Mikelly

If you are going to compete with the car, then by all means, I'd recommend the "Cage" as opposed to the weld in kit. However, if you are just doing track day events, then go with what you have and the weld in kit, which is what I'll be doing. Mike

Well it is official. The motor either spun a rod bearing or mazin bearing. I can get it to rotate about 1/2 turn before contact is made with something solid.... And it doesn't seem to be interference with the head/ valves.... Also the Timing belt has tension and seems intact. I suspect the rod bearing spun. I'm towing it to his house later this week or on the weekend. He was just approved for a car loan for $3500, so he's gonna go buy something to get back and forth in. My wife and I have decided to let him dig himself out of this one. I'll let his father decide what to do with the car. Mike

Damn, I didn't answer your challenge, Nic... YES, unless someone complains, your statement is fine by me... Other moderators or Adminstrators may feel differently, but right now, after 6 hours in a truck, three of it towing my stepsons car with him in the passenger seat... YEA, that language seems just fine. Have a nice day, and good luck saving the rest of society. Mike Kelly

A language filter is in place. If you feel that is not sufficient for you personally, I'd recommend one of two avenues... A: Contact Superdan OFFLINE to discuss your options. I'm sure you could entertain him with your reasoning offline. B: Go out, pay the money, buy the hardware, secure the space, and create your own little private idaho. I'm perfectly content with the site the way we currently have it and I personally feel we meet 95% of the members needs. I could be wrong, but I somehow don't think so... However, I'll support DAN's decision since this is DAN's site... When you NIC, own a website and have it up and running, I'll be happy to abide by your rules if I choose to play on your website. I'm personally DONE with this one fellas. Mike 8)

I'll gladly take that challenge and say this: First, this site is run very well and when someone reports something offensive, we handle it. Don't know how much more strict we could get without banning MANY of the folks who are regulars and well regarded. Up to the challenge? I won't bother with responding to that one since WE ARE volunteers and do one HELL of a job running this board and baby sitting. I don't expect to tell others how to govern themselves, and What you stated above sounds more like Big government trying to tell me how I will or won't live, or what I can and can't do in the privacy of my own home and behind the doors of my bedroom with my wife, mistress, or whomever. Likewise, I won't allow others to tell me that I'm not allowed to worship my devil, god, or other item I believe to be my creator. YOUR point is to dictate how "WE" as a society should live, walk, talk, and conduct ourselves. Your comment about some people not having common sense tends to lead me to think that it is up to those of higher moral standing to rescue, educate and "Save" the sinners of the world. With that I disagree... Not for you, as you should be able to do as you wish as an individual. But to say "We" should do X or we shouldn't allow "Y" is the problem. Point is what fits your feet may not fit mine and one size will NOT fit all. I am ABSOLUTELY taking this steps far and beyond the realm of foul language to illustrate a point. When we allow "The powers that be" to govern our rights right out the window, then what do we have? Should I conduct myself in a manor that sets what society dictates as "Proper?" Only if I agree with the rest of society... However, remember that there are some who would call the masses... SHEOPLE, Not PEOPLE, and those individuals choose not to be a part of the flock... Who are we to say who is right, and who is wrong? Do as you see fit in your life, and don't expect to much out of the rest of society... My guess is if we all focus on our own back yards, and set the example, by doing, then the message will get out without dictating or force feeding. Besides, I'm with Terry, this is the age of reality TV and ME ME ME... You want to do something about the current state of our society as a whole? This is an election year... Good luck... But I'll caution you, "Family values" won Mr. Clinton his election... TWICE... and we saw how MORAL he was, Right? (Hey I voted for him the first time, so I can slam him... ) Proceed with Caution! Mike

He has a LOT of work put into this car... He swapped out a valve cover gasket that was leaking oil and simply got side tracked with a phone call and forgot... Honest mistake that happens... But it will cost him... Mike 8)

