March 01, Shawn writes: "Fellow Z3 maniacs, Todd C. has been wanting to come up and visit my garage (just over the RI/MA boarder) for awhile now so we can take a look at the airflow of his 3l.

(Yeah well we ALL want to come visit Shawn's garage, here's a pic from David's visit)
I've been looking for an excuse ever since Shawn posted his Garage Invite and his web site.
I think Rachel was looking for any excuse for a road trip.
Busted.
I am very sure Emmy was.
Busted again.
We have been talking and figured it could be a lot of fun if we turned it into a small Z3er get together... sort of a very mini Fixit day@ Foggs... with a BBQ of course.
Of course!
Basically the idea is to take the 'parking lot time' of any Z3 drive, stick it in a garage to get some work done, and add food.
Depending upon how long you guys are here will sort of limit how much we can accomplish. We need to airflow test Todds car and take a general look at the airbox to see if it can be improved. Rachel was interested in having me give Emmy a physical to make sure she is looking healthy. Mainly just checking plugs and looking for leaks. Emmy may get a new set of brake pads though too to help Rachel have more time to drive. Not a big deal as I've got enough custom Z3 jack stands so we can get all four wheels off the ground at once to speed up the process. We may have more time if Jon or David would be interested in anything. If I'm really ambitious we might be able to get work accomplished in both bays at once.
For the airflow testing we need a non-snowy/icy day as it involves WOT runs to redline in second gear. My garage is insulated but not very well heated yet so it might be a little brisk in there depending upon when we do this. Probably in the 40s to 50s.
For me Saturdays work best and doing it in March helps. I know there is a drive this weekend so that is out. Todd said he couldn't make it on March 23.
If you are interested please reply to everyone with the dates you might be available."
Todd writes:
"Everyone is welcome to stay both Fri and Sat -that will be great. Jon, we will stay close to home and take a cell phone to stay in contact with you."
March 02, Rachel writes:
"It's a good thing Todd invited us, since we were planning on staying with him anyway."
Shawn writes:
";) I bet he knew that was the case anyway."
Rachel writes:
"Methinks March 17 is a GO baby. Erin Go Foggy."
Shawn writes:
"Cool, that is what I will plan on then. Guess this means I gotta clean the garage..... ;)
Any suggestions on the BBQ? Steaks, burgers, hot dogs or what? Melissa and I aren't seafood fans but if someone wants to cook some that is no problem... I have a large grill."
March 12, Todd writes:
"I am really getting excited about see you all this weekend. This is going to make this long week go quicker. I think I have about 2100 miles now. I hope the weather will get better so I can add more. I drove it last night to the gym- I keep forgetting how awsome it is to drive."
March 14, Rachel writes:
"Frikin aggravating day, decided to spoil myself- got the pads, one day delivery should be at your office on Friday. (grin) How about the spark plugs, can i get them too?
I have now irrtreivably crossed the line- it is now obvious that my car is the outlet for all my aggressions. Every time someone aggravates me, I put something on the car. AWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I defintiely need to be sedated"
JonT writes:
"It must be something in the air. I've reached my limits here too. I won't go into details - all I can say is HUUAAAARGH!!!"
Shawn writes:
"I'll third that, this week (and the begining of next week) we are nutty! Can't wait for the weekend. ;)"
JonT writes:
"Shawn, did you notice any increase in stopping distance with the Porterfield pads?"
Shawn writes:
I never measured it but according to my 'butt-dyno' I think I can stop *shorter* with these pads. They are definitly easier to modulate so you can threshold brake easier which will stop you quicker."
JonT writes:
"Actually, I'm on my way over there after work to get pads for my Audi (aka I'm not going to pay $300 for a front brake job!)
Who makes 'em? Rachel, I can pick up a set of spark plugs for ya..."
Shawn writes:
"Just went to the Pep Boys near me and for a Y2k 2.5l they did list it as taking #4417 plugs. However they only had 4 in stock so I didn't bother buying them. I will try hitting up some more stores tonight and seeing if I can get another set of plugs."
DaveT writes:
"ummm... could I impose on you to pick up a set for me as well?"
JonT writes:
"Ok, 6 for you, 6 for me, and Rachel? Oui o Non?"
JonT writes:
"Well, I went to Pep Boys, and bought the 12 spark plugs they did have, so that makes two full sets. I can do withoutif someone else wants them, but if you wanna do me a favor, can someone else get a set (or two if Todd wants to follow suit)??"
March 15, Shawn writes:
Sure, I can try and run out at lunch today. Was the stock number I gave you correct? I know that is what the 1.9s use and I am 99% sure the 2.8/2.3ls do as well."
"I will try hitting up some more stores tonight and seeing if I can get another set of plugs"
(See how many times Todd tried to get a time commitment from us...)
Todd writes:
"Hi Rachel and David,
Do you have an ETA for tommorow yet? I usually get home about 5:30, but will leave earlier if you are planning to arrive earlier (leaving early is no problem). "
DaveT writes:
"We haven't talked about that yet. If the weather's good, I think we may take the long way."
(See how many times Shawn tried to get a time commitment from us with Todd...)
March 16, Shawn writes:
"Any guestimates on arrival time tomorrow? Might make sense for you to call me when you leave Todds place."
JonT writes:
"I'm planning on getting up to Todd's place some time between 10 and 11 tonight. You guys gonna be back from dinner by then? ....no idea about when we'll arrive at Shawn's on Saturday. Think we'll be able to head out by 9:30 or thereabouts? Todd estimated the time at 1+ hour to get to Shawn's..."
Dave gets to my place in New York City without incident around 11am. I'm still working out stuff I hadn't done all week. We get out of my place in Manhattan around 2pm. Traffic is mounting, but manageable. We take the long way out of the city so I can show Dave the Bear Mountain Bridge twisties. In the thick of traffic on the West Side Highway, I tune in the traffic reports. GW Bridge is looking good, upper level. Freshly pressed home made CDs playing, all is well in my little world. Then Dave says on the Talkabout, "The car next to me says I have a flat tire."
=:o

