Mikelly

Well since I have this new job and all this new found wealth and I don't have a mortgage payment for a month, I splurged and bought us new matresses (Both mine and my step son) and I bought a new Ingersol Rand 3HP Oil fed, 60 gallon unit... MUCH Quieter than the Craftsman oil-less unit it is replacing! Now I need to pick up a sheet metal break and I'll be happy for the moment... Mike

Good News... I was told today that my parts will be in this week. You guys should have your arms shipped out within a few days of me getting the joints in. Mike

OR, you could buy a 5/8th 18 right hand DIE and cut your TC rod to the appropriate length (Buying your threaded tubing in say a size 8 inch length) and cut the threads on by hand. Then you could appropriate the clevis bracket and some lefthand MALE heim joints and some 5/8th bolts and nuts of the appropiate lenght and BINGO... Adjustable TC rods... Not that I would know ANYTHING about doing them mind you! http://www.Stockcarproducts.com They are you're huckleberry! Mike

I am well aware of the values of driving schools. I've been to more than I care to think about (More than 30 events under the belt, not including all the Government training...)! I'm gonna be footing the bill for any of this stuff since I can't get his REAL father to help us with college expenses. I've already started steering him towards the whole NASA/ Carguys stuff. I just don't think he is that interested... His buddies wouldn't be there to "SEE" him. Peer presure will be an issue for him. However, He is 19, it is his money, and if he gets in trouble, there won't be much I can do for him. He still lives with his father, so I'm just lending some mechanical help and shop space at this point. We'll have to see how it goes. Mike 8)

Well, our first goal is to get the motor in sans turbo. The current D16 is making about 98 HP and a stock LS makes 140+. That alone is gonna be a big jump for him. He gets to drive that for at least a month before I'm gonna think about installing the turbo. We've pretty much got everything to make this thing run a whole lot faster, but I'm keep it dialed down to 8PSI once the turbo goes in. Because the manual boost adjuster is gonna be mounted under the hood, I'm hoping it will deter him from dialing up more boost. Mike 8)

As some of you may remember, My oldest stepson has been collecting parts for a honda B18 turbo build. I've taken the process as slowly as I could, steered him into some areas where he would be required to wait for long lead parts to come in, and allowed him to change direction a few times for the sake of eating more time. Now we are at the point where we can build the motor and start contemplating an install... I must admitt, when this motor package is done it is gonna be very impressive. The little LS B18B1 motor has forged SR pistons, race prepped, shotpeened, polished and balanced, ARP bolted Rods, A complete rework to the head, adjustable cam gears, bigger injectors by AEM , fuel rail by AEM , regulator by AEM, and pump, ACT Flywheel & Clutch kit, GSR intake and TB, and a rework of the turbo kit as well. Now we are looking at buying a T3 or T4 since Jeff messed up and got a work of art for his turbo manifild, but forgot he DOESN"T have a T3 or T4 turbo... We're using a TD25 from Mitsubishi! DOH!. We do have an SVO IC, a manual boost adjuster, a paxton FMU, and some really nice plumbing. We'll need to get the turbo and waste gate, as well as a BOV for the new turbo. I'm thinking about just keeping the setup we have and putting it on my civic. I've already got it, and we're pretty much stuck with it. Anyway, I'm dragging feet on this project for two reasons: A: I'm not a big turbo guy. Never done much work with them... B: I'm concerned that although he is a good kid and has never gotten in to trouble, he may with this setup. We're thinking he might make about 220HP at the crank with the current setup, but with a larger turbo and bigger intercooler like the T3-T4s require, that may change things... What do you guys think? I know a couple of you are into the honda thing... I'm trying to limit this build because I don't want him to get hurt, go to jail, or lose his license... One reason we didn't go forged on the rods was so I could keep the build lower... Those rods won't withstand high boost even with the prep work that Dave did to them! Opinions? Mike

Guys, Just got back from the vacation. I spent Saturday with the family at Road Atlanta and I took 89 images, some of some VERY impressive ITS Zs running qualifying... Problem is I've got a CF card that is now having problems... Anyone with any experience extracting images from a card with an error out there? BTW, Sunbelt builds some VERY impressive L6 motors... I saw John Williams (NOT the Left Coast JoHn Williams) run Damned well amoung some C5s and Factory prepped Vipers... I'd love to show you some pics.... HELP! mike

