Mike

Anyway, guys I didn't buy that 300zx (Z32) over the weekend. I decided to hold off until I sold a few toys first. I will still try to buy the Z32 I saw at the show. But, I might not get to see it since they are selling it now. It all depends on how fast I can get rid of these other toys. The Z32 I have in mind is a very nice white twin turbo. It's got Stillen exhaust and a Stillen body kit. I will post a picture of the car when I get to work in the morning. The pictures are in my laptop and I can't get to it at the moment.

Ya, that's why I didn't end up purchasing the 300zx when I was down there. I am going to sell a few toys before I buy another one. Luckily someone is interested in my Roadster and my motorcycle is for sale in the Cycle Trader. I'm hoping to get those out of here soon. I'll drive down and pick up the 300zx as soon as I get those things out of here. [m]

At this point, I don't think she knows what she's getting into. I'll have to wait to see what happens in a few months. At this point I think she'll be happy to take anything else besides my behemoth Ford F350 Diesel Superduty. She hates driving that thing because it's a tank. I can't blame her, because it is big. I like to get in it every now and then and run things over. Anyway, I am considering a 300ZX as my daily driver to work. I want something sporty and NOT a 'suspension sway' Toyota Camry. In fact, I might just get the Z working and give the Camry back to her.

Yep, you're right. But, it's gonna be used by the wife.

I've still got it. I finally picked up a fuel pump from MSA during the weekend. So, we're ready to rock and roll. I'll install the fuel pump this weekend and hope the car roars to life. I have been inspired again. Nothing like 500+ Z's to give me a few ideas. [m]

Brandon, I got some killer video of you racing on Saturday. I'll figure out how to rip it to a downloadable version and let you know. [m]

Hey Rose, How did your show come out? I'd like to know what people thought of the 350z. Send us links to some pictures of your show man.... -- Mike

Okay, well I wasn't gonna say anthing about who's fault it was about the 'lateness' but you said it... not me. In all reality, there was no way to control the traffic in the San Diego and Los Angeles area. What a huuuuge pain in the arse. Driving around in those areas is a mess. You should have seen us trying to find the banquet. I thought it was a scavenger hunt every time we went out to a new event. Heh.. "First, take highway XX. Take that northbound until you reach highway xx. Now take that southbound until you see highway xx. Take exit xx and follow that until you get to XX street. Turn right and then make another left on street xx. Get back on highway xx and cut across the main drag. You'll see it on the right. See what? *IT*" Hmmm... Oh ya, the keycard thing. Leave it to the Navy Cop to use brute force when the Engineer can't figure out how to get the keycard into the slot correctly. And, that rear control arm was great. Mike Kelly is doing a fantastic job on those. If I start racing, that's exactly where I'm gonna go.

Steven!!! Stay tuned................. I'll update you guys in a day or so when I have a little more time. PS: Thanks again for the honorary membership. By the way, I went back to using the nametag you designed for me because it was such a nice gesture. I put another one with my name above it in big BOLD letters so people could find me. That damn show was so big, I didn't have time to sell CD's and get a lot of footage. It also didn't help spending 1+ hours looking at a Z32. But, I do need a good commuter car for my drive to work every morning. Gonna sell my big diesel truck as well.

The MSA 2002 Kick Off Party was a great success. Although Dan and I showed up a little late (a few accidents on the highway and the opening of the new Spider Man movie), we had a great time and met a lot of people. The guys behind Sport Z Magazine were there and I had a chance to talk with them about the magazine and their plans for the future. I also had a chance to talk with the guys from Hybrid Z about their suspension modifications. They even brought a few of their parts for us to look at during the party. The party was held at a warehouse which had been turned into an indoor cart race track. The facility, which name escapes me at the moment, was top notch. Every participant was required to wear a full racing suit as well as a helmets and gloves. The carts were 2-stroke based and were pretty impressive little units. I think someone at the show said, "Hey, this damn cart cost more than my Z!" I also met a few other members of the site as well as other vendors, whom I can't remember at this particular moment. (sorry guys) I also talked with a few of the guys from MSA and they agreed to have me as a guest 'employee' of MSA for a day. Thanks guys!! I'll be able to attend the racing on Saturday. I even brought my new digital camcorder, so, you guys can expect to see tons of pictures as soon as I get them uploaded to the site. So, hang tight and check back for another report on Saturday. -- Moderator Mike

Yep, you're right. The extra wire is probably for the temp sending unit. It's located just underneath the housing for the thermostat. = Very close to the distributor. So, they ran the wires in the same pack.

Ya, use the 'soap' method. I used to carry a bar of soap with me when I was in High School. I was driving a '68 Ford F150 and it used to squeal like a fat pig all the time. I'd have to get under that hood and hold the bar of soap against the belt at least once every few days.

Take a look through our links area. I seem to remember something about NOS kits coming through there. There was a business of some kind that made a kit for the Z. You'll have to browse through at your own pace. Let me know if you find something!

That is sorta funny. I wouldn't think people would be INTO that car so much. But, you want to know what's funnier? They have more traffic than we do!! Take a look at the total message posts in their forums. Quite interesting.

Congrats!! Glad to see that you had a good trip. Do you have any pictures to post to the site? I'd love to see your new baby.

Did you race against that guy or something? I don't get it.