Everything raced through my mind. How it's nice to have a doughnut in the trunk, but it wouldn't get us where we have to go. Two cans of fix a flat in my trunk, along with a patch kit and MV's tires changing instructions printed out, and a cigarette lighter powered air compressor.
Tom Young swears by Difeo BMW off the Palisades, that is the direction we are headed, but we'd never make it in time and who knows if they could replace or fix the tire. We headed for Manhattan BMW. I called them on my cell phone to get an appointment and to see if we should be headed to a tire shop. It took so long to get a customer service rep, despite the good receptionist, the line cut off. I started again, horns blaring everywhere and by the time I reached Hooman, we were already entering the service area. Hooman was a light in a dark place for us. He had trouble getting anyone to take on the work, ended up taking Dave's car himself to be repaired.
Hooman btw is from Global Imports and buds with Jay Lilley. We're lucky to have him in NYC.
Meanwhile, Dave needed a hug. I called Todd and told him that we STILL wanted to take him to dinner. "No really, I'll get my own dinner" he says, but I won't hear of it. Listening to the traffic reports on the radio in Emmy, the news just got worse and worse.
We chatted with Hooman until CiZi came back, with a repaired tire. The grin returned to Dave's face and we were off again, minus $40 for Dave. It was nearly 5pm. Just as we are exiting the service area, the phone rings- Todd on the line. Serendipity, we were just looking up his number. Once again I insist we are taking Todd to dinner and he should wait for us. Meanwhile, JonT was on his way to a bachelor party in NJ.
Fine.
Back in traffic I am hearing on the radio things like: "Gee I have never seen traffic backed up this bad at this time of the year." "All bridges all tunnels, even the Merritt Parkway is backed up for at least an hour." No way off the island. Fine. I sat back and listened to my CD on shuffle. Then it started to rain. Hard. OK so the top goes up. Called JonT- to pass the time and check alternate routes while he was at the computer.
530pm and we're finally on the Palisades Parkway, it's taken us five hours to leave my house and we have at least 3 hours drive ahead of us. I call Todd and leave a message to suggest he meet us in Western Connecticut for dinner. At this point he is practically begging me to let him off the hook for dinner.
Then traffic on the Palisades stops for no reason at all for an hour. No reason.


