Toon Chris

Oh yes ! :lol:

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty jam jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar were full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar were full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar were full. The students responded with an unanimous yes. The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. "Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, children, health, friends, your favorite passions, things that if everything else were lost, and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the leaking tap. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

As Homer Simpson says: If at first you don`t succeed, you are about average.

Why not?

Now that is a tasty car! Well done mate!

Tut. Some people are in such a hurry It's tempting fate so I can`t post them yet...

Ah, Mr Phil. I am sooo coming to see your premises soon :teeth: Need air/exhaust and plenum sorting, followed by some nice Ferodo pads and slotted discs ! Best get the car first though!

I`ve been looking at a few of these Ferodo 2500 threads. It`s interesting that no-one (that I have noticed) has mentioned that these pads need to be bedded in correctly. Ive been through a few sets in my old Alfa v6 and the box always comes with instructions for bedding the pads in. These are a performance pad and can't just be slotted in and used for daily driving. (To be more accurate they are *technically* illegal on the road for post 1999/2001 cars as they have too high a friction co-efficient. That's EU reg ECE90. Bizarre that the pad falls foul of a regulation of being *too* good ) I believe bedding in consists of finding a quiet bit of private road and then giving then some stick. Something like get up to speed and brake at 50% a few times, 80% a few times, 100% a few times. It`s more complex than that but if you don`t bed them in you will get poor performance and squealing! Sounds to me that the squealers amongst us need to give their brakes a good hard workout !

A good location to spend lots of money you mean!

*fingerscrossed*fingerscrossed*fingerscrossed* Picking it up on saturday. A blue 04. Pictures will follow! I hope is all works out. God, I won`t sleep all week Big Phil, I believe you are very near the Toon? I hope you have stuff on the shelf as I`m looking at a plenum spacer and pop-wotsit intake for a starter...

D'oh! Oh well, good luck mate, hope you enjoy her hugely!

Looks interesting and I`m looking to buy a Z soon. Trouble is that Gloucester is so far away it's not funny - I live in Newcastle

Thanks all. Now it is time to start trawling the for sale section... If anyone knows an insurance company that will give business miles cover for up to £20K pa (plus 10K pa private miles) on an import without charging the earth then please pm me BTW Black 260Z isn`t so rare is it? They look lovely. http://www.cardomain.com/ride/821849 edited for clarity

Tsk! Shiny black!

Hi All, I`m a tried and true Alfa Romeo fan who is about to defect to the other side! A long time ago I had a 260Z and loved it to bits (literally, as it fell to bits). Unfortunately, or thankfully, I seriously bent it and that was the end of that Some years and cars later I found myself with a little more cash and got my current car, an Alfa 156 V6. Lovely car, fantastic cruiser and with good handling and a 'different' look I have been very pleased with it. 225K miles and 6 years pleased with it. Don't believe that all Alfas are unreliable because mine sure isn't, and if anyone was thinking of a 156 - as a second car of course - then I can recommend them. Anyhow, its time to change the car and I feel like going back to my Z roots. I have always fancied the 350 and am well aware of the various grumbles about it, and the good side - a lot of which is thanks to this forum (I was/am a long-time contributor to Alfa forums and strongly believe in sharing the knowledge and help that you accrue as a car owner). My budget is still down in the 03/04 area and I`ve just been pipped at a local garage which had a reasonable low miler, although with iffy paint and a steer to the left. Probably for the best really. I`ll be checking through the ads here regularly for suitable cars but although my heart is in a rush, my head isn't quite so keen on spending my savings without finding the right car. The only problem is, I have to have a UK car as I can`t get business cover (25-30K pa) on a Japanese import. It's a shame really as there is more for your money in the imports. Anyway, I`m pretty handy with the tools (I like to think) so once i`v got my Z I`ll be here a lot to share the mechanical fun of owning one See you around!