Hmmm... Let's see... How do I approach this? Those of you who have been to my house and attended my events have heard me....use offensive language !! Word Filter - We have a word filter... and it works well. So kill that arguement. As for what is right and what is wrong with using the language, I think GA Flash, Michael and Alex are right on the mark... First of all folks, We don't HAVE a lot of cussing on this site. Simply put, we don't allow flame wars, we have a dirty word function that is regularly used in every post, and we moderate this site pretty heavily. Now I'm gonna say this, and it is gonna offend a few... And I don't really care. We don't tell folks how to run their personal lives or conduct themselves outside of here. I'm amazed that THIS topic even CAME UP on the site. This forum isn't overrun with the cockroaches of the internet BECAUSE we run it the way we do. However, If my kid was a DUMBASS for running his motor out of oil in his Civic project and I say he was a DUMBASS in a post, what in GODS NAME is that hurting? His pride? His ego? If you're that darned thin skinned that these words offend you, then the problem isn't here with the site or the membership... As has been pointed out by others, this is a reality of our current world. And if you don't like the content, as My buddies Don and Mike the Disc Jockeys say "Change the station". And another thing... I agree that we don't want our kids reading a bunch of filth and bad lingo... But I'm not YOUR kids parents... BE the parent. You don't want YOUR kid seeing something offensive that I WRITE? Don't L-E-T them. But don't blame me and call me a heathin' because I didn't protect YOUR kids from MY Raw chewy inner core feelings. We keep this site relatively clean, but I make no apologies for the things that do get through... And if the content offends you so much that you've got to go say 10 hail mary's after a visit here, then please, by all means, change the channel... Mike Kelly

Well unfortunatly he is in college (This is the oldest) and he has a job in order to pay for his portion of his loans for school. If it were solely my decision, yea it would be the easy thing to do to say "Have fun and good luck." But I can't do that since my wife's name is co-signer on his college loans. We'll probably look for a cheap $1000 beater car for him to get back and forth to school in, let him pay us for it, and he can fix his car over time, as he can afford it. Mike 8)

So today I went to the local AutoX about TWO HOURS from my home, mainly so I could pick up a 4 point roll bar that someone brought north from Mark Icard's place. I had casually mentioned it to my oldest stepson who has the Acura powered civic. He, his girlfriend, and her dad decided to go and they met me there about 9:30... I guilted him into running in his car, since I was in the Vette... And we did... Had a very good fatherly/ stepson sort of day. He learned the value of traction and the limits of a basic stock chassis, and I learned that it had been 7 years since I had last autoX'ed and I was rusty... Not slow, but rusty! At the end of the day we packed up, He headed for gas and me for home... until the cell phone rang... Seems he heard a knocking just as he was getting on the interstate... and he pulled over and cut it off. When I got back to his location, the car wouldn't crank... I checked it for oil and there was NONE. Seems he FORGOT to check the oil level AFTER he fixed a leak in a faulty gasket that hadn't fit right since the initial build. It was towed to a lot and I'll go get it tomorrow, but I'm guessing it will be the whoe bottom end just trashed... which makes me mad at him, and sad for the level of effort I put in the motor, only to have him not do his part and keep it up to spec with the general maintenance of it. I'll go get it with my car trailer tomorrow and I suspect I'll know what it is as soon as I drop the oil pan... No California trip for me... This is gonna hit the budget since he is broke and there is no chance in hell his father will assist in his financial aid/ college fund... Mike

John, I appreciate it... Please do. They deserve a fair shake! I want to thank those who called me yesterday and emailed me last night. I appeciate the support fellas, means a lot to me. I won't be at the MSA event. I appreciate the offers of places to stay and cars to drive, parties to have and whatnot. But this has opened a wound I had hoped would stay closed. Thanks again! Mike 8)

OK, Couple of comments here... Man this really saddens me. Pete has been working on me for a while now over coming to California. He wanted me to fly in for a week, and just dropping in to MSA for the show, and the get together at hooters with the gang, Visiting a few of the members here, then running between San Diego and San Fran... Yestrerday I had agreed to it. Now I'm not so sure... I'm really concerned about a couple of things here... First, My apologies to Dan Porter, owner of HybridZ.org. You mention this site and half the time people think it is mine. You also mention this site and my name in the same sentance and you can get mixed opinions... For that, I'm deeply sorry and apologize to all those who have worked hard to make this site the absolute best site for technical discussions related to the Zcar. Next, Van, I know you meant well and it should have been recieved well. But the last thing I want is someone with Pierre's reputation to get tainted by the battle that I waged with MSA. Unfortunately, you mention HybridZ and they (MSA) think of me. So my apologies go out to Pierre as well... Third, and most important to me are Steve and Ian. These two guys are two of the most honest, and talented guys, with the best intentions on the planet. Super guys who have taken the SCCA Solo2 rule book and played it to the edge of insanity, while managing to stay legal. They will likely be fastest at the AutoX again this year, and they will likely get trash talked by those who associate them with... You guessed it... Mike Kelly and ZF Racing LLC... I do NOT want a BOYCOTT of MSA. They are a business and they are holding and hosting one of the largest ZCAR events in the world. It is their call to run their business how they see fit. We are NOT their target customer. Never will be and I don't see a problem with that. It was made clear to me by their buyer that they don't get a lot of business from HybridZ customers. Should you attend the event? Sure, why the hell not?? There are three sides to what happened at the 2002 MSA event. Mine, theirs, and the truth. Regardless on what was said by both sides, a LOT of feelings were hurt, I was almost arrested, and last years turn out by Steve and Ian was totally tarneshed by my crowing over it... It got nothing but bad bad bad... John Williams, a Man that bailed me out of the conrol arm problem when I had no supply won't even return my phone calls, and that saddens me that he would have to be put in a position to pick sides... This whole thing happened because I was trying to make a go at it with my dream of a business to get me out of the mundane job I had. It never should have gone this far.. and I never should have let them get to me, and I certainly shouldn't have acted unprofessional when provoked by someone else who was obviously having a very bad day himself. I surpased the goals I set with my ZF Racing project 10 fold. Rear arms weren't even in the mix originally, and we didn't plan to make more than 8-12 sets of fronts. We made $20,000 in gross sales of the items sold before it was said and done, so you can say I over shot my goal significantly. But I'd take it all back tomorrow NOT to have this riff within the ZCAR community. Come on guys, lets put this one to bed. Let them do their thing, and us do ours... If we rise above this, they will have to one day accept us for the work and craftsmenship created by those gifted people on this site... ...And besides, I don't know how much more "I'm sorry's" I can hand out before I just walk away from it all, all together. Mike Kelly 8)

