conedodger

Save the date! August 12th! The Dog Days Drive is on! A couple hour drive through the hills and twisties in Napa and Sonoma Counties followed by a BBQ and some comraderie with other car guys! Are you in???

Just a few days left until the June Sacramento Z Car Reunion. Come on out and meet some of the locals. Share stories and see the cars. The donuts and coffee aren't bad either! See you there. Saturday, June 26th - 9am to noonish. Family Donuts and Deli - Fair Oaks Blvd. and San Juan Avenue. 9045 Fair Oaks Blvd. for you GPS type navigators. Let's get together!!!

Your goal is handling not appearance so too much is when your inside tread edge wears out too quickly by comparison to the rest of the tread face. I use a pyrometer during autocross events to make sure my suspension settings and tire pressure are good. If my temps are close all the way across the tread face the dynamic action of the suspension is flattening out the tire so my settings are good. My guess, 3 degrees is just a little too much for the street. 2 - 2.5 is probably better.

In 1992 I spent $350 having an appraisal by a certified appraiser. Then 5 months later, I was hit from behind by a drunk driver trying to pass between lanes. I spun 5 times and ended up facing traffic on the inside shoulder of the freeway. The woman next to me was out in a rice field on her top and had to be airlifted to a trauma center. The drunk was fine other than being under arrest and well... drunk. His insurance company didn't even look at the car, they just told me over the phone that it was worth maybe $1500. I faxed the adjuster an appraisal showing a value of $14K. She said she wanted an independent appraisal. A second appraiser came and looked at the car and said it was worth $15K. Now she wanted to give me the $14K but I said no, your appraiser is more recent and I think probably more accurate. I got the check for $14.5 and got to keep the car. Establish value in the most irrefutable way you can and you can even use your regular insurance policy. The laws are the same for all types of policies. FWIW...

Better bleed those brakes, change your oil, and take a good look at your tires. The Dog Days Drive is coming to Sonoma CA. These dogs run hard and they don't stop for stragglers. Two hour drive through scenic Sonoma and Napa Valley away from the tourists, a BBQ, and a restoration shop tour. (the shop owner is a wizard with rust repair) The BBQ will require a $12 fee which we will have you register for in July... Make your plans! See you there!

One week and a couple of hours till the June Sacramento Z Car Reunion! Almost time to get your donut on! Let's get together and meet the locals! See you there!

Probably leaky injectors. Pull them and replace or have them cleaned and flow tested.

John, it is a bit off. But on the plus side, without the original right next to it, it is close enough. My car is too far off original to go back so this is a refresh not a restore. The driveline and suspension are about as developed as you find including many Nissan Motorsports parts. It even has the Motorsports LSD and headers. The interior was pretty rough. What I am doing is replacing everything I can to give it a comfortable newish feel as well...

Left the one in the sun today with an ambient of 84 F. Pyrometer temp of the material attached to the scuff plate was 105 F. I could not peal the material off so it seems to hold in some pretty hot conditions...

I have no problem closing my doors. Just a good firm close is all it takes. They don't stick out at all if that is what people mean.

I just installed the one that came with the Precision/MSA kit that I bought in '05. Fit is perfect. Is this no longer part of the kit?

Here are some pics. Ignore the recycling bin perch I put them on...

Charging camera now.

I'm in California. Contact cement will obviously be used to get me high so I can only buy very limited amounts. Thank you to the State of California for protecting me from myself

They may have more now but when I tried to order they only had one side in multiples.

Lot's of Porsche guys. Don't worry though, my Porsche friends are mostly 914 guys which means that even when they have a wine and cheese event it is boxed wine and Velveta! No pretense at all and they are true car guys who appreciate everything with a motor. The shop we do the BBQ at is restoring a 280Z right now...

Mine does, for sure!

Not sure who owns that car. I snapped the picture at a Santa Rosa Autocross so it is a Bay Area guy for sure... Come anyway. We can find you a seat and you can enjoy a day with the guys...

So I noticed as I was putting my new interior in, that the scuff trim on both sides that grabs on to the interior door weatherstrip was rusted and the 'leather look' lamination was coming off. A little research on the part of my buddy Mat here locally after I asked him if he had a spare set in his stash revealed that they are available new from a couple sources and there was a set for sale on eBay in a buy-it-now auction. I grabbed the eBay set as it was $40 cheaper than either MSA or BD. It arrived today and I was somewhat dismayed to discover that the Nissan superceded part is structurally identical but painted instead of laminated with the 'leather look' stuff. I run it by my wife who has decided that the Z is "her car" and she grabs me by the scruff of the neck and leads me out to the car. A quick trip to Jo Ann Fabrics and we are out of there with a strip of 'marine vinyl' in black. Very high quality stuff. Back home we spray the exterior of the metal trim with Super 77 spray adhesive and the back of the vinyl. 5 minutes later it is stuck to the outside of the metal. A little trim with a razor blade and it is ready to install. Very nice... So all of that craft stuff she does finally paid off - for me So once I was done with this, I realize I could have taken the lamination off the original piece, sandblasted it and done the same thing with that...

So who is in? A long drive in the twisty roads around Napa and Sonoma, A BBQ, A shop tour of a great and (don't tell him) inexpensive restoration shop... Meet some great guys and have a great time...

Looks like we will be having a great turnout! Come on up the Sacramento Z Car Reunion and get your donut on! The coffee isn't bad either ;P

Most of us would probably notice a dash cap in a heartbeat but I once had a 280Z parts car with a full dash-cap and someone commented that it had the nicest dash they had seen in a long time... Bottom line, it's something and probably better than looking at what you have.

Come on up! Let's fill up the lot and buy out the donut shop! Well, let's have good turnout anyway...

Randy, Winters is a bit out of Sacramento, but close enough so people live there and commute to Sacramento for work... Sorry you can't make it.

Thanks guys. I knew there would be a neutral safety switch but I forgot about the downshift solenoid. She is getting pretty excited. I installed most of the new interior today. She kept coming out and looking and was finally calling it "my car" which is cool... I screwed up a couple things. For instance, you have to install the rear side vinyl before the quarter window and rear finisher. OOoops. Oh well, take it out, do it again.