Holly cow... We are in the mountains... I did a road bicycle ride yesterday and climbed 8400 feert of elevation in an hour and twenty minutes. Gonna do a little mountain biking today. The weather is perfect here... Sky Valley is a kick A$$ resort! We found our way down to Road Atlanta Yesterday afternoon on the way back from Gainsville. I'll get on the site and check the schedule for the weekend. Maybe we can take the 15 yearolds down on Saturday for some race spectating! Anyone in the area??? Love to see some Zs while I'm here! Be here until early Sunday morning! Mike

That sucks man. The Dotcoms in our area really took a beating. Being a defense contractor in our area and holding clearances is the key to sustained employment in the Wash DC area. Well there is a slight change. I was originally offered $110,000, which I signed and agreed to before going to the place where I'd be working. Then after I saw the hit on quality of life, I asked for more, $115,000 as I suspected my out of pocket healtch care was gonna raise almost that much. I also asked for a signing bonus. My former boss agreed to it, but the CEO was out of town. They came back with a compromise... Now they have made my hours a bit better, and the health care is only gonna be about $80 more per month, so I'm still getting a great gig and a 17K increase. I'm also getting a 10% increase in January as long as I'm performing as well as they suspect I will. I'm happy. Craig, If you have a resume, shoot it to me...via email at dat74z@yahoo.com! Mike

Yup, that is NOT mine. Mine doesn't use heim joints on the rear... Don't know who made it.. Mike

Soooo, That sounds like about a 75HP gain, which is NOT bad at all! I read the article last night... The car is growing on me, but I still can't justify it... Mike

A stage with gold pole, complete with the required Performance artists... My wife wouldn't let me install mine, so you MUST! Denny pretty much covered it all, and get a GOOD hand grinder with 4 inch wheel, and a GOOD cordless screw driver/ gun. All the others had good suggestions too, ESPECIALLY the radio! Mike

I took last evening and welded an old gas door into the door opening, and tonight I went ahead and mixed up some filler and smoothed that out. I then went ahead and removed the frame work for the trunk area from the rear, and put in the filler cap, removing the filler kneck and rear filler that I had put in last year... This is a more traditional in trunk filler style setup. Next, I took some resin and chopped mat fiberglass and filled the hatch latch hole in the whale tail. The next move will be to fill the roof vents and antena hole! The idea is gonna be to smooth the body of the car as mutch as possible. Next will be the exterior door handles and locks. The drip rails are already removed and I've cleaned them up. I need to spot weld them and fill them. I'd like to thank Doug Carrow for coming up to my house (1.5 hours! ) several times to assist me in working on this and teaching me more about body work and the importance of good products when doing body work! Mike

We're gonna be staying at a resort in Dillard. Mike

Yup, Resigned from my company today... I'll be off on vacation in North Georgia for a week starting Sunday, and then back with my new company and the new gig on the 2nd of Sept. ! Told the wife I'm gonna sit around in Boxer shorts and smoke cigars and drink beer all week on my week off... Mike

I just Jinxed myself... My freaking Sears Craftsman Compressor Died tonight, or sometime over the last few days... Makes a sound like it is trying to run, but not pumping any air into the tank... Big 60 gallon unit with 6.5 HP motor... Singlestage... DAMN! Mike

I offered this up as a suggestion a few weeks back in the Admin forum. I use the example from this site: http://tech.hybridgarage.com/about.html They WILL NOT allow you into the general tech forums until you prove you aren't some punk trying to cause trouble... I guess I'm some punk trying to cause trouble though, because it has been about a year and they still won't let me become a regular! Mike

Guys, the trans in the GMC is getting ready to go, and I need a source for good replacement... It is a 93 GMC 5.7L with the 700R4... Two wheel drive... Mike

Yup, I know those folks well. John Williams is a heck of a guy and has supported me in this project fully. Great group of guys out there. As for Mr. Coffey and our friendly back and forth: John is one of the brightest, smartest guys I know, who actually does what he says. I have seen his car in action in person, and know what a capable driver he is. I only hope that I could succeed in building a car that will beat up on his little L6 monster! Not sure when I'll be out that way, but I'd like to at some point, with car (Or cars) in tow! Mike

