mikeatrpi

So I have a funny question. Who was the guy with the plaid shorts on? He's in some of the pictures, and he was at the park as we were exiting, taking a shot of each car. I don't recall meeting you (him), so I'm sorry if I forgot your name!

I had emailed Tom to join us, but unfortunately he had prior commitments earlier in the day. He sent me a note last night asking how our meet was. He also mentioned seeing you on 84, on his way to the Marcus Dairy show... which he said let him in no problem. I guess the rules have changed since my last time there? Or, I didn't ask the right people and they were just messing with me?

Thank you for organizing this Clive and Dave, and it was nice to meet all of you in person. My girlfriend and I had a great time! Edit- 1) Phil, I heard you met up with Tom in his 85 300zx on 84... 2) Jesse I talked to that Porsche owner we tried to hang with on 301. You obviously did a better job at keeping up... my co-pilot was getting nervous so I backed off! Anyways his car was an 87 911 turbo, he said he had owned a 73 240z in the past.

paging grumpyvette (I know how strongly he feels about this) http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=762130 http://www.weldingmart.com/Qstore/p002054.htm

I don't know Jim, are you sure you're not coming down with something? "Singing Nurse: I heard that you were feeling ill. Headache, fever, and a chill. I came to help restore your pluck, cause I'm the nurse who likes to... "

Dave, I nominate you to arrive at dawn and cone off a section of the parking lot for us.

OK, I cross posted at zc.c http://www.zcar.com/forums/read/16/1826083

Thank you!

Sounds good to me, see you around 2!

Wow, you are an impressive weldor. Mine look like bubble gum compared to your mastery of TIG. Keep us posted!

Well, Clive, I got it It was a list of names, emails and tel#'s of those who responded. I'm looking forward to meeting all of you on the 4th!

The 2nd picture is much better... in the first I'd say Butterface is being generous.

Good story, turbo. How is the car now?

Well, I've never taken my Z to a shop - except for tires or an inspection - and prefer to do what I can myself. The cost wasn't an issue... $50 for the pipe from JCWhitney is all, and I had the tools. The time doesn't matter if its a "labor of love" as they say. Why bother calling it a hobby if you rationalize everything by its opportunity cost? Haha yes, I did rethink my hours spent! Its a project I'd certainly do again.

Its 2 inch pipe, 16 ga aluminized steel. The bend radius is 4 inches. I spent a Friday and Saturday on it, but its hard to quantify the time because I mowed the lawn and so forth as well. Maybe 10-11 hours? Rusty bolts and a hack saw to get the old one out... measure, cut, tack, test, cut the tack, adjust, tack, repeat... yea that seems about right!

I own this little guy, and I paid $370 a few years ago. For $320 it might be NLA, but call to be sure. It has done everything I needed- subframe rails, brackets, body work and patches, floor boards, exhaust... and done it well too. No hiccups, nothing broken, etc. For the price, I don't see how you can go wrong. Especially if you're on a budget now and you know later you plan to buy a TIG or even a bigger MIG. Edit- a buddy bought a HH140 from these guys. His was "B" stock, even cheaper, but it was obviously used... spatter on the lid, some dents, etc. It works fine and he was happy to save a few bucks and didn't mind the visual blems. http://www.toolking.com/category/tool-king-specials/reconditioned-tools/reconditioned-welding-machines.aspx

Wow quick replies! Thanks! They put the pad on the fender, ahead of the pinch seam, on my ZX. It crushed the lower part up and in, the fenders themselves bowed out like gills on a fish. I had walked the guy to my car to show him so he was aware beforehand. So much for that.

I made this pipe from mandrel bends. It goes from the cat back to the straight tail pipe. Its a time consuming process but certainly not that hard. More pics at the link in my sig.

Last year, I went to a local tire shop for tires and an inspection. The mechanic ended up putting it on the lift wrong, literally days after I had finished painting and reassembly after a two year restoration. Now I'm due for state inspection. I went to a different shop this morning and asked for a 4 post lift. The owner says "why's that, is it gonna fall apart?" I said "no I had a bad experience at -name of shop- last year, they put it on the lift wrong". OK, we agreed, I have an appointment for Wednesday. Now- I still feel guilty asking for this. I know I'm the customer and its my car. Are they insulted I don't trust them? Am I wrong not to trust them? Am I wrong to stand outside the bay and watch? I don't think so. Do you?

Goodness Dave... sounds like you'll have a party under that hood. Did you have Aldo do the head work or someone else? I can put you in touch with a buddy of mine who had his head rebuilt by him.

Looking good Ray, now get to work. PS I remember you from that other z car site...

Haha good one Agent 007. You have my word. I'm bringing my girlfriend. She wanted me to ("made me?") find out if she was going to be the only girl. So don't none of you guys back out ok?

Cool, looks good to me. Is anyone else bringing their girlfriends / wives, or will mine be all alone?

Can you weld? You can save it, but paying a shop will likely be cost prohibitive- if you can even find one willing to do the work. I have "been there" in the rust repair arena, follow the link in my sig. My best advice is "cut first ask questions later"... IE, cut out all the rust, then worry about how you're going to make patches.

Cygnus, unless the rules have changed, the Marcus Dairy car show cuts the year at 79. I was laughed at for having a car from Japan. He said "put a 350 with a blower in it, then we might let you in". I haven't been back since.