620Z

Some good advise there Pauly.

You learn something new every day.

Yeah that road into Cradle Mountain was the highlight for a few of us. Never driven so fast. Even got Lurch to hit his top speed in his car in my slip stream. It was a classic. The walk around Cradle Mt Lake was very pleasant as well. For me I like Symmons Plains certainly different to the tracks in Vic so it's always nice to go somewhere different.

Well what an awesome trip yet again. It was without doubt the best driving Lurch and I had ever done. Some on video some not. We all seemed to have a great time. The driving experience in Tassie is something to be experienced and never forgotten. I know a few of us will never forget some of the stuff down there. We had Symmons plains litterally to our selves. No hassles just 5 cars going round for as long as they liked. Lurch took full advantage of that and cut loose for the most laps. Basically we just had one car on the track at a time. Why, because we could. It was a rare track day. No major hassles for anyone the whole trip. Thanks for coming down Scotty. I hope to see you in the Zed next time. Cheers

Well done Gavin. I don't know how you find the time.

Hi Wayne, Well that might work out. You can give us a call the night before or that morning if you like on 0419-104-342 and if the timing is right we can catch up for a chat. When you dock look out for our Big Red Boat "Spirit of Tasmania coming in the same morning. Mind you it will probably be a 3rd of the size of your boat. Or if you beat us in hop off and wonder over to our dock and keep an eye out for us. I am in a Red 260Z 2+2. There will be a few other Zeds as well. Good luck.

When I raced my car around Baskerville a few years ago I got a 1.05:2 in my Zed. Fastest on the day out of around 35 cars. And I must say Mat Freeman's Zed was around half a second behind me in his 240 with triples on. I should be quicker now I have done some extra mods that I won't bore you with. But I do agree a bog standard Zed wouldn't do a 1.05 but I think we are more talking about 60s + 70's Porsche's that go for <35K here. A drive we went on a few years back with the NDSOC a few cars got left behind for what ever reason. Matt in his 240Z was racing through the Black Spur trying to catch up to us with a Porsche 911 (Who was on the drive with us, a friend) was trying to keep up with him. Cut a long story short he came off the road and wrote the thing off. Admittedly he was a little inexperienced. But he did say it was the fastest he had ever driven and loved it for the 5-10 minutes before the sad end. He still hasn't fixed the car.

Hi Wayne, Sounds like a big holiday for you. Some of us are going on a week long drive down to Tasmania. We have to catch a (Big Red Boat called "Spirit of Tasmania") down to Tassie and we actually return on the morning of the 12th. Our boat will most likely dock next to yours. But you guys might get in that afternoon. Let us know what time you come into Melbourne. If early morning 0700 then let us know otherwise we might miss you. Have a good trip.

Ah but do you want performance or prestige? You might be surprised that the Zed would most likely be quicker than the Porsche around the track. Or it would be cheaper to get going quicker around the track. A bit more comfortable inside as well. Those old Porsches are pretty average if you have a closer look. Don't be fooled by the name or the stigma attached to them. My brother had a 911 wide body kit etc etc and his straight 6 Zed was quicker in the quarter mile and around the track. For me I'm not a name brand man more a performance kinda guy but each to there own.

Sounds good to me Jimbo. Country, State and or even suburb.

I wouldn't be too negative about the thread really. We all started off buying a Zed for 5K or what ever. We all share the same passion. It is interesting to see what people have spent as it gives you an idea of the mods to their car. Most people are interested in who has done what mods to improve our cars. Mods usually cost money. I am well aware some or most people like to keep their finances private. No problems. I think it's a given we are all at different stages in our lives. Who knows in 10-20 years the same people may well have spent loads on their cars and look with interest at the new guys coming onto this site with the same hopes and dreams for their recently acquired pride and joy.

Ha Ha great stories. The dedication to find a bargain. There is always something to try and stop us realising our dream for the perfect Zed. Push through or over the hurdles and we get there eventually.

Scott I am looking forward to seeing your machine next Tuesday. So make sure you get it finished. I am in the same boat when it comes to doing things 2,3 even 4 times. Current phylosophy is to spend up big and do it once, it will save you in the end.

