john-boy

Stuart, Apologies if you picked this up last time, but just in case you didn't I'll re-post it ... I know it's a bit off topic, but, Stuart - quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anyone want to arrange a meet on the boarder of kent and essex ?. Or shall we leave this till the new year ? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think we should definitely get another meeting going - possibly early next year if we can't find a free weekend in December. Spoke to Steve Burns about this at the Classic Car Show - he suggested that we "surprise" Mike Feeney at the monthly SE Z meet that he organises for the Z-club's South Eastern group. This is held every month at the Halfway House near Brentwood at the A128/127 junction. The next meeting is this Sunday (which I defo can't make) .. but there's one on January 5th - if you're up for it, let's get it posted up on events ... What d'ya reckon? I presume this pub has a decent sized car park, and Mike says the food's good:D Hopefully, I'll have another Z by then, or maybe we could do the Feb one ... dates on the UK Z Club forum. CheerZ, John.

Paul, Ivan and Macca ... Cheers chaps. Appreciated. Still waiting for the engineer's report, but the feedback I've had so far suggests that I should try and buy it back, whatever happens. Need to establish the insurance company's policy (it's Bell Direct). If nothing else, I want to remove the 'zorst - it was only 3 months old FFS. Paul, I'm not sure that it's gonna be able to be repaired, mate, the shell looked like it was twisted, and to be honest, I think I'm gonna try and get another one ASAP ... mind you, bearing in mind the frustration I had last time ... What am I saying????:confused: BTW, doubly gutted as I have JWT chip sat at home on the sideboard, and APEXI AVC-R on the way! Roll-on that new Zed! CheerZ, John.

Chris, Thanks very much for this - yeah, the insurance company have just mentioned this, it's the MIB (Men In Black??) - Motorist's Insurance Bureau, they said this may be an option *if* the bastardos involved don't have any insurance (what do they mean "if"). Anyhow - I wish I'd had the presence of mind to at least grab hold of the driver, but I didn't really know where I was - only really managed to shout some vague obscenities then nip back to the car to try and call the missus - by the time I turned round again, they'd all scarpa'd - the coppers did manage to pick 'em up, but I can't see much coming of it.:mad: Thanks again:D John.

Nelson, Emero, Jeff - Thanks for the wishes and the ideas - I need to see the car in daylight, I guess, it looked pretty bad as it was towed away - the roof was twisted and the driver's door couldn't open as it had been shoved back into the trim for the rear quarterlight; I'm not sure it'll be in a fit state. Took some pictures when we got home, although need to be developed. As for getting the car back, It may be an idea to recover it - there's an unmarked leather interior, the stereo, and 650 quids-worth of Z-centre stainless exhaust just to start with. So, I'll see what they say - currently waiting for the engineer's report to get my hire-car underway. Apparently the car's in Camberwell, so I'm not sure where it will go after that! I'll keep you posted as to the fate of the car, plus its recoverable bits (if it's too bad to repair). Royztt - it was a manual btw - I've tried to e-mail you on your hotmail, but it keeps bouncing back. CheerZ, John.

Thanks Guys .... Yeah, as far as I know so far, it's gonna be a total claim for me.:( Although the young lady in blue at the scene did say something about a fund for this kind of accident (which I thought I'd heard of), from which my insurers may be able to recoup their losses - if they can actually decide it wasn't my fault - we'll see. Stuart, I'll check out "for sale" now:) CheerZ, John.

Cheers Stuart, I'm not sure I can wait around for the length of time that it took last time to find my '94 UK manual (are there any left?) - may have to resort to a "stop-gap" - Great, yet another opportunity to lose money hand over fist - ah well, as you say at least all are still in one piece. CheerZ, John.

