boyblunda

I would have to support rocketdog's comments in this matter. A good supplier of outdoor and climbing equipment will have webbing and buckle options that are flexible, strong and versatile. It might be easy to think that the capabilities of the products used in climbing might far exceed any perception of what might be required for a car, but if you are involved in a collision you will want whatever is secured to a your rear luggage shelf to remain secured. Climbing gear is designed for that very task. Spend the minimal extra money and enjoy the sense of security it brings. I have harped on about this in previous threads, but I do have concerns about second hand safety gear of unknown history being used to restrain objects or humans in collisions. In the event of an accident, you will never regret having spent the money to preserve your personal safety.

Nice clip Chris - gives some indication of the length of the track and the variation in altitude. The audio track gives a nice sound from your car. Good stuff. Regards Dave

Just to chime in, Chris meant to say that the event run in October is 1000 kilometres or approximately 620 miles long and is THE event on the annual Australian motorsport calendar. The track has a significant variation in elevation and is over 6 kilometres long - see wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathurst_1000. Chris and Peter are both to be congratulated for both the quality of preparation and presentation of their fine vehicles and for the commitment and planning they have to participating in this event at what must be a leading contender for the Mecca of Australian Motorsport venues. Well done guys.

My 76 2+2 has what I think to be the original fixed belts while my 77 has retracting belts. No doubt the retractable belts are easier to access and to operate but my personal opinion is that the fixed belts are a better fit and provide better protection PROVIDED that they are properly adjusted. The general caution I apply to any seat belt discussion is that anyone with original belts in their car needs to carefully consider the integrity of those belts. Any belts with any signs of wear or damage on the webbing should be retired / replaced. I am about to replace my 76 belts with a four point harness which is more comfortable and a far better fit than the original. However, should I not have been thinking about the four point harness option, then I would prefer to replace them with new fixed belts. FWIW

My final post to clarify my contribution: Wikapedia "The WRC was formed from well-known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship and/or the International Championship for Manufacturers, and the series was first contested in 1973." The World Rally Championship began in 1973 and did include on the 1973 calendar all of the events that had been run as a part of the Manufacturers Championship in 1972. All subsequent references I can find to the World Rally Championship only refer to results from 1973 onwards with no recognition of those makes that won the manufacturer's championship in the previous three years. As an additional note, a similar situation evolved in the Drivers Championship which did not start until 1979. However, there was a drivers cup run in the previous two years for which the worthy winners, Sandro Munari and Marku Alen, are given little recognition in WRC history. On the matter of 4WD vehicles, I had an impression that they were not allowed to compete in the WRC until the early 1980's when the Audi Quattro turned world rallying on its head. I also made a mistake when I quoted the history of results for North American drivers when in fact I should have said USA drivers. Walter Boyce was a Canadian driver when a he won the WRC 1973 Press On Regardless rally. Sorry to have hijacked the thread away from the achievements of Gene Henderson who, from my reading, was a talented driver of exceptional achievements in a variety of vehicles.

Read a Wikapedia post (FWIW) which said : "The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC) was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973." and "All the nine rallies of the 1972 IMC season were part of the 1973 World Rally Championship season." There might be some conjecture over the veracity of the last sentence in that I have not found any reference to the 1972 events being included in the 1973 WRC, but whatever does emerge, there is no doubting that a Jeep driven by Gene Henderson won the 1972 Press On Regardless in what was the world premiere manufacturers rally series of the day.

I see. The article says "It was not supposed to happen. A truck wins a World Rally event. Nobody expected such a thing, much less believed it when they heard that a Jeep® Wagoneer, driven by a Dearborn, Mich., cop was the first American car to win an F.I.A. World Rally Championship event. It happened in 1972 at the Press-On-Regardless (POR) rally in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan" If it was 1972 then it was not a World Rally Championship event, but rather the fore runner of what was to become a WRC event. Would not be the first time that a journalist did not get it quite right and then prints something that is a little misleading. However, loved the video clips and thought that anyone who can drive a Jeep like that certainly would have had his hands full. Outstanding.

I think that John Smiskol was the North American driver with the highest achievements in the World Rally Championship results of the past century - AND he got those results in a Z. WRC results for John Smiskol John Smiskol Career Statistics Country: United States Driver Birth Date: 11-Nov-50 First Rally: Unknown WRC Events: 1973 - 0 Career Results : Pos Event Co-Driver # Vehicle 8th. 1974 WRC Rideau Lakes Rally C. Smiskol #108 Nissan Fairlady (Z) 260Z 14th. 1974 WRC USA Press on Regardless Rally C. Smiskol #8 Nissan Fairlady (Z) 260Z 3rd. 1973 WRC USA Press on Regardless Rally C. Smiskol #105 Nissan Fairlady (Z) Some of this information has come up in the Forum some time ago and can be read in http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?18343-WRC-Placegetter-Smiskol-of-USA

I am not to sure about the accuracy of some of the statements in the article quoted here. I am not at home at the moment to check some of my references but a quick google search of the 1973 Press On Regardless World Rally Championship event results gave me : USA - POR 1. Boyce, Walter Toyota Corolla 2. Walker, Jim Volvo 142S 3. Smiskol, John Datsun 240Z (See additional info on John Smiskol in next post) 4. Buffum, John Ford Escort RS1600 5. Rodgers, John Datsun 1600SSS 6. Mucha, Robert Polski-Fiat 125p 7. Dