conedodger

Randy, Winters is a bit out of Sacramento, but close enough so people live there and commute to Sacramento for work... Sorry you can't make it.

Thanks guys. I knew there would be a neutral safety switch but I forgot about the downshift solenoid. She is getting pretty excited. I installed most of the new interior today. She kept coming out and looking and was finally calling it "my car" which is cool... I screwed up a couple things. For instance, you have to install the rear side vinyl before the quarter window and rear finisher. OOoops. Oh well, take it out, do it again.

I am interested but I cannot envision having the time to come to San Diego anytime soon. I wonder about the wiring harness. I know I need a different radiator, mine is an aftermarket aluminum job. What else do I need?

I'm just doing a little intelligence gathering here. I have not decided to actually do this. If you have the parts I need though, please PM me or speak up. My wife loves to ride in my Porsche 914 and 911. She sits there quietly and looks serenely happy. I ask her if she wants to learn to drive them and she says yes but when I actually take her to a parking lot to teach her, no way! The Z is different though. She calls the 914 and 911 cute but when I pull the Z out she calls it sexy in a voice that lets me know, she is not kidding. Now some of us are lucky enough to have our wives or girlfriends share our love of cars. I am not one of these lucky ones. She likes to ride in them and especially likes to ride in the 914 on the track and autocross course. I would love for her to actually drive. This has me pondering the possibilities. I know I can teach her to drive a manual transmission without causing a divorce but it will be very stressful for her and she will not enjoy driving on the street with other cars. What if I put an automatic transmission in it? I know most go the other way and take out the automatic and a lot pull the 4 speed for the 5 speed. What would be needed to go the other way? Is it impractical due to wiring harness differences? I know there are some wiring differences due to ignition safety systems and such. I have had an automatic transmission Z. I had a 76 with an automatic and was surprised to discover it was a total autocross weapon. Just drop it in first and take off. Shift to second if you have to. Only problem ever, was that it didn't want to shift back out of second if you needed to. What do you think? I would love for her to love to drive this car.

Let's shake the trees and beat the bushes. Find all the locals and get them out to the Sacramento Z Car Reunion! Saturday June 26th, 9am to noonish. Family Donuts and Deli, Fair Oaks Blvd. and San Juan Avenue. Let's build a community!

Who's in? Northern California Dog Days Drive and BBQ... A nice drive through the hills and windy roads of Napa and Sonoma Counties followed by a BBQ and some shop talk. A great day...

Oo, Si, Wi, Da, Yes...

Sorry, Mat M is his screen name...

If you're going for a period look. I have a set of 4 slotted wheels that are period correct. I always meant to polish them and have them as an option but I never got to it. I think they are 14X6 or 7". Like these, accept without the amazing red car, the high polish on the wheels and the center caps. But cheap if you want them.

Hit up Matman. He is in Auburn sitting on the largest treasure trove of Z parts in the Western hemisphere... (not really, but he might have one).

Looks like we are going to have about a dozen Porsche guys. How about the Z guys? I plan on driving mine but don't make me 'represent' on my own!!!

Who else will we see at the June Sacramento Porsche Family Reunion? Matman? Fess up! You know you want to come and meet the gang and have a donut...

Overwhelmed! Mark and I plan to start with something simple and go from there. Thanks for the suggestions. Again, what we need is for someone who has NOS parts to let us borrow them for a period to do measurements and technical drawings. You get them back unharmed. Let me know what you have and we can make some arrangements. That diff strap sounds like a good part to work on. I am going to remove mine, but I worry that by using a used part for measurement, I risk that it has stretched or shrunk etc...

We can do complex. Mark has a standard to which he adheres. If he can't make it just as good or better, he will not do it. Here is a seal that was unavailable (sort of) Porsche showed 11 of them in the system but it must have been a glitch. They listed at $450 and had a metal clip that rusted causing some swelling in the area where the clip was located. Mark made it with an aluminum clip and sells it for $199 which is just a few bucks more than they cost to make.

I had not seen that thread. I certainly don't want to step on any toes. We don't intend to try to make money at it. I am just trying to fix my car up. Perhaps if he gets back on track with this, we can coordinate. I need taillight seals too. Anyone have a NOS set to use for reverse engineering?

