Here are a few shots from the outing...
The rest of the photos can be found HERE
-till next time
12.30.2009
Triple Attack in Orange County
Jeggi and I met up with Chris Gayomali at South Coast Plaza, meandered around, and then headed to Gypsy Den for some vegie delights.
Here are a few shots from the outing...
The rest of the photos can be found HERE
-till next time
Here are a few shots from the outing...
The rest of the photos can be found HERE
-till next time
12.29.2009
Coffee and shopping with Angerra and Livie
Randomly met Angela, Olivia, and Lil'bit at Primo; then followed Angela and Olivia to Albertsons. Here are a few of my favorite shots of the day.
The rest of the photos can be found HERE
The rest of the photos can be found HERE
12.28.2009
AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!
There are moments when you work on a car, and you don't feel that it is going anywhere, or that it doesn't do much. To swap an engine or transmission into a car, gut it, replace some suspension parts, and even replace all of the bushings; this didn’t really make me too excited.
Then I got something that doesn't run, has no brakes, the clutch is dead, and in all seriousness looks like a POS.
And it is like I am working on my first car, first Lego set, or first time playing with K’Nex; engine swaps mean something, the bloody knuckles aren’t from fighting with people but with a car. You start working on it day in and day out, your life stops and nothing matters but this project. For the first time since I was working for TelData, I was waking up every day at 6am without an alarm. I was waking up to sore muscles, a stiff back, and the faint smell of road grime and transmission fluid in my nostrils; and yet, I always a faint smile on my face. If I was in conversation with someone, there was a good chance that I was thinking about how I was going to get the car started… What was I missing, what was I doing wrong? You get angry at the thing, the hunk of metal that is causing you this pain. Then you look at it sitting there and realize what it is, a passion. It is something that you pour every moment possible into, every ounce of your soul. Just like love; it engulfs you without a second of hesitation. Just like love; everyone that you know gets involved, through the thick and the thin they are there.
Then after 8 days of working, thinking, obsessing, and agonizing about THE CAR it finally came to be. The questions posed to those who know more than I did were answered; the tests and theories were explored and proven. And on this cold night with a few shots of tequila in me and my pops with a drink in hand, we got it started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DP86_KFOYI
There are very few times in my life that I have yelled out in glee and utter triumph; needless to say, this was one of those times.
I still have to figure out where the smoke is coming from: possibly water that was sitting and cooking off of the engine, or blown head gasket. There are no major worries on either account though, it will get sorted out. They are just minor things now that the heart of my passion works. After all there isn’t anything or anyone that can break this smile that I have on my face right now.
-till next time
Then I got something that doesn't run, has no brakes, the clutch is dead, and in all seriousness looks like a POS.
And it is like I am working on my first car, first Lego set, or first time playing with K’Nex; engine swaps mean something, the bloody knuckles aren’t from fighting with people but with a car. You start working on it day in and day out, your life stops and nothing matters but this project. For the first time since I was working for TelData, I was waking up every day at 6am without an alarm. I was waking up to sore muscles, a stiff back, and the faint smell of road grime and transmission fluid in my nostrils; and yet, I always a faint smile on my face. If I was in conversation with someone, there was a good chance that I was thinking about how I was going to get the car started… What was I missing, what was I doing wrong? You get angry at the thing, the hunk of metal that is causing you this pain. Then you look at it sitting there and realize what it is, a passion. It is something that you pour every moment possible into, every ounce of your soul. Just like love; it engulfs you without a second of hesitation. Just like love; everyone that you know gets involved, through the thick and the thin they are there.
Then after 8 days of working, thinking, obsessing, and agonizing about THE CAR it finally came to be. The questions posed to those who know more than I did were answered; the tests and theories were explored and proven. And on this cold night with a few shots of tequila in me and my pops with a drink in hand, we got it started.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DP86_KFOYI
There are very few times in my life that I have yelled out in glee and utter triumph; needless to say, this was one of those times.
I still have to figure out where the smoke is coming from: possibly water that was sitting and cooking off of the engine, or blown head gasket. There are no major worries on either account though, it will get sorted out. They are just minor things now that the heart of my passion works. After all there isn’t anything or anyone that can break this smile that I have on my face right now.
-till next time
Mo's first coffee with the gang
A week late, but better late than not! Here are a few of my favorites...
Rest of photos located HERE
Rest of photos located HERE
12.26.2009
Fuel, Spark, and Leather Jackets
These last few days working on the car have been pretty problematic. After we got the engine installed I got to work on getting all of the connections made, and attempt to get the car to start. I stole the battery out of my Fit and put it into the 240z, turned the key, and all that was hear was a loud CLICK from the glove box area. Ehh no big deal, the starter might be dead, and I had a spare one on the engine that we pulled. So I replaced the starter and tried again, same deal. Lame. This time I jumpered the starter to force it to turn; it did. So now with the engine turning I checked to see if I was getting any fuel. Nope, double lame. I popped off the valve cover and manually moved the lever that pumps fuel (mechanical fuel pump) to see if it was working; nope… so I took the pump off of the other engine and checked to see if that one was working, and just like everything else it was not.
