DougN

Personally, I'm partial to a Yellow color...

I bought my 4-post lift from Greg Smith, and am very pleased with it. After doing lots of research and looking at the specs, I could not justify the significant extra $$$$ for the BackYard Buddy (not that there is anything wrong with it) for what I am using it for. Mine is the Direct Lift Pro Park 8 Plus (which incidentally seems to work just like the BYB) The lift I got includes 3 drip trays, a jack "tray/stand" and they threw in an oil changing funnel/drum when I asked for it. The lift also includes 4 wheels that you can attach to the posts to move it around the garage or wherever you want to put it (you can see them leaning on the back garage wall behind the air compressor next to the lift in the photo I have attached). No clearance problems, it has a great safety system to ensure the lift doesn't fall. My garage is almost the same size as yours is Marc. I am 21' wide and 24' deep ( 27' on my side with a 3' alcove). I put mine as close to the wall and back of the garage as I could. I can put a car under it and open both doors if necessary, but it is a bit tight on the wall side (so I back in the car that will be under the lift). My wife can get her car on here side, and even with a lawnmower in the middle, still has plenty of room on both sides of her car. As you can see from the attached photos, I put 3 cars on my side with no problems. The garage door is the standard 8' door, and opens without any issues, and stops a few inches from the end of the lift (see second photo taken from a ladder). I love the lift and it is great for getting under and working on the car. Be advised, you'll see lots of things you might not have noticed about your car(s) before! In the photos, the lift has 2 more notches and is 68" at the bottom of the ramp, and over 6' under the car).

Just the cars in my sig line are in my side of the garage: On the avaition theme, I still do build model aircraft, here are a couple of photos of my competed models: Focke Wulf Fw190-F8 Supermarine Spitfire Mk II

Fortunately, things have changed a little regarding package insurance. Now, at least at UPS, the reciever can file a claim, rather than in the old days when it had to be the shipper who handled the claim. They even allow you to do it online now. Also, neither UPS nor FedEx have ever had a "deductable" of $100 (which would imply you are responsible for the first $100). Rather, both offer up to $100 of insurance included in the cost of shipping. You pay an additional $.XX per each additional $100 you want to insure it for. If someone tells you different, they are not telling the truth. Also, UPS nor FedEx charge any additional fees to return a damaged package to the shipper, that is also included in the rate. Also, if you receive a damaged package, you can call the carrier, and they will pick it up and return to the shipper. You are not required to keep the damaged merchandise. Depending on the situation, it may be easier to just have it returned to the shipper and get a refund for the purchase from the shipper, and allow them to deal with the carrier. This is especially true if you have not had experience in dealing with shipping claims. The majority of claims are denied due to poor packaging, and trying to overturn that decision can be a major headache. Interestingly, poor packaging can be caused by too little, or too much packaging material. A good rule to test if your package is packed properly is if you would feel comfortable dropping it on a corner from 3 feet high. If so, you have probably packed it sufficiently, if not, consult a professional Also note that unless you (or the person you purchased the item from) take your shipment to an actual UPS or FedEx location to ship, you are not dealing directly with a carrier representative. While these folks may be excellent packers, you are now dealing with an outside company, who in turn, will end up dealing with the carrier in the event that shipper intervention is needed. This could be good if they offer their own insurance (they are responsible even if the carrier denies the claim), or bad, if they are just reselling the carrier's insurance. Also note that if you pay someone to pack your item, and it is damaged, you should be reimbursed by that person, regardless if the claim is approved or denied. Note that if the carrier is paying the claim, they will end up coming to take away the damaged item - you do not get to keep it. This applies even if you did not pay for insurance, and they are only paying the $100 that is included in the shipping charges, regardless of the real value of the item. Both UPS and FedEx take these damaged items back to their own central location and sell them by the trailer load to the highest bidder. Of course, your best bet is to ensure you fully understand the claims process (who files what, who pays what, recourse if the claim is denied, etc.) from whoever you hand your shipment to, the carrier or an independant shipping outlet, prior to handing them your package, or if a receiver and buying something like a dash, ensure that who is responsible for what prior to completing the transaction.

Randy, They are not too far down the road from you. They are right off 75, a few mins south of the 75/575 split. Might be worth the trip to get the paint done right, provided I can give a final "thumbs up" when I get the car back! Finding a good paint shop is worth it's weight in gold

I bought an uncracked dash (with all gauges, radio, etc.) for my former '72, and had it shipped to me from Newfoundland! The seller packed it really well, and made a wood crate for it. I was worried about it going through all the temp changes on it's way to me in Atlanta, but it survived with no issues. Unfortunately, it was pricy, but overall it was worth it not to have big cracks in the dash ruining my wonderful driving experience

Well, the car has been there over 3 weeks now, and will be a month when I get it back next week. So, just a short stay, but did not have the entire car done either I forgot to mention is my first post that I was getting rid of the louvered inspection hatches and going back to stock ones also. Ok, here are some more photos. It seems they painted the car, but according to them, the color was just slightly off in certain lighting conditions, so they've sanded it back and are about to put the "correct" color on the car. I think it was a good sign that they were redoing the paint before I could even see it to make sure it was perfect. Looks like it should be done early next week!

