| I took some shots of things mentioned in the last installment - This set-up was "thrown together" for temporary use, since it's borrowed, but I thought it looked pretty good: 
Very nice, clean Carbing bar install: 
13 October, Saturday - Bernie was out of town and I'd been trying to get excited about a 2nd motor pull without much success. Finally just made myself go in the garage and get to work. Starting from a complete car, I surprised myself by having the exhaust, driveshaft and trans down in 2.5 hours. Yay me! Pulled the radiator and disconnected some stuff while I was at it, then called it a night. 21 October, Saturday - Spencer joined us again. We pulled the engine and checked out the oil line. Our findings: 
Seems it was barely holding together because when Bernie went to remove it, he hardly touched it when it broke in two: 
If you'll note in the pictures above, the line bows down. We thought we needed to do that for clearance issues, but that could have been the problem. The compressor bracket may have tweaked it just that much more, or, well, who knows, but that was the situation there. This was how we installed the new hose: 
More modifications B made to make room for the oil line and be sure this bracket wasn't rubbing or pushing: 
And another, made the first time around: 
Do I have all required mods for the 530BBs covered, B? Much thanks to Greg D. for being concerned about the outcome and shipping out a replacement line right away - you guys do good business. =) So Bernie replaced the line. Stood up, stepped back, eyed it sourly, shook his head and grumbled, "All that work to do a 3-minute task." We then dropped the engine back in and and put it all back together. Spencer stayed late to get the understuff all back on - thank you Spee!! <3 He then stuck around just to be oil-dump spotter again when I started it up. Turned the key and - lo! It fired up and not a drop came out. Sounded darn good, actually, except for an idle issue. When the accelerator was pressed, the car bogged and wanted to stall. This while it was still up on jack stands. But at least it started and stayed dry! 24 October, Tuesday - Addressed the idle issue. One of the many reasons it's good to be in Bernie's garage is the stock of spare parts. Two TPSes later, the Z was purring like a kitten. Bernie made his final adjustments to anything that needed to be set. Naturally, after an entire summer of drought broken by maybe four rainstorms, it was pouring for days. So I was in no hurry at this point to hit the road, after having gotten used to driving an underpowered 4-banger for the last 6 months. The Z came down off the jack stands into the driveway last Thursday. I drove it to the end of the street and back just to turn it around and to bask in the new tone. The expired inspection decal and wet roads kept me from going farther. Last Saturday morning I took care of that and took it for a brief spin before we undertook the next project (hi Jason!) for another weekend in the garage. You know that phenomenon we call "permagrin"? Yeah. It's all good. 8) Monday I drove it to work. It'll be a while before I feel a need to turn on the radio. ;-) I love just hearing that deep purr, and then the bass gurgle when I let off the gas. No need for resonators. As for the performance, well, I'm going to need to go for a weekend drive sometime, because in the traffic we have around here, I can now go from one position on the highway to an inch from the next car's bumper in about two seconds. And again. And again. The car has more pickup even before it hits boost, and it's SO smooth now. 4k RPM feels like my old 3k RPM - it's the sound or whatever that makes me feel like I need to upshift, you know? It no longer sounds like it's laboring. Sometimes I discover myself cruising around 5k without having had that subliminal urge to shift. I don't think this Z has ever been happier or healthier since it rolled off the line. And here I'd like to put in a word for Bernie, even though I'm sure he doesn't need one with most folks here, but I have never been so impressed with anyone's work on a car, or many other things for that matter, ever. He has serious pride in his craft, a merit that shines in a world where most just do enough to get the job done, and some don't even go that far. I've been involved in a bunch of projects with him now, and he often goes out of his way to do things right even when "good enough" is good enough, or to take the extra step to make a thing better. He takes care of things he just happens to notice while he's in there, if he can, if he has the parts available, even if I'm willing to just let it slide. Cars ALWAYS leave his garage better than they arrived, and I mean aside from the work they came for. He does nothing half-assed and often goes beyond the call, even to the point of finishing touches, little aesthetic details capped, covered, tied, straightened, matched or whatever can be done. For me, a hood prop grommet here, the correct bolts there, blue parts that match better than blues I originally had, even though the parts won't be seen, and a hundred other little touches. Not to mention patient explanations and valuable experience. I'm not kissing butt; I know I don't need to. I just feel a desire to express and share my deep appreciation for work well done. Spencer's not too shabby either; these two make a superb team that I'd have work on my car any time. Thanks so much to all who were involved, those who sold me parts, those who lent emotional support and all you guys who asked "How's it going?". This was a huge project; I'm glad I did it, and I'm glad it's done with. Only a few minor items to address that don't affect the operation of the car and I can theoretically be done with the Z for a while. Just in time to put the Sunfire up on jack stands. I swear it never ends. :-P Here's the car as it stands today: 
I love my Z all over again... 8) Thanks for reading!
You don't have to live in a bubble just because someone else caught the flu. Make your decision on your ability to trust yourself. - NytWolf 15:49:05 12/17/06
I was previously a aviation mechanic and avionic technician and this car is harder to work on than Aircraft. - Hocuz77 03:04:56 02/28/06 |
