Gary in NJ

I'm kind of partial to 115 myself.

Steven Tyler's autobiography "Does the Noise in my Head Bother You" is also a great read. The first half is all sex-drugs-rock-n-roll and the second half is all "how are you still alive".

I had a (then) new '86 MR2 in red with leather and auto climate. Twelve years and about 180,000 miles for me too. One of my all time favorite cars. I've been looking for on in fine condition but they seem to be hard to find.

Thank God that is rare. I never want to see another again.

I have SatRadio in all of my cars. It's much better then FM broadcast, but is transferred at a lesser quality then a CD or most MP3's recording. If I'd had to guess I'd say the bit rate is in the 96 range. It's not 128 quality. Not a big deal for Opie and Anthony, but a little less then desirable for quality listening. FOr "just in the background" it's great.

The mechanism that moves the Nozzle is the choke actuator. The Throttle has no connection with the nozzle. When the choke is engaged it does open the throttle plate, but that is independent of the throttle linkage.

Here's how I installed the speakers (http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/interior-s30/38991-front-kick-speaker-box-spacer-build.html) If you have the original radio, why not just keep it. You could install a phantom system that you could run right from the iPhone. All of the electronics could be placed under the seats and you can mount speakers where you want/need.

Good looking car Zu. Enjoy the obsession.

Great looking car Mason. Please post additional photos of that beauty.

EScanlon was an outstanding Z guy and will be missed by all club members.

When given I follow the "wet" torque spec. If given as a range, such as "36-42 lb/ft" I'll torque to the lower figure.

Yeah, me too. Best teacher I ever had.

I rarely go to someone for maintenance or repairs. It's just not in my DNA. But every now and then I have to pay the man...as recent as last week. My '04 Silverado threw a series of codes that indicated an O2 sensor had given its last bit of information to the computer. I put the truck up on ramps, soaked the sensor in PB Blaster, got out my O2 sensor socket and went to work. With every bit of muscle I have I could not budge that O2 sensor. It's in an awkward location, obstructed by the transfer case shaft. I went at it one more time...and thought that I had it moving, but when I inspected the sensor I discovered that the socket was slipping in the sensor and that I had rounded the fitting. ARRRGGG! Looking at the situation the only thing that I could do was to cut the wire and use an impact wrench to remove the sensor from the pipe. In order to make room for the driver I would have to remove the the transfer case shaft. It's 30 degrees outside...I'm not happy... EFF THIS! I admitted defeat and the next day I dropped the truck off at the local Chevy dealer. My head was hung very low. I had failed. Shortly after dropping off the truck I got a call from the service manager. "That O2 sensor is stripped". I said "I know and I'm sorry". He said, "no not the socket side, that's no problem. It must have been cross-threaded from the factory. We don't want to put an impact driver on it because more then likely we'll destroy the down pipe and that's an $700 to $800 part. Can you authorize an extra 30 minutes of labor from what we quoted?" Why yes, go right ahead I said with a big smile on my face They were able to remove the O2 sensor and save the down pipe. Had I followed through on my plan I would have been PISSED-OFF. So dealers do serve a purpose, even for us wrench-heads. Every now and then I have to remind myself that I might not be the best mechanic for the job. So Steve, could you have removed the drain plug yourself? Sure, but it might have cost you an expensive aluminum pan. Sit back and enjoy the fact that you couldn't fix some other bond head's mistake. You did everything right.

Thanks for the suggestions, good suggestions all (well, maybe not the Viper). The Mazdaspeed3 and the Focus ST are great cars, but I'm not considering a hatchback. The Infiniti G37 was on my list until I discovered that a manual transmission is only available in the $45k Sport. The S2000 and Cayman are great suggestions, but I want to stay new for the warranty. I would love to own a Cayman (maybe my favorite car on the planet) but the thought of maintaining one scares the crap out of me. When my last son is out of college in a few years I may get a new one. Regarding the Golf R, it's a strong contender. The electronic safeties probably never really present themselves while driving sanely on the streets. I know that in the 5 years I've owned my Audi I've only seen the warning on the instrument cluster flash but a few times. I do appreciate the opinions. My next step is to get out and drive these cars. Talking about cars is only second to driving them.

If you're not experiencing any engine knock, then 87 is fine. The 240Z is lighter and as a result, more nimble. That's probably the difference you are noticing.

It's time to start shopping for a new car. Since I have a 240Z, you know where some of my taste are. I've owned many cars over the years (I'm 50) but the ones I've enjoyed the most were my 240Z's, an '86 MR2 and a '05 330Ci. My current ride is a '07 Audi A4 2.0 Quattro. I've put 150,000 miles on this since new and I'll be giving it to my son when he goes to college in the fall. The A4 is a nice appliance, but I do want something that will be a bit more engaging; something fun to drive with great steering, stopping and handling. This will be my daily (but not only) driver and at my advancing age I do want some creature comforts. A manual transmission is mandatory. My budget is $30-$40k and I'm interested in going back to a coupe platform. Here's what is on my short list (and what I like/dislike): Subaru BRZ Limited (handling, steering / daily livability?) VW Golf R Coupe (Good ride & handling balance, very good at everything but not the best at anything / overactive electronic nannys, too "hot hatchback") BMW 128 Coupe (BMW qualities / BMW quality) Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track (feature laden, nice interior / most GT like of the group) No longer under consideration are: 370Z Camaro SS Audi A5 I know that the BRZ is the most Z-like of the group and just an excellent handling car. The reviews are excellent but car reviewers typically don't live with a car day-after-day and I wounder if it's interior and ride will wear on my over time. I'm in the process of talking myself out of it to see if I come back to it. Does anyone have a opinion that they could share? I'd be really interested in ownership experiences of the cars on my short list.

I love those old "innovation" movies from industry of the 30's & 40's.

Your Z has so much color that everything else in the photos look like it's in black & white.

{apologies in advance to those with silver 240Z} A silver 240Z gets lost in a sea of silver cars. Everywhere you look...another silver friggin' car. While Lime Green my not be your style, it is an original color for a Z, screams early 70's, and gets noticed by those who love it and hate it alike. It's a polarizing and that's why I think it is cool on a Z. Yeah, you could get out from under your project and buy a silver Z, but the reality is this; any 40 year old car is a project car. Stuff wears out, breaks, or simply starts misbehaving. You can deal with this crap in a car that you invested $10k into, or a car that you paid $10k for. There's no free lunch with a 40 year old car. You have sweat equity in the Lime Green car and have real "ownership". That is something that just can't be purchased.

Discussing the Colortune (it's benefits and limitations) would hijack this thread. If you do a search you'll find some recent (within the last year) conversations. Or start a new thread if you don't see the information you are looking for.

I really don't want to delve into a "this tool is better then that tool" debate, but I have found that tuning with a Colortune is considerably faster, more accurate and repeatable then using the lift-the-piston method. Yes there are other tools that are even better, but a Colortune is an inexpensive gateway tool to the other, more expensive options.

Most importantly, I hope you didn't damage your hood.

When I saw the thread title I thought the content was going to be about V8 powered S30's

I agree with Wade. Electromechanical gauges are not the best for accuracy, not by a long shot. The needles on the gauges are simply indicators of normal operation. When I have a 160 degree thermostat installed, the needle covers the "E" in TEMP; when I have a 180 degree installed it covers the left leg of the "M". If during normal operation I notice something different I need to be aware and follow any trend. It doesn't matter that the gauge is reading 155 or 167.3...it only matters that I know where "normal" is.

Car kit or girl?