IIRC, I beleive John did do the engine for that car. Cheers, Doug

Well, I bent up my front valence after I put the BRE spook on and hit one of those annoying concrete blocks that they sometimes put in parking spots. So, I decided to get that fixed, as well as get rid of the mirrors that the PO put on the car, put new ones on in the correct position (others were too far forward), deal with some minor bubbling on the door behind the mirrors and in the passenger side dogleg, get rid of a crease someone was kind enough to leave in the passenger door and finally get some dings in the sills taken care of. The body guy at the shop is the son of the guy that works on my Z (for stuff I don't want to tackle), and worked there for several years before working at the body/paint shop. I told them that if the color did not match, they would have to keep repainting until it did! They guaranteed to match the paint, so we'll see how that goes! Dropped in the other day to see the progress: The first photo shows where the PO filled in the holes from the old mirror, and the filler he put over it did not adhere to the metal and had a bubble (as well as the new holes for the new mirror (the 2 farthest back ones) The second photo shows the surface rust behind the dogleg (looks worse that it really was) - fortunately it was still solid! The third photo shows the door crease already repaired. More photos tomorrow as it goes to the paint booth today!

Alright, I see you've copied my copyrighted personalized license plate for your Z, now you're going to have to pay me royalties! Everytime someone gives you a thumbs up or other positive comment about the car you have to give me $1

Looks great! I loke the red/silver combo, congrats on your new addition!

Please Mike, get this off-topic crap out of poor Bob's first post about a 240Z! BTW, what's with the big spike in off-topic drama posts these days??

Why all the secrecy surfsnake? Why not just come out and say "I bought these key blanks at such and such place for $X and want to know if I got a good deal" instead of pretending like you are looking for keys?

Randy, Stick some more wood on top there and put 14' ceilings in so you can stick in a lift or two. I have 14' ceilings in my garage and put in the tall lift and I can get 86" of lifting height out of it. I am 6' and can walk around under the car without ducking, and still have two more notches left. Mine came with the castors so I can move it around if I need to. As Carl says, get the 9' garage doors if you can, makes it easy to move the lift in and out. The lift was the Best Car-Related Purchase EVER! There are plenty of options for good lifts around the $2K range. Do it while you can, you won't regret it! You know you'll end up with another car or two someday, so putting a lift or two in the new garagemahal will let you do that with no problems :classic:

I am running 195/65/15 and have no rubbing issues with stock ride height. Plus, the speedo is spot on with this size tire.

If you want the "most improved" 240Z, your best bet is to get a '73 and get rid of the smog stuff, change the carbs and bumpers and you're done. All of the benefits of a '72, PLUS the addition of the lighted heater control panel :classic: Or, you could get a '72 and put a '73 dash in it - whichever you find easier to do. If you want a 240Z with even more "improvements" you can add the ZX 5 speed and rear end, as well as some other engine mods such as electronic ignition and the like.

I kinda like it. Similar to the S30 profile and has the lovely hood "power bump" :classic:

Personally, I try to treat everyone on all the sites I visit as gender neutral. With the anonmity of the internet, it is very easy for guys to pretend to be girls, or vice versa just to mess with people (not that I am implying anyone on this site is doing so). So, just to be safe, gender neutral works best for me! So, maybe everyone should use their Z as their Avatar to avoid any potential issues :classic:

Beautiful car, congrats on getting her finished! Enjoy the ride! :classic:

My eyes! My eyes!! arrrrgh! I laughed out loud reading the transcript of the call (clown cars) and now all my co-workers are looking at me!

Well, my Z has not been in Cali since around 2004, so it was not me who did not wave to you! :classic: Actually, I always wave at any other Z car, but, like you don't always get a wave back. But, as we have discussed here before, the majority of (350Z in particular) Z owners don't seem to know/care about the Z heritage. Even if I get a return wave from another Z (even a 240Z), they often seem surprised that I waved to them. Like Vettes, Brit car owners are pretty good at waving to each other, when I drive my MGB and see other British cars, I almost always get a wave back! P.S. here is a cyber wave to you in your Z from me in mine (yes I am driving it today!)

Wow, great story Carl! Gald to see a Z reunited with it's original owner as well. I am guessing Bill is planning a complete resto to bring his Z back to its former glory?

Yes, someone got a great deal on that Z, I didn't think he would let it go for less than $25K!

A Tiger is an excellent choice - someday I'd like to be able to add one to my garage! Best of luck!

No offense Khrystina, personally, I still think Darbij is the "sexiest girl on this site" :classic: For those wanting to see more photos, there are some in Khrystina's User Gallery...