I started to search for a new pump and I found a used one on craigslist for $35 in La Mesa. I wanted to compare the prices of a brand new one so I looked on the Kragen site. Brand new one is $33, yep doin’ that. So I went over to Kragen to order the part. When I arrived they told me that the part I was looking at is no longer available, but they did have a more expensive alternative though. It was twice the price of the one I was hoping to get. And then for the first time in my life I got a discount at a Kragen. They gave me the more expensive mechanical fuel pump for the price of the one that I was looking at! After I ordered the pump I went back to the house, dismantled the broken fuel pump to see how it worked, and cleaned and oiled up my carburetors.
The fuel pump came in, and I installed the fuel pump, new valve cover gasket, and the shinier valve cover. I forgot to manually prime the system, but since I was unaware of whether or not I was getting spark I figured that once I got spark I would worry about where the fuel is in the system. After all, now that I have a pump that works the worst that it could be is a blocked line. Now it was time to check to see if I had spark. And yep you guessed it, no spark either. While I am extremely familiar with 2nd Gen Rx7s and how they get fuel and spark; this whole ignition coil, point gap, distributor cap, carb thing is completely foreign. While there are options to change over to an electronic fuel pump and distributor, I feel that you kill the essence of a purely mechanical beast. Its passion, and heart have changed into a bionic Frankenstein of modern and classic parts; aka Eels.
After a few basic tests to make sure the coil and/or distributor were bad, I went back to Kragen and ordered their replacements. Whenever I have ordered parts they usually arrive within a few hours. Since all of the parts that I just ordered, minus the coil, are things that you should replace just about every oil change; I was quite surprised when they told me that they would be in on the 28th. I was saddened, but if anything it would give me a chance to gut the car, and check to see if the fuel lines were blocked.
Out of nowhere I get a call a few hours later saying that the parts were in; victory! But since it was Christmas Eve, I figured I could wait until the 26th to start installing and working on the car again. The bad news is that with the recent need of parts, my total to get the engine running has passed my mark of $1000. As of today the total is $1060. I still have 2 engines, a transmission, real valence, wheels, and some random bits to sell; but I was hoping that I wouldn’t exceed my original price point. Then again, to get the engine running there is nothing left to buy; I have the pump to deliver fuel, and the parts to make spark.
--
I didn’t discuss leather jackets, but I figure better late than not at all. A few days ago it rained in the morning and I was just in time to cover the car even more so before the rain really came down. Due to the location of where I work on the car, there is a puddle that forms underneath it after a rain. So the day that I wanted to flush the transmission, I was going to get soaked. I put on my usual go to oversized Dickies jacket, and I didn’t care if I did get wet. I did indeed get wet. Since it was cold, I really needed a replacement so that I didn’t freeze, or lose interest in working on the car. So I muddled through my closet and found the first leather jacket that I bought. I really don’t care for the aesthetic or the over-sized bomber jacket, but ghad damn does it work.
I mean really, what better way to work on a 1970s race car than wearing a leather jacket?
-till next time
I started to search for a new pump and I found a used one on craigslist for $35 in La Mesa. I wanted to compare the prices of a brand new one so I looked on the Kragen site. Brand new one is $33, yep doin’ that. So I went over to Kragen to order the part. When I arrived they told me that the part I was looking at is no longer available, but they did have a more expensive alternative though. It was twice the price of the one I was hoping to get. And then for the first time in my life I got a discount at a Kragen. They gave me the more expensive mechanical fuel pump for the price of the one that I was looking at! After I ordered the pump I went back to the house, dismantled the broken fuel pump to see how it worked, and cleaned and oiled up my carburetors.
The fuel pump came in, and I installed the fuel pump, new valve cover gasket, and the shinier valve cover. I forgot to manually prime the system, but since I was unaware of whether or not I was getting spark I figured that once I got spark I would worry about where the fuel is in the system. After all, now that I have a pump that works the worst that it could be is a blocked line. Now it was time to check to see if I had spark. And yep you guessed it, no spark either. While I am extremely familiar with 2nd Gen Rx7s and how they get fuel and spark; this whole ignition coil, point gap, distributor cap, carb thing is completely foreign. While there are options to change over to an electronic fuel pump and distributor, I feel that you kill the essence of a purely mechanical beast. Its passion, and heart have changed into a bionic Frankenstein of modern and classic parts; aka Eels.
After a few basic tests to make sure the coil and/or distributor were bad, I went back to Kragen and ordered their replacements. Whenever I have ordered parts they usually arrive within a few hours. Since all of the parts that I just ordered, minus the coil, are things that you should replace just about every oil change; I was quite surprised when they told me that they would be in on the 28th. I was saddened, but if anything it would give me a chance to gut the car, and check to see if the fuel lines were blocked.
Out of nowhere I get a call a few hours later saying that the parts were in; victory! But since it was Christmas Eve, I figured I could wait until the 26th to start installing and working on the car again. The bad news is that with the recent need of parts, my total to get the engine running has passed my mark of $1000. As of today the total is $1060. I still have 2 engines, a transmission, real valence, wheels, and some random bits to sell; but I was hoping that I wouldn’t exceed my original price point. Then again, to get the engine running there is nothing left to buy; I have the pump to deliver fuel, and the parts to make spark.
