Mikelly

Well I've got some serious mis-givings about the way they score in that test... The judges in the car show gave major points for "Bling" and detracted scores for "Just another race car on the street" WTF is up with THAT? The Ultima AND the VIPER were both hands down animals... I don't want or NEED DVD, PS2 and all that other "STUFF" in my CAR... That is why I have a HOME... I think they are getting away from the drivers passion perspective WAY to much. And Mr. Chen, Well I don't want to sound like sour grapes, but last year he bitched and moaned about his little MR2 problems, and the SCC staff HELPED him out and loaned him parts and he STILL didn't win... Year before, He enters a Ferrari. The guy BUYS his way in, and won't even drive his own car, which SHOULD BE part of the criteria... If you can't DRIVE your car down the 1/4 and around a road course competitively, then get the hell out of performance street cars, and go all show... Pathetic. Not taking anything away from the 350Z, as it was a nice ride, but my money is on the fact that Chen doesn't even know the right end of a screw driver. He buys a clean slate to build from (Nice, if you have the money) and starts ringing contacts on the phone... Then the car is delivered to each shop doing the custom work, and presented to him when complete... The guy doesn't build his own cars... Atleast that is the word I got. The fuel Mileage test and emissions test I can live with. The (VERY) subjective car show and granny ride are a JOKE. I'll give the tech geeks props for being bruitally honest in their scoring, as I really think they are fair. Nope, SCC tailors much of what they review and what they write up (And their tests) to the Mid-teen to late 20-something crowd becasue that is where the business is... I see it every day with the kids that come to my home, and in my own kids... They are all into the bling, and not the zing... They want momo this and sparco that, and they don't care about function, only about how it "Looks". If it looks "Tight" then it is in. If it works well and performs a necessary function, but isn't "Tight" then it goes... THAT is the mentality that SCC is tailoring to. Mr. Mumford (Last years winner in a Viper) will forever embody what the Ultimate street car winner should be... His memory lives... and he is missed. The only magazine that has done a good job of doing an unbiased and fair test has been car craft. I've bought ONE ISSUE of car craft EVERY YEAR for as long as the RSE contest has been held. Real Street is just that... They have the mold all others should be judged by. Mike 8)

Mark, Don't take this wrong... I AM SO GLAD you bought that car! Let me re-phrase it... I am SO GLAD I did NOT buy that car! Mike

Don't know about your area, But I was able to drive my SBC 383 stroker Z in washington DC rush hour (Some of the worst traffic in the world) traffic in summertime without much fan fair once I got the heatsoak issues with the starter, and the heating issues (Electric fan fixed it) resolved... I'd have driven it anywhere. Mike 8)

I tried to buy my first Z in 1982 when I was 16. I found an Orange 240Z, 1973 vintage, and tootle down to the insurance company to get an estimate... The agent laughed me out of his office, and said he'd just as well insure me for a Corvette for the same amount... I left, dejected, and sad. In the winter of 1987 I totalled a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird an old Girlfriend talked me into buying. After the car was paid off, I had some coin left in my pocket... I talked to my uncle, who owns a VW repair shop. He had several cars in shop that he was fixing and selling... a 1970 Chevelle, a late model Karmangia, a Porsche 924 and a Poop brown 1974 Datsun. I drove three of them... The fourth, the Z, was in need of repairs, so I had no clue what it was like driving one... However, seeing the twin carbs and big 6 underhood, I was convinced it would be the better of the cars... little did I know what I was getting into... I bought it for $1400 without even test driving... He fixed it for me, and I drove that car until 1995. I've owned 17 Zcars since 1987... What a ride it has been! Mike 8)

I'd echo what Katman said about the cage issue... You could get away with a couple strut braces and some frame rails and be very happy with less weight if it is gonna be an autocross/ street car. If you plan to do real track day events at high speeds, then a cage is worth the money for safety alone... But for a street car... That said, my Zcars have had cages in the from a safety standpoint alone... There is a weight hit, for sure. Mike 8)

Gonna throw in my hat here... I've got a degree in criminal justice, used to be a park ranger, federal LEO, and local cop... Have lots of info on the good, the bad, and the ugly... Feel free to hit me offline at dat74z@yahoo.com Mike 8)

