Well its long overdue that I got around to updating this again, lots more mileage and enjoyment, albeit inevtitably some more signs of wear and tear with maintenance to be done.
The car got taken out to Le Mans for the 24 hours as part of a two car convoy, very much chalk and cheese with my dad and his mate pedaling the Z and me and a friend taking his Corvette C7. Albeit seperated by nearly 50 years of design development and with three times the power output, fundamentally the cars shared alot in terms of layout and design.
It was quite amusing to see which car appealed to which groups of people, the younger generation and kids all swarmed over the Vette given its status as a current Le Mans car, technology and intoxicating noise, with anyone past their twenties gawping over the Z and its condition. On balance I still think the old girl tipped it in terms of attention!
Thankfuly I got several opperunities to drive the Z and show off its capabilities through the twisty backroads, its safe to say on the narrower B roads the Z was really holding its own losing the Vette (too big for the smaller roads) in several places however as soon as the road opened up the Vette just left the Z behind like it was standing still. The performance of the Corvette was simply mind boggling in terms of what it could get away with, particularly with its fancy electronic aids. The Z really couldn't hold a candle to it in terms of performance, however it could certainly hassle around the back roads though which was good enough for me.
We did the grand tour including driving the Mulsanne straight and down to Hotel de France one evening where the Z stole the show to the point I couldnt actually see it through the crowd around it. We met some amazing enthusiasts as ever and there was a superb amount of enthusiasm. Much to my amusment several people doubted the Z's reliability as an older car, suggesting we'd be lucky to make it home without issue. Strangely I've never had any such concerns given its robust nature... I dont know whether maybe I'm just too trusting? or there is just a very unfounded reputation with older cars....
This is where a small host of jobs stack up, sadly and to my disapointment on the way home the car developed a rumbling noise following some enthusiastic driving. Turns out that following some inspection I managed to kill the front right wheel bearing so that's now been replaced and remarkly a replacment was sourced in the UK.
Having covered over 2000 miles in the last few months including trips to Belgium and France the repaired windcreen has decided to give up and has cracked internally, we're regrettably therefore replacing the windscreen. With autoglass not being able to help source the glass I've sourced and purchased a replacement screen from Lithuania which got delivered a few weeks back and has been fitted by Merlin Windscreens again. The bonus is the new screen is much lighter I'm told!
Another slight frustration has been that the exhaust manifold bolts slackened off due to the heat cycles and we picked up a blow from the exhaust manifold gasket, much to my frustration I have stripped this off again to replace the gasket. I've not taken any chances this time and used high temp sealant as well as the gasket for good measure. I've certainly not had much luck in this area however I should have been more proactive in checking the torque settings following installation. This was however ather aptly timed as my dad decided to take the Z up a track due to a road closure and beach the car, safe to say there have now been some reapirs done to the exhaust with various new clamps fitted and dinatrol added to the underside.
Within a two week period I managed to take the car and visit several members a few months back, it was great to chat and share their pride and joys. Some amazing cars which have given all kinds of ideas with every visit, our car seems to be held in high regard however I think all of us seem always seem to underate our own hardwork on these cars, each time I took a new idea away and found something to be improved.
At this point I need to yet again give a massive shoutout to another member on here, Jon who on a recent business trip to to California took the time out of his day to go and meet my uncle and collect my strut braces and cpillar bar from Techno Toy Tuning. He managed to bring them all back over to the UK for me. Another great example of a member bailing me out and helping to move the project along, so thank you very much!
I'm pleased to say these have now finally been installed and really look the part in the car, I've not had too much chance to really put them through their paces though. The good news is the fire extinguisher has now also been mounted in a prominent location as a just in case measure rather than being tucked away behind the car seats.
We've also recently installed a 15/16's brake MC in order to help with the bigger brake setup, however this unsurprisingly has not come without its own issues. It turns out that the rod used with the old MC was worn, bodged and not particularly adjustable so we've had a new rod fabricated to be dropped in its place. There's still been some issues with binding brakes and brake lights sticking on which really need looking at, another ongoing project....
That covers most basis, we're getting the car ready though as its about to embark upon a 3000 mile road trip through France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany which should be amazing fun!
Only 11 more working days left before I'll be unemployed and be embarking on my travels, I've also booked my CBT for this weekend so will hopefully manage to get my bike license before I leave to make the most of it on my travels.
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr
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Mark Woodrow, on Flickr