Hi all, Just thought I'd take a moment to make you aware of the recent demise of my beloved Z:( Coming home from work, last Thursday night, I'm just going to pick the missus up from Swanley station, round the corner before the station - to discover, right in my face, on my side of the road, 5 local scallies in a Mazda 323. Time for one word only (you know the one) then SMASH - straight into my front off-side at about 45-ish (I think) mph - I reckon I was only doing 25-ish, as just about to turn off. Suffice it to say - a little shocked, as I sat in a pile of broken glasss repeating "F4ck me" over and over again. Cut my hands to ribbons climbing over the passenger seat to get out, to find the Mazda smashed to a pulp and the five aforementioned "types" effecting a runner (or "limper" in a couple of cases) :mad: In advance of the boys in blue. I'm too shocked to know what's going on, but I can see that my beloved motor has saved me (thank Christ) from serious injury - cuts to hands on exit and stiff neck only. As for the car - front offside wheel at a right angle and folded under the car, roof twisted and wing and some of door just ripped. Poor baby - I nearly burst into tears as I looked at my pride and joy sat in a pile of its own debris. As for the cause of this accident, they got nicked when flagging down the ambulance - already out on bail as it goes and the word is from the WPC, they probably don't have a licence between 'em - of course, they immediately deny having been near the offending motor - "we were run over by a motorbike guvnor" - Bollocks. I think there's enough of the driver on the steering wheel to tie it to him, plus one or two of his mates have placed him driving. Last I heard, the police are deciding what offences to prosecute for. Anyhow, the rub is that me and the missus are due to go for a long weekend on Friday last at 5.30 a.m. So I've just got back and there's a zed-shaped hole on my driveway:( God, I loved that car! F4ck me! F4ck me! For sale and wanted, here I come. CheerZ, Sad-JohnBoy:(

Bruce - Happy Thanksgiving to you too .... Seems like this is a massive event over there - flew back from US yesterday via St Louis and NY - couldn't believe the volume of people in transit at all the airports, with relatives waiting to whisk them off to a turkey scoff! Also, couldn't believe how polite all the personnel were at the airports, despite the massive business - always astounded by how friendly you guys are .. shame it's not more like that over here sometimes:D CheerZ, John.

As a relative newbie, I haven't met as many of you as I'd like to (yet), but I have to say, enjoyed chatting to everyone I've met so far .... discerning people of taste and stlye :cool: I know it's a bit off topic, but, Stuart - I think we should definitely get another meeting going - possibly early next year if we can't find a free weekend in December. Spoke to Steve Burns about this at the Classic Car Show - he suggested that we "surprise" Mike Feeney at the monthly SE Z meet:eek: that he organises for the Z-club's South Eastern group. This is held every month at the Halfway House near Brentwood at the A128/127 junction. The next meeting is this Sunday (which I defo can't make) .. but there's one on January 5th - if you're up for it, let's get it posted up on events ... What d'ya reckon? CheerZ, John.

I'd just like to say how much I *hate* those a-holes that seem to think that driving with the front foggers on in clear weather is going to make their car go faster/look better. Guess what guys, it does neither - and besides, EVERYONE has them these days (bar most 300s of course). Nice to see this is currently leading the poll. The worst culprits tend to be those in Peugeout 106 thru 406 - bloody awful tailgaters too! Who's up for some legislation whereby you can "remind" someone once that they've accidentally left the foggers on, and after that if there's a repeat offence, you've carte-blanche to stop them and smash their lights with a hammer! Stress relief:D CheerZ, John.

Hi Darren, I got mine done through Mike Feeney at MJP - not exactly in Kent, but a short hop across the river, and damn good service to boot. Mike has a number of options available for varying levels of power, so I would suggest giving him a call on 01277 374201 to discuss. He has a mechanic local to him that does the actual fitting (problem free for me) - it saved me over £500 on the price quoted by Nissan in Sidcup:D . Nice!. HTH. CheerZ, John.

One more vote for the "My zed looks great in grey" club. I looked for a long time for a black or grey zed (red was choice number three), and after having a black one first, I've now got a grey one and love it ... it looks great when polished (other than the sh1tty chipped bits:D ) ... Classy and understated. Let's face it, regardless of the colour, when they need to *show off* they can!!!:D :D :D CheerZ, John.

