Tweet-Greet with New Twitter Friends

So through Erica at Horse Power and Heels (mentioned in previous post) I found Eric on Twitter (@AuctionDirect) who requsted that I be a part of his Tweet-Great and answer 10 questions about cars. He them posted it on his Tweet-Greet page. Thanks Eric! Nice to tweet you!

 

Women In Racing

This is so cool! I found a couple of women involved in Racing on the web. The first one I found is Erica Ortiz. Her web site is Horse Power and Heels. You can also follow Erica on Twitter. I’ve been following her for a few months now and just this morning discovered there is another woman who races on Twitter. She is Leilani Munter. Leilani also has a web site you should go visit. I’m hoping to find a few more. Oh, and while you’re at it, you can follow me on Twitter too! I’ll Z ya later!

 

Navigater Wanted

So what are you doing on August 16th? ZROC is hosting their 2nd annual Summer Evening Rally. Last year’s rally was an incredibly fun scavenger hunt. Ernie rode with me and we had a pretty good time. My favorite item on the list was “What is Ms. Judy’s phone number?” We found it on a billboard for a psychic. Meeting up after the ride, everyone was talking about who was spotted where. Steve and Jim did a great job organizing the drive and creating the list of items to find which included the home of the original fried baloney sandwich (ick) in Waldo.

So I am ready to do this again and need a navigator for the ride. Your job will be to read the map and help us stay on course. Oh, and you’ll need to hang on. Waddaya say? Wanna take a ride with me? I’ll drop the T Tops if it isn’t raining and we’ll get our hair messed up!

 

Flirting With Disaster

While I was at the Arthritis Foundation’s Auto Show, I got to talking to Tim Davis about my car and how it was running like crap. I have been chasing down little vacuum leakd for a while now and was getting just a little tired of it. Tim suggested I talk to Brett from Ramey’Z about bringing the car down to his place outside of Cincinnati to put it on the smoker and find all the leaks at once. So I did and the next day (Sunday) found me traveling to Brett’s shop. He tested the car and only found 2 small vacuum leaks. So why is it running so bad? Tim showed up about that time and the two of them started asking me questions about the car and the work that had been done recently. Brett decided to check the timing and found it to be way off. A few more questions and their thoughts were that the timing belt may have jumped a tooth. So the remedy is to do a timing belt change.

Tim tore into the car and you wouldn’t believe what he found. The picture is what’s left of my timing belt tensioner.

Missing a few bearings there?

It’s hard to tell from the picture but the tensioner is missing about a third of it’s bearings and the front seal was gone. Littered around the area of the timing belt were ground up pieces of what used to be bearings. I was very close to owning nothing but a parts car. Having the tensioner go or losing the timing belt would have been catostrophic to the car. As luck would have it, Brett was working on another 300ZX timing belt that day and was replacing the tensioner in that car so I got custody of the old one which was still in fairly good condition. A new timing belt went in and my car was running like a top! On the drive home, I noticed that the car had it’s power on acceleration and I also had my great gas mileage again. I usually get over 30MPG on the highway when the car is well tuned. No bad for a 6 cylinder 86 engine. I felt so relieved and confident in the work that Brett and Tim did, I took the scenic route home.

I highly recmmend Ramey’Z if you are in need of work for your Z. They specialize in the ‘90-’96 300ZX but know there older models as well. Oh, they’re also responsible for most of the “Bling” you see on the turbo 300’s in my flickr photos.  If you need to have Ramey’Z work on your 300ZX, call them at (513) 348-6517 to make arrangements. When I finally get a decent job and can afford it, I plan on having Ramey’Z do the mods for my car.

 

ZROC Crew at the Arthritis Foundation Auto Show

The ZROC crew participated in this years Arthritis Foundation Auto Show. Jim Corbett from ZROC took 1st place in the Nissan - Datson class. Congratulations Jim! The rest of us had a great time talking to the show visitors about our cars. We may have picked up a couple new members among the guests. As usual, we brought our canopies and coolers showed how ZROC rolls! I can’t tell you how much fun it is just to be around such a great group of Z enthusiasts.