I've taken your suggestions to heart and I've decided to review the quantity of forums on our site. I'll try to decide if what we have is adequate or if I can consolidate some of our forums to make it less confusing. Too many options can sometimes intimidate people. Anyway, I know what you mean because I see a lot of posts about certain Z questions in the OPEN FORUM when it clearly should be placed somewhere else. Then again, there's absolutely no way to make it perfect. There will always be differences of opinion no matter what we do. Thanks again for the ideas, I'll look into them.

Which one do you like the best? Select your preferred classified system. You can see both of them in action from the main menu.

This forum will remain open for those who want to use it, but, we now have a better classified system online. See it by clicking HERE -- Moderator Mike

This picture is soo damn funny that I just have to post it.

TOKYO, April 25 (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (7201), Japan's third-largest automaker, will boost its group workforce by 4,000 in the year from April 1, the first increase since the 1999 launch of its revival plan, the Asahi Shimbun said on Thursday. The newspaper said Nissan -- which has seen a dramatic turnaround since chief executive Carlos Ghosn was sent in by French partner Renault SA (RENA) in 1999 -- would hire new workers to boost its technological capabilities and gear up for a boost in U.S.-based production. No one could immediately be reached for comment at Nissan, which is expected to have posted record profits in the business year that ended on March 31. Ghosn has also said Nissan, 44.4 percent owned by Renault, expects a second straight year of record profits in 2002/03 thanks to a blitz of new products including its first minicar. Nissan has met its three-year revival plan targets for profit and debt-reduction a year ahead of schedule and brought forward by a year its second three-year business plan, which calls for global sales growth of an extra million vehicles by March 2005.

This was submitted to the mailing list by our resident pro, Carl Beck. see http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/MacPhersonStrut.htm Aircraft type landing gear - aka "struts" - were redesigned and applied to automotive use by an Engineer working for Ford of England in the early 50's - Mr. Earl F. MacPherson. In that sense of the term - an Automotive "MacPherson Strut" or "strut" is actually comprised of a shock absorber with a coil spring mounted above it. The "strut" is attached to the auto structure at the top of the coil spring and the wheel hub is attached at the bottom - the bottom of the assembly is located by a lateral link and anti-roll bar (al la TR-7) - or by a lower Transverse Link and Tension Compression Rod (al la Z). On our Z's the MacPherson "strut" is comprised of: (without regard to how the Japanese translated it in their Part Manuals;-) 1. Strut Tube: - the "shock absorber tube" with a spring perch or seat welded on the outside of the tube near the top.. the spring sits on this perch/seat. The front axle is located at the bottom. The combined Strut Tube and Shock Absorber are referred to as the "Strut Assembly". 2. Shock Absorber: -the "shock absorber" built into the inside the strut tube (normally replace by a cartridge insert). The shock absorber "piston rod" moves in and out of the tube/cartridge and is damped in it's movements via oil flowing through very small valves attached to the lower part or bottom of the piston rod. 3. Coil Spring: - the "coil spring" mounted near the top the strut tube, sitting on the spring perch - the perch is welded to the outside of the strut tube. 4. Spring Seat: - that holds a slightly compressed spring, at the top end of the shock absorber piston rod. The top end of the shock absorber piston rod is threaded - so a nut/washer holds the spring seat in place there. The "bump stops" sit on the top of the shock absorber tube - held in place because they surround the shock absorber piston rod. Under full compression of the coil spring - they stop the spring seat - from bumping the top of the shock absorber tube. 5. Mounting Insulator: - the mounting insulator is bolted to the car with three bolts at the top. 6. Strut Bearing: - The mounting insulator rides on the "strut bearing" thus allowing the Strut Assembly to turn right/left. If you shorten the springs, shorten the travel or length of the shock absorber piston rod (as happens with all to many cartridge type replacements), overload the car - - you increase the possibility that the suspension will "bottom out" - - - - - meaning it hits and compresses the bump stops. For this reason you almost always want to replace the bump stops when you change shocks.. cheap insurance.... A farther modification of the design of the Automotive Strut was done by Colin Chapman of Lotus to adapt it to the rear suspension.... Mr. Chapman located the strut via the use to two links at the bottom to restrict lateral and longitudinal movement. Thus our Z's use MacPherson Struts on the front suspension and Chapman Struts on the rear. So What Does Nissan Call The Parts in the Front Strut? 1. Strut Assembly = Assy. Strut Front Suspension (assy includes the tube, the axle & shock) 2. Shock Absorber = Assy. Shock Absorber 3. Coil Spring = Spring Front 4. Spring Seat= , Assy. Bumper Bound 5. Mounting Insulator: = Assy. Insulator Strut Mounting 6. Strut Bearing = Bearing - Strut Mounting So .. you can't find "Bump Stops" - in the Parts Manual because they are part of the "Assy. Bumper Bound - but you can buy them in the after-market. BTW - Later year Z's used a dust cover over the shock absorber piston - to help keep dust/dirt off the piston and out of the seals that surround it... thus lengthing the life of the shocks... not a bad addition to the older Z's while your at it... More than you wanted to know.... FWIW, Carl Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA IZCC #260

Eric, I don't think there is such a thing as a complete listing. I've had to use 3 different manuals just to get the info that I need.

Damn... I spent a good hour at that site. Great looking cars!!

YES!! SEND THE LINK!!! Of course we want to see all of the picts we can related to this stuff..