Ron, I've got something in the works for someone to take over the operation in whole. I need to confirm this, but if it for some reason falls through I'd be more than happy to provide all the info needed to someone with the skills to make these. I'll keep you posted, and from the looks of things on the personal Zcar front, I'll still be around as an enthusiast with two GREAT examples of how a Zcar can be made to perform WELL with a V8 installed... IF I keep them (Come September 15th Midnight) then I'll be trailering one across country to an event on the LEFT coast to allow one of my hired guns, 'er ZF Racing Boys the opportunity to take Mr. Coffee up on his challenge to produce a fast, competitive V8Zcar! I remember those gaunlets being thrown down, or some such silly statement my fellow admin made a while back! Mike

This is due in part to the repeated cases of superbikes out running police cars on the interstates (Supposedly)... I would have spent the money on a few Bell Ranger helicopters instead of the cars... My ZX9R does closer to 140MPH in under 11 seconds... Not that I condone running the Po Po! Mike

Mike S., Oz, and Terry, Your arms went out today and you have mail with tracking numbers... Ed, Mike and Jeff, I'm still in a holding pattern on the FEMALE heim joints... three places I rely on are ALL back ordered... If they don't come in by Friday they won't go out until I get back from vacation AFTER Labor day. I apologize... I've got them sitting in boxes and ready to go, but waiting on a pair of $13 (Each) Heim joints to complete the orders for two of you, and the additional parts to complete TC Rods for the other... I've got a personal set, but the SCP guys say the complete order should ship at about the same time... SOOO IF S&W or Coleman come through, then We'll be set... Mike

Craftsman stuff is hit and miss... My Craftsman Grinder 4 inch grinder works GREAT, as does my 6 inch bench grinder. I've got a Craftsman 6 inch bench vise that works well. Lawn stuff though, I've experienced the same as Cruz... I've got some Black and Decker saws (Cordless drill and saw package), and a Jig saw from them that work exceptionally well. My Craftsman Compressor is working well so far... My hand tools are a mix of Craftsman and hand-me-downs from my dad's days of being a mechanic in the 70's. As they break I replace them, tkaing the craftsman stuff back for free replacement. My Lincoln Welder is increadible... I suspect I weld more than most of the guys on the board (But there are several of you guys who do it for a living I know!) and my little SP125 Migpack foes GREAT! Mike

Since I've had a bitch of a time replacing my drill press with something worth while, I figured Iwould pass along this and other relared tool no-nos! The "Delta" powertool brand sold by LOWES is CRAP. The first drill press I had was a Delta, and worked well for two years. However, The chuck kept breaking teeth, eventually rendering itself useless! I tried to replace it with a newer and larger model, 12 inch unit only to find that is was crap. Wouldn't hold a bit in the chuck. It would vibrate enough to sling the bit loose in the chuck EVERY TIME! This cost me all of last weekend screwing around with it, until I threw in the towel, packed it back up in its box and took it back! Same thing with a Sears 16 inch model... Same EXACT thing... Scrap that one, took it back as well. And their drill bits, lets just say DULL quickly... The press was replaced yesterday with a RYOBI press that works very well. I just finished doing ALL of the TC Rods I had in stock, and all the clevis brackets as well... In three hours... So much nicer when you have the right tools... BLU-MOLY drill bits ARE AWESOME! I used them exclusively on this last batch of drilling, wich took a lot, since I was drilling 3/4 inch holes in 1/8th inch steel for the clevis and 25/64th in the TC Rod, which is closer to 1/2 inch steel. Those bits did NOT dull after drilling through 24 holes each! PORTER CABLE also makes excellent SawZallz and impact guns... I highly recommend them for heavy duty tools! Mike

I used the solid mount in my 383 build with no problems at all, but with subframes, a cage and other mods. I also drag raced the car at the 1/4 and the 1/8th several times, and drove it hard on the street for a year without any issues. The car is showing no signes that there was a problem at all. Just another view! Mike