We ran it in the local auto trader for $7000... Fishing... Anyway, yea no insurance companies were involved... So I'm waiting on a call from this guy so I can tell him the car has been sold and he needs to forward payment... The damages to the house were exstensive to look at, but fortunately not as bad as they looked... I had a two foot gap between the bottom of my door frame and the floor of the family room. Mike 8)

A guy came by last night and saw the car... Told me he would be here today with $6000...SOLD... Now I just have to get the money for the damages from the individual who hit the house with it last Saturday... ANother $1600 worth in damages. We've got ALL but the sheetrock done and one small piece of trim, then paint on the exterior... Man I'm glad that is over with... AND $800 less per year in insurance! Mike 8)

INTO MY HOUSE! I got a call from my parents yesterday afternoon and they wanted me to bring the car trailer and deliver some new furniture to their house for them... no biggie... 8) So after the furniture is moved and I"m getting ready to go home, My cell phone rings and it is my wife in full on panic mode... An individual who was test driving the Mustang we're selling, Started the car, stalled it, key'ed the ignition again and managed to hop it into my NEW French doors on my house... Every do 90mph with an empty car trailer? You can burn up brakes in a hurry. My wife was so concerned for this poor mans safety that she called a contractor friend to get to my place before I got home, so he could be the voice of reason... She was sure I was gonna throttle this man to death. However, When I finally get to my house, here is this little asian man and his 16 year old son standing in my driveway, obviously embarassed for what he had done... After the shock of seeing the damage to my house, and the damage to the Mustang, which had been extricated from the house, I got paper and pen and took the guys info, then proceeded to give him the walk around the car to show the mods. I have no idea how this is all gonna turn out, as I do NOT want to turn it in on my home owners insurance policy, not right after My kid's accident... Looks like about $5000-8000 in damage to the house and car... Car has some paint missing from the front bumper and the Cobra bumper cover is cracked. I'll talk to my agent tomorrow, and then get back together with the individual... Here is the funny part... He was trying to find "Park". It is a F-I-V-E speed Manual trans car... Mike 8)

98ZX9R Ninja - 132 RWHP 392# without fuel or rider 99C5 Vette W/ Intake, and Exhaust mods, Z06 clutch setup, Z06 complete Suspension, and Hurst Shifter 95 Mustang GT, Cobra R brake Mods, Hotchkis Suspension, Lots of bolt ons! 1995 Ford Taurus GL Sedan - Loaded and BONE STOCK! Just bought 3 hours ago for the wife as replacement for the Mustang GT! 1993 GMC SierraGT W/ motor and Suspension mods 1990 Honda Civic W/ Twin Cam motor and Lowered Suspension 1975 Datsun Zcar, ZF Racing Suspension and Groundcontrol Coil Overs, Wilwood Superlite Brakes, 5 Lug Conversion, R230 Rear, Fuel Cell, 383 Stroker 530HP motor W/ Programable FI!

