What's up everyone, got a real update finally!
So my deadline to get back down to New Mexico was yesterday, and the goal was to take the Z but things definitely have been up in the air the whole time.
After pulling the plenum I think 4 times total I finally got the vacuum leak 99% fixed -- still some wisping visible from the same area on the plenum after the thicker Felpro gasket but only at like 1 bar and we shouldn't have even cranked it that high lol. Maybe porosity of the aluminum after the media blasting, or a hairline crack on the upper or lower manifold that I wasn't able to see during inspection.
But anyway that's the boring part -- the fun part is deciding to set out on a 500 mile drive a day after reassembling and after only having put 70 miles on the car since I got it. Hell yeah.
Needs wheels ASAP, the Border fascia is way over the top for stockers lol
Not affiliated in any way but I gotta give a shoutout to CZP, if they hadn't shipped everything so damn quick I never would have made it
Don't mind the dinged up interior and the empty gauge holders, just happy to be on the road lol
Don't worry, not broken down -- just checking fluids. Didn't appear to use a drop of anything, really and I had datascan on the laptop to keep an eye on temps and never saw higher than 176F.
Like I said, needs wheels very soon. And a wing of some sort. Also thinking some side splitters might help the skirts and front mesh a little better until I can swap out the veilside eventually
And the final hurdle, I live on a dirt road lol but the Z did great and no scraping at all.
Just one more pic for good measure.
All in all, the Z did the trip without a single real issue. The missing T-top shades and lack of AC made it a little warm but not too bad, and I noticed some minor clutch slipping at the end of the day but I ended up not rebleeding it before I left so I'm hoping that'll clear it right up.
Unfortunately the gas tank still leaks at over 3/4 tank and I’ve just been careful about keeping it below that for now. The next real project is a new tank, and with that comes dropping the subframe, so might as well do coilovers, adjustable arms, bushings, etc......lol
All in all I'm super stoked to have made the trip and man it was a lot of fun. I kept the driving pretty sedate due to the lack of a license plate (car is insured at least) but it is a damn quick vehicle for sure.
As always thanks to anyone who reads this, and I'll have more updates soon!