Old Zed

I hope this weather forecast of snow to be received today in the West Country does not then hang around over the weekend, somehow Zeds and snow do not mix, although the photographs are always great. Fingers crossed.:laugh:

Yer always late :winkiss:

You better say 12 o'clock cos Lisa is always late :whistling:, also I don't know what time they stop serving lunch.

Well done Murty, it aint a bad pub and easy to find.

Lucky beggar Si, it's a place I have always wanted to go, but have been too scared to venture there, I have friends in Jo'burg who keep inviting me out and say that it's OK especially on the coast and properties are very cheap to rent, along the way. Enjoy Si.

Your on dangerous ground there Alan, I know, I have been there. You both agree that Valentines day is shite and that you are not going to send each other cards, and then on the day she gets minty because you didn't buy her one. You end up getting p1ssed and no leg over in the morning. Get down the local petrol station now mate before its toooooooooo late, especially if you want nice Sunday morning sh4g.

I spent 20 years in the missile design department at British Aerospace, mainly designing electronics etc., and got made redundant in 1990......what the feck do you do after that, it don't look good on yer CV and no on else does that sort of thing. I switch to manufacturing engineering, structural engineering and marine engineering on a self employed basis, never looked back. I should have left BAe earlier but when you have kids and a mortgage, you tend to stick with the security. I now do loads of work for the MoD, love it although the travelling to dockyards to climb over ships used to be a PIA, you get use to it. I am now well past my sell by date, but they just keep giving me work, ching ching.:cool3:

Have you booked it in, his spanners don't get cold these days.:oops:

Hi Dave, all mods to Zeds are a very personal thing and I don't think you should start getting concerned about other peoples preferences, they are not driving the car, you are. Here is a link to the Pentroof Zed and I think the rear diffuser is similar to what you have found. When you see one of these cars in the raw they look gritty, and very desirable, go with your desire and instinct. http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?p=942916

2. Old Zed

10.Yewcheck 11. Old Zed

You will when you see it. Blimey, I just realised you probably can't remember me either. I'm in a black zed and I will have a white rose in my lapel. I am 6ft 6, black hair, blue eyes, well bronzed, muscular and the spitting image of Daniel Craig, oh and a scare over my right eye.:wink:

Thats where we met last time Lisa, and its just off the motorway. There is also some good countryside around for a photo shoot.

That aint normal Murty, start saving.

The key words are 'of course I have no idea how old they are'. Coil springs do break even on modern cars, I had 2 break on my Laguna and I was told by the recovery agent that it is a common failure on a lot of modern vehicles. Springs do an awful lot of work on a car when on the road and with age must become brittle, this results in them breaking. I am not surprised at all and I am sure that Eibach will also be pretty laid back about it, nothing is for life on a car, get used to it, or walk.

If it aint taxed then usually they are a Trader who does not want to put their name in the logbook. It they are genuinely a private seller then they don't really want you to take it for a test drive......why ? cos it has problems. Don't bother, find something else.

I know where your coming from Alan, mine has been parked in the garage now for some 3 months and of course the battery died. After this I did not bother with it and Jimmer has just got me a new battery. I fitted it yesterday and she started first pull, she sounded fantastic, I immediately noticed my full tank of fuel had evaporated down to 3/4 but thats life. I drove her out of the garage so the fumes would dispense and left her running. After about 10 minutes I knew that the road was yearning. I have a Discovery TD5 which I have been driving for ages and suddenly I am in the Zed, the boost is stilled turned up ready the the rolling road at Castle Combe that did not happen. Bloody 'ell she felt quick, bumpy and very urgent on the steering. It did not feel like my car anymore, it was strange ? I took her down to WSM and then up the M5 to stretch her legs, aah the feeling started to return, the feeling of power, the smile went across my face, the exhileration of speed. Feck me she felt quick, too quick and very positive on the steering. The Discovery is low geared and no ball of fire so you have time to play with the steering, plus your sat up high like on a horse, now I am on my arse and shooting about the motorway lanes like a learner. When I got back home I was beginning to think what on earth am I doing in such a Starship ? most people my age are in a home and wearing incontinence pads or even worse don't know who the Queen is.I sat there momentarilly thinking just the same as you. It's done about 2000 miles this year, cost a fortune to tax, insure and maintain, and is an accessory to your normal life, or is it ??? You get a headache and you take paracetemal, you get poor eyesight and you buy glasses.............you want excitement you buy............Viagra, no, a Zed. You can use it anytime, any place, any where and it's sure to make you happy. Change the other bits of your life to make the Zed more important, your lucky, yours is fixed, looking special, an eyecatcher, uptogether, it just needs driving, and its there when you want it, and it will make you smile. I am on my third Zed and I wished I kepted the first and spent the money on it that I have spent on the other two. Regret takes a lot of putting right, I know I have many.:crying:

/\/\/\/\/\ Read this......most important or you could end up needing a new one.

Yes Lisa, that OK with me, I have just fitted a new battery, car ain't moved for 3 months, what a waste of tax, started first pull tho'.:wink:

I used to be a driving instructor and it is not all that its cracked up to be. Firstly the exam you have to pass after initial training with a driving school, is horrendous. There are normally two people in the car besides you and one plays the pupil and the other observes. The pupil then goes into apesh1t mode usually in the middle of town and you have to retain control at all times. The observer watches how you cope with a plank behind the wheel in a busy town centre. Once you have passed normally because you have trained ( and you have to) with an established driving school, they take you on and they find your clients. The problem with this is that you get all the crap clients, i.e., from out of town or in dodgey districts of your area, people who don't speak English and old ladies, 70 ish whose husband has recently passed away and has now decided to learn to drive. They normally have specs like jam jar bottoms and have always got their mouths open. They have absolutely no raod sense, no co-ordination, and no memory so every lesson is like the first. You spend most of your time travelling across town which equals fuel and time. You also have to work weekends, evenings and early mornings as clients like you to fit in with their jobs, i.e. they want to have a lesson whilst driving to work in the morning, this coupled with also working evenings, means you are not having any home life, social life or a good nights sleep. By the time the school takes out their charges for the car, the fuel and the adminstration you will be lucky to be on minimum wage. Your marriage will fail, you will end up in debt and probably call on Harold Shipman to do away with half your clients, some of whom will leave stains on your seats because they are incontinent, dribble and their dentures fall out when they brake. Go for it, it is all part of lifes rich experience. Don't say you have not been warned.:ohmy:

Working for the MoD and dealing with these sort of colours I can tell you that any paint that is matt will show finger prints, oil marks, grease and stains. It will not polish and although it will look good initially, will soon look shite. In the case of fighting vehicles, this makes the appearance blend in better with the terrain or environment, on a private car it will look like its been vandalised. Be warned.

Come on peeps the sun is starting to shine, Exeter sounds a good run out and the Cat and Fiddle lunches ain't that bad either.Surely someone would be interested in stretching the Zeds legs.

Well, so far it looks like Tuesday night is the best night and 7 or 8 o'clock, I think that 8 is probably the best time, so is it the last Tuesday in the month or the first, if we chose the last we could have a get together this month.....great, so where shall we meet ?? suggestions please.

Hi Dan, do not remove the cambelt and do put oil in the sump. Cambelts and pulleys are designed to take the tension when fitted and if in place, there is no chance of the valves colliding with the pistons. Do put the correct amount of oil in the sump, this will give off an oil mist which will protect the inside of the engine. When turning the engine over, remove the plugs to alleviate the compression and you can put some oil down the bores, I would say about about 40 mil each bore and give it chance to settle and run down the side of the piston crown to the first ring. Then using a socket on the pulley bolt, turn the engine slowly in a clockwise direction, I would say about 10 revolutions, this will lubricate the bore. Now put a drill on the socket to hopefully turn the engine over a lot quicker and for about a 5 minutes. This will circulate the oil up around the camshafts and also through the oil galleries and bearings. This should be done about every 2 weeks and all will be fine. A dry storage environment is essential and I would be tempted to throw a cover over the whole assembly impregnated with oil, not sopping but preferably sprayed with a fine oil to inhibit corrosion to the outside.(Don't forget to refit the plugs, very important)

He's been thinking about selling since he bought the car, it's the colour that causes him most emotion. The car is a brilliant example but the colour does not sit well with Joel. The paintwork is great and I love it, if he does decide to sell it, it won't hang around.