Yup, took forever to get the rear suspension disassembled... Long story and I won't bore you, but some times shop manuals can lead you astray! The new Z06 clutch grabs super hard and seems VERY reliable... We were experiencing some 75 degree sunny weather today and it was nice romping on it with the targa roof off and the tunes pounding from the new MP3 player! Need to install my screens in the bodywork and my powered sub-tube and I'm done till the motor is complete! Now that I've done one, I could swap a clutch in a C5 in about 4 hours... 'Course it is nice when the TELL you not to mess with the bellhousing... But they didn't... Mike

Well I'm skeptical at best... and the comment about not relying on magazine tests from Road and Track or Car and Driver is just way out in left field. Ussually those reports use professional drivers at legal tracks with access to timing devices... Do they sometimes report slower than advertised times? Sure. They ussually comment about the reasons why... Hard to beat their resources for data collection. And as I'm finding out with my Gtech pro, If you DON'T get the data input correct on your vehicle weight (And most DON'T According to responses back and forth with Tesla) then you will get some VERY unrealistic numbers. The only GOOD thing I can say about the MR2 is that it has some very LOW gearing, so offline acceleration will be decent from 0-60... But not in the 5 second range and not stock... Do the math and figure it out as Basstad stated... Doesn't add up... I'll be interested in what your friend runs... Also, As demonstrated mulitple times in SSC, and on the MR2 websites I've trolled, these cars are VERY susceptible to parts breakage... Especially in the transaxle... Launch with care, and driver beware! Mike

CHOKE! Come on Richard you can do better than that.... John left you all that material and you CHOKE??? Maybe the owner of the weasel, 'er Moosgoose can help you out there... John, You are a man who loves danger... Mike 8)

He made a left turn on green into the path of an oncoming car. Car hit him in the right rear wheel and spin him backwards into a full sized Dodge van. Fortunately no one from any of the three3 vehicles was injured. Don't know about the Turbo models, but the non-turbo one we had would do 0-60 in about 8.8 seconds... I don't think a stock turbo MR2 would go much faster than 7.0 0-60. They are geared really low, and even that didn't help the car. The bone stock units make about 135 Crank Hp... Not much... And they weigh in at about 2750#. So it isn't the car you might think it is... Mike 8)

Tim, what year is it? Don't be fooled by all the hype of these newer bikes... Yea, they are cutting edge, but I suspect yours isn't to far off, and most of the squids I know can't use 1/3rd of the bike they ride! My 98ZX9R Ninja weighs just under 400# dry weight with the mods we made, and turns 132 HP at the rear wheel, which is inline with most of the bikes made through 2002, about 140HP. They are a blast to ride, but I don't enjoy it on the street much anymore. When I go to track events, I have so much more fun, without worrying about cops and blue hairs in cages! Have fun and be safe! Mike

Well We have the civic, and I personally think he needs to drive something besides a sports car for a while... His mother was the catalyst behind the MR2, and talked me into it, against better judgement... The MR2 is a fine car, but I'd never own one again... Two reasons... Cost of parts is outragious because Toyota's name is on it. Working on the motor and transaxle was an absolute bear unless you removed it from the car. Mike 8)

Oh trust me, If this kid was my real son, and not my step son, things would be a little bit different... I'll leave it at that... Don't get me wrong, I treat him as if he were my own, but there is an unspoken thing between he and my wife that "If things are bad enough for him" that he'll go to his fathers. He doesn't use this with her, and he only threw it up at me once about three years ago, but found that doesn't work with me, as I started putting stuff in a duffle bag and leading him to the car... He had wet eyes that night... No, he would ride the bus for the rest of the school year if it were my call. Mike 8)

This one is a 93... We had full coverage on it, so we're just gonna let it go. Mike

Yup, I've got one unhappy 16 year old on my hands. We got the word yesterday that it is totalled, and I knew it was, but he didn't want to believe... Poor kid is STILL getting parts in that he had ordered for it to ad insult to injury! So here is what we are going to do... I have a 1990 Honda Civic hatch that has a new motor and trans in it, and has been lowered, and has some nice 15 inch wheels on it... Only thing the car need is paint and some TLC in the interior... I'm gonna give it to him as his driver, and let him decide if he wants to keep it and fix it up (The makings of a ricer here) or sell it in a few months and buy something else... This will cut back on the insurance, and will still give him something to get back and forth to school and work in... comments?? Mike 8)

I'm using the stock Z06 Clutch setup... Supposed to be good for up to 500HP... We'll see... Car is on the lift, and rear is out... Just been pre-occupied with taking stuff off the MR2 so the insurance company can come get it... We got the word today... It is totalled... There is a sad young man in my house tonight... A lot weighing on his shoulders. Mike 8)