TomoHawk

Here are the slides of the 2008 ZCON awards: http://www.clevelandrockz.com/docs/ClevelandRockZ_Awards_Banquet.pdf thxZ

You're supposed to get your copy, eventually (remember that ZCCA people are volunteers.) Usually it takes about 6 months :disappoin I spoke with a judge or two (I "don't remmber who") and they told me that they would try to write comments on things, but there were so many cars to judge that there may not have had enough time to write much. I'm wondering what I got points off for that wasn't even supposed to be judged! It usually happens at local Z shows.

There is a copy of the awards presentarion slides available somewhere online so you can read the names. If I can find the link, I'll post it so you can download a copy. There is probably a picture of the car on the convention photos DVD. As for detailed information on each car... nobody bothered to write anything on the entry sheet!

Basic definitions: BTDC (Before Top Dead Center) TDC (Top Dead Center) They are related, but not the same thing.

I'll take that to mean the real Bull Run has bad cars & hot chicks, real parties, etc. The series has no bad cars or hot chicks. They pretty much just pretend they do. They don't even drive fast ( or fast enough to get a ticket.) I wouldn't be suprised (much) if some of the things (breakdowns, getting lost, etc.) were scripted by the producers, and if you didn't do it, you're booted out. I wonder if any member here is connected with SPEED TV and knows the real skinny about the TV series, but can't say so. thxZ

She reminds my of my old auntie. I hope the checkin/checkout girls got their act together at least. In the last series, they would just stand there as the cars would leave or drive up. They needed to be more excited about those teams after driving (and rguing!) all day. Like a bunch of "blonde" cheerleaders. I'm also wondering if their obstacles are redesigned so that you won't hurt the cars. The last time, there was one obstacle (a wall of cinder blocks) that you could hit if your stop was too long. The F-150 truck did a number on its front grille when it hit.

The reason I asked why you used BTDC is because TibZ wants to locate TDC for #1 on his engine. If you refer to TDC, then you need to say that or its equivalent, 0 degrees BTDC. Of course, the spark happens just before TDC, as in 5deg. BTDC, but it's a different thing then the actual TDC.

Carl, What's BTDC? Or was that a typo?

I saw it just announced on the SPEED channel that there will be another Bull Run series coming in February. I hope they get some better characters & cars this time. Actress wanna-bes driving a Scion isn't my idea of a rally team. Maybe hot babes (is Catherine Bach still hot?) in a Lambo would work? No official date yet for the show, so watch the TV listings thxZ

There you go....

It still looks like a frog.

So is it even possible to get a kit that's up to snuff?

Like Tony recommends, I usually insist that a service person install the parts & fasteners by hand and hand-torque the fasteners, and then hand torque the wheel nuts before letting the car down. Especially for the wheel & brake parts like the rotors. A good or honest person will do that when requested. And I will demend it on the work request, and stand there and watch when the fasteners are tightened. Any place that won't comply will immediatetly have me walking out the door. thxZ

Don't use rubbing alcohol. It may have water or other chemicals in it, and you'd rather use something with no residue.

I didn't use any primer either. I've also worked with a local guy recently that restores interiors on Rolls Royces, and all we did before dying the leather was to clean it- with a special solvent/cleaner. Then the dye was sprayed directly on. He told me that painting/dying vinyl or plastic parts was the same. I gotta agree that you can't clean the part enough before painting. Any residue from anything will produce inferior results, And the newer sprays are the toughest to remove completely, which is why they work so well. Tim- Can you elaborate on why you suggested using primer? What kind of primer? thxZ

I have used the Duplicolor gloss black vinyl paint, and it came out glossy. I used it on the door panels, dash cap, center console and the heater/vent panel. I even used it on the pad for the center armrest, and it's still nice and shiny. I just used a good claner to clean, and some wax & grease remover before painting.

I've got an Ohio-class nuclear sub, a Cessna 172-II, two F-14 fighter jets, my Aerostar/stardrive conversion, two chickens and a cow LO I've been thinking about selling the sub, since i only use it for deep sea fishing...

Did anybody get their judging sheets yet? thxZ

I'm pretty sure the problem was more with the cheap paint job, because even the sheet magnets (bumper stickers) have pulled off paint.

I was referring to a non-Z car show,like "classic car" shows which mean mostly domestic muscle cars. Even if you enter in the Foreign or sportcar class, "people" want everything highly poilished.

Has anyone tried the Blaster 2 on a 78? research shows it has the right resistance and could be considered a 'performance upgrade' to the stock coil. thxZ

What was the factory finish on the vlve cover? Onbiously it was better than a rough-casting liketh intake manifold, but "car show experts" will tell you that it needs to be highly polished? Some have even suggested that I polish or just glass-bead the intake so it's "nicer." thxZ

Thanks for the information. I would like to redo the gold resin for the Z, but I'm not to happy about the way the PO "stuck" the emblems on. The hatch and hood emblems were attached with double-sided tape, and pulled off a big pieces of paint, so I don't think I will try the fender emblems until they pass the 'dental floss' test. It would give me a chance to get those fender bolts out to restore those too. thxZ

cool video of how to really thrash your car, legally. http://video.kenblockracing.com/flash/player/

There's no way I could've bought pain in a touch-up quantity ( att hat time). The PO told me that the colour is a 90s Corvette colour, but research shows no such thing! After scanning a part, the paint guy said it's a Ford colour. thxZ