Sean Dezart

Fred, you are more of a manipulator than I suspected - at least it's more lighthearted than the last thread you started ! Put me down for 50USD just to prove I've a bigger mouth and I puts my money where it is ! But what the heck clour (s) are we gonna paint it and will it be LH or RH drive and then where will the hadbrake be ? Turbo or normally aspirated, period or prepared with a little modern upgrading ? Questions !!!

"If an Iraqi soldier has info that could save US soldiers from dying and he won't tell, you have to do something. You aren't the one out there holding a machine gun getting shot at. What would you do? Better for the enemy to suffer some than let your own people die. " Well, go ahead and torture them then ! fstr240Z, you belong in Iraq ! metalman5117 - it is a whole lot easier to believe what you hear from government statements and if the UN is not unbiased, is the US less unbiased ? Colin Powell just slapped his partner (Blair) in the face last night saying, ah, well, we (the US) need to hang on after the war and make sure there is a fully supported (by the US)democratic government . The rest of the world reads this as a puppet government owing it's allegience and continued existence to the US in return for exploitation concessions ! True, the UN has been too weak - so why couldn't we with all our good intentions really put the pressure on short of going to illegal war ? "We as Americans should have the right of self defense (as should any LEGITIMATE country) whether our not the UN agrees with it or not. " First of all define LEGITIMATE ? Iraq is exercising it's right too (which I hope folds up) ! And why do the US citizens suddenly feel threatened by Iraq ? No, not Al Quaida, I said Iraq ! If it's because we reckon to have found and bombed a training base in the north, again, check out Saudi Arabia and again Libya - why not invade them all ? Hypocrits !!!

Rick, Leeroy, Ok, let's say the main reason is humanitarian in Iraq - I REALLY hope so ! And I want to know when the US, their coallition or the UN is going to step in and liberate the populations in ALL the other oppressed countries , No double standards please, let's therefore do a worldwide spring vacuum clean-up ! Rick, I loved your fuel price board ! Leeroy, My (and I suspect other) problem is not that we're in Iraq but because of how we are there without the backing of the UN and giving a slap in the face of every other country who says no ! It is technically an illegal act ! This also makes some of us fear for the consequences and I don't mean higher fuel prices or even a bomb in your local railway station/post office / supermarket. Look at India who've just tested another missile capaple of carrying a nuclear warhead and Pakistans' instant reply that they have some too ! These two belligerents could easily go to full scale war nearby and who could stop them and hold them apart ? Russia is now stalling on the final signing of the latest nuclear arms limitation treaty due directly to their wanting the US to withdraw from Iraq. Blair is trying to get assurances from Bush that the US would not be setting up a 'protectorate' after the fighting has stopped, preferring the UN. Do you think Bush will hand it all over ? If anyone still thinks oil companies are not involved, here, the former boss of Elf being charged for just about everything has admitted to having a 'hidden purse for bribing politicians (and I don't just mean local, Arab or African leaders - respectable French ones too). Elf are not alone ! I heard and saw the Iraqis today being given out aid and they were shouting Saddam, Saddam, no Americans ! This was in an area deemed safe enough to let humanitarian teams in, no soldiers or police holding guns to peoples' heads and still they don't want us ! The British commander has said that Saddam has lost control of the south. Great but it took a week when everyone thought the soldiers would put their hands up after two days ! Saddam is playing for time and gathering world opinion against this war - I hope we get him because otherwise all the arab countries will unite behind him ! I repeat something I said earlier/elsewhere : I begin to think that the US Military is too strong/big compared to other active forces in the world, it begins to destabilise what was a (more or less) even balance. Now there are a lot less military threats to the US homeland, when is it gonna be reduced ? I'm sure the US could spend that money on humanitarian projects at home ! Finally, well done Flipper, now the aid (and more arms) can be sailed direct to Iraq ! Europe is already sending nearly 80 million dollars worth of aid ! I'll miss you Carl, but not enough to sit on the other side of the fence to provoke your return. In any event, I'm going to leave you all in peace from this weekend as I'm being temp. transferred to Paris where I won't have internet access ! My very best wishes to you all and your families and the speedy conclusion to this war and the reconstruction of Iraq and aid to it's peoples !

