NSW Cuddlybear Tech Day 25/2/2012

Although this isn't over as of yet, I unfortunately had to leave early. So I thought i'd be the one to start the thread.

There's a few people i'd like to thank for today:

First of all, Caroline for her wonderful hospitality, was greatly appreciated!

Secondly, AndyMac for dropping off a pod filter so that I could actually make the tech day.

Thirdly, EVERYONE who came and had a look at my car, helped out with it, etc.

Fourthly, good old(or not so old) Mitch Soree. I sure as hell wouldn't be an owner of a Z without this bloke. Has helped me so much since owning one, and was highly sought after today with his wealth of knowledge. I owe you mate, cheers.

As some may or may not know, i've had a few problems with a pod filter. After getting that sorted, I headed straight for the tech day. Roughly 20 minutes into the drive, I noticed that something wasn't right at all. Kept soldiering on until my nerves got the better of me, I pulled over to check that the pod was still connected and running fine. Turned out to be okay, so I proceeded with the trip. Nothing had changed, still running out of the norm. Once arriving at the tech day, I called Andy over, followed by Mitch a bit later on. Had a look at the pod, couldn't work out what was wrong, checked for boost leaks and discovered that there was one coming from one of the hoses leading from the EGR. Plugged those up with a screw and a good old cable tie. Tested for leaks again, wasn't fixed. Later discovered that there was a leak from the EGR gasket. Fixed that up, reconnected the pod. Had to get home in a rush so had no time to test for more boost leaks, and it was being used at the time so it wasn't fair to hog it

On the trip home, still no change in the running of the car. Once I finish writing this post and doing a few things around the house, i'll go and investigate as to why it isn't running the same as it usually does. Had a quick chat to Ryzan on fb chat, he's thinking it's the S1 PTU. Conveniently, I bought one off of Marcus today. Just a matter of finding time to, and learning how to solder. I'll go test error codes later on. Note: Cat temp sensor came on numerous times whilst coming to and from the tech day. First time i've ever seen it...

Anyhow, enough with my problems. Time for some pics! Didn't take too many, got roasted in the sun and was too busy learning new things










Mikey's epic wing











Mitch getting his fingers sticky













Yes, believe it or not. There is a use for this wing



Nice and flush :zlove:



The attention seeker of the day



That's all from me for today. Thanks again to everyone who made this day possible. Was nice meeting you all!

EDIT: TOOK ME 3 TRIES TO UPLOAD THESE DAMN PICS! Should have probably checked them before I uploaded them all. Resized them too small, then resized them to a larger image and it distorted them. Had to re-load the originals. FML

 

Great day, but I'm sooooo sunburnt, the wing, it does nothing!!

 

Join the club mannn!

 

Sunburnt too. Great day, epic BBQ lunch with huge thanks to caroline and the other kitchen wiz's who made it all happen.
The keeper Z is looking sharp, and should have plenty more years of mooring ahead of it. Big props to everyone who showed up, lent a hand, and made this day a great success.

 

Great to see the good ol'bunch getting their hands greasy. Thanks for the pics, Jamie! Didn't the pod adaptor arrive on time?

Will be waiting for more updates/pics from the other members...



AAA

 

No Arvin, no adaptor as of yet.

 

There goes our express postage!!! Sorry dude. Hopefully it wakes you up early Monday morn...


AAA

 

Much of a muchness now mate, Z won't be driven anytime soon until I sort this problem out first.

 

It was a great day. Quite a lot of work was accomplished by the Wiz/Stef/BennyC/DinoZ/Pexzed group, while the rest of us circulated amongst the various smaller tasks that didn't require as much specialised knowledge to sort out(much kudos to the great work done by the guys in the above-mentioned group)
Everybody played an important role in contributing to the overall success of the day(which was primarily to get Caroline's cars sorted out for her, so that she can remain as one of our much loved and appreciated members).

This is what the Forum is really all about, helping each other to enjoy our common interest...Z32's and all their foibles.

P.S. If anyone wants a car polished, Stef is your man!
If I have left anything out, forgive me(I'm getting Old & Forgetful).:zlove:

 

Good to catch up

With all the crew again,
Lots of work done on the keeper Zed, must say it looked good when everybody had finished their relevant tasks
Lets hope Caroline has many kilometers of trouble free motoring ahead.
some pics
Scenic driveway

Scenic driveway #2

Hayles sporting some new ink

Mitch, Dino and Stef hard at it wireing up the lights

The only bloke that should be resting, hobbles around on one leg working, Pex has the right idea , beer in one hand, makes sure Mikes doing it right.