--
I didn’t discuss leather jackets, but I figure better late than not at all. A few days ago it rained in the morning and I was just in time to cover the car even more so before the rain really came down. Due to the location of where I work on the car, there is a puddle that forms underneath it after a rain. So the day that I wanted to flush the transmission, I was going to get soaked. I put on my usual go to oversized Dickies jacket, and I didn’t care if I did get wet. I did indeed get wet. Since it was cold, I really needed a replacement so that I didn’t freeze, or lose interest in working on the car. So I muddled through my closet and found the first leather jacket that I bought. I really don’t care for the aesthetic or the over-sized bomber jacket, but ghad damn does it work.
I mean really, what better way to work on a 1970s race car than wearing a leather jacket?
-till next time
12.25.2009
Christmas 2009 with the Petersons
Before I post about the recent progress of the 240z, I am posting a few of my favorite shots from our traditional (15ish years) Christmas dinner with the Petersons.
enjoy
all photos can be found HERE
-till next time
enjoy
all photos can be found HERE
-till next time
12.22.2009
Rain, rain, go away; come again when the car is running...
Early this morning it started to rain, and luckily I woke up at 5:45 to hear it and rushed out to cover more of the car. I had the engine covered, but since my car is sitting over a drain area there is a bit of a puddle underneath. This leaves me with a dilemma; either jack the car up and fill the transmission and flush the gas tank, or gut the car with some dry ice. The first option will pretty much guarantee that I will be getting wet, if not soaked, and the second will well... make the interior what I want it to be.
Good news is that I sold off the bumpers yesterday for $50! This means that the total cost of the car has dropped to $924; I had to buy a coolant hose, hose clamps, and an exhaust gasket, so it offset some of the sale. Hopefully my other items will be sold and the total cost will drop even lower!
-till next time
Good news is that I sold off the bumpers yesterday for $50! This means that the total cost of the car has dropped to $924; I had to buy a coolant hose, hose clamps, and an exhaust gasket, so it offset some of the sale. Hopefully my other items will be sold and the total cost will drop even lower!
-till next time
12.20.2009
Get in there....
Today we painted the engine bay, and installed the engine and transmission that I bought from George. not a whole lot I know, but Martin and I went on a run and I was pretty beat.
Total spent up till this point including car purchase = $938
-till next time
Total spent up till this point including car purchase = $938
-till next time
12.19.2009
This is so don't ask don't tell status.
Words spoken by my sister when she say martin and i were working on cleaning the L24 of all of the emissions. Oh, boy!
Here is the engine before and after the emissions removal; write up with to be made soon for all of the 240z kids. in sort all you need is a 12mm, 14mm, JB weld, vice grips, and a cresent wrench -we needed to use a hammer and a crowbar to get the return line off though)-.
granted we haven't installed the fuel line yet; but I am debating whether or not if I really need a fuel return line.
we also moved the car into its new home...
pulled the engine that was in the car
and added some guard dogs for late night snoopers
for all pictures of the day go HERE
for the full build up go HERE
-till next time
Here is the engine before and after the emissions removal; write up with to be made soon for all of the 240z kids. in sort all you need is a 12mm, 14mm, JB weld, vice grips, and a cresent wrench -we needed to use a hammer and a crowbar to get the return line off though)-.
granted we haven't installed the fuel line yet; but I am debating whether or not if I really need a fuel return line.
we also moved the car into its new home...
pulled the engine that was in the car
and added some guard dogs for late night snoopers
for all pictures of the day go HERE
for the full build up go HERE
-till next time
12.18.2009
Engines, carbs, and hoists oh my!
I woke up this morning and got in touch with the guy that was selling the 71 engines and tranny for $300, George. But before I left, I had to pick up an engine hoist, and clean out the back of the truck. I was able to get on the road by 10:45ish. I wasn’t too pleased with this; I have been starting my days at 8, now it was going to be pushed back until at least noon.
When I arrived in Mira Mesa his house was littered with cars: 67 mustang fast back, 69 Camaro, Corvair (I think), and his daily driver is an Austin-Healey. When I saw the post on craigslist I was skeptical on the status of the engine; but after seeing all of these I was sure that if he said it was running, it probably was. We talked about cars and what we have owned and modified. Since I am a 240z owner now, I asked him dozens of questions regarding the engine: what went where, what I can sell, and what I can safely remove. Needless to say, He knew his stuff.
I arrived at my house around 12:30 and unloaded the engine from truck. I got a few bricks out and set the engine down upon it so that I could start working on it. And let’s not forget the cleaning that would need to take place before it got into the car. I know... cleaning! All of the cars that I have had in the past were well... not the clean. Whenever I swapped engines and/or transmissions; cleaning wasn’t even a word. But unlike people, things change. While I have no intention of making this a show car, I do want to make it a 10 footable –or a Monet, good from a few feet back but when you get up close you can see the imperfections-. Once I get the engine bay clean and painted flat white I really won’t care what happens to it, but I want to start with something clean.