Is this gonna be a rally or circuit car and must it be road legal as most organisers stipulate ? Could each continent produce one ? Fred, if you think that I'm gonna let you loose on mine until after you've proven yourself at Karting...

"I often wonder if any of them consider what previous generations of Australians had to endure in order for them to HAVE the right to protest. What for example (apart from WW2)?" "i swear to god, if it hadn't been a 15 year old schoolgirl i would have fought back" - so you're not for sexual equality ? Anyway, if we're gonna punch ignorant students, better pick on small ones like our countries do ! I am definitely for peaceful protests, the way to change things is to threaten those in power with whom you're gonna vote for next which unfortunately leaves out frustrated macho 15 year old girls ! The ones I feel sorry for are the employees of McDonalds - they're always the first to get hit and the poor sods are only trying to earn their bread/rice/sushi depending where they are ! McDos' insurance must be astronomical !

"We always have to do the dirty work and babysit the rest of the world. (The Middle East)" Dwight - SO DON't play the game ! Shottime - do you not believe in conspiracies unless they make the lunchtime news like Enron ? They are everywhere because even the best men with good intentions like to make their bit on the side ! As an aside and a very personal view with (admittedly) only a modest amount of knowledge, have you had a good president since JFK ? Was he ? This geezer who mouthed of at the Oscars at least didn't lie down and block the road - he could be switched off ! Carl and Dwight, if you guys are serious about protesting against fuel prices you should do what you're doing against French goods - don't buy fuel and therefore drive your Zees ? Kinda cruel protest though! Fuel here is 1 dollar per litre (no big difference betwween 91 and 98) with diesel at 75 cents.

Carl, you are my hero - I'd stop now if I thought I was being tedious ! Dwight - I apologise - smoke what you want, I have in the past, probably even more so than Bush and his youthful indiscretions ! My father in law died from smoking, I have a friend whose wife is pregnant and smokes and now my neighbours' girlfriend is also pregnant and smokes - it just got to me and I took it out on you ! I didn't make the point clear enough (it was late) : the money and lives being spent on this war (and Vietnam for that matter) would be better spent helping your own countries' people. EG; how much do you pay in health insurance ? Here, practically everything is 100 per cent reimboursed via a combination of the social security and ones' mutuelle - a kind of private health insurance. Mine costs me 13 dollars per month. And this country believes in preventative medecine, every two or three years, each person is invited for a free, complete health check and they even pay ones' travel expenses ! This is where 'your' (everyones') money should be going. Be a little selfish and demand that your government spends it on you ! "Most people accept that these accidents are unfortunate and unavoidable" - like the civilian airliner shot down during the last war in '91 ? You treat the recent 20 odd deaths as unavoidable ? I'm speechless ! Saddam is not the only dictator who has sponsored terrorism and put a price on peoples' heads - Gaddafi, Ayatollah Khomeni and I repeat, Saudi Arabia do not have clean hands either but are more discreet ! So, what's keeping us from going in and liberating these people also ? I believe the French were not the only ones to sell weapons to Iraq, how are we gonna punish the Russians now ? Is the US taking credit for breaking down the Berlin Wall ? The 'war mongering' (sarcasm Rolf) Germans did that themselves which was long overdue once the centralised Soviet control of East Germany slackened off and the ordinary people voted out the communist party ! "We get a minimal amount of our oil from there, it isn't worth it for the oil." - that's gonna change ! And the comparison of US soldiers and others was in the type of fighting we are seeing now in Iraq - not quite the same as pushing a button on a launch control ! I accept and appreciate that you don't care if anyone likes you or your country, I believe you wrote yesterday about preferring other countries to fear you than liking you ? If so, are you aware Heydrich said the same in the late 30s ? For what it's worth, I like you - you say what you think and if I don't agree, I do respect that !

