Mikelly

Wow... Just wow... Reading this makes me think back a ways... Started mine up in the last two weeks as well... Earth must have been tilting on axis... Funny how times change the older we get... Love all the cars I have that I can drive. Not so sure how much I still "love" my Zcar... Hoping that actually driving it will rekindle the flame... Good luck with your project Michael, and how about those Miatas... Gotta love them... We do ours!! Mike

Just bought one about two months ago... I LOVE My QUEST... Replaced a slightly heavier and noisy EXO-700 scorpian. The Quest loves being in dirty air. I had to replace the Vstream windscreen on my FJR with the stock unit in order to quiet the helmet/ buffeting. Best Helmet I've ever bought... Mike

Here's a clip of the walk around "tour" of the Zcar project... and another start-up... Mike

Mike

This past Saturday I installed the throttle cable and adjusted a few things, and backed that sucker off the lift and into the driveway... First time this project has EVER moved under its own power. Lots still to do, but certainly exciting times... Mike

So I shot a little bit of video... Mike

Fixed the oil lines tonight, but didn't get a chance to swap in a new oil filter and test for leaks...I'll check that tomorrow or Thursday. I'd like to back this car off the lift by its own power ASAP!!! Mike

So today we had a bit of success, a bit of frustration, and a bit of sadness... It would figure that I'd get a "bad started" from the autoparts store... It wasn't "bad" but we did have to remove it, and take the solenoide out and put the plunger back in the fork of the starter so it would engage the gear... Once we did that, we were able to get the car to run. What was "odd" was that we had a braided oil line running to the remote filter block start pouring from a leak... badly... So I'll have to sort that out... We may have to much oil in the motor... the pan is a 6.5 quart pan, along with a 2 quart accusump, a Setrab oil cooler, and all the associated lines to plumb everything... I'm guessing we should have about 10 quarts max... So who knows. I'll replace the line tomorrow... But hey it ran and ran well... That exhaust system is LOUD!!!! Sad part of the day was when we got the call from Tom's mom that the house they had put a bid on (and won the bid), their first, caught on fire... God I hope he and Brittany can salvage this situation... Mike

On Sunday I was removing the waterline to the drain catch can and broke the nipple (he said nipple) off the neck of the radiator... So I ordered a new one... smaller, actually... a 24X19 from Jegs. Came in on Wednesday and I installed it on Thursday. I'll probably give the Griffin to Tom Harris for a project down the road... I'm sure he can use it... Right now I'm laying out templates to close off the fuel cell from the rest of the car. Unfortunately most clubs don't like an exposed fuel system inside the interior space... So we'll be working on that for a few days. The fuel system was drained and the fuel cell cleaned up... the majority of old fuel was removed. Also re-routed the fuel lines from the cell, through the filter (now mounted to the rear deck) to pump one, then through the surge to pump two and out under the car. The fuel system is all wired up now and the permanent mounting is complete. We're having a little get together tomorrow, so maybe Tom and his band of merry lunatics will help me start the thing up... we'll see... Mike

Yesterday I got the dash and gauges reinstalled and back in, the switch panel installed and tested out, the Accusump leak resolved, and tore into the fuel cell to get the year old gas out of it. I'm going to re-do the fuel routing and get that whole mess back together and then I'll need to get the car over onto the lift and see if I can start it with fresh gas in it... Making progress... Basically I'm within a few days of having the windshield installed and the car ready for de-bugging... Mike

So I had a space issue... You see when you have to many projects going on and parts being delivered for all of them, you get to a point where you need to stop and regroup... So we did that, and decided to be "done" with the Porsche GT2 conversion so we could finish up the Zcar... It was necessary to do that because I had a freshly painted GT2 front bumper and pieces in my home office and I was concerned it would eventually get scratched or damage... So The last Saturday in March I tore down the 996Turbo and converted the radiator routing, water lines, new functional airguides in the center (leading the hood) and to the sides at the wheel wells and all new supporting bits. The full tech DIY write up was published over on renntrack.com. The interesting part of this conversion was that I was able to use all OEM parts, along with retaining the locations for the horns and other bits. Some major shops in the porsche world can't seem to get this conversion right, but I didn't have any issues and it looks 100% stock Porsche GT2 now... Including the front drive system being removed. So now I've been able to redirect my time to the Zcar and I've been able to make the Accusump function properly, but it does appear that I have a leak somewhere... Air pressure isn't "holding"... So I'll have to check the unit, which will probably require pulling it. I've also been able to finish up the mounts on the Kirkey passenger seat and also been cleaning up a little more wiring routing under the hood, stuffing wired in loom and cleaning up any potential wire/heat issues. I'm trying to finish out everything in the interior so I can get the car over onto the lift so I can get it in the air to address the starter solenoid wire routing, check the oil lines, and drain the fuel cell... once all that is done, the windshield goes in. My first event this year is in May at Summit Point Shenandoah circuit, so our goal is to have that and the Miata both there... Mike

