Connecting With A Member From Canada - Thank you Blue!

[Hardway]

It has been said many times about our hobby, “the best part is not the cars, it’s the people you meet along the way.” This quote bears truth in spades in my life and I know it has been the same for many of you as well. This past weekend it came true once again for me. A little background, the weekend before last I attended a Datsun/Nissan get together that Mike W organized with Town North Nissan here in Austin. The turn out was really good and it was great to connect with Mike and other owners, talk shop, etc. As a bonus Mike informed that Philip (Blue here on the boards) was at the event as he had been in Houston for business. For those that may not know, Blue is located in Canada and has provided tons of reference material for us, I included. I introduced myself and we walked the event. I mentioned some carb issues I knew that needed addressing but just not having the energy to do it. That is when Blue asked how far away I lived and offered to come help me. Honestly, I was little shocked as I figured there were much more fun things to do than spend a hot Texas day wrenching on my car but he was persistent. I took him up on his offer and we worked out the logistics during the week. Sunday morning he pulled in to my driveway just a little after 8am. Keep in mind he drove from Houston which is around 3 hours away to come to my house! Now that is a Z enthusiast and a great guy to boot. We dove in to the carbs and Blue took lots of time to explain the different areas to pay attention to that are often overlooked. Everything from ensuring the throttle blade linkage moved freely, making sure the fuel nozzle fit and moved smoothly in its bore, and getting the domes centered on top of the pistons. Once everything was clean and reassembled he helped get everything balanced and tuned, again taking time to explain the adjustments and their impact on different parts of the carb’s performance. Mike W dropped by in his Z car and hung out with us for several hours soaking up Blue’s carb building and tuning education as well. We did several test runs around my neighborhood and pretty much got the carbs where we wanted them. We took a break, got some food, and chatted about our jobs, current projects, etc. When we got back we did a compression test and everything looked good. We knew we had a little valve train noise so Blue offered to help adjust my valves. At this point it is almost 5pm and Blue has been at my house helping me for over 8 hours. Knowing he has a 3 hour drive ahead of him I asked if he could show me how to do one and I could do the rest so he could start heading back. Again he insisted it was no problem and said it’s an easier job with 2 people anyway. Sure enough he was spot on and we had everything adjusted perfectly in under 30 minutes. We did another compression test and the numbers came up a little bit as we expected since the valves were a bit tight. With that task knocked out we cleaned up, chatted a little more, and Blue headed back to Houston.

I said it several times when Blue was here but I wanted everyone to know just how great of a guy he is for all he did and say thank you one more time. Thank you Blue! I truly appreciate all your help and expertise.

Also, thank you Mike for organizing the event at Town North Nissan and coming out and hanging out with us. It was a great day for sure. We will have to do it again.

Blue and I

Mike W and Blue

Driveway shot!

[Dr. 240Z]

Re: Blue

"Now that is a Z enthusiast and a great guy to boot."

Jeff, I couldn't agree more!!

[240260280z]

Thanks for the kind words Jeff. I had a fun filled visit to Texas and it looks like I'll be back in a a couple of weeks.

You and Mike are part of a great club. It was a pleasure to finally meet both of you and especially to hang out with your club at the Nissan Dealership show.

I'm glad we had time to go through your carbs and look forward to the next time.... suspension right?

I sure makes travelling much more enjoyable to meet Z enthusiasts, turn wrenches, and drive these cars.

[madkaw]

Sounds like Blue is a true "petrol head"!

Also sounds like something I would do. I travel myself and sit in a hotel half the week and wish someone wanted some wrench help near by to get me out of the hotel.

It doesn't suprise me that Phillip would do this as much as he takes time to offer his insightful posts on here. The pictures and detail of his write ups shows what a Motörhead and enthusiast he is.

Good story and thanks for sharing

[siteunseen]

All I've ever seen is his hands in his tech tips, now a face! I'll say it again "Blue's the Man".