Dwight, Sorry, got lost in the DIY this weekend ! "Sadam would never surrender or submit and give up his toys" - so why did Bush ask him too ? And this 'factory' of chemical weapons ? Is he still looking to justify this war to the world ? Yeah go it alone ! Turkey did an about face, just soon enough to prepare and send troops into Iraqi Kurd 'cos the last thing they want is an independant Kurdistan ! And if the US keeps on killing British soldiers/marines, airmen and one of favourite journalists, the pressure back home on Blair will pull them out too ! I just spent the evening at my parents and they have CNN and all the British satellite channels ! Joe Galloway - I wish he'd do us all a favour and stop doing us favours ! Anyone read what really happened at Bong Son plain, filmed with Mel Gibson as We Were Soldiers ? Why is there all this emphasis on who likes who and who helped who out in the past ? This is today and the US benefited enormously in the Pacific basin after the second world war with commercially 'dependant' countries. OK, good for you guys, those countries were reconstructed but don't feed me hypocrisy and tell me it was done out of kindness and I hope you didn't expect them to like you for it either ! Who likes being dependant ? From California, I err, from the Mayflower, you've gradually been heading west which leaves you currently in the middle east - if there was no oil, you'd have moved on long ago to really get your teeth into Africa. True, we Europeans have been everywhere before you and f***ed up, doesn't mean that they're gonna like you guys ( even with your very best intentions) more ! BTW, if you moved out of Germany, who would the Germans be defending against ? A lot of people feel that your troops staioned in Europe are a first front to protect New York from ??? the rooussians ? Get out and save money and do the same for Korea. Here, the French goverment has just announced a major war - on cancer which here, kills 150,000 a year, targetting CIGARS, no really, all tobacco will directly kills 30,000. You gotta kid on the way, congrats and I wish your wife and baby good health - shouldn't you concentrate on being around for him/her (?). I bet you drive a bit more defensively now, keep that habit and ditch the other ! Me too, I feel, I will retire from this thread, then someone starts churning out all the old stuff and it gets on my t*ts. No offense to anyone and I excuse myself for being a provocative sonofabitch ! I'll leave you with this : This weekend, I chatted with a retired, I'll admit it, French army guy who'd been on an exchange with some soviets, years ago. He had asked them which countries' soldiers they feared the most. They replied, first the Germans, then the British, then the French (perhaps out of courtesy as thier fighting history since Napoleon has been a bit sad !) and lastly the Americans. Why? they were asked. Because we consider them not to be 'real' soldiers, they're are too soft ! Meaning that they were too confortably looked after ! He quoted to me and I repeat his words to you !

Lowell Marx - you are absolutely right about our ex colonies, in fact after the first world war they were our 'protectorates' ! We would never, never have given them up if we'd realises there was oil down there ! Did you read what you wrote " SET UP a government" ? And everyone do WHATEVER it takes to bring stability to the region ? That which Bush is doing is the quickest way to destabilise the region, not to be fixed overnight by a puppet, token democratic government ! The Arabs are (rightly) thinking whose arse is going to get kicked next ! I think you have a lot of credibility to write what you believe and yes, he needs to do his homework on diplomacy but I get the feeling he don't care about that - he truly believes he can go it alone !

Beandip let's move this to the thread Mike started - Target Irag, here we go ! REply to me there please. The US came to our aid because we had been are were about to be overrun (I group the two wars and circumstances togther) - we were directly threatened. We could also say that in the 1st war, the very fact that the Americans began to arrive convinced Germany that she couldn't win and she (as per all the others) had started to lose the 'stomach' to wage war. She capitulated before a alrge majority of US soldiers were engaged. Anyway, in this weeks' circumstances, your country is not directly threatened, in fact not even indirectly. Yeah, you've been the victims if acts of terrorism, you retaliated against those responsible in Afganistan and 'liberated' that country from an opressive regime. It worked once so let's do it again ! Is Bush going to attack every Islamic country suspected of supporting terrorism in one way or another ? Things will get out of hand ! As I requested, let(s leave this thread and concentrate on just one - reply to me there (and I value your opinion). BTW, France declared war on Germany after the invasion of Poland and was occupied as a result. Apart from many other nasty things that happened, in both world wars, several hundred thousand French starved to death as there was no-one to tend the fields and hundreds of villages were wiped off the map due to artillery barrages. The French cavalry school at Saumur was decimated when they horse charged the German tanks - all for the honour and glory of their country - absurd ! HOwever, if a big brother or world policeman had contained Hitler as you have been successfuly doing to Saddam for 12 years, it wouldn't have happened. I thought our (the wests') philosphy was that we only defended, and then only when a fellow country was attacked. This is a dangerous precedent (no pun intended). You're right they do tlak funny but half as much as the Springboks !

Kapyong / Long Tan ? So, educate me !