Got side tracked the last few days... Father in-law passed away on Sunday, so we've been distracted. Did manage to pull the dash, but need to pull the accusump and see what's what with it. Mike

Mark, I'll give that a try. Here's what we have gotten accomplished in the last few days... Finished the mounts for the radiator Finished the new steering wheel QR ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300505848310&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWNX%3AIT ) Finished the uprights for the rear wing. It now sits above the hatch line and in the clean air coming over the roof. Finished the mounting of my Ultrashield Roadrace seat. Things left to do... Remove the dash and pull the accusump so I can troubleshoot it. Flush the fuel cell to get the year old gas out of it, along with the foam. Mount the passenger seat (Kirkey Roadrace Intermediate) Install the windshield. We're close. I've been spending an hour or two as my ankle will allow... I plan to get this car to the track by the May 15th event at Summit Point with trackdaze. Mike

Dis-assembled and painted the aluminum dash over the last two days. Put it back together yesterday afternoon and it's ready to re-install. I also relocated the fuse panel away from contact with passenger knees... I'm going to remove the accusump and check it, as the system isn't releasing the oil in the canister like it should be... Mike

Sounds like a plan John! I worked on it this evening and got the raw alunimum dash removed and dis-assembled and then prime'd and painted. I also touched up a few places in the rear strut sections. I also have completed the seating/ mounting/harness issues and the final radiator mounting. A lot of this stuff was small punch list stuff. I suspect I'll make HUGE gains on this project over the weekend... HUGE. Got some serious momentum right now, and if the Gov't shuts down after next week, I'll be done by the time they sort it all out!! Mike

John, I've been asking that for a while now... Mike

I have a dodge 3500 Cummins Megacab and two different trailers, depending on the need... Small 18 foot open deck trailer for local stuff and the "large" 24ft. enclosed trailer for weekends... Both ends of the spectrum have their good and bad... Having a half ton pickup and open trailer means you can tow easily with a reasonable amount of weight. The Dodge Cummins can pull a lot of weight at a rapid pace, and the enclosed trailer is nice when you have a car without windows in the doors or want privacy for what you're towing... That said, I have a winch in the enclosed trailer. I may put one on the open trailer "just incase". Biggest thing to remember is that the more you go to the track, the more you want to take with you, just incase. You really want to make sure you're able to tow that extra "stuff". Full gas cans? Well I carry four at 132 pounds. My tool box in the enclosed trailer? Add another 300 pounds minimum. Jack, air tank and jack stands? Yea mine are about 100 pounds... Add a second set of wheels? 200 pounds is a safe guess. Spare tires for the trailer? Might want at least two. The point is, don't be "undersold" on what some think you can get away with... Be reasonable and plan accordingly. Mike

Not relevant to the current state of the car. Mike Mike

Sure, you could save the clip to your desktop and then re-edit it in Windows Movie Maker...Cut out what you don't want, save what you do... Mike

That was very cool... Hadn't seen it before...

So It's been a really really bad few weeks... Wrecked the motorcycle the Two weekends before Tgiving... Thanksgiving Day night my mother is rushed to the hospital. Re-fracture of an old injury to her L4 vertebrea. She's admitted to the hospital for surgery and mental health evaluation, where she's diagnosed with dementia. Four days later she has surgery. Three days later my father inlaw is rushed to the same hospital with pneumonia, which is complicating his lung cancer. And then I go back for my check up on my ankle three days after that, where I am told I likely broke the ankle and it was misdiagnosed. So needless to say I've done nothing with anything in any of my cars... Not been a very good month...My mom is in rehab for her back and is on meds to deal with her dementa, and my father inlaw is resting in the hospital recooperating from his pneumonia. Mike

Not relevant to the current state of the car. Mike

Here's the event link! http://www.theglen.com/Tickets-Events/Events/2011/US-Vintage-Grand-Prix.aspx We went last year and it was a hoot... It'll be our 10th wedding wedding anniversary the following week!! Mike

We've already rented a house for the week, and I "think" there's a DE scheduled for earlier in the week, so I'll be hopefully getting some track time in with the Zcar on the course. We also plan to do the parade laps thru town on Friday. Hopefully Pete P. and Tom Harris will be up there as well, along with other suspects from my neck of the woods... This is an excellent event motivator for finishing the Zcar... Mike

Well I'm down and out for a few weeks... Crashed my FJR1300 and won't be able to use my left ankle much for about 3-4 weeks. Hit a slick that the state police said was about 2ft. wide and about 1/2 a mile long and never even saw it... I was in the turn lane making a turn one minute, and on my bum the next. Happened so quick I didn't have time to react, so I didn't jack up a shoulder or arm, but did tear the ligaments in the left ankle... So I'm in a walking boot and crutches... Lovely... Mike