Hoover

That engine bay !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve, THAT is so awesome! I can picture it happening!!!! Keep it clean, it's priceless and worth every penny you put into it as an investment and memories for the future. I have one more Z in my stable. It's a beast and once I finish off my new business model, I'll get back to building it. I just don't have enough time in a day. Ohhhh......just a minute ago, I walked into the front counter of the shop. A gentleman was standing there and we sold him a hydraulic line for the clutch. He said it was for his 16 year old son that has a Z car. I guess we are not the only ones...... Show some pics.

Right ON, Steve!!!!!! I worked as quickly as possible so that my youngest could enjoy the car, especially for summer, which officially started yesterday. For the first time, I drove the Z to work to tune it some more. It was running a little rich and I think I can clean up the calibration with some fine tuning. Life is short...really short. My son has a new appreciation for older cars that make noise, smell like fuel and bumpy now. It's like a rolller coaster. The talks we have are forever and he will remember long after I'm gone. Last Sunday, we attended the Cars and Coffee. My son was sitting in the car while I was walking around. Someone asked him, "this will be your car one day?" He replied, "yes, my dad is giving it to me and my brother." You can not buy those, you must create these memories. As I've mentioned before, the Z car is very different for me today. It's not about speed, power, it's about memories and I get to re-live the time when I had barely a job and my prized posession was a blue Z car that I scavanged enough money to buy (they were cheaper 30 years ago than today). Live and share a memorable life. We only have one!!!!! AND, yes.....Go Warriors!!!!!!! Last nite, I was invited to a private unveiling of a car from U.K. I felt really special when people asked about the Z car and shook my hand and told the story of how I got it and where it is now. The short story, I bought it from National AutoX Champion -Vic Sias. He needed the money to buy a wedding ring. Simple and sweet!

Round 2 dyno tuning. More for drivability than anything.

been a fun week. rb25 280z made 436whp @ 17psi. It was hot in our dyno room as well. last day of school and my son asked if I could take him to school in the Z. I was a little hesitant but succeeded. THEN, I quickly drove it home!

Got this in for work.......

Nice job!!! Sounds great!!!!! Fine tuning the dip in a/f ratio on carbs. is very difficult, it's the nature of the beast. It's easier to tune out on the TB set ups, but with the volume of air and fuel at once, it takes a second for combustion to equalize. I'm going to spend one more dyno session for the low end, where we had no time. Just going to trim it out a few % and call it a day. It's fun to have a running Z car. I have a small battery drain somewhere, but I keep forgetting to plug in the battery tender. Hmmmmmm....maybe I'll go out with my son today. I only drive it when he's with me. Hope to see you at the next Cars and Coffee.

Peter Brock's old track hauler is for sale, and it's cheap! Needs work. If I didn't have my own truck/trailer already, I would buy it.

Memorial Day. Thank you to all that have sacrificed for our freedom. I drove the Z for the first time on the freeway today. It tracks straight with a slight constant vibration in the steering wheel. Going to swap hubs when I get a chance. Overall It drove well and we had fun! I even drove it in mild anger getting on to the on ramp. Donuts was our mission!! Success!!! As a perk, my son told me that this lady keeps staring at the Z. I looked over and it was a young lady and her boyfriend in a modded 996TT. He gave me the thumbs up, but I was so busy making sure everything was running ok, I didn't respond, which was a douche move on my part.

your young, CBB. you have many years to build up your Z. That's the fun part. I didn't have nearly a cool car when I was your age. see you soon..

As long as I'm not on vacation, I'll probably be at the June Cars & Coffee BlackHawk. My son and his friends had a great time at the show. The Zed got a bunch of attention, since there aren't too many of them. The Orange color helps as well. Peter Brock signed my Ash Tray cover....

Thanks so much! I didn't mean to write so much, but most it was real-time. Just driving in the morning to a show or even breakfast really makes this all worth it. I can finally say that my Z runs everyday. Even though I work on my own cars, the parts cost what they cost. Talking to my youngest son and the memories he will have will be forever and a price I'm willing to pay. It saddens me to think that one day I will be gone and my kids will be grown up and say, I remember my dad sitting in that seat and driving me around......(wheepy now)....

looking forward to meeting up at the next cars and coffee, swami! I hope you are all having a great weekend. Yesterday, me and a few of the local 510 and Z owners got a chance to meet Peter Brock at a local event. He signed our glove boxes, ash tray, posters, steering wheel etc.... EPIC!!! My occupation is much like his and I had an opportunity to speak to him personally. It definitely peaked his interest and he asked if he could see some of my projects.

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Finally took it to cars and coffee. Found this on Instagram. Mission accomplished! Also, met a couple if hybridZ members today and had a quick lunch with Swami! Met josel (sp) at a swap meet.

Thanks. I wanted to dumb down the interior before I purchase a wooden steering wheel, wood shift knob and factory style shift boot. Aftermarket Z parts are generally inexpensive, IMO. I just bought a dash cap cover and popped it on. I don't even use the adhesive.