 

Yep.....sun burnt too . Was a great day thanks Caroline for hosting and I hope your keeper Z treats you well. It was looking great by the end of the day so great work to all the members who go in and helped with that. Great to also meet a few new faces and finally put them to the forum names. Also a big thanks to everyone who helped me out with trying to diagnose my engine issue. I'll be attacking that loom in the next couple of weeks. Kent if you need any help with that plenum pull let me know I'm not that far away.

I have some photos to upload but cant find my cable, so I'll get them up as soon as I can.

 

No longer sunburnt, just gone a nice shade of brown

My old mans suffering though, bright red.

 

Well another great & successful tech day thanks to all the appreciated efforts of the members who volunteered their time to help Caroline resolve an issue in getting out of two cars one that would look good & be reliable for years to come & Caroline can still be able to continue her affiliation with the 'Z' community.I think we can safely say that has been achieved as the car looks great & seems to be running well.

I would like to thank the guys involved in resolving my boost leak issue as the car is running so much better now.Your time & effort was greatly appreciated.

On another note, did anyone happen to find/endup with a pair of all black Sunglasses? I may have inadvertently left them on/in an engine bay. I 'know I know' fat chance they'll be in there now,but they may have just fallen down in there somewhere.

Anyway it was great to catch up with some old faces & meet some New ones.

Cheers
Grahame.

 

Yeah these cars run great with boost don't they Grahame

I lost mine too .....anyone got an engine bay full of sun glasses

 

Yes, that sun really had some bite.

With combined efforts from many (not Chili as he just admitted, but he has probably forgotten that already) Caroline's blue car now looks a million dollars. Many parts were swapped from the silver car and the rest was cleaned up and refreshed. The boost leak tester seemed to do the rounds of most cars within reach of the compressor.

The ladies seemed to enjoy the view from the shade in the garage where a bit of wine was sipped. The boys out in the sun all needed a beer to hold on to to keep their balance.

Pex, BennyC and Haylz working hard at polishing. Andymac not.



Look at the shine in that bonnet. Looks good doesn't it Chili !



Just about done.

 

Some more before and after shots

Well I finally managed to upload some photos, so here they are:

Before






During....




After....

 

Stefan, my Dear and most valued friend, it is with some measure of distress that I note that the ravages of the fierce Australian Sun has once again adversely affected the cognitive abilities of those who hark from the Northern extremities of our beloved planet.
I wish you an immediate and complete recovery from this most debilitating condition in which you find your good self(and YES, that bonnet does have a very nice shine, doesn't it)?:rofl::rofl::rofl::zlove::br:

 

Thanks to all who came and helped make the day a great success. I'm sure Barry was looking down from up high with a smile on his dial. We finally got around to taking both the blue and silver zeds out for a good run on Sunday afternoon and came back grinning from ear to ear. Both cars are running really sweet, with a lot of extra hidden horsies revealed in the silver zed.

It is likely the silver TT will be up for sale soon, so keep an eye out for the details. If anyone needs to check how well it goes, talk to Benny_C (I think he might still be grinning).

Sunday evening revealed the immediate task that the blue zed will be put to, as Carolyn put it to her son Peter: "The car is a chick magnet, make the most it". So it looks like the car will get plenty of healthy running between the central coast and Bondi.

The last of the stragglers (Pex, Benny, Mike, Sandy & Dean) finally left about 9:30pm Sunday and were back at our place (Maclean) about 4:30am. We topped the boys up with some hot coffee (can't understand it, Benny didn't want another beer?) and they headed for Qld about 5:30am to be back in Brissie in time for the morning peak hour.

Carolyn was really touched by what occurred on the day and again would like to thank everyone for the amazing effort and result.

 

QLD crew all home safe.

Hi and thank you to all who turned up, and of course to Cuddlybear and all the helpers in the background assisting with the unseen stuff that are needed to make these days work.
On a personal note it was great to catch up with members both established and new, as I won't be at Zedfest, so both the social and technical aspects of the day were both awesome.
Part of the reason for holding a tech day was that Barry had always wanted to host one at home, but sadly he was taken from us before this could eventuate. I feel pretty safe that he'd be looking down with a smile on his face and a (happy) tear in his eye.
A lot of good work was done to the cars, and I think every one had a great time despite the sunburn .
We took the two Zeds out on Sunday for a leisurely drive, and both behaved themselves well:br:. I can't say the same for the drivers .

We also got around to cataloguing the parts that were lying around in the shed and formulating a price for the complete uncomplied Z.
Dean will post something up in the relevant section when all is sorted.
I want extend my heartfelt gratitude to Carolyn and Family for putting us up and also putting up with us for those 2 days.
You guys are just extraordinary people.
We also could not have made the trip without the support of Cara (Mrz Magic) and Tammy (Mrs PEX), so thank you girls for your support for weekend.
Also the awesome Magicmike and Benny_C for keeping me awake on the trip home, and to Dean and Sandy for the cuppa coffee at 4:30am on the way through this morning