We get to the Bear Mountain twisties and there is not a soul on the road, we have it all to ourselves- except.... for one car. One car. And it's in front of me. And it's going less than 20 mph.
I figure I just paid my karmic (CARmic) dues for the whole next year as far as traffic is concerned. Emmy is nearly out of gas, daylight is gone and I haven't taken a pee since 2pm.
We stop for gas and call Todd and finally I admit there is no way we will make it in time to take him to dinner. Todd says this is a good thing since he ate dinner at 530 when we were still in Manhattan.
There is no bathroom at the gas station.
Fine.
To hell with all of them and everything, we were finally out of the city, there was snow on the ground but the weather was mild. Dave turned on his heated seats, I put on my heated vest and head sock, we cranked up the tunes and headed out for the back roads.
It was fabulous.
No pictures.
We found some great roads. It felt like motorcycle riding, Burkhardt would have been proud. At one point there was a rest stop, and I asked Dave if he needed to go, it was about 8pm or after and I know that men have a tougher time than women in this area. Dave said, "I was wondering how long you could hold out."
Oh really? As if you don't have to go? Really? Fine. We drive on without stopping. There is a lot of nothing for a long long time. Around 9pm we found a nice little restaurant. Dave T is a camel. We made it to Todd's house just before midnight and only minutes before JonT. As we are telling our tall tale Jon T asks: "Was it the right rear tire?" Uh huh. It's flat again. Kind of a bummer end to the evening. We made up for it with a good fireside chat at Todd's gracious home, introduced Dave to his chicken and went to bed.
March 17,
This banner hangs in Todd's Garage:

I slept late while Todd and Dave made the rounds of tire shops. I was washing Emmy when they got back.
The boys all played musical cars, driving each other's rides to check them out and sped off for doughnuts.


Over the river and through the woods to a Fogging we will go....




La la la, Todd is leading la la la top down fun, la la la and we make it to Shawn and Melissa's.

Todd let me take his 3.0 out for a spin and I stalled out in it. Man I totally could not drive that car! Todd let me be passenger and displayed some prowess and control of his car. Fun fun fun.


Immediately Shawn set upon Jon's car, Saffy. Installing Porterfield R4S Brake pads (800-537-6842), spraying them to make sure they wouldn't squeal.








I was busy playing with my new wood trim bits from Woodview and taking pictures of them that aren't here.... I dunno, half my pics got erased somewhere along the line. Oops.
 Emmy got new brake pads too!

35,000 miles had worn down my old pads about 50%

JonT fell in love with this wheel hanging tool
(told ya so Jon)






Pump the brakes! Remember the chucks behind the wheels...

New Bosch Platinum +4 spark plugs Stock Number 4417 for Saffy...




So that's an "engine coil"? Is that the right name? 		new plugs for Emmy too...

Jon's original plugs were +4, my original plugs were +2
Since Shawn ran out on his lunch and scored another set of spark plug, CiZi got them too!


Spy pic of the new Fogg Box for 2.8s. (With cladding).
Todd had done the Z8 nozzles before so he led that operation.



Emmy has no heated washers.

They had the old nozzles out in a jiffy, leaving caked on Zaino polish holes.
My hood liner wouldn't cooperate so JonT wore it on his head for a while to keep it out of the way.





Getting the rings to snap on was impossible so I made Shawn do it. :( He did. He's really amazing. He even rescued the screw I dropped in between Dave's seat and the console while working on the Book of UNGO. ....