Thanks so much, Bob! I remember seeing your paint job and wondering if I could ever build a Z like yours, then your wheels came along and set the bar a bit higher. My son and I get to go to Cars and Coffee, then a Datsun Swap meet for the first time this Sunday, so I'm very excited. The Red Z is the sole reason I'm in the business today. I took the same basic principles and applied them to all of the current cars we work on here and one day I thought that I should just be a specialty car manufacturer and designed my own cars from ground up. Last year I decided to put my shop to the test and took a podium in the SCCA GT-1 Runoffs with the only turbo v6 engine in the entire field of V8s. The media attention we received was huge, but the principals were the same as on the Red Z car- Control EGTs, piston speed and fluid temperatures. There's so many people making more power today than we were back-in-the-day. It's much easier with the information that's out there. I kept my Orange Z old school and worked as quickly as I could so that my son would still be 11 years old and able to drive around with me- mission accomplished!!! Red Z- I was just about to remove the flares when a local Z car shop owner told me all the reasons that I should not: 1. The Big Flares are unique 2. The Red Z represents a lot of R&D for those that understand where some of turbo knowledge came from (custom header, ecu, intake manifold (carbon), ecu tuning (late 90's- before most) and 3.3 ltr. 3. There's a story with it and it needs to restored to it's days of glory 4. It represents where I am today in the automotive field and should be shown. He's right and I just couldn't see it. In all honesty, I'm afraid of losing any more time. Heck, I've known you guys for HOW LONG???! We've all had how many life times pass us by and none of us are getting any younger. That day when I pulled the Orange Z out of the warehouse, I told myself that I will not move forward with any other cars till my son rides in the Orange Z car and it's in my home garage. Today, I head out to the body shop to work on my latest project. I feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders that I did something right. BUT, I think I could make more than 650hp out of the L6 today. I just need a little time with newer parts and what I know today and back on the dyno......in all honesty, I could just reassemble the Z for dyno work and see if my theories are correct. Bob, remember, if you need me to help you out with parts, some fabrication etc.... I'm always here and much more skilled today. Just let me know. Thanks again for remembering me. I'm honored!

Back to black.

I remember your Z well, Bob. Done so nicely and attention to detail. I only wished I could keep up at that level back in the day. Beautiful!!!

Hey Bobby, How are you?! Thanks for the links. It's been a while but that's some dedication! I've been off the forum for a few days, but kept up with the FB groups. When I get home early enough, my son and go for a short drive and by ice cream, video game store etc......He told me that you see Lambo, Ferrari, Porsche etc..... every single day, but it's the first Z car he's ever seen and obviously ridden in. He's become quite facinated and I hope the memories will last him a lifetime; that's what this was all about. You're right, Bobby, I worked as quickly as possible so that things would not linger and I would go through yet another era of my life and still not have a running Z car. So, I've been purchasing little things to refresh the Z: hatch rubber trim, windshield wiper bolt grommets, dash cap (black), new urethane air dam etc.. the past week. But, I've always been a turbo guy. I enjoy the more vintage ITB sound and performance, but I'm not the total purist. This is an extra F54/P90 turbo engine that's probably good for 400whp, which is more than what I need for what I do. I've been piecing all the parts and nearly have everything to do an engine swap for the Orange Z car. I purchased new intake/exhaust studs today and have a turbo ready, but would prefer something smaller for around-town power. Till I have 80% of all the parts to put it all together, the current will remain running; I don't want the down time of waiting for parts. I can fabricate all the IC mounts and intercooler in a day or two. I will leave the Red Z 3.3 ltr. L6 turbo the same, except it will go through a full restoration. Like you said, start with a new fresh build would make much more sense. However, It's not something I can take on at the moment since my two other cars are getting serious body modifications so we can race next year.

Insulating bottom side of airbox

went to MacDonalds with my son this morning. guy in a modded up Ferrari was behind me at a stop light. A lady in a Range Rover pulled up next to me and gave the thumbs up. Made a left turn to another stop light (don't know why I hit every stop light within a 1/2 mile of my residence this morning) and Ferrari guy pulls up next to me. Doesn't look over, wave or anything.... I drive Exotics and own them as well. I recall seeing a Z car with some younger (25ish) guy and girl friend cruising a while back and I immediately waved them down and chatted while waiting for the light to turn green. What happened to real car people? The largest Cars and Coffee is on Treasure Island and it's mostly Exotics- my other cars would be better suited there, but the other Cars and Coffee is literally 2 minutes from my garage door and has a lot of different types of cars. I'll probably limit myself to the local meet. Time to wash my truck that needs a paint job.....

so far no fume smells in the garage overnight. Very happy with the results so far. The exhaust sounds cool, but I'm definitely considering the turbo option later. My son asks to ride in the car all the time, so that's a good thing. Need to trim out a little fuel at idle and it should cruise even better.

Hey Brendan, I'll have set of carbon door panels in a few weeks. One of the people at MSA asked me about them yesterday. thanks for watching. Hoover

my son asked if we could go for a short evening drive, so we went to fill some fuel and came back. Got lots of people giving us the thumbs up etc.... felt good! I remember the Z better now and reliving it with my son. The difference is that I can afford to build them a little nicer now. The spring rates are liveable and bump steer spacers really make the difference. It's definitely running rich under 3k though, so we need to just lean it out a bit. The exhaust smell is a bit overwhelming since I had my window rolled down. BUT....The HORN works and sounds really wimpy just like I recall!!!