expenses for businesses. A good business attorney will help you understand any contract or paperwork you sign, with regards to the business world and your liability within it. We have an attorney look at every piece of paperwork we get that causes a question we can't answer. A banker who will loan to small business start-ups is invaluable. We were fortunate in that there was a VP of a local bank that wanted to help government contracting firms. We pay him a reasonable percentage of our employee invoicing and he pays our monthly payroll in advance. We'll never have an employee "Not" get paid. These are all things to think about when venturing into the self employed arena. These are also services that continue to cost us every month, and drive up our overhead costs. Our employee services to a government contract can be on the order of $200,0000 - $250,000 per year per employee. We certainly don't pay them that. By the time we pay for all their benefits (http://www.bka2005.com to see our benefits we pay out of pocket for), Pay for our accounting services/ payroll/bookkeeping, legal fees, banking fees, and other associated business costs, we're left with about 20% pure black profit. What that means is we have money left over to reinvest in the business and to pay employee raises annually, bonuses, training/travel, and other expenses. We expect that as we grow, that percentage will reduce a bit. We don't have office space at the moment, and we don't have a lot of additional overhead charges to operate. But we will as we grow. So when you start chewing on the fact that your boss is billing you at $30 and paying you $8, remember, He's paying payroll taxes, and whatever else it costs to be his business, and those hidden costs are the reason he's probably not living a Donald Trump Lifestyle. So, what do you do with your life? There are grants, student loan programs, and other sorts of financial assistance out there to help you get a skill that will help you get a career and a job. Also, the military isn't a bad choice. However, As Michael points out regularly, being in the middle part of the country isn't going to help you benefit at finding good work unless you get lucky or develop some very unique skills. Find out what you want to do, and what you are truly interested in and get education/training in that field. Then find a part of the country where that skill is needed. Then move. For everyone who complains about their economic situation and doesn't do anything about it, I think back to Sam Kinesin's rant about Ethiopians starving to death in the wasteland of their country. Simple answer is to find a place where prosperity reins and move to that location. It won't be easy, and it won't be cheap living at first, but 11 million migrant workers seem to make it work just fine. I bet you can too! Mike

Actually the C4 is quite capable. Everything from 1988 forward in a corvette is very worthwhile to own as a track day/weekend/ fun car that handles well, brakes well and makes decent power for cheap. Mike