Speaking of engine bays, it wasn't until 4pm today that I realized something; no engine harness. Now while some of you may be used to the whole idea of nothing connected to the engine, I am not. On my Rx7s I had 9 electrical plugs, 3 coolant hoses, 2 fuel lines, and a few other random things that I needed to connect to the engine so that it would start, and run. After I am done removing the emission equipment on the 240z I will have: 3 coolant hoses, 1 vacuum line, fuel lines, and a plug wire running from the coil to the distributer. Notice something? Yep, I will not have any electronics; unless you count the wire to the distributer. It is such a change from the norm, or FC Rx7 norm. This is the main reason I want to start with a clean engine bay.
Due to me getting such a late start, and me still learning about the engine, not much was finished. Tomorrow is going to be another day of little done on the car; I will be moving it to a better location, and I will be picking up Mo from the airport!! It is okay though, there is no rush to get this running; more importance is put on quality rather than speed. While on the drive today I was thinking about the statement "I will make this car run for under $1000." While I still want to stand by this, I am going to make an amendment to it; anything I sell off of the car has a negative impact to the cost of the car. For example; if I sell the extra parts for $400 the car would have only cost $500 ($900 current total minus $400 from the sell equals $500). Instead of saying "I will only spend," I should have said "less than $1000 out of pocket." This way I can stretch out that last $100 farther, and still be okay.
Here are some shots from the beginning of the day, and as it sits right now not much has changed.
-till next time
When I arrived in Mira Mesa his house was littered with cars: 67 mustang fast back, 69 Camaro, Corvair (I think), and his daily driver is an Austin-Healey. When I saw the post on craigslist I was skeptical on the status of the engine; but after seeing all of these I was sure that if he said it was running, it probably was. We talked about cars and what we have owned and modified. Since I am a 240z owner now, I asked him dozens of questions regarding the engine: what went where, what I can sell, and what I can safely remove. Needless to say, He knew his stuff.
I arrived at my house around 12:30 and unloaded the engine from truck. I got a few bricks out and set the engine down upon it so that I could start working on it. And let’s not forget the cleaning that would need to take place before it got into the car. I know... cleaning! All of the cars that I have had in the past were well... not the clean. Whenever I swapped engines and/or transmissions; cleaning wasn’t even a word. But unlike people, things change. While I have no intention of making this a show car, I do want to make it a 10 footable –or a Monet, good from a few feet back but when you get up close you can see the imperfections-. Once I get the engine bay clean and painted flat white I really won’t care what happens to it, but I want to start with something clean.
Speaking of engine bays, it wasn't until 4pm today that I realized something; no engine harness. Now while some of you may be used to the whole idea of nothing connected to the engine, I am not. On my Rx7s I had 9 electrical plugs, 3 coolant hoses, 2 fuel lines, and a few other random things that I needed to connect to the engine so that it would start, and run. After I am done removing the emission equipment on the 240z I will have: 3 coolant hoses, 1 vacuum line, fuel lines, and a plug wire running from the coil to the distributer. Notice something? Yep, I will not have any electronics; unless you count the wire to the distributer. It is such a change from the norm, or FC Rx7 norm. This is the main reason I want to start with a clean engine bay.
Due to me getting such a late start, and me still learning about the engine, not much was finished. Tomorrow is going to be another day of little done on the car; I will be moving it to a better location, and I will be picking up Mo from the airport!! It is okay though, there is no rush to get this running; more importance is put on quality rather than speed. While on the drive today I was thinking about the statement "I will make this car run for under $1000." While I still want to stand by this, I am going to make an amendment to it; anything I sell off of the car has a negative impact to the cost of the car. For example; if I sell the extra parts for $400 the car would have only cost $500 ($900 current total minus $400 from the sell equals $500). Instead of saying "I will only spend," I should have said "less than $1000 out of pocket." This way I can stretch out that last $100 farther, and still be okay.
Here are some shots from the beginning of the day, and as it sits right now not much has changed.
-till next time
Passions of the past
A few months ago I discussed the want of building a project car (harking to the past). I have been on the lookout for something special, something to make mine. Up until recently chance has not been on my side. There was still an issue to resolve before I made the investment into actually getting a project, what to actually get. I narrowed the decision down to two suspects, either a MGB/MGBGT or a Datsun 240z. To speak the truth, I really couldn’t make up my mind. There was the glory of the British classic vs. the spirit of Japan: pints vs. sake, an accent that could read the phone book vs. one of the harshest languages in the world. Like most things, I left it up to chance to decide the fortunes of good men, and that is exactly what happened. I started to discuss it with the pops, asking him what he would prefer to ride/drive. He said that the MG is a good car, but… it is just another British sports car. The 240z, on the other hand, is a classic.
At the time that I asked him, there were two cars on the market that I was interested in: a non-running $800 MG and a running $1500 240z. With the 240z on full force, I called up the owner and drove to San Diego to check out the vehicle. It was not as expected. He stated that it was running with a 4 speed, and when I got there it was running, but it was not road worthy in any respect. The car was still undergoing an auto to manual swap, and there was still much to do. So I left him to the wrenching to finish up the car, and let me know when it was finished. The next morning I got a message from the owner saying that someone offered the full asking price in the current condition; lame. I told him to sell the car; after all I was only going to offer $1300 after it was drivable anyway. So I was kind of pissed, but I figured that I could find one later. No rush.