Nice one Lees' Z ! This for me is what a club is about. The cars bring us together and after that we choose our friends and talk about all sorts - not just cars ! 1 bravo 6 - yeah, Carl I was referring to the fact that the discussion was US/UK/France despite the presence of Aussies in the line up. Come to think of it I'd like to see more Europeans and the Canadiens in here too but we'll not force anyone eh ? I never doubted the Aussies will to fight, no matter where or with whom. The best bit was sharing a beer afterwards and yes, I have tasted an Aussie fist (smells of stale Fosters!). Alfadog, join the discussion anyway and become up to date - most of what we're discussing is history eh Stryder ! What history are you doing anyway ? Mr Camoflage, I want to live in my Zed - the ultimate mobile home ! I love that GunnerRob but he can have the Palace, I've got dibs on the biggest f***ing oil field going ! If the Irish take over the Island, the Corsicans will want the same for theirs, the Bretons will separate from France, Belgium will officially divide, the Welsh sheep sh**gers will also demand home rule. The world will become smaller again with a lot more small minded people! So what are the odds on Saddam making it out alive , Bin Liner's still breathing ? The first person to say the troops will be home for Christmas gets a thick ear ! Anyone remember the fuel crisis in '73 when oil, which had been rolling along at 14 dollars a barrel for yonks 'shot' up to 20 ish. Everyone pannicked, big cars didn't sell, Jap imports became everyones' best friends... The prices shot up again in the Iran/Iraq war and again in Desert Storm settling down to a stable 30 (twice the pre crisis price). We are the muggs who're gonna pay for this war as we've done for all the others! If Bush senior had gone further than the UN mandate 12 years ago as his son is going to do in a few hours after the sand storm, we wouldn't be chatting here ! Stay safe and pray to your god that it's qucik and clean !

TKR514 - we just floated over there and kicked the s*** out of them (see any similarities?) After that as per the film Braveheart, we set up nobles who controlled the land on behalf of the king for a tithe (rent and the obligation to provide men in arms when needed) each year. If you watch the film Michael Collins you'll see how we moved out of there (a relief in the end as per the French in IndoChina) but held on to the North but I don't know why and I've been saying for years we should move out and let 'em get on with it ! Ooh ionman, bailing us out ? The US gratefully took over the markets left by us around the world but particularly in the Pacific, you got frre rent bases everywhere, you (or I should say that fine liberal MacArthur ran) Japan and without it the Korean war would never have happened as it was THE perfect base. You even built up their manufacturing (with English help - see Austins in Datsun guise) and complained like us when they started exporting ! And the UK didn't stop paying our war loan until at least the late '70s ! Besides, what would you have done if Hitler had controlled ALL of western Europe and was ahead of everyone with the developement of the A-bomb ? If you guys want to be the world's police force, go ahead but act like one, within the (international) law and act impartially, accepting not to be liked by everyone, everywhere - in short - ASSUME! You get your hairy Kibbutz over here and I won't need to buy, my wine cellar is well stocked ! I'll never get over your laws, you can drive, get married but good ol' fermented vegetable juice still has to wait ! Really, really good to discuss something deep in depth with a variety of opinions - cheers guys ! Still wondering where the Aussies are hiding now that they've joined the super-powers of the UK and Spain !

Caterhams, yeah - Dutch Donkervoort has less pedigree but is a better car. Both are not what I'd call comfortable sportscars - I mean would you trade your Z for one in order to drive 300 miles ? I know Audis are nice, my companion Cathy has an A3 in off-white - you gas guzzlers will laugh - it's a 1.9 turbo diesel but at a constant 90 mph with the airconditioning on, I get 48 mpg ! The only fault is that the suspension is too firm with not a lot of feedback through the steering. These two faults I believe are homogenous to Audis ! My colleague has a 180 BHP TT and his only complaint is that it eats front tyres - REAL sportscars are rear wheel drive and strictly two seats !