Exactly. Mike

Michael, Just in gravel alone we have over 110 rons in the foundation and base for the pad, plus we added another 40 tons for driveway, parking, and now around behind the garage. Lots of gravel.... And I've moved a lot of it by hand... Mike 8)

It's funny, because when I'm off from work I get so much stuff done around here... I really would be so much happier with my toys if my wife would just win the lottery! For about $260 worth of tools and a manual, I whould be able to do ALL my own alignements on all my cars from here on out... Next I'm gonna pick up some scales! MIke

So yesterday I took the Vette to get an alignment at my favorite shop. I get a call from them saying "Car is to low and we can't get it on the machine.." So I go pick up the car and after building the motor and shoveling gravel, I went ahead and put the Vette on the lift to install the CAGS switch and to raise the car back up... I've brought it up significanlty, and I'm buying a book and some tools so I can do my own alignments... Used to have all this stuff back in the early 90s, and never should have gotten rid of it. THankfully, raising the car is pretty easy with the lift.. Took less than an hour. MIke

So Friday afternoon I started looking at my intake and I figured, yea I'll just cut off the bosses from the center holes and slot the two center holes... Using a short sawzal blade, I was able to almost get the holes completely flat... One of them was angled more than the other three, but Oh well, I was 3 out of 4... Anyway, I got everything done by Yesterday afternoon (Saturday) and while letting the paint on the intakle dry, I went ahead and moved about 8 TONS of brown riverstone gravel to the area behind my garage... For those who have been behid my garage to take a tinkle, you will be happy to know there is no longer a SWAMP back there (on my side of the fence anyway!) ... Nice DEEP and packed bed of riverrock from the foundation of the garage to the fence... So anyway, I assembled the motor yesterday, and I'm gonna need some of those offset washers... Anyone have a recommendation where I can get them? Oh yea, I'm sitting there trying to drop the distributor in place and I look over on my table... Only to see the pump drive shaft laying on it! Now I've got to take the pan and pump back off... Glad I found it while the motor is on the stand! Once I get the balancer issue resolved, I'll be pretty much done with the motor build itself and I can start testing it for header clearances. Mike 8)

David, So far we have $150 pledged towards a ticket for you to head out to Cali for the big showdown at noon in the OK Corral... YOu know, handlings the "Ole Redneck Way"! Let us known what you want to do David... My guess is we could get more donations if you are serious about taking legal action AND you honestly think you were wronged. Just say the word. Mike 8)

BTW, Ron I"m going to buy one of those BRE spoilers from him on your recommendation... You can pass it along... I've never seen one, so your word is all I've got! Mike

I Couldn't at first either... YOu have to click where it says Fiberglass parts... A little confusing... Mike

*I"m responding to this as Mike Kelly, NOT The administrator for HybridZ. HybridZ has NOTHING to do with my personal view on this matter and my opinion should NOT reflect and does not IMPLY a stance from this site or it's owner/ owners. IntenseRestorations, Although I appreciate your coming here to exlpain your side of the story, I have no doubt that this gentleman's comments regarding his distance from you had nothing to do with handling things the old "Redneck fashion". The guy is out $5500 and you expect him to do what? Say nothing? If that IS your expectation, then you haven't been in America long... Word of mouth make businesses successful or kills them outright... He feels he was screwed and he is taking his case to the public. He didn't like your responses to his request for refund of some of the money HE was willing to spend at YOR shop... Regardless how this plays out, as a former vendor myself, You should have taken that offer and been happy, because we both know $800 to be spent in your shop would have meant more like you being out of pocket MUCH less than $800. You may have thought you were doing good in defending yourself, but those comments show a lack of professionalism that only draw more questions to your business ethics than provide answers. Bottom line is this individual bought something represented in a certain manor. His claim is that the numbers don't match and the condition wasn't as advertised. From your description in this text, I'm lead to believe you don't know what the numbers on the block were, or if those on the firewall even matched the numbers on the dash plaque. Sounds to me (From your description above) like you bought a car, found out it wasn't worth the effort, and sold it as original. The devil is in the details, and your ad details the car as original. The fact that he had one or fifty other Zs should have meant NOTHING to you and would NOT mean anything in a civil litigation in court... So yea, YOU ARE lucky that this is him and not ME. I personally expected more from someone coming HERE to plead their case. I'm willing to collect donations for a plane ticket for him to come out to California! I'll pony up $50 to start it off... Maybe we could see you guys on Judge Judy? You two need to settle this and be done with it... Trying your case in public is only going to make it worse... Never helps anyone, on either side... I've lived it. Mike Kelly