Hey Paul, Thanks for the message ... looking forward to that first part of my own Chrimbo shopping arriving!! I'm in Orlando (for work:( ) at the mo, so I'm not getting much chance to read and post. Happy to say, though, that the forum's still lightning quick out here, even on a crappy dial-up, instead of my home connection. Good work by Craig et al. Off to St Louis tomorrow, from blue skies and 70 degrees to snow .. damn, I've only packed my shorts!! Anyhow, not much zed action to report out here, except for a colleague at the office who's got a 91 NA in bright red. Lovely girl, looks great in the "Zee":D :D Back in the UK on Wednesday (all being well) and looking forward to boring you lot senseless with all my pent up posts!!!:p Time for some nosh now ... it's 6 pm, so for anyone back home - go to bed! LaterZ, John.

Stuart, no offence taken mate:) CheerZ, John.

I have to say it was looking distinctly wobbily on Saturday night, though - and just to think; had it toppled off, *anyone* could have picked it up!:D Anita, perhaps you should get mashed this weekend, just in the true spirit of fairness;) (Although actually getting pregnant would probably be taking it a bit too far!). Mike, will you be having a minature version commissioned, in preparation for the new arrival? After all, you've got nearly *twelve* months to get it sorted!:D :D Tee-hee. CheerZ, John.

Good purchase, my man .... Particularly good selection of colour (not that I'm biased). Here's to a large grin at the weekend, then:D :D John.

Stuart. Agreed ... I guess I was hinting more at possible speedo inaccuracy .. you know, different size wheels and all that (or could just have been being thick!) ... Even so, 175 seems awful fast (good effort:eek: ), and though I don't have the figures to hand, I don't think Mitsi Evo VIs are in the 155 ball park - I thought they were all about white-knuckle acceleration!!:D CheerZ, John.

Of course, silly me ... in the true spirit of pedantry, I should have said "donning the Duffy metaphorical hat" ... how's that? Of course, I'd never dare touch your crown jewels!!!:D CheerZ, John.

Russ, Congrats on your new purchase - I've seen your posts on here and z-club, plus the massive response they prompted (not!) ... so well done for sticking with it. BTW, I'm on my second 300 now and both mine have let in a bit of water on the drivers door, once it gets really sodden .. I'd resigned myself to it being a bit of an age/design-flaw problem. So, dish the dirt then, what spec/colour/age did you get in the end, and how did you find it? CheerZ, John.

Jeesh, my man, you were flying!!!:D Hope Mr Plod was no where to be seen:eek: Are you modded/de-restricted?

Good tenous link! Like it. However, donning the Duffy pedant's hat, I think it was "Volcane" .. suggesting a little more heat than the car actually had ... I think I'll retire the pedantry now, though, I don't think there's room for another on here!!:D :D CheerZ, John.

A bit late in the day I know, but congratulations! I don't really know you from Adam, but that's hardly the point .. it's really good to see someone so pleased by their good work;) - Hope it's all problem free for you both .... Also nice to see that from the state of your postings, pedantry takes a back seat to the real issues in life, like babies and alcohol:D Got to agree with Hairsy, though, I reckon Ajay's going to have a field day! Not a father myself (yet) but I'm at the age where lots of my closest friends are producing sproglets, and they're all unanimous in there happiness. CheerZ, John.

Booo! Hard lines mate - but like FT mentions, once the bills have settled down, you can get another - at least you'll have a good idea of what to look for next time too:)

Robtor, A word of caution to temper your ecstacy .. (sorry):( ... but I got a ridiculously low quote off TSB too (on the quick quote), and I couldn't get the full quote to work either to start with ... when it finally did submit, it came back with a referral - and I've got a UK TT too, old git (31) etc., so it's not that. So, I gave 'em a call, but they wouldn't quote cos it's more than thirty days to my renewal (need to shop around these days, eh?:D ) - it still remains to be seen if it's as good as the quick quote suggests ... I hope so!! Good Luck and let us know how you get on, it's only a month and a half 'til my renewal - Arse:mad: CheerZ, John.

Just to bring an otherwise well-argued topic down to playground level ... Anyone remember what car Diana was originally always pictured in, when news of the Royal "romance" broke? A bloody Metro!:D What was any (Aston-driving) future King thinking about marrying a bird in a Metro?? - Oh yeah - he talks to plants, doesn't he? Need I say more?:D CheerZ, Petty-John.