Then out of the blue he lets me know that there is another Datsun 240z being sold for $500… in Fallbrook. Wha?!?! For serious? So I did some checking up, called the poster up and went to check it out. The pictures that were posted on craigslist made the car look like it had surface rust everywhere, but when I went to check it out; it was pretty ridiculous. The car that I looked at in San Diego ($1500 one), had some rust spots that were near the frame, the $500 one. Oh my god. There is rust, but all of it is on the skin of the car. Then I started to look everywhere for any signs of it. It was hard to believe that it would have less rust than a car that cost 3 times as much, but apart from the rear wheel skin there wasn’t anything of consequence.
While I was there, 30-45 minutes, thinking about buying the non-running car they had 18 other people that were just as interested in the car. So I knew that if I wanted to make this car mine I would have to move on it quick. With the knowledge that it wasn’t running, I had to start looking for other ways of making sure that I could get the car started for as much as I was willing to spend for the 240z that I found in San Diego ($1300). And then I found it.
Along with the car posted in Fallbrook, there was an engine and transmission posted in Mira Mesa for $300. Boom. I thought about it for another 10 minutes, and decided to buy the car. It is a rare chance that a 240z in this great of condition would ever be sold for this cheap again. After the deal was made, I told him my plans with the car. How it was going to be my project car for road races and some spirited canyon runs. He said that it would cost around $15,000-20,000 to get this car actually on the road. I smiled a bit, and said “I can get this car running for less than $1000.” He thought it may be a hard target to reach, but he had faith “you look like you have the determination to do so.”
I stand by my statement, and it has become my budget to get the car running. It may not road worthy, but it will be running.
For the complete collection of the 240z project photos click HERE
Sure it may not be the prettiest girl that I have owned, but the potential… far greater.
After a day of wrenching and some minor work to the car, I have decided how I want to start building it. The rules and guidelines that I want to follow throughout the project must remain in focus, or else it will never get done. First and foremost, I want to have the engine running for less than $1000. I may be stretching myself thin, but I think it can be done. I have already invested $600 into the car: $500 in the chassis, $100 on spark plugs, spark plug wires, oil, and oil filter. With the purchase of the engine and transmission from Mira Mesa that will bring my total to $900. Once engine runs I will still need to get new fuel filters, possibly a new thermostat, and radiator fluid. So… I will be cutting it close.
--
Recently I have re-acquainted myself with my love of photography, and now I am getting back to the dirty fingernail days of working on cars. And you know what, no matter how many times that I racked my knuckles or had to make stupid trips to the auto parts store today; I have had a smile on my face all day. I may just be learning about the woes of working on a classic car, and yeah this might not be the best thing to do right now, but I am happy. Being able to sit back and look at the work that I have done, what I will do, and what it will look like in the end is well… a petrol-sexual’s dream.
-till next time
p.s. I re-found this video Drew King –www.setupszero.com- made back in 2004ish, so much has changed...
Engine
Zach Zupancic | MySpace Video
I think I may have to buy a pack of Lucky Strikes in honor of me getting back into it.
At the time that I asked him, there were two cars on the market that I was interested in: a non-running $800 MG and a running $1500 240z. With the 240z on full force, I called up the owner and drove to San Diego to check out the vehicle. It was not as expected. He stated that it was running with a 4 speed, and when I got there it was running, but it was not road worthy in any respect. The car was still undergoing an auto to manual swap, and there was still much to do. So I left him to the wrenching to finish up the car, and let me know when it was finished. The next morning I got a message from the owner saying that someone offered the full asking price in the current condition; lame. I told him to sell the car; after all I was only going to offer $1300 after it was drivable anyway. So I was kind of pissed, but I figured that I could find one later. No rush.
Then out of the blue he lets me know that there is another Datsun 240z being sold for $500… in Fallbrook. Wha?!?! For serious? So I did some checking up, called the poster up and went to check it out. The pictures that were posted on craigslist made the car look like it had surface rust everywhere, but when I went to check it out; it was pretty ridiculous. The car that I looked at in San Diego ($1500 one), had some rust spots that were near the frame, the $500 one. Oh my god. There is rust, but all of it is on the skin of the car. Then I started to look everywhere for any signs of it. It was hard to believe that it would have less rust than a car that cost 3 times as much, but apart from the rear wheel skin there wasn’t anything of consequence.
While I was there, 30-45 minutes, thinking about buying the non-running car they had 18 other people that were just as interested in the car. So I knew that if I wanted to make this car mine I would have to move on it quick. With the knowledge that it wasn’t running, I had to start looking for other ways of making sure that I could get the car started for as much as I was willing to spend for the 240z that I found in San Diego ($1300). And then I found it.
Along with the car posted in Fallbrook, there was an engine and transmission posted in Mira Mesa for $300. Boom. I thought about it for another 10 minutes, and decided to buy the car. It is a rare chance that a 240z in this great of condition would ever be sold for this cheap again. After the deal was made, I told him my plans with the car. How it was going to be my project car for road races and some spirited canyon runs. He said that it would cost around $15,000-20,000 to get this car actually on the road. I smiled a bit, and said “I can get this car running for less than $1000.” He thought it may be a hard target to reach, but he had faith “you look like you have the determination to do so.”