Because it was for a good cause, I cleaned up the Girlie Z and entered her into the show, knowing I wasn’t going to win anything. My car is what I call a work in progress and is pretty far from being in arms reach of a trophy but getting there is part of the adventure. It was nice to meet some other female Z lovers while I was there. I had a wonderful conversation with a woman that onced owned an 86 300ZX like mine. She said she loved to drive it and really misses it. Maybe after today she will consider another Nissan. If you live in the Central Ohio area and you have the Z sickness, please join us! We would love to have you!

Me with the Girlie Z

 

Upside, Downside and Upside Down

Parts In Pieces

Yesterday I drove my Z briefly to go visit my daughter in law’s relatives. I came home in the early evening while the sun was shinning, locked up the Z and headed inside. Later, as the sun was going down, I went out the back door to visit a neighbor across the street and noticed that my brake lights were on. Strange, I thought, that shouldn’t be happening. I unlocked the car door and played with the brake pedal thinking that for some reason, maybe it was stuck. Nope, that’s not it. Since it was getting dark, I decided to just disconnect the battery cables so as not to drain the battery and deal with the issue during the day. So this morning, I get into the car and prepare to figure out the problem and what do I find? Why those funny looking pieces of broken plastic in the picture above that’s what. A little more nosing around and I discover that they are what’s left of these things called pedal stops that sit inside holes high up on the brake pedal arm and push the plungers in for the Brake Light Switch and the Automatic Speed Control Device, whatever the hell that is.

Of all the stupid, annoying, irksome things that can go wrong with a car, I would have to say this one ranks right up there. Calling around to a few places will tell you that auto parts stores either don’t carry them, don’t know what they are so will say they don’t carry them or don’t want to take the time to figure out what they are and will tell you what you want is a dealership only item.

The parts department staff at dealership number 1 says they are a discontinued item. Oh great, I’m screwed for want of two stupid pieces of cheap plastic. The parts department staff at dealership number 2 says he can order them, they will be just shy of $4 each and will take 5-7 days to get in, provided of course I prepay for them. WTF? I need to get $8 to you to order these things? Seriously, is $8 such a huge amount of money that it’ll break the dealership’s bank if you order them and I never show up to get them? Added to that, It’s on the other side of the city, I will need to have some one drive me all the way over there and back just to prepay for them (I don’t have credit cards), then do it again when the parts come in. That somebody will want to be paid for gas given today’s gas prices so I just told the guy I’d call him back. That’s Mary speak for I’ll try to do without you first.

So at this point I decide to get a little creative and cook up the idea that I can make my own with a couple of short bolts, nuts, rubber washers and locking washers. Between me and one of my neighbors I manage to come up with two of them about the right length. Now here comes the fun part, getting them in.  Scooting up under the drivers side dash on your back with a flashlight is going to be the kind of adventure you’re not likely to forget anytime soon. In my 300ZX, there really isn’t a lot of room for your hands up there and what you really need are three hands to boot! So, I invited a friend to “help” me, who of course is a man and has to be a hero and get these screws in for you while you “help” him.

During the course of the NEXT TWO HOURS, we tried all sorts of adventurous things, including him on his back and me straddling him to reach in under the dash to try to place the nut and lock washer in place while he held the bolt and rubber washer. This attempt resulted in a few antics and giggles and no success what so ever of getting that stupid nut on. I imagined what the neighbors were thinking and if a police officer happened to pick that moment to drive down the street, there surely would have been a conversation coming.  Or picture this, him on the floor of the car and me holding a broom handle up against the brake pedal. I’m sure it looked like I was trying to drill the thing right through him.

We finally got both of the stupid nuts and bolts on and my friend left me to adust the switches, reconnect the battery, put the dash parts back on and clean up. The downside of all this is if I decide to order the right parts, I’ll have to get back under there again and may need to invite another friend over to “help.” The upside is, I can drive my car now and know that the brake lights are working properly. Oh, and hey, I found where one of those other miscellaneous screws I found belongs and put it back too!

 

Lots Of Cool ZROC Activity Coming Up!

Oh my poor Nissan Z buddies I have englected you lately haven’t I? Not to worry, I have some updates for you. First off, If you want to know what else is happening in my life, go to my other blog to find out.