Shawn reads the fault codes from Emmy's computer. Couple misfires....


Dave T demonstrates how small my car is with the back supports and sheepskins. This car is made JUST for me!

Shawn's clutch stop, metal pedals, fire extinguisher and speakers on the left, short shifter and remote V1 display on the right. Whatchamacallum speakers on both sides...
Then we sat on Shawn and Melissa's rumble couch and were blown away by their home theater, while Shawn fired up the grill. You could have rolled me in breadcrumbs and baked me in the oven. I can't remember ever seeing the Gumball Rally before, if I did, I didn't appreciate it. Melissa set a lovely table, complete with green carnations for St Patty's day. We were spoiled like crazy. Todd caught up on a few Zs while the movie finished and we bumbled out to the cars shortly before midnight. It was snowing. Big fat wet snowflakes. Me and Jon T with our new brake pads took care backing out the driveway and Shawn and Melissa repeated the mantra "NO ONE ON CELL PHONES". (Another story, not mine to tell. Just everyone remember that when you get a lot of Z3s together, it's easy to goof up. Pay attention to the road and the cars around you- NOT the talkabouts and cell phones!)
Back "home" at Todds by the fire and tumbling off to bed for another night of rock hard solid sleep.
March 18,
Morning comes and we hit the local pancake joint before we split up. Todd saying, "Do we really HAVE to park together". Me saying, "Yes." I moved his car and managed not to stall it again. Woohoo!.


JonT took the interstate again while DaveT and I went off in search of those backroads we'd driven at night, and with a flat tire.

Over the East Haddam Bridge, we found great roads, waterfalls and had one of those truly great Z3 moments.

In a cul de sac we'd taken by mistake, we interrupted 3 young boys playing hockey. They stepped aside and stared at us as we rounded the circle to exit. I waved at them and they broke out in a chorus jumping up and down grinning yelling, "WHAT GREAT CARS! WOW! THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL!" and stuff like that. Their faces lit up like Christmas Trees


On the way back we got to ride the Bear Mountain Bridge Twisties at sunset. Carmic debt paid in full.
March 19, DaveT writes:
"I usually enjoy coming back to work and jumping into the challenge of the moment... Today, all I want to do is tell tales of tires, wrenches & rubber gloves, barbeque, backroads, metal chickens, and a rumbling sofa.
Thanks, everyone, for one incredible lingering weekend!!!"
Shawn writes:
"Bet you remembered to pump up the brakes right? ;)"
Rachel writes:
I'm wondering if Melissa still has the post it note up to remove the chuck from under Emmy's tire...
Shawn writes:
"Gotta say I was very impressed Rachel. I thought you were going to be *much* more of a nervous mother when we were working on Emmy. ;)"

March 20, Rachel writes:
"The secret is heavy drug use..... but seriously after I saw that pic of how you painted in the"Downing Atlanta Supercharger"I wasn't worried about anything. Mr Rubber Gloves."

The man used his touch up kit and 100 toothpicks to paint in the words on his supercharger. I mean... he can probably do brain surgery too. He already found a socket wrench in my engine compartment last year, loose screws under my seats... Just pass your hands over the car and heal it Shawn, OK?
March 20, Todd writes:
"I am shocked. I only patent drugs. I, too, had an awesome time. Shawn- thanks for all your hostitality and great food. (sorry about the lawn job)

Please thank Melissa too. Glad to see everyone made it home safely. I spoke with the chicken, and the chicken said that David was not too bad to sleep with-LOL. A great weekend! It was hard driving the 4Runner to work today after the Z3 all weekend."

Don't ask about the chicken. Trust me on this.
March 21, Shawn writes:
" Melissa wanted to know if the card made more sense as 'Emmy go Foggy?' ;) "
Rachel writes:
Woohoo, Melissa just named the adventure!
have chased leprechauns since March 21, 2001

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