I stand by my statement, and it has become my budget to get the car running. It may not road worthy, but it will be running.
For the complete collection of the 240z project photos click HERE
Sure it may not be the prettiest girl that I have owned, but the potential… far greater.
After a day of wrenching and some minor work to the car, I have decided how I want to start building it. The rules and guidelines that I want to follow throughout the project must remain in focus, or else it will never get done. First and foremost, I want to have the engine running for less than $1000. I may be stretching myself thin, but I think it can be done. I have already invested $600 into the car: $500 in the chassis, $100 on spark plugs, spark plug wires, oil, and oil filter. With the purchase of the engine and transmission from Mira Mesa that will bring my total to $900. Once engine runs I will still need to get new fuel filters, possibly a new thermostat, and radiator fluid. So… I will be cutting it close.
--
Recently I have re-acquainted myself with my love of photography, and now I am getting back to the dirty fingernail days of working on cars. And you know what, no matter how many times that I racked my knuckles or had to make stupid trips to the auto parts store today; I have had a smile on my face all day. I may just be learning about the woes of working on a classic car, and yeah this might not be the best thing to do right now, but I am happy. Being able to sit back and look at the work that I have done, what I will do, and what it will look like in the end is well… a petrol-sexual’s dream.
-till next time
p.s. I re-found this video Drew King –www.setupszero.com- made back in 2004ish, so much has changed...
Engine
Zach Zupancic | MySpace Video
I think I may have to buy a pack of Lucky Strikes in honor of me getting back into it.
12.14.2009
Look, Listen, Look; or Morals are Like Reading Books.
The upcoming Apple Tablet has stirred some bit of crazy debate amongst the peoples. Some think it is going to be amazing, others think it will be useless, and others are not even aware. The biggest draw that the tablet brings to me is that it is new technology and I must have it, but other than that... there isn’t much. In all reality the new apple tablet will be nothing more than a large iPod Touch. Since I already have an iPhone there is no real point in rushing to get one. The main aspect of the iTablet, which is what I will call it, that has brought about much discussion is its tie into reading. There has been somewhat of a push by Apple to get as many magazine companies as possible to start porting their publications over its operating system. For the reader it could mean instant access to those articles that we fall in love with, and the possibility of people actually buying magazines rather than perusing over them at the bookstore. Like the Kindle, Nook, and Sony Reader the iTablet will probably also have a great eBook reader. So you could either pay $250 for a devoted eBook reader, or $600 (hopefully) for the iTablet with much more usability. If I were interested in an eBook reader would I wait and spend the extra money? If I wanted a NetBook would I opt for the iTablet? Yes on both accounts.
This brings me to the main aspect of this diatribe; morals are like reading a book. These days there are many ways of actually getting the words and plots of a book into your mind tank. You can: read them on paper (hardcover, or paperback), listen to them from an audiobook, or read them digitally (PDF, or eBook). And just like morals, some people will think that their way is the right way to do things.
There is some bit of romantics attached the reading of a hardcover/paperback book. As you carry it around with you it gains character and heart; both of which get battered and bruised, but always turn out for the best in the end. There is the smell of an older book that brings back memories of youth, or old people. The downfall is that in a world that is trying to go paperless, the book is not.
Audiobooks, like papered books, have a bit of tradition with them as well; possibly more. It can be attributed to the early days of civilization where wisdom and intelligence were passed by word-of-mouth rather than by paper. It can be taken even closer in your own lifespan from the stories that would be told amongst family and friends. But there is great downfall to this style of processing a book; the disconnect from society. In the case of the book and eBook, even though your eyes might be scanning lines, your ears are still open. So there is the subconscious appearance that you can still be conversed with. When you throw on those headphones you are shutting everything out. It is easier for me to start a conversation/ask a question to someone with their nose buried in a book rather than their ears muffled with sounds.
eBooks; go green and lose the romantics. Books are an investment not only in monetary terms, but also in the physical sense; all eBooks do is take up space on your hard drive. But like illegally downloaded music files, there is a chance that all they will do is sit there unopened and unread; only used to show off to that cute hipster girl. So while the possibility of thousands of unread eBooks may lie dormant for years, there is still the possibility that you will read one. After all a book read is better than a book not. The spread of free great literature (all literary documents made before copyrights are free… i.e. all of Shakespeare) is still the spread of great literature.
So which is best: the romantics of carrying a book around, the tradition of verbal stories via Audiobook, or the portability of eBooks? Does the portability and technological possibilities of the eBook/Audiobook out weight that of the book? Granted we all have our preferences, I like audiobooks because I can read a book and work at the same time. I feel that I remember books better if they are read to me. But which is better for me? Thankfully there is a series of books that I have on eBook, Audiobook, and on hardcover to see which I actually like the most; The Bourne Trilogy. Sure it isn’t the greatest literature of our time, but still pretty damn good. The first book will be in audiobook, second in hardcover, and the last in from an eBook via the iPhone. Should take me a bit of time to complete, but it will be interesting to see how they all fair against each other.
-till next time
This brings me to the main aspect of this diatribe; morals are like reading a book. These days there are many ways of actually getting the words and plots of a book into your mind tank. You can: read them on paper (hardcover, or paperback), listen to them from an audiobook, or read them digitally (PDF, or eBook). And just like morals, some people will think that their way is the right way to do things.