I can't believe this - I just spent nearly an hour stolidly tapping out a response and it all got lost - f*** it ! Stryder, I am currently reading 'A Bright Shining Lie by Neil Sheehan, a Pulitzer prize winner and written some time ago - I suggest you read it. Having siad that, I'm with you my friend but I still hope we are big enough to walk away from this one. I hope also for you and your family that your father returns safely. Carl, I'd consider it a privelidge to sup a beer with you one evening and discuss no matter what but always with an eye on the big picture. Beandip, I'm English, living in France having lived around and met people from many countries and be careful with your history; Hitler was democratically voted in ! Underestimated by the opposing political parties and acquiesed by the other nations leaders at a time when the US pursued a policy of not throwing American lives away a second time to save the Old World. And I don't want to hear any more about terrorism when the IRA was mostly financed from the US and hailed as freedom fighters. I lived with the threat of walking past trashcan bombs and the windows of my apartment shook when the large lorry bomb went of in the financial district of London! I could understand their rage and frustration - they only started targeting mainland Britain when a law was passed limiting Catholic families to one vote contrary to Protestants having one person one vote ! When you can't change your future democratically what choice do you make ? Ho Chi Minh appealed to the League Of Nations created by W Wilson to aid his people rid themselves of French colonialism. When that appeal was ignored, he turned to the only political voice speaking against colonial rule - communism ! Stay safe my friends wherever you are but beware, be very aware !

Carl, You reassure me - sometimes I get the feeling a lot of Americans are 'brainwashed' just as I feel a lot of Brits are patronised as 'they don't need to know the facts, they'd only worry!'. I referred to untapped (still under the ground reserves) of oil ! Perhaps a rumour or a nicely guarded secret from the rest of us ??? Bush is an oil man no ? And you're right about Korea who owe us in the west nothing at all after the 50s' ! Everything's gone quiet on that stage ! We were better off without Thatcher in the 80s' but I never saw the UN or US rushing to purge us of that plague - the UK's is worse off now for her influence ! And don't tell me that the Falklands/Malvinas Islands war was uss saving the sheep from the junta ! Two reasons - one, a forthcoming elcetion and patriotism (and winning) are sure winners for votes, secondly, there are vast untouched and disputed reserves of minerals in the Antarctic and without some sovereign territory there, the UKs' claim is non-existant ! I love history and what I can learn from it and how to apply those lessons to today and tomorow - shame those who can alter our peaceful lives ignore those lessons !

Sooo, in 24 hours, the sheik's gonna hit the fan ! But hands up all those who really think the US and my homeland is really going out there to help anyone except themselves ? If the US wants goverments in their own image it's only to manipulate them commercially as happened since the US/Spanish war when the US started to appreciate the idea of 'colonialism'. Hey, don't get me wrong, you want those problems (look at the British and French and Belgians and Russians) go ahead but don't take me for an idiot. I hate hypocrisy - be honest about your reasons and assume the consequences because it's us that will assume them again ! Fuel prices have already gone up here and I won't be able to enjoy my Z when she's back on the road and you guys with cheap fuel will ! If the consequences were that your fuel would leap up in price to 6 dollars a gallon, there'd be a lot of hard thinking ! There is a rumour over here in Europe that the US has oil reserves for another 200 years which is untapped for when the rest of the worlds' reserves are finished ! To be able to make the most of those world reserves and control pricing, you have to control them at source ! Any thoughts ! I love the States, am envious of many things there (especially 'cos I love cars and Zees in particuler). I visited you and was pleasantly surprised by the people ! It scares the s**t outa me that leaders of more than one country can stage a war in the 21st century !

Back again ! Are there real sports cars still ? GTs yes. There are real sports cars, you mentioned the Elise and then TVRs, Morgans but these are all low production high cost jobs - there are no mass produced (light) sports-cars ! Miatas/MX-5s: who said that ? And then again, what about the old school who say a real sports-car has to be a convertable ? It says something that an Elise is compared to an A4 - safety/comfort and new laws abiding costs weight and money ! In my youth, a palm pilot was someone who used a five finger shuffle !

