chickenwafer

I'll never forget a fews years back (like 8) I was filling up my beater with regular unleaded and the total price for the gas was less than the gallons I put in! Gas was like $0.97 a gallon, it was awesome! I put in like 10 gallons and the total was only around $9.50 or so. I took a double take! My dad still remembers the days when gas was a 0.07 cents a gallon. What a great time that was. Oh yeah, gas here is $2.52 a gallon for premium 96 Ultra (what I use in the Z on the rare occasion I'm driving her) Dave

well guys you should feel proud- you saved me from the grips of sucide. My friends really got to me yesterday, and I was intoxicated in sorrow when I wrote it. Looking back, there are plenty of reasons why I would restore my Z and why I am. And older Chevy's or Ford's are way too common. And I never plan on selling the Z after I'm done restoring her, assuming I ever finish. Why should I care what others think? I really don't, but I guess I was being an impresionable jackass and let their banter get to me. I'm just tired of everyone saying, "You're wasting your time and money". Why can't other people be injected with a shot of "Z-Awesome" right into the bloodstream like we all have pulsing through our bodies? It's a cryen shame...... Dave

I remember I guy at the MSA show stuffed a VQ35DE in a Zed, including the 6-speed trans and the complete 350 interior too. Looked pretty wild, but not my taste......... Dave

Okay, I've been pondering this one for a long (and when I mean long, I mean LONG) time. But don't jump the gates on this, read it first. And I am mainly vented due to some things that transpired today with some run-ins with fellow car geeks.....okay, it was a sh*tty day in all. My main ponder is why restore the Z? Besides sedimental value or a trip for a nalstoliga high, what's the point? I got this question asked to me by a fellow mechanic friend. He laid on all the best questions, including the car won't hold any resale value to speak of if I restore it (I won't get good money for selling it if I ever do) and the other facts that the car will never be as powerful as a restored old Chevy (He has a '38 Coupe with a 383 4bbl). So, he says, in review, there is no performance aspect, finical reasons, or even a great memory lane trip. With all the work I plan to do to my Z, thus amounting a nice bill (when I'm finished I predict a total of over $35,000 spent). I know I do the work myself, blah blah blah, but I can do that with any car. So far, the only thing keeping my from commiting a Z-induced suicide is the fact Z cars are rare (and VERY rare in this neck of the woods where I live, ala the Rust Belt). Now I know I will be put on the chopping block for this, but I want you to mull it over and think seriously. Wouldn't restoring another car make more sense? Or is that the appeal of the Z? I know with me, I love the Z because I've been around them most of my life and know them forwards and backwards, not to mention I have a lame sedimental value in one I own. Other than that, why? Here comes the onslaught........... Dave

MSA will have the G-Nose kit and ZG Flares, but those headlight covers will set you back some money. They are inclussive to Japan (the only place the G-Nose was made) and I don't believe any aftermarket companies (in the USA at least) have made reproductions because the G-Nose isn't exactly a "popular" upgrade. Your best bet is to find a source in Japan, but be aware they will demand a pretty penny and might be in rough shape. Good luck with the car, though, and be sure to post pictures when you're done! Dave

Lincoln makes a very good welder Like hls30 stated, get a gas kit and the tank filled. You said this was your first welder- will it be your first time welding? If so, get some practice metal (like 16G sheet metal) from a metal shop and try welding up a box. This way if you mess up, it won't be hurting anything (most important your Z!) Dave

the front of the car looks....umm....different (i know this isn't what you're planning on doing, shane4golf, but i'm just commenting). That mesh grille gives it an Aston Martin look and the brake cooling ducts in the air dam looks ala S2000-ish. Very interesting. But you said you want a 350 dash. What about gauge cluster (it's mounted on the steering column in a 350, not the dash)? Or steering wheel? Or center armrest console? I think you would either have to do the whole thing or nothing at all either it would look weird with some 350 parts and some 240 parts. But my 0.2 cents. Dave

-Snap-On makes a tool for bear cap removeal and it is much cheaper than the one from Nissan. And if all else fails, get an oxey-setaline (spelling) torch and melt the bitch off.

^^because he wants a custom look. Although I think it would be too much time & money, as stated before. But it would be a killer custom job. Dave

In my view, there is nothing wrong with HID look-a-likes. They produce better light, burn cooler, and look great. Just sayen..... Dave

I think the ones I am installing are 100 watt lights. They have a Krypton gas-filled bulb, which burns very cool and produces amazing light (they hook up to my friends '74 Chevy C20 half-ton truck perfectly, so we test-fitted them on it and they are AMAZING). They are deff high/low beam, so maybe they aren't HID? I also have driving/fog lights, and living in the hilly backend of southwestren PA I need all the lights I can get. Deer are dumb in this area....... I am considering that harness, thanks for the suggestions. I will shoot a "before" and "after' picture head-on with the old and new lights, so you can judge for yourself if they are good. But for $20 bucks, I don't think I can loose considering I got all new sealed beam assemblies and with Krypton bulbs. Dave

Use the Zcar Microfiche CD avaliable for purchase on this site. It knows all..........

-They are rotating too fast for our brain to make sense of the information our eyes are sending it.

No, it would sound like "blah blah blah blah hahaha blah blah"

It's called the darkside because it never faces us, because we scare it too much.

Flowmaster Series 40 sounds very nice- rich, deep, and throaty (not rice burner by any means). I am a fan of glasspacks myself, however. They're inexpensive, flow great, and sound awesome Dave

thanks mike, much appreciated!

So I just got my pair of Xenon HID headlamps for my Zed. I'm excited! Got 'em on E-Bay for $10.95 plus shipping, which was like $10 bucks because they're fragile. It looks like they have built-in foglights of somesort- there is a small 12 volt blue light bulb on the bottom part of the light. Interesting..... Anyways, I went out to the Z to see how they install and I am guessing you have to remove the front fender to access the headlight unit? So much time. Is there an easier way to do this?? Thanks. I'll post pictures of the light assemblies sometime soon. They are sealed high/low beam units with Xenon/Krypton charged HID lightbulbs that burn something like 60% cooler than incondensent lights, plus they illuminate like 50% better with twice as much coverage area. After they're installed I'll shoot a pic of the results Dave

-Characters, Carl

Was I wrong in my conclusion?? And If so, please correct me. :classic:

Kind of, except there is no bronze metal in the engine. The crank is made of forged steel, but I forget what the rod bearings are made of. I think they are a hardened steel, no?

-I already answered the first one.... -It's red because when the sun is setting, that is the wave length of light that the sky refracts

Well, I do know my metals but I do not know the answer to this for sure, so I will venture a guess... Bronze is a softer metal, which would tell me if you the two pieces are wearing against each other, the bronze would be compressed and "squish" out, whereas the hardened steel would not. So I was going to say the hardened steel would show more signs of wear because the bronze would not stratch, but niether would the hardened steel because of the lubricating oil. So the bronze piece would show wear first.

French is screwed up too