There is some bit of romantics attached the reading of a hardcover/paperback book. As you carry it around with you it gains character and heart; both of which get battered and bruised, but always turn out for the best in the end. There is the smell of an older book that brings back memories of youth, or old people. The downfall is that in a world that is trying to go paperless, the book is not.
Audiobooks, like papered books, have a bit of tradition with them as well; possibly more. It can be attributed to the early days of civilization where wisdom and intelligence were passed by word-of-mouth rather than by paper. It can be taken even closer in your own lifespan from the stories that would be told amongst family and friends. But there is great downfall to this style of processing a book; the disconnect from society. In the case of the book and eBook, even though your eyes might be scanning lines, your ears are still open. So there is the subconscious appearance that you can still be conversed with. When you throw on those headphones you are shutting everything out. It is easier for me to start a conversation/ask a question to someone with their nose buried in a book rather than their ears muffled with sounds.
eBooks; go green and lose the romantics. Books are an investment not only in monetary terms, but also in the physical sense; all eBooks do is take up space on your hard drive. But like illegally downloaded music files, there is a chance that all they will do is sit there unopened and unread; only used to show off to that cute hipster girl. So while the possibility of thousands of unread eBooks may lie dormant for years, there is still the possibility that you will read one. After all a book read is better than a book not. The spread of free great literature (all literary documents made before copyrights are free… i.e. all of Shakespeare) is still the spread of great literature.
So which is best: the romantics of carrying a book around, the tradition of verbal stories via Audiobook, or the portability of eBooks? Does the portability and technological possibilities of the eBook/Audiobook out weight that of the book? Granted we all have our preferences, I like audiobooks because I can read a book and work at the same time. I feel that I remember books better if they are read to me. But which is better for me? Thankfully there is a series of books that I have on eBook, Audiobook, and on hardcover to see which I actually like the most; The Bourne Trilogy. Sure it isn’t the greatest literature of our time, but still pretty damn good. The first book will be in audiobook, second in hardcover, and the last in from an eBook via the iPhone. Should take me a bit of time to complete, but it will be interesting to see how they all fair against each other.
-till next time
12.13.2009
After the pins Pt.4
It has been quite a journey along this path of tailoring my clothes, and I must say that it has been very rewarding. I started with the simple idea of taking all of my ill-fitting clothes and making them fit properly; to eventually doing most of the tailoring myself. While I cannot say that I have mastered tailoring, but I can say that I no longer have to pay someone to fix my pants. The only bit of tailoring that I have yet to delve into is the act of tailoring jackets and shirts. Like most other things the only way to fix this lack of talent is with practice; and that is indeed what the next "before the pins" will be about. But before I get into that, I must finish up with what I have accomplished.
During the initial decision of which clothes to tailor I did not include a couple pairs of pants that I will discuss. The reason that I did not include them was because I never really thought that I would want to get them taken in, but after I tried them on… that was no longer the case. Luckily, they are the nearly the same size and cut of the dark grey.
The after shots.
Jeans
Dark Grey Pant
Pin Stripe Grey pant –not photographed in initial write up-
Pin Stripe Front –not photographed in initial write up-
Grey Front
Tan Suit
The Comparisons
Jeans
Really there isn’t much of a visual change. I have had these pants taken in once before, and this second round was more for fine tuning the aesthetic. There is a slimming of the pant from the upper knee down; the opening was dropped from 7.75" to 7.25." And although my hand in the after shot is covering the location, the extra fabric in the original left side hip is gone.
Again not much change here either. The extra fabric on my butt isn’t there, and the amount of excess fabric drown the leg has dropped as well.
While the changes aren’t that visible in either picture, I can personally feel the difference in the pant. The change was especially evident when wearing some of my thinner plimsolls, and my ankles were no longer swimming.
Dark Grey Pants, Grey Pants, Pin Stripe
Boom, the changes are like night and day -not including the lighting. I am also pleasantly surprised how consistent the tailored pants look. While the original is still acceptable to the populous, I really wanted to get these nearly perfect. In the future, however, I don’t think that I will be going this tight. Granted they do fit every well, but they may just be a bit too tight. I have worn the Dark Grey Pant out and about and they worked out quite well. I have yet to wear the other two out but I think that the pin stripe may be a bit too tight around the buttocks; I will have to be a bit careful when wearing those.
Again it is crazy how much they have come in. All of these pants have been tapered to a 7" opening. The profile looks significantly better than the frontals, but I am kind of biased; I look thinner in the profiles. There really difficult to hark back to the original pant in this situation because these have become an entirely new pant.
Light Grey Pant
The main change to these pants can be seen in the opening. While I did like these pants before I like them even more so now. I don't know if you have noticed yet, but I use a green thread for the hem. While I could have gone with the traditional want of invisible thread, I really wanted to make all of the clothes that I do have visible hem stitching.
Again the profile shot has the winning vote for the visible changes in these pants. There is more definition and youth to these pants that they had before. After I tailored these in, they became one of my new favorite pair of pantaloons to wear.