Oops ! Here is the text I was referring to : You should all have been at Steve Lack's Kent Group Meet on Sunday - a representative of Nissan Ancaster (Penge) brought a blue metallic Fairlady Z auto 350 for us to paw and prod (and sit in). I have some quite cynical observations as a result, concerning Nissan's plans for the U.K. version and the changes inflicted on this car by SVA testing: 1. The prediction is that 60% of sales will be auto (because this is the figure from the Z32 sales). 2. The front indicator strips and bumper repeater strips may not be legal for U.K. / Europe: this example had them disabled and an orange bulb stuck in the upper part of the headlamp. Also, the wings had been drilled to fit some tacky side repeaters under the Z emblem. 3. We can't have Xenon headlamps unless at least washers are fitted - cue two ugly blobs on the front bumper..... 4. Although Japanese cars made in the U.K. and Japanese home market cars have the indicator stalk on the right, Nissan plan to swap the 350Z one to the left. Also, apparently cars for U.K. / Europe made in Japan have this feature..... 5. The standard brakes look like recycled 280ZX units - please let us have Brembos...... 6. The jewel-like Z logo rear strut brace has already been toned down to a matt alloy finish and may have to go altogether. Complaints apparently of reflected Z logo in rear view (pretty cool, I'd say!. If golf club toting executives had their way, the strut brace would be removed entirely (can't get the golf bag in the back). 7. Already the "Nissan cheap plastic" jibes are starting and there are complaints that there is no glove box - despite cavernous storage bins behind the seats! 8. Paint quality was dubious with poor colour matching of fuel filler and bumper / bonnet / wing lines. 9. SVA speedo conversion had disabled some trip computer gauge functions and made two buttons inoperative. 10. U.K. cars will have a restyled (read big and ugly) rear number plate indent and probably separate inserts for rear fogs. This car had the worst SVA fog lamp conversion (bar the "Halfords dangler") - a bit of red plastic stuck on the outside of one reversing lamp....... Personally, I'm still very impressed by the car, but would be very choosy about spec. I'm not convinced that U.K. cars are going to be right (somebody please prove me wrong!!!!. The interior is wonderfully tactile for all the driver bits, seating position is excellent, the tilt wheel perfect, the plastic is quite acceptable, even the wobbly centre bin lid (Sat-Nav cover on fully equipped cars) is fine as long as you don't deliberately bash it about like most motoring journalists seem to. I still want it, but the higher import specs look much more appealing than a base model Fairlady Z. Are the importers providing the information on options to prospective punters? £31,700 would be a lot to pay for a base model car....... So how does this compare with US 350s ? Are 'yours' wildly different from 'ours' or just the same subtlies as per the 240 ? ps Thanks Alfadog for the input !

Looks like the same old story but with a different face ! Don't anyone tell me they have a s'tandard' Z !!! Every country or at least continent is different ! http://www.zclub.net/cgi-bin/forum/ikonboard.cgi?s=3e5fbb980e5affff;act=ST;f=12;t=15 Sean

Nice pictures Alan - bravo ! Now if you just had them on video as I have... along with the '71 and '72 East African Safari rallys and some 240Z crash testing ! I'm also hoping to receive soon the RAC rally. I will copy and send anyone these clips circa mins in exchange for film coverage of 240Zs that I haven't got. Isn't it time that such coverage was pooled ? I also figure that you left hookers have broken the choke handle whilst leaning for the handbrake ! And it is nice to have it to hand and not fumble under the dash ! I'm still trying to work out what carguyinok was doing in his Zs - surely it would have been easier for the pair of you to climb in through the hatch ! I vote with you guys and say that the LH and RH drive versions were decided at a certain point on the line and it was after the handbrake placement.

OK Mike - I'll wait to hear from you and I'll keep an eye on your thread. Sean

It's all kicked off nicely by Rogerszdown in Aus : Hello Sean i have some "z" competitors here but only for 1975 260z coupe $6974 260z 2+2 7707 alfa 2000gtv 8088 BMW 2002 8419 FIAT 124 sports 6889 PORSCHE 911 coupe 18,865 PORSCHE CARRERA 25,437 TRIUMP STAG 11,480 and the locals VALIANT CHARGER 770 5914 FALCON GT 7103 FALCON GT 2dr 7231 TORANA SLR V8 5553 Cheers Roger Offhand I can think of Alpine A310s, Toyota Celicas/Supras, MGB V8... There must be others but the point I would like to delve into is whate are there standings now, nearly 30 years on and why ?

Thanks Alfadog, I suspect that the chassis of this car was that of (sold over here) the Ford Fiesta which, coincidentally had a 'sport' version called an XR2. This was a 1.6 injection model with all the Ford wannabe 'go-faster' stripes etc. It made it and the Escort XR3 the most nicked cars at the time and young drivers' insurance, very expensive ! Sean