m0n1xX3r

For my money you're safest with black because the red will probably be a slightly different colour from your car and so will clash quite badly.

Got the new bushings fitted yesterday, at last. Refitting the shifter is a complete nightmare if you've got hands bigger than a smurf though. Thanks to everyone who gave advice on the earlier threads, and to Mike Feeney for the parts. :)

For a .COM company in 2000. Didn't sleep the night before because I'd been revising for an exam that day. Tube broke down on the way there. Interview went really badly. Said they were going to invite me back, but didn't. Quite glad actually: they were a web-design/e-commerce/new media company of the sort that has playstations, beanbags, widescreen tellies and pool tables everywhere. It's one of those things that seems really cool when you're young and a bit wet behind the ears, but on reflection I've become very suspicious of companies with lots of gimmicks like that: makes me think that perhaps they don't want you to leave the office. Oh yeah, and then there's the fact that I don't think they exist any more.

Done it mate.

'Tis very cool. I've had it on my computer for a while now and use it for all kinds of things. Very handy indeed.

Cheers Jock. Sorted. Up early tomorrow methinks as I want to sand and paint the body of the shifter (it's got slight rusty patina on some bits of it), and I need the car in the evening. Nothing like a bit of pressure to focus the mind, eh?

Cheers mate, hopefully no welding required. The thing I'm actually concerned about is the front suspension: bit on the squeaky side sometimes.

I've booked the zed in for MOT next Wednesday. It's well early as it's not due until the end of December, but I really want to gradually move it earlier in the year as with Christmas and everything it doesn't seem to me to be a particularly clever time to be doing that as well. Bit nervous, must confess.

Well done mate, sounds like great news! Hopefully it should all come good now. Cheers, Bart

Hi guys, I'm trying to remove my gear-shifter to replace the bushings, and it was all going just grand until I got to the final bolt on the linkage at the bottom of the shifter. The problem is the thing won't bugde. I've spent probably half and hour trying to get it to move, with varying levels of force, but obviously don't want to overdo it... I also decided that walking away from the job until tomorrow morning might be wise when I started having vivid fantasies about beating the guy who designed it unconscious with an oven door. Question is, am I alright to use something like WD40 on it to loosen the bolt? I realise it gets pretty hot down there so don't really want the residue igniting or something. Also, and this is a really naive question, but I ask because every now and again something very unexpected like this does come up: I assume the bolt loosens in the anti-clockwise direction? Think the guy in Wilco is sick of the sight of me as well because I keep going in there to buy spanners and sockets. Cheers, Bart

I'm currently partway through replacing the bushings on my gearshift, but trying to disconnect the mirror controls, the lighter and the ashtray light... for goodness sake. Could they make it any more difficult? Actually the first two aren't that bad, but the ashtray light connector has to be a work of the devil: looks like it should come apart really easily.... but doesn't. I can just imagine a bunch of Nissan engineers sitting round in a meeting discussing it (obviously in Japanese): "Sorry lads, our field test results suggest that somebody with the patience of Mother Theresa coupled with superhuman levels of manual dexterity might actually be able to disconnect that without slicing their hand into ribbons, so it's back to the drawing board I'm afraid." Gits. Obviously I do realise that these things have to stay connected and functional for years, if not decades, but surely some simple clip mechanism? The one on there *looks* simple, but is stubborn as hell. Still, got it off in the end so can't complain.

Chris, sorry to bug you again. Is that price including or excluding VAT? Cheers mate, Bart

Glad to hear it's all turned out OK mate. Must have been difficult to sleep last night.

Actually in a lot of states you can get a permit to carry a concealed weapon, and it's not even that difficult: I don't even think you need to be a US citizen. When I was in the States recently I spent some time with a guy in California who's going through the application process to become a police officer. He took me shooting and I was asking about the gun laws there. Basically if you're a convicted felon you cannot ever (legally) own a handgun, anyone else just has to go through a background check with FBI having filled out the appropriate form. Takes about 2 weeks, and like I say, you don't even have to be a US citizen. From there you can then apply to carry a concealed weapon. I think you have to go through some sort of training or sit a test or something, but it's just not that difficult.

OK, thanks, interesting. One or t'other. Well... I reckon I'd prefer a boost controller because it's another gadget to play with on your dash. :)

I don't know how close the car in the eBay link on this thread is: http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=59496 It's some sort of candy apple colour, don't know how that compares to pearl red.

That's a great vid: a very quick car. Saw it a few weeks ago too.

Thanks Chris. I'm gonna get on the blower to ZCentre today and get some quotes for fitting/spraying. Also on my list of things to do: book car in for MOT. My credit card is already quivering and crying in the corner in anticipation.

Thanks for that Jon. I feel a bit more illuminated. So next question is, how does that fit in with a boost controller? Do you fit that in addition to, or instead of boost jets? (Sorry, bit of thread hijacking going on here.)

Aaah OK thanks, interesting. I couldn't find it on the site. How much do you charge for it? I'm slightly torn at the moment between a fibreglass replacement for my standard spoiler, a '99 spec, or one of the ZCentre ones like Scottywil has, which is actually the only reason it's taken me this long to sort it out. If I knew what I wanted I would have done it by now. Feels like the top of a slippery slope though.... rear spoiler, front bumper, rear bumper, side-skirts... oops, that looks like a complete bodykit to me, now how did that happen?

Congratulations bud! Have a great day. Don't worry too much about the speech: the best ones are always extemporaneous, sounds a lot more natural.

TBH I just thought the first one was a 350Z that somebody had just done a *terrible* job of modding. Can't actually believe it's meant to look that way.

Can you get the '99 spec in the UK? Doesn't look like ZCentre stock it. I've reached the point where my rear spoiler is beyond a joke now: people say things like, "Wow, nice car....oh!" when they see it.

I think I might need to get a steering wheel to play this with. All of the cars are nearly impossible to control with the keyboard, and in consequence my best lap time is probably about double the worst of those because of all the spinning out.

Just my current one: Black manual TT 2+2. And I love it. :-)