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DNE's VZR Conversion
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Plano,TX & Anchorage,AK
Posts: 6,119
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Nissan Forums Members to the rescue
as quoted by vodkapwrsr20...
Quote:
Originally posted by vodkapwrsr20
The day didn't start off too badly. I tried calling Eshei(liuspeed) for 15 minutes before he picked up the phone, because we were supposed to drive up to pick up my new car, a KA-T powered 240sx, which I got for 3500, then go to fresno to meet up with Kirk(Kbrassfi), Heath (Nostradamas) and Jason (DynamiteGA). The drive up north was not particulary eventful, sans 2 cars we saw. The first was This rally Talon At first, I saw the badging , but due to small pipe size I saw, assumed it had a small muffler. As we passed by, eshei noted to me that "That's not a muffler. It's a straight pipe." I had no response but "Hot sh*t." The second car I saw was a car I had never heard of, but after this post, will start appearing in rap videos Lambo Jeep I don't think there are very many in the us, probably a lesser number than skylines, so I think this is a definite rarity. Like a true enthusiast, I had nothing to do but to give both a thumbs up.
Once we had gotten to Lodi, which was our destination, everything seemed to be going well. I had plenty of energy left, and we ate on our way on the freeway. The packing of things into the car was uneventful, and we just drove off.
As we're driving, I'm seriously enjoying this car. When the turbo spools, the car just takes off. Eshei tried toying with me, but he never stood a chance  . But, inspite of all this, something tragic was about to happen.
As I was driving down the 99, at a bit before Islands Water park, the drivers side front wheel flew off my car. I kid you not, it flew for a good 1/2 mile, taking part of a stud and all 4 lugs with it. That was a scary situation, however, I am fortunate to have a car that is set up so well suspension and balance-wise(used for auto-x primarily) that it didn't lose control one bit and I was able to maneuver onto the shoulder. Me and eshei walked to retrieve the wheel, which was in good condition, but since I was partially on the freeway, a CHP car had to push me a bit off. The cosmetic damage caused by this was to the bottom of the front bumper, a little scratch on the rear bumper due to the cop's pushing(although I feel it was well worth it)drivers side fender, the plastic b/w the wheel and engine bay, and the brake dust guard. I really didn't mind the cosmetic damage too much since the car is only primered.The only serious damage was the rotor, and we figured that was small. The towtruck guy came around, and we were able to put the wheel back on the car using some boards and a jack. However, his truck had an issue and was unable to tow the car. Left to no resort, I had to drive my car with the rotor grinding against the brake dust guard. On the drive, some board(not from truck I believe) hit my speedo, effectively taking it out. Luckily for me, eshei, kirk and cameron(not sure of forum name, or if he's on it.)followed me and together, we created something much like when police are protection a vip. We eventually ended up at pep boys, which was only a mile away from the scene. Sadly enough, it was closed.
We then found out that autozone was open until 1 am. Extatic, but realizing that the car could go no further, we had to make a run to autozone. We picked up a rotor, 4 lugnuts and 1 lugbolt, along with a hammer and vice grips. This began a series of trips where we were trying to find out what tools fit the bill for our repairs. Cameron must have gone through 3 ratchet sizes before finding the one that fit. After a lot of work, kirk and cameron removed the caliper, brake pads, and caliper bracket. They then bended out the brake dust pad, installed a new rotor, and put the caliper and pads back on, followed by the wheels. After that scare, me and eshei made sure to tighten our lugnuts. What we suspect happened (by we I mean kirk) is that only one lug was holding, and when whatever caused the wheel to fall off happened, the lug bolt just snapped. Luckily, this repair only cost around 50 bucks, and I got the car back on the road. After reaching visalia, I realized that I could drive no more. Eshei guided my to a motel 6 in tulare where I stayed for the night. I made up a partially bs excuse to my boss, and here I am now.
I would like to give great thanks to Kirk, Cameron, Eshei, and his lovely fiancee Vivian. Without you guys, who knows where I would be now. Kirk and Cameron, you guys came through in the clutch for a forum member that you barely even knew and never talked to before, and I can't even express my gratitude in words. Esh, I'm sorry that the install didn't go down, but as you said "It's better not to lose a friend then to not get parts installed.) We joked around about the situation, but in all seriousness, Thank You.
Oil is thicker than blood, as proven by Nissanforums members
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