Personally I don't like to keep tabs anymore. But the wife has a button on the home finance package marked "Craig's Car" and it totals over 6 figures. I can't get away with anything anymore. I reckon I have another 30-40K to go over the next 10 years before it's close to finished the way I really want it. Having said that it is great to drive now and at a level I wanted to acheive but you always want that little bit more.

I like the text box style Sulio. But I would put the month and date at the front of every event. Then people see the date then look at what event it is. Then instantly you will realise, oh that's this weekend. I feel the dates get lost in the text in it's current format. Then like I say I reckon I would get rid of the crappy pole's box and replace it with a summarised version of the calender. Then it is in everyones face when they log onto the site at first glance. Then keep the other text like you have for more details. Then visitors will instantly see that the club is active and running events without having to click around different pages. Just an idea anyway. Good work though.

Some rear wings make a huge difference especially when you are on the edge racing around the track. Obviously size and design count for much of it's effectiveness.

It would be nice to have some of the meetings, say 2 weeks prior to our weekend away if not a drive. This would guage interest or generate it and help with the final planning. Also I know we have a calendar going but it might be an idea to have a side bar (to replace the boring poles) maybe to list the events, meetings and or club drives for the next few months. Make it a rolling calendar on the side bar so it is at the forfront of the members minds. It's all about marketing and advertising. If people glance to the right on the site and see what is on in the next few months then they are more likely to remember. People will not always go into the calendar to see what is on. Just an idea to lift our profile and increase numbers to our drives etc.

Yeah you are right it is the little things. When you see the bank account constantly drained and you spend the big bucks to set everything and installed only to have your plans foiled by minor niggly things that stop the car running or driving nice. Electrical, Tuning, idling, diff rattles, heavy steering, clutch, drivetrain, over heating etc etc. Makes you want to toss it away and move on. I thankfully have my car pretty close to where I want it now. A joy to drive and just sitting in the guarage nice and clean ready for a cruise any time. But it took 10 years and a lot of cash to get to this point.

Another way and I am sure a cheaper way is to buy one already done. Then you would have the complience for the 5.8 litre V8, presuming you want a real V8 in the car. Ha. They go cheap and then you have spare cash to finish it off the way you want it with all the hard work done. Beleive me there is a lot of work starting from scratch. I have found most who start never finish them or just get them on the road and sell them since all their time, money and patience is run out. You need to be dedicated to the project to see it through.

That's why man invented the overflow bottle. When you turn off your motor the water heats up expands and overflows onto the ground. If you have a bottle it would go into that and then it gets sucked back in when the car is driven again and heats up to normal temperature. You only need a small bottle. I slid mine beside the radiator using an nice black bottle that used to be for polish. Drilled a hole in the top for the hose to slide in. The problem is finding a nice bottle shape to suit your space. I looked in Supercheap around all the plastic bottled stuff like polish etc. Bought it for $6- or os and jobs done. Oh make sure it is a stick plastic. I did this after searching wreckers and not finding the shape I wanted.

I must have done my car prior to those rules being introduced in Vic. I have a 350 Chev stroked to 383 or 6.2 litres in my 2+2. Never had any problems. But I guess it was all approved over 10 years ago.

Yeah works awesome. My mags look like new. Bunnings has a 1.5-2" polishing bit so it fits into the tight corners. I put some race tape around any metal bits on the drill in case it ran off and scratched the alloy. Unfortunately after a few years the odd stone chips or scuff marks didn't come out after polishing with a rag for hours. Plus my bloody fingers went into spasims. Ha. Anyway this did the trick for me.

My understanding is that the coolant additive actually thins the water. So if you only had water in it before then change or add coolant to your radiator then it might find a minute whole that normal water particles couldn't make it through. I had a similar problem when I added coolant to when I only had water in the radiator. You forgot to add $50- for another bottle of coolant assuming you might have to drain it again changing the water pump. Pain in the butt. Better to sort it out now than on the road though.

Make sure you have plenty of spare cash and time. Good luck with it.

I struggled away for years polishing my mags with that fabric polishing stuff in a yellow tin. Takes ages. Anyway one day I asked my brother how he kept his mags looking like new. He bought from bunnings a polishing kit for about $10-$15.00. This included a couple of fabric connectors that go on a drill bit and some chalk all in one pack. Fantastic. I now use this. 10minutes on each corner and then I still finish off with my old fabric wool type stuff. Now my mags are kept pretty good all the time.