I'm going to start with something simple. In the rear hatch on Series 1 cars there are two rubber plugs at the bottom on the inside of the hatch. I think I paid $12 for these. On the sides of the body are the two flat bumpers that guide the hatch. I think these were about the same. I will give mine to Mark for reverse engineering and I would bet we are talking a couple bucks each. Let's see...

Well, we certainly seem to have interest. Now all we need is for someone who has some NOS weatherstripping or grommets to allow some reverse engineering. We can work from old parts but it is a compromise.

During the restoration of my Porsche 914 I developed a relationship with a manufacturer of rubber weatherstripping. Well, more specifically, an engineer who works with manufacturing rubber parts. We were both frustrated by the complete abandonment by Porsche of parts to restore our cars. We aren't quite that bad off with the Z probably due to the Z Store project from the 90's but still, some of the rubber parts are NLA or of poor quality. I was chatting with my friend Mark yesterday and I said that I was installing my Precision Rubber Kit and I was hoping that other stuff that wasn't available through that kit would be available through Datsun (Nissan). He offered that we could make Z car parts as well. Now, I should tell you - what we did was to reproduce as faithfully as possible by reverse engineering the original parts when they could be found. Mark made everything from 914 Targa seals to clutch cable rollers. If he found that the original part had a longevity problem, he improved it like using aluminum when the steel mounting tabs tended to rust. He didn't try to make money on it either. What we are trying to do is offset the cost of the R&D and set-up by making a hundred instead of the 2 we needed. In some cases, big 914 specialty stores like Automobile Atlanta did order 500 at a time but in most cases we just sold direct in group buys at very low prices. Now here is the question. What do we need in the 240Z world that is no longer available and not reproduced? In some cases we may need to find someone who has a NOS part they are willing to let us borrow to reverse engineer the parts. These kind souls would get their parts back intact with the only damage being they had been removed from their plastic bags. Not trying to make money on this. In most cases, the parts we produce should be less than what Nissan sold them for. If there is interest, I will post pictures of some of the stuff Mark has made for the Porsche world. One such project is the front bumper 'tits' that came on the 914. NLA and when they were, the were about $450 each, Mark reproduced them with stainless mounting studs instead of the originals which rusted badly for $80 each. Taillight gaskets for $2 each. So, what should we make? That is a pair our 'tits' on the green car in the pic. We even have the endorsement of the biggest concours weenie we know in the Porsche world. He poo-poo'd the effort until we produced something he desperately needed then tried it and bought more. Now he says Mark's work is indistinguishable from original.

Let's get together and take the virtual and make some reality! Here you are an invented name on a screen. There, you are one of the guys and you get to meet and chat with the rest of the guys. Who needs parts? Who has parts? Who needs help? Who wants to help? See you at the Sacramento Z Car Family Reunion!

Who wants to run with the dogs? The Dog Days Drive is shaping up! I talked to the caterer yesterday and we are talking either tri-tip or pulled pork sandwiches. Top that off with some chips and potato salad after a nice drive and Ummmm... Who's in? Who wants to give the cars some exercise in August?

Perfect! That is just what I am talking about. My purpose is to get the local community together and meet each other. Maybe if things click, we can work together to get more local Z cars running and gunning! It would be nice to see more Z cars on Sunrise Blvd. on the weekend than all of that late model stuff!!! See you there.

Let's get together and drop the virtual for a little reality. Saturday, June 26th at Family Donuts and Deli - 9045 Fair Oaks Blvd. in Fair Oaks, CA. Corner of Fair Oaks Blvd. and San Juan Avenue. Let's fill the parking lot and meet each other... Your car doesn't need to be running. Just stop in and find the car guys. 9am to noonish! See you there.

Come on guys! Who wants to go for a drive?

:laugh: I was talking to some friends and we decided we should get the cars some exercise. And if you're going to get the cars some exercise, why not have a ball! So the idea to have a Dog Days Drive was born... We will meet in Sonoma County and take a long drive through some beautiful Sonoma/Napa Valley winding roads and end up at a restoration shop in Sonoma where we will have a tri-tip sandwich and fixin's. The meal will cost you $12 each. The drive? Just some gas and your time. The shop is called Original Customs and it does restoration on classics. This guy is a wizard at rust repair and a pretty good engine builder. Come on out and enjoy a day in the Sonoma and Napa Valley area! Let me know if you're in. I have to give the catering dude a head count.

I wonder if this is 'that' PLN??? Probably huh?