Jeff

It sounds like your clutch isn't fully disengaging to me. Reverse is the worst if this is the case. The first thing to try is to bleed or cycle the clutch slave cylinder. There are no bleed screws on the LT1/T56 clutch master and slave assembly. Make sure the clutch master is slightly over full and that the bladder is in place. The black rubber thing that sticks down into the resevoir. Get under the car and pull the slave cylinder. You need to run the slave through several full cycles by letting the rod fully extend and then compressing it slowly but fully. It took several attempts before mine finally quit acting up but it did work eventually. I'm not sure if that is what is going on with your car but I did have similar experiences just not quite as severe.

I know I've posted a stupid story from my youth in some other thread but my most recent bone head move involves the Z. I replaced the front frame rails with 2 1/2" tube steel and was very careful to make sure that everything remained square and in alignment. I hung the doors, fenders and hood back on the car when we were done and all was good with panel alignment. I'm utilizing a bolt in radiator core support and underestimated how much rigidity the core support adds. Once the frame rails were done I hung the car back on the rotisserie without the core support bolted in. We installed subframe connectors at this point but didn't realize the front rails had twisted in the process. We finished up the installation, had the car media blasted, put in primer and bolted the supension back under it. I shipped it off to the body shop in preparation for paint and simply received a phone call from the body shop owner one day that I needed to come there. Once he went to hang the sheet metal back on the car it was very apparent that the car was twisted by 1 1/2". The car had to be put on a frame machine and pulled back to shape which in turn buckled the firewall and floor pans. This one was a little more than a head in palm moment but it's fixed now even if it is just sitting waiting for me to finish it.

So I'm assuming that when the "light switch" turns on at 6,000 rpm it gets ugly really quickly. Sounds fun though and I'll try to make it out in January to see how it does.

That looks completely sick Mike and I love the CCW's. I need a set for the Trans Am to replace my heavy ZR1 replicas. Let us know when you're heading back out to the track.

Scottie, was the owner an english guy? One of our autocross regulars bought one and ran it a couple of weeks ago so I'm wondering if it was him.

Not Z car related but this is my current one. That's me in my 1994 Trans Am running Sebring.

Sorry to see the damage to your Z but glad you're OK. When it comes time to start putting it back together drop me a PM. I'm in Orlando and have an after market drivers side quarter panel, fiberglass headlight buckets, two fenders that aren't bad but need a little rust repair at the bottom. They're just sitting in my storage unit and I promise to give you a fair price.

Family gathering at the parents condo in New Smyrna beach.

I did the same thing with very bad results. I replaced the front frame rails with the car on the ground being very careful to check measurements and even hung all of the sheet metal back on the car to check the gaps. It was perfect. I put the car back on the rotisserie to do the floor pans and sub frame connectors. The sub frame connectors went on first, then the floor pans one side at a time and then finished welding the sub frame connectors to the new floor pans. Everything looked great so off to the body shop it went. They hung all of the sheet metal back on the car to start working the gaps and getting everything flat. I got a call from my body shop guy telling me I needed to come see him and it wasn't good. We had managed to twist the frame rails by 1 1/2" when it was on the rotisserie. The body shell had to be put on a frame machine and be pulled back to square. This resulted in the firewall and floor pans buckling a bit because something had to give to get her back in shape. That stuff was cut loose, reworked and the car is square within a few mm's now but it cost me big time. In short, no I would not hang the car on a rotisserie with the under floor rails gone. But that's just my very expensive opinion.

So you mean everyone doesn't know how to pronounce those?

And when your done with Mikes can I drop mine off too? Congratulations Scottie!! That is a great accomplishment.

I bought my Corbeau FX1 Pro's from Soloracer for $279 with free shipping since my order was over $350. There web site says they ship to Canada so I would give them a shout. This is still an entry level seat but at least it's a name brand and the folks at Soloracer had great customer service. Click here for info. On Edit: I just noticed the auction is for a pair of seats so forget what I said above.

I weighed my bare body shell and it came in at 520 pounds so with the front removed and the interior still in I think it would be close to that.

I missed this thread until now. Glad to see you're back at it Rick and the mock up of the bodywork looks great. I haven't touched mine since November so it's just sitting in the garage right now. I keep spending time and money on the Trans Am, it's more fun since it actually drives. I'll be in Gainesville on Sunday running the road course with the Martin Sports Car Club. Come out if you get a moment.

I would clean them up to bring top dollar but I would like to talk with you about one of those. No clean up necessary, local pick up and I do need to get my hoist back so no waisted trip. I'll give you a call.

The clear casting materials from Smooth On are very cool but very expensive and very difficult to work with. Once you mix the 2 parts you've got to put them in a vacuum chamber to eliminate air bubbles while you're casting them. We did an 8' tall Buddha using the Smooth On Clear Cast last year and it was very cool but very difficult as well. Not something you want to play with on the hobby level.

Ideally you need to heat your sheet material in an oven so that when you drape it over your mold it distributes evenly. The wood mold is typically sanded smooth and primed so that it won't transfer any wood graining. I run into projects at work that require this type of application occasionally so I'm no expert but was trying to pass on my limited knowledge. I did a Google search and this appears to be a descent write up. Click here.

Vacuum forming gives great detail but for your Ferrari inspiration and using thicker materials do a Google search on drape forming. Simplier shapes but you can create inexpensive wood male molds, heat your clear sheet material and drape form it over your mold to create your part.

No problem Tom, I'll let you know but he hasn't responded to my questions yet so I won't be bidding right now but it doesn't look like anyone else is either. I would love to see what else he has and what kind of shape those molds are in.

He's about two hours away from me so I asked him to send me more pictures. We'll see if he respoinds. If the molds are in good shape, which I believe is doubtful, then I might buy them just because it's a shame to see them go to waste. The stock hood mold looks nice. But the cowl induction mold looks really beat up and I like how the flange just ends before it steps up on to the cowl. I guess after you cast the part you trim the cowl to shape. Not ideal.

That looks good, just be careful to keep everything square. Don't ask me how I know this. I think you probably know how it feels to cut out a wee bit more than just the frame rails.

I couldn't find complete door skins but Blackdragon does offer lower patch panels. My body guy ended up just making some to patch my doors though. http://www.blackdragonauto.com/icatalog/z/t.asp?page=20

I like the core support and frame rail design, looks very familiar. It's good to see it with everything mounted since I'm not there yet.

I run a five point setup but based on what I've read you should be fine routing them that way. Here is a lengthy discussion from the Corner Carvers site discussing six point harnesses. Click here.

The southwest area of Orlando that JSM mentioned is a good area to live. I'm in the downtown / College Park area and it's good as well but you do need to be careful because the dividing line between good and bad in my area can be quite thin. If I knew where you were staying then I could make some recommendations on where to eat. If you're close to downtown then I know some great places and would be more than happy to meet up with you. Let us know where you're staying and when you'll be here.