Well I think I'm gonna see just how much painting I can get done with my lift and my lift Jack... The real issue I had was painting around the underside of the car... I think we have come up with a solution that will require me to shoot the underside and engine bay in phases, but not require me to take the addition 16-24 hours labor to build the rotissary. Mike

I have it... Been playing Sports Car GT a LOT lately... I'd like to compile a list of "REALLY GOOD" i.e. VERY REALISTIC driving sims/ games... There aren't enough out there for the PC and I just can't do the whole PS2/ Xbox Controller thing and their wheels SUCK... So I'm stuck, religated to my good controls, pedals and wheel, and PC games... Any links to add ons for GP Legends would be good! Mike

Steve, the one shown in your pics looks like a modified engine stand deal... Oh and for what it's worth, Pete P. and I both saw a late 60s Mustang on one of those modified engine stand kinda homemade deals, and it was rock steady... WOuld be fine using those if used with some additional bracing/ modification to make of for the height and no frame rail/ floor pan mods were needed... Mike

Since we seem to have constant problems with the steering linkage interferance, has anyone modified the linkage to get aroung the header issue??? Mike

Also, Shop around... A guy offered is stuff up for sale on ebay for $75...I got his Mustache bar, front mount, drive shaft and a couple small parts for cheap... I traded an R200 LSD for TWO Q45s, a set of custom made U joint axles and some adapters... And I bought the Aluminum mount from a member here for $80... Parts are out there... Just gotta hunt for them! Mike 8)

Saw it right after the last post... Thanks Grumpy! Mike 8)

Grumpy, You think going to a 1 3/4 primary on a block hugger will be worth the added expense, as opposed to a 1 5/8th? Will an 1/8th inch really matter in the overall diameter really help with reversion and contamination? Just trying to decide the route to take with my 500+HP project here. The cramped confined of the Z are tough both in the engine bay and with regards to ground clearance. Mike

Well Couple of comments here... Guys David is one of OUR long time members, so lets not jump on the wagon to hammer HIM if HE was wronged by a VENDOR... Not taking sides, but The guy came to us for an opinion on dealing with a situation... As for David's last reply to this post, I think it clearly states the issue and it sounds to me like he was sold a misrepresented item. David Karey, Your comments bother me because you assume that his comment was threatening... NOT the case at all... Harder to file a claim against someone 3000 miles away... But I assure you, had I been the one screwed at "Too Intense" I'd have been on a plane and I'd have been visiting face to face... Mr. Spillman is handeling this in the best manor possible. Bringing to light the fact that this company, a supposed reputable restorer of Zs, has sold something other than described in the listing. What would YOU have done? As for Buying a car on Ebay... I'd throw in the caveate that I would NEVER buy a car I couldn't first go see. I have a 4 hour drive limit on a car I would personally want to buy off ebay... if I can't get there in four hours, then I'm not interested in bidding on it... Most people that sell a car on Ebay will be willing to deal with someone who is showing up with cash... When I bought my vette, I found it on EBAY. Back to David's issue, I'd pursue it as far as I could David, maybe get someone to represent you in your absence in California and go from there... You have a case if you choose to push it. Mike 8)

Guys, in doing research, I've come across several kits out on the market for building your own setup... Since I weld... I'm just wondering how difficult these kits are to kit and weld up??? Any info or personal experiences would be great... Mike

I just wanted to point something out here... One of the big questions we've been dealing with constantly with High HP Zcars has been the rear diff... If we get the motor and trans to hold up to ###Hp, will the rear and axles hold? The R230 is BIGGER than a Ford 9inch rear... The BIG question has been axle resources... I had fully expected to spend $1000 for axles PLUS more for adapters... Tim has provided a solution for those of us with Hi HP cars, that should allow us the ability to truly exploit that power... Now the limits will be in the round rubber discs we call tires, instead of hard parts that can have dangerous effects when the fail! Thanks Again Tim, For sourcing the parts, building my set, and not gouging me on price. Although you WILL get a little sumtin sumtin extra for your efforts! Mike