conedodger

Welcome and good luck!!!

First of all, I want to say what a great search function this forum has. I wanted to restore my steering wheels (I have a spare) so I clicked on car forums then interior then searched steering wheel restore. I came up with 5 threads of which this was the second and most relevant. Over the last two days, I have masked off the rims on two steering wheels - bead blasted the spoke and hub areas - primed and then painted the spoke and hub area satin black - then cleaned the rim with Scotch Brite and Joy dishwashing liquid - then after they dried I gave each rim a coat of gloss Marine Spar Varnish. Over the next week or so, I will either wet sand or steel wool the varnished surface and give each two to three more coats. No pictures yet but I want to reaffirm what others have said; there is no need to stain no matter how 'white' or 'grey' your wheel rim has gotten. Just clean it well with the Scotch Brite and some kind of cleaner, rinse well, hang to dry for an hour or so then paint on the varnish. It comes out a deep reddish wood look. All that age just disappears. Pics to follow...

Thanks Miles. I need to dig out their catalog...

I know EJ and Susan well. I think that thing is a 3.8 liter twin plug. He tried to sell it to me. The motors were built by one of the guys in the service section at Bugformance over on El Camino. Susan has shoulder problems and can't wrestle the steering wheel any more without power steering. They are both fast but I am surprised you didn't mention the guy next to EJ and Susan's car. The blue car with the arrow on it, is Steve Neislony, he and his wife are both former Parade Autocross winners. That is the PCA equivalent of being an SCCA National Champion. He and she both put down TTOD pretty regularly when they come to PCA events. That car has about 130 HP and Steve regularly waxes $100K+ hardware with huge power. You might not have noticed him as much because of the difference between SCCA and PCA autocrosses. SCCA has that nice big course while PCA has to deal with much smaller venues. The driver becomes much more of a factor on the smaller course. I am committed to the Reunion event but I will head over to Mather after. I would love to see you run. Still no running car for me yet, in fact a setback on my 914 motor. I got the case together and discovered that with pistons and cylinders installed, rods run into the cam. I have to take it all apart and clearance the pistons a bit more, then balance them again. The Z interior is going in nicely but finding fasteners is driving me a bit nutso! I have to get it running now! You heard that scolding I took from Bill for being a former competition director who hasn't been on the track in a few years... In my defense, I autocross all the time. Here is mine at speed...

Chuck might have been there from Napa. He has a 3.2 liter six. Was it reddish? A well set up 4 cylinder can keep right up with the 6 cylinders on an autocross course. Those extra 2 cylinders only become an advantage on the track. As for the VW/Audi thing, VW now owns a controlling interest in Porsche.

Those were all four cylinders Steve... One of the guys who didn't make it has an 8 cylinder. He had a shock break the week before. He will be up this time. I have a couple friends with 6 cylinders who might make it. One has a 3.6 liter six that has been featured in Excellence magazine 11 times so far. This guy shows up from time to time too... Just a late model 914 really. (right)

Chris, I am the organizer so I guess I get to make the rules... :stupid: I have been doing these for about two years once a month. I have even had a swap meet with a bounce house for the kids and the hair place was giving free haircuts... So the answer to the question is YOU ARE QUALIFIED to attend. In fact, if you drive up 99 from Manteca to spend some quality time with the rest of us, you will be our guest of honor!!!

Are ya'll ready for the Dog Days Drive? The Drive will be held August 7th, Registration will be opened on July 24th. A good long drive through beautiful Sonoma and Napa Valley followed by a BBQ and shop tour. Bench racing is free!!!

Less than two weeks till the July Sacramento Z Car Reunion! Come on out even if the car doesn't run! It's about the people...

In the process of replacing my interior with new parts and I have run into a snag with the dog leg trim that goes behind the door. I am short at least one or two of the original clips that attach the trim to the body but that isn't the problem. In attempting to use the clips I am having a heck of time getting them properly located on the new trim piece. I attempted to use universal trim clips made of plastic from ACE Hardware (I love their fastener department) but the ones I bought were too big. I will go back and buy smaller ones but I am wondering what others who have used this replacement part have done.

After your brother sends them to you, send one to me... I can probably have a few hundred made for very little... And, the best thing is nobody loses their job!!!

We had a good time so let's make it a regular thing... The July Sacramento Z Car Reunion will be Saturday July 17th - 9am to noonish... Family Donuts and Deli at the corner of Fair Oaks Blvd. and San Juan Avenue. 9045 Fair Oaks Blvd. You don't need a running car to come down and enjoy the gang and see their cars. Hope you come!!!

Mostly dress up stuff and marketing of other people's go-fast stuff including some Datsun Competition Department stuff...

I met Fred Dudley once. He was flipping burgers at the picnic they have over in that park by the river. Good event by the way. He died just a few days later. I would not be adverse to re-joining ZONC. I do enjoy a variety of car events and multi-day tours are one of them.

Think Carolyn Dudley days... Mid to late 90's. Frustrating too... ZONC had lost it's credibility with other organizations. UFO wanted nothing to do with helping set up an autocross program. Carolyn died and I got out because the club seems to want to do nothing but have picnics. Has it changed?

Me too Brian. Maybe next month!

I mentioned at the event and I will say it here, we exhibited a lot of what child psychologists call 'parallel play'. The Z car guys were there and talked to each other, the Porsche guys were there and talked to each other but for the most part, we didn't talk to each other. There were exceptions. Bill knew of me from my ZONC Competition Director days and my friend Jim Dupree knew a lot of the same people as Bill so there was some interplay going on.... See you all next time!!!

Oh and one more... I forget her name but she owns the very nice 300ZX.

Some pics from me!

This is it! About an hour from now the Sacramento Z Car Reunion is on!!! Let's see those Z cars and get to know each other... Audrina! Drop the green flag and let's get this party started!!!

Great!!!

I am doing this now too... There are cardboard pieces that go on the top and inboard sides of both shock towers that take up some of the slack. You need to stretch the vinyl onto the arches so it goes down and underneath the carpet and other vinyl pieces. Use an adequate amount of the adhesive on both surfaces. Allow it to tack off before putting the pieces on. If it doesn't go on right, pull it off and do it again. Ask me how I know you can do that!!!

Found a couple of Camel GT shots of my personal hero - PLN.

Make your plans to run with the dogs! You never know what kind of fun the pack might have. Watch this thread for registration information in July. The Dog Days Drive will be about 100 miles followed by a BBQ and restoration shop tour. I hope to see you there!!!

The Sacramento Z Car Reunion is coming up! Oh wait! It's tomorrow! See you there - Family Donuts and Deli - Fair Oaks Blvd. and San Juan Avenue. 9am to noonish...