Now, on to Nissan Z talk: ZROC will be part of the fun at the MidOhio Vintage Grand Prix this weekend! Well we will probably be most of the fun! Last year was my first time at this event and I had an awesome time! ZROC folks now how to create a party where ever we go and this year won’t be any different. We will get into the mood with our annual party at Mitch Mercer’s house on Saturday June 28th beginning at 6PM. Sunday morning, we will meet to caravan to MidOhio where our club will have a spot on the Concourse. The club will be serving food from City Barbeque again this year. Join us or at least stop by to say hello.

In July is the Arthritis Foundations Car Show and Cruize In. Clean up your Z and come on out. Don’t have a Z? Come out anyway. Meet the ZROC crew and see why I talk about them so much. Lots of cars to look at and it’s all for a good cause! I’ll be taking pictures at these events and posting them in my flickr stream in the sidebar to the right. Some day, when I get a job, I should be able to buy a video camera and can bring you even more action! But for now, if you want to see the action, you’ll just have to join us! If you come, look for the Girlie Z and say hello! I will probably be twittering from both of these events as well.

If you are planning on coming, click on the comments in the title bar above to drop me a line to let me know so I can look for you. Or, you can tweet me! I’ll Z ya later!

 

A Few Pictures

Members of my Z club, ZROC are in Chicago the week end for the Midwest Z Heritage Fest. Given my current state of unemployment, I wasn’t able to go. I am looking forward to hearing all the stories and seeing the pictures from the members that did go. In the mean time, Andy Doll, one of the club members I rode home from ZDAYZ with sent me some pictures of his 240Z work in progress so I can post them. Here they are. It’s a sweet ride!

Pretty isn’t it!

 

Interview with Andy Morris

As promised, here is my interview with Andy one of the founders of ZDAYZ. Enjoy.

 

Pot Luck Driving

I got to drive three different cars over the course of the ZDAYZ trip. On the way down, I rode with Todd in his 300ZX Turbo Anniversary Edition. Todd’s been doing some work on the suspension and finished up the night before. In Tennessee, just before we entered The Tail of the Dragon, Todd and I noticed a noise coming from the back end.

With in minutes, the ZROC crew had the car up on jacks and both tires off to diagnose the problem. That’s the beauty of running in a pack and in particular this pack. We want everyone to have a good time and will all pitch in to make sure that happens. I’m not sure what everyone decided the problem was but once the tires were put back on and properly torqued, the noise stopped. So Todd back in the driver’s seat for his first experience on the Dragon. Once those curves got nice and tight, Todd’s eyes were glued open and all he could manage to say was “OH Shit!” I laughed my head off. If you have never been on the Tail of the Dragon, you probably don’t know what 318 curves over 11 miles through the Smokey Mountains is like. For driving enthusiasts, it feels like heaven.

After checking in at the ZROC cabin, Jim Corbett called Terri from ZCHICKZ to see if she had room for me and she did. Lucky me, I found a bed and didn’t have to sleep on the floor somewhere! Thanks Terri! She was also gracious enough to let me drive her car around Fontana Resort and let me ride along with her during a couple of group rides. On Friday the rodes were wet and Terri’s car came out in the back end going around one really tight curve. Fortunately, she’s a great driver and came out of it easily. So now we have a story. The second day was much dryer and easier to handle those tight curves. We cruised down the dragon, scouting out a good pull off so some of us could take pictures. My old digital is a battery hog and managed to eat up the juice before we found a prime spot to take pictures from the vantage point we found on the side of the road.

On Sunday, Todd left early to get home so I stowed my gear in Tom Marshall’s car and Andy Doll was kind enough to let me ride back with him in his 240Z. Nice car with racing seats and harnesses. Andy was fun to ride with and we got to know each other better along the way. I’m sorry I don’t have any decent pictures of his car, it’s really nice. I’ll get some on the next club ride we both make it to.

Once back in Ohio, We stopped at a rest area and Gregg informed me that I was going to drive his car the rest of the way home. I didn’t hesitate on that one! Now so far, Gregg’s car is the best 300ZX I’ve been in and I’m not talking about how clean it is. I’m talking about the turbo and the acceleration. This is one sweet ride and is surely the reason I have had a big grin on my face since then. Thanks Gregg for letting me have that little thrill!

Watch this space for a special video I did with Andy Morris one of the founders of ZDAYZ. It’s my first video interview and my first video editing experience.