TomoHawk

I wouldn't call a High performance school something that you can get at arelatively loe cost, at about $400 or $500 for a day ( using your car), unless you know of something else?

I tried to do some of that wire straightening before, but the space is confining, and it's a mess. Maybe I can get the whole radio console out, so I can better see what kind of mess is back there. Right now, some of the wiring & connectors ( hazard lights connector & something else) is under the carpet. And the carpet under the blower fan, covering the trans tunnel, is pulled away from the firewall. I tried to get it to slip under the one heater hose to hold it down. I'll get ya a photo of the mess in the morning. thx.

Thanks, Stephen, I was always a little nervous about this subject.

I'm going to take the seats out of my 280Z over the winter and fix up the carpeting. I don't think the carpet was put in right because it goes up the side & is tucked under the sill plates, and it's just stuffed up behind the heater/radio and looks really bad. Also, there isn't anything under the seats. Does anybody have a picture of how the carpet is supposed to look under the seats or around the back of the radio? I think I will also cut the carpets along the rockers, and add the vinyl side pieces & whatever goes under the seats. How do you think it would look if I left out the carpet from in front of the driver's seat and instead put in a rubber floor mat (or something like that)? As for what's behind the radio & heater, is all the wiring just jumbled up, or should it be sort of straightened out, like all the rest of the wiring? Maybe a pic of what's behind the radio console will help too... I'll go look again what the FSM has. thx

My 78 has the speakers behind the seats and nothing in the back.

I agree with boyblunda, that having ABS, traction control, etc., only teaches OR reinforcess bad driving skills, because you are relying on the technology to make up for lack of skill. BUT, once you have good skills, ABS and traction control and all could save your butt (or somebody else's) in a pinch, or make you that much more competitive (in a proper comptition setting,) like the profesionals that use this stuff for racing. What good will ABS do if you don't know how to drive safely in the rain or snow to begin with? In rain or snow, you slow down, slow down your turn rate, accelerate carefully and expect longer stopping distances . What about fog? ABS won't help you there if you're speeding or can't see where you're going. etc., etc... Winter is coming in a few months ( or maybe sooner in your area,) so you might have a friend with an 'older' car that you can buddy up with and practice your winter/wet driving skills in an empty parking lot, and see what it's like.

The required driver is provided. No need to fire the camera's shutter. The camera is always on, and HandyAvi just captures the current image. From my experience, webcams are always on, and you deactivate them via the software.

HandyAvi is just for capturing the images, and it allows you to replay the 'movie.' It doesn't actually control the camera, although some webcam software that comes with certain webcams, can. (like Logitec Quick-cam.)

That's why the cushions go on the corners; air intake & exhaust are in the middle & side. Also, the foam I intend to use is about 3 or 4 inches thick. The only thing that might get in the way is the USB ports ( I have 4), which are on a corner. BTW, to power all this 'RoadGear', I will probably end up making a panel with several 12V jacks or cigar lighter sockets on it; probably plugged directly into the fuse panel, or direct to the battery. Something else to attach to the dash somehow. This (classic car) seems to be destined to looking more like the inside of a space capsule... thx

Thanks to Ricklandia, I got HanyAVI, and it seems to like my Bell & Howell credit card camera. I made a mount by GOOPing a short card-edge connector to the back, and forming a bracket from some aluminum ( it fits into the slot of the card-edge connector.) I'm in the process of mounting a mating bracket to the top of the heater panel area (which may double as a mount for a PDA), but I'm also going to make one that goes into the rearview mirror mount, and see which works best. On the subject of the Laptop (for recording the images,) vibration & bumps are of concern. Would a foam pad underneath be enough? Maybe just a soft blanket would be ebough. I believe the hard drive on a laptop can survive small bumps, but in the long run the odds for a longer, error-free life will increase if you cushion the laptop. So, I'll be making up a cushion from foam blocks by carning out notches for the laptop's corners to fit into, and the whole thing will be assembled together to fit into the passender seat somehow. thx

I think the mount for the stock rear-view mirrow would work well using a light-weight camera. The only problem you might get from that is glare off the window. Having wires from the camera hanging down might be annoying too. the google search for car camera mounts returned mostly stuff you'd use for professional photography with the camera outside the car. For general youring like I had in mind, the mount goes inside the car. Then you can get pictures even in the rain.

