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HybridZ

Beginning to join the ranks of never ending Z projects


ihiryu

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So, I've owned my Z for less than a year, running perfectly fine with the stock L, and even had A/C.

 

Fast forward, and do RB20 with a holset (absolutely hate it, takes forever to spool) yadda yadda yadda.

 

So the car runs...kinda, but decided to move to the suspension parts.

 

Order TTT arms, and tension rods, all that jazz, and tried to do CXRacing coils (just to test it out).  The people over at CX say, "yeah the uprights are made of steel".  Well surprise surprise, only the fronts are.....

 

Make a ghetto sleeve to couple the rear coils together, and it's too long....

 

So make a call to McKinney, apparently they sell the kit for megans, and now I'm on the search for a set of megan coils.

 

The problem with being in a never ending project....is the fact that I'm not made of money, just lots of time :(

 

Okay bitchin' and whinin' done.  

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One year is hardly a "never ending project"!  Many of us never-enders have been tinkering on the same Z since the 20th century, in many cases since the early 1990s or even earlier.  After many travails and efforts, the car eventually runs - more or less -  but doesn't run right, or isn't as fast as expected, or suffers from some other malady causing its relegation to secondary status.  By then the fellow buys a more modern car, essentially stock - and that becomes his daily driver.  My Z first officially ran in 2000, and promptly wiped its camshaft.  Then it ran again circa 2006, before scattering aluminum shavings all over the oil-gallery.  Then it ran again in 2011, and has been more or less "functional" ever since, logging perhaps 50 miles on the odometer, but never as well as its theoretical promise.

 

The moral isn't to completely desist from swaps and improvements, but to keep plans modest and incremental.  Change only one thing at a time.  And never stray too far from daily-driver status!

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Good point!  Unless one happens to be very experienced, generally one doesn't know what one wants, until the car is more or less already built.  So attempting to "do it right the first time" might just be a waste of labor.

 

Example: suppose that you're building a custom house.  You like castles, and want to build a castle-like house.  You excavate a huge area to support high stone walls, erect said walls, build a moat and so forth.  20 years later, you realize that what your really wanted was a modernist house with floor to ceiling windows and a vaulted roof.  Oops!

 

So I'll revise the tired old adage.  Everything ends up getting done multiple times anyway, so you might as well do a crappy job the first time, to minimize one's investment (financial and emotional) and to most rapidly move to assessing one's progress.  Then, if it turns out to not have been what one wanted, the harm and waste are minimal.

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Thanks guys, it just sucks, I've done a lot and it's still not done.  Actually, the biggest moral support came from my girlfriend in a text message (sorry if it gets too sappy), but I sent her a text about the coil over stuff (which she kinda knows, but really just regurgitates on what I've said), and my daily (which is somewhat of a project in itself) was frustrating me.

 

I go, "I feel like I'm just spending money and it doesn't do anything.  Well I guess you can't put a price on happiness."

 

She replies, "Yes there is, that price is when you're finally finished with both your cars and how you want them."

 

Me again, "Ha ha.... I'm going to be poor"

 

Her reply "Lol we'll be poor together."

 

I should marry this girl asap

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OK guys.  Bought my first Z in 1986 and worked on it until it was stolen.  Replaced it with my current one in 1992 and I'm still doing things to it. I have a Techno Toys suspension that just arrived, a new center console still in the box, a set of HID headlights and Higher wattage dashlights and the white-face gauge kit to install.  After that I'm seriously considering finally getting into the bode stock LS1 and putting some more HP to the road. 21 years on this car and still lots to do.

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I've had one ongoing project going on 6 years now as I try to do everything "right". At this pace it'll end up being a show car when I'm done rather than a fantastic DD as planned. 

 

I've found a lot of solace in having a track car. Just do whatever you need to to make it run and run as fast as you can. Things like sheetmetal screws, zip ties, and the MIG welder have become completely appropriate and it makes me rest easier! 

 

Have one that you can at lease hack on a little bit and not have to stress over every little detail. I've made more progress on that car in 6 months than I have on the other in 6 years, from a functionality standpoint.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Plan on having it for a while. Make a place to work on it. One major project a year to be done in winter time. Just try to keep it running in the summer. One major event a year. Try not to bite off too much at a time so you don't get frustrated and burned out.

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I bought a Fairlady Z in 1991.

I bought the matching LHD Version three years  later.

 

Somehow, since then, I've accumulated 32 more in the yard and have four or five that rotate insurance and driving duties.

 

And they sit in storage till I have time to attend to them properly.

 

Money? How much have I spent? Not counting 5 years of hoarding in Japan that cost me $1 a pound to ship to SoCal in 1989?

 

Oh, I don't even want to think about that. "A couple of Bucks, and then some!" Closest I want to quantify it.

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I bought a Fairlady Z in 1991.

I bought the matching LHD Version three years  later.

 

Somehow, since then, I've accumulated 32 more in the yard and have four or five that rotate insurance and driving duties.

 

And they sit in storage till I have time to attend to them properly.

 

Money? How much have I spent? Not counting 5 years of hoarding in Japan that cost me $1 a pound to ship to SoCal in 1989?

 

Oh, I don't even want to think about that. "A couple of Bucks, and then some!" Closest I want to quantify it.

 

34 cars in your yard? I would love to see a picture of that.

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