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Got the doors on tonight. Not totally lined up but pretty close

I don't like owning cars where I can't handle most of the repairs. It's just not affordable for me...

Although I'm constantly tinkering with my '74 260z, I find it very rewarding when I make a discovery, learn to do something new, or fix a system that I never knew how to fix. I definitely spend more time under the hood than in the driver seat. I was reminded of how enjoyable it is working on this Z today when my 10-yr-old Chevy Volt stopped recharging and I had to take it to a dealer. My OBD II scanner could not read hybrid codes because I needed the $5K unit to read the recharger module codes. The dealer charged me $180 to start diagnosing the problem then told me to continue trouble shooting the problem I needed to give them $700 more. The cause of the problem was one of three issues. The cost for the most likely problem, a recharge control module, would end up costing me $3K+ to replace. This on a car worth $4K. I got lucky and after the 1st $180, I called a small repair shop within walking distance of my home and found out that he has personnel trained in working on rechargeable hybrid cars. I'll still have to pay $1.2K for the part, but I can avoid the near $200/hour labor.

Not so silly, They are a sheet metal screw for some reason, about 2cm long I can't determine a thread pitch, but course is the appropriate term. They thread right into the bracket.

I did install the longer slave push rod from the Volvo - that one fit perfectly, and pedal feel & travel is good. I used the Honda boot - had a little more travel allowance

Ok, 14 years ago is making me feel older than I am. Thanks for digging that back up. I have forsaken the Kia strips for a McMaster Carr near equivalent. I buy this stuff by the 100ft rolls and have installed plenty on local cars for several years with happy customers. https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/130/3984/1120A822 Latest idea (So far untested…) is to replace the front vertical section of that strip with one with a smaller bulb. This might help the initial tightness and a bit thick WS that makes the doors hard to close for a while. The binding we all hate is from the front vertical area of the door. I can confirm this from observation. Apparently the OEM seals were thinner in this area.

Maybe these are a bit more economical shall we say if you are not concerned about originality in this application https://belmetric.com/m5-5-pan-phillips-tapping-steel-zinc-plated-din-7981-c/?sku=MSM5.5X16 I’m not positive if these are the exact correct size (they have many other sizes), and you have to provide a flat washer, but they will serve the purpose.

I own a number of BMW's and a couple of Fords. The newest is a 2015. Most are 2007 to 2011. I do have a couple of pretty decent scanners though and that helps alot. I also have a pretty big tool assortment and my son is a diesel mechanic and his tools make mine look like toys. When I defer work to the mechanic it is typically because of convenience of the odd time we get stumped. If we had a lift we would defer even less

Waiting for Z parts. Getting ready for a retake of the Ithaca trip in the pickup. Yesterday my wife pointed out that there was a bad noise coming from under the passenger side - the cat was disintegrating. I don't have another cat to put in - so today I modified a resonator to fit Test fit - cut the flange and extension pipe off the dead cat - tacked to resonator welded, added bung for O2 all good. good offset on the O2 Also had to fix my Mum's weed whacker - the lower shaft wouldn't stay in the main body, so I just drilled it & put a set screw in there