Sure, Tom. "Just sit there, and hold this camera perfectly still, and take a picture every 60 seconds until we get to Miami."LOL BTW, the guy who did the video in #5 left the camera going even at night with the parked (with the top down.)

Thanks for the ideas. If I could get anything to stick to the dash cap, I'd stick some Sure-Lok stuff on it for the camera mount, and probably make up a mount from a cheap mini-tripod or ball mount. Telescope stores carry ball-mounts for binoculars to go on the side window, and I've modded those for cameras. I'd make up something for the vibrations too. thx

In what way do you think magnets would affect a digital camera?

What kind of options are there for in-car photography? My goal is to record some short drives, like on local twisties, and if it works out, maybe longer drives, say Route 66, or even the Gumball Rally. Maybe some laps on a track or autocross runs. The only thing I can think of is to use a laptop and a dashtop mounted camera. Laptops use hard drives that are sensitive to vibrations and bumps/jarring. Some digital camcorders may be useable. What else is there? Any other ways to mount a camera on a stock 280Z? I have some super-magnets from computer hard drives that can get glued to the underside of the dashcap over the center gauge pods, and the camera mount stuck to that with more magnets. thx

Many people from here are (I met bloxman there once) on the Frapper map for Z cars (www.frappr.com/zowners) but there is no icon or avatar for the Z owners map. It shows a question mark for the icon. It would be really nice if the map admin for the frappr map could add an icon? I like the CZCC logo myself, but without the CZCC text. thx

Just Wishful hoping, mate

OK... How about this for th pro-350 crowd (of which I am not)... I read yesterday an article by a Boston.com car critic, that the S30 looks like a fish??? http://www.cars.com/carsapp/boston/?srv=parser&act=display&tf=/features/mvp/nissan/350z/350z_overview.tmpl (5th paragraph) But from the photos of the Z concept car. It looks more like a take from a Ferrari with the inset headlamps, the longer hood with the bulges, etc.

Usually, the fuel pulse damper doesn't need adjusting. Your fuel pressure regulator doesn't have adjustments either; you should have noticed it when you did the fuel rail. Make sure the FPR has a good vacuum line to it, and check for air leaks after the AFM. That's all I can think of. Blunker Lube?? Window grease?? What do you lube the fuel-injected door locks with?

Maybe you could close off the front, and paint it to look like a character from the CARS cartoon.

Yeah- Noise tool noises suck. :devious: You might consider something other than wood to make your partitions, so you have some noise isolation straight away. then some foam in the bottom, or put everything in different sacks. Or, as Will suggests, build your whole partition system with foam stuff, and a thin layer on the bottom...

Dor my purposes, I prefer either the f-ory look, or at least period correct. Back in '78, interiors were covered with plastic panels & structures, vinyl coverings (except the floor, which had carpet too), and chromed/polished stainless accents. Not much wood-grain or paint showing. Carbon or GRP is Ok, as long as it gets covered with vinyl paint or vinyl or carpet. I've been accused of blinging/rice-ing my car with a different shifter handle, but since most Zs had manual trans, I replaced my knob with one that looked so. Leather shifter boot reinforces some people's idea there's a 4Spd in there (e-check guy said "leave it in 1st & get out." ) but I like how clean it looks and how much less rusty chrome & broken/noisy plastic there is when you go down the road.

You could put a pin through the arm to prevent it from pulling out, but you'd have to get in behind things. Another idea would be to add another piece of metal to the arm to make a T on the end, so it would hold. That would require you to attach the two arms back to back somehow. GOOP comes to mind.

On a 280Z- I accidentally pulled the glove box door support out when I leaned on the glove box door to get something out. Is that normal? You have to unscrew it and stick it back in the hole, then reattach if it pulls out. It would be better if the thing didn't pill out so easily when you reach in to get something. thx