After 6 years, finally on the road

[mlc240z]

Well, like the title says....................

Finally got the plates and registration and had her maiden voyage yesterday.

What a blast! That bears repeating and amplifying....

What a frigging blast!

Must have caused a couple near accidents and a dozen cases of whiplash. It got to be an incredibly fun game counting the number of heads that snapped around when I passed in the Z. You just don't see any on the road around here from all the winter road salt and the rust monster.

I thought the 'A' tranny monkey-motion would be a lot worse to shift but quickly got the knack and it's not too bad. I can live with it for now.

Wound it out to around 5K and got an initial cloud of gray smoke clearing the years of whatever was in the engine from just idling/revving in the garage. After that, nothing in subsequent revs. Pulls strong thru-out the range I ran her.

No leaks or other nasty things from the mostly stock engine , ZTherapy SU's performed flawlessly.

Have to get her a wheel alignment and replace a broken bolt in the rear suspension before I feel comfortable to really start 'pushing' it around the turns.

Rides firm but not too harsh on the poly bushings, Eibachs and KYB's but seems to track really well despite alignment. Steering feels tight.

A turn signal not recycling after a turn and other minor issues. Extra motivation now so Dave's parking light harness will FINALLY be installed since now I'll actually be able to experience the benefits. Headlights nice and bright from Dave's headlight relay but somehow forgot to adjust them and so had a really good look at the road 8 feet in front of me. Couple of turns of the screws and now I can actually see more of the road.

Also have a few clunks and other noises I never heard before driving up and down the driveway , so I guess it's another list to investigate and solve.

Want to thank the members here for all the support and info I've gotten. I'm sure I'll be asking again as I give her more 'shakedown' cruises in the future.

Oh and BTW,

What a frigging blast!

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Good for you dude! Great news...keep it up. You will find that once the move around, the desire to work on them increases dramatically.

[70 240z]

Enjoy, nothing like that feeling of working and working and finally getting to hit the open road. Of course now I'm chasing quirks, but thats another story. Glad to see another back on the road.

[d240zx2]

Great news, Bart. Enjoy!

[IdahoKidd]

Congrats!

[mally002]

Glad to hear......How about some pictures.

[mlc240z]

Thanks all!

Zed, desire was always there, it's the money and time that, as usual, held me back.

Mally002, all the pics I have are in my gallery, thru all the refresh. At least now I'll be able to take 'em in different settings.

[Bruce Palmer]

Tweeking and fiddling.... tweeking and fiddling. Much more rewarding once it's running, huh?

[mlc240z]

Oh yea, Bruce.

That's the beauty of it, the tweaking and fiddling are almost always just for the owner, nobody else. Only the owner knows what was done and why, and now I can actually go out and see/feel the effects................great satisfaction.

She always ran, had a good engine from the start, just only in about 120 feet!!

Thanks for all your help, both personal and as a ZTherapy rep. Excellent quality and workmanship and good helpful tips and conversations. Please pass that on to the owners and staff. Some of the best money I've spent on the Z yet has been the carbs.

Edited May 2, 2010 by mlc240z

[Bonzi Lon]

6 years? Thats pretty speedy. Mine took 28 years! The thrill of driving was just as much of a 'frigging blast' as you explained. There will always be little things to do, or all the 'while I'm at it' syndrome.

Bonzi Lon

[Gary in NJ]

Another Z in NJ. Good to hear.

Post some pictures when you get a chance.