Tan Suit
This... well isn’t a fair comparison. The original pants were, as you can see, purposefully wrinkled. The reason for the wrinkling was to reduce the baggy-ness that came with the initial fit. And since they are made of linen, there would be wrinkles present with a few hours of moving around anyways. The jacket has been taken in quite a bit. I am not one to ever fully button a jacket, and so I had it tailored for that. The sleeves have been taken in, and I am pretty sure that the biceps size is nearly perfect.
Here you can see how much fabric was actually wrinkled up in the pants. There is a slight crease mid-calf in the aftermath of tailoring; it was a mistake of my ironing. The slimming of the jacket sleeves can really be seen in the profile. You can see how much of the body has been taken in. I really hate to keep using this phrase, but it seems too perfect to keep passing it up; it looked like I was wearing my father’s jacket before. I really like how this has turned out, but I know that I will rarely wear either of these garments. Why? Because they are linen, and linen = wrinkles. Grated there is a bit of character that comes along with a great deal of wrinkles; very much like this guy shot by Scott Schuman in June 2008…
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/SGCPdZ4JeuI/AAAAAAAADkQ/v4k-iUzP36E/s1600-h/6238PaleBlueweb.jpg
But I am still hesitant to attack it with full force.
Next post that you see will be a final wrap up of the exact garments worn on October 9th 2009, as well as the start of the next before the pins.
== On a side note, I choose not to include the Tux Jacket into the mix because they will be apart of my Jacket/Shirt trials. ==
-till then
During the initial decision of which clothes to tailor I did not include a couple pairs of pants that I will discuss. The reason that I did not include them was because I never really thought that I would want to get them taken in, but after I tried them on… that was no longer the case. Luckily, they are the nearly the same size and cut of the dark grey.
The after shots.
Jeans
Dark Grey Pant
Pin Stripe Grey pant –not photographed in initial write up-
Pin Stripe Front –not photographed in initial write up-
Grey Front
Tan Suit
The Comparisons
Jeans
Really there isn’t much of a visual change. I have had these pants taken in once before, and this second round was more for fine tuning the aesthetic. There is a slimming of the pant from the upper knee down; the opening was dropped from 7.75" to 7.25." And although my hand in the after shot is covering the location, the extra fabric in the original left side hip is gone.
Again not much change here either. The extra fabric on my butt isn’t there, and the amount of excess fabric drown the leg has dropped as well.
While the changes aren’t that visible in either picture, I can personally feel the difference in the pant. The change was especially evident when wearing some of my thinner plimsolls, and my ankles were no longer swimming.
Dark Grey Pants, Grey Pants, Pin Stripe
Boom, the changes are like night and day -not including the lighting. I am also pleasantly surprised how consistent the tailored pants look. While the original is still acceptable to the populous, I really wanted to get these nearly perfect. In the future, however, I don’t think that I will be going this tight. Granted they do fit every well, but they may just be a bit too tight. I have worn the Dark Grey Pant out and about and they worked out quite well. I have yet to wear the other two out but I think that the pin stripe may be a bit too tight around the buttocks; I will have to be a bit careful when wearing those.
Again it is crazy how much they have come in. All of these pants have been tapered to a 7" opening. The profile looks significantly better than the frontals, but I am kind of biased; I look thinner in the profiles. There really difficult to hark back to the original pant in this situation because these have become an entirely new pant.
Light Grey Pant
The main change to these pants can be seen in the opening. While I did like these pants before I like them even more so now. I don't know if you have noticed yet, but I use a green thread for the hem. While I could have gone with the traditional want of invisible thread, I really wanted to make all of the clothes that I do have visible hem stitching.
Again the profile shot has the winning vote for the visible changes in these pants. There is more definition and youth to these pants that they had before. After I tailored these in, they became one of my new favorite pair of pantaloons to wear.
Tan Suit
This... well isn’t a fair comparison. The original pants were, as you can see, purposefully wrinkled. The reason for the wrinkling was to reduce the baggy-ness that came with the initial fit. And since they are made of linen, there would be wrinkles present with a few hours of moving around anyways. The jacket has been taken in quite a bit. I am not one to ever fully button a jacket, and so I had it tailored for that. The sleeves have been taken in, and I am pretty sure that the biceps size is nearly perfect.
Here you can see how much fabric was actually wrinkled up in the pants. There is a slight crease mid-calf in the aftermath of tailoring; it was a mistake of my ironing. The slimming of the jacket sleeves can really be seen in the profile. You can see how much of the body has been taken in. I really hate to keep using this phrase, but it seems too perfect to keep passing it up; it looked like I was wearing my father’s jacket before. I really like how this has turned out, but I know that I will rarely wear either of these garments. Why? Because they are linen, and linen = wrinkles. Grated there is a bit of character that comes along with a great deal of wrinkles; very much like this guy shot by Scott Schuman in June 2008…
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/SGCPdZ4JeuI/AAAAAAAADkQ/v4k-iUzP36E/s1600-h/6238PaleBlueweb.jpg
But I am still hesitant to attack it with full force.
Next post that you see will be a final wrap up of the exact garments worn on October 9th 2009, as well as the start of the next before the pins.
== On a side note, I choose not to include the Tux Jacket into the mix because they will be apart of my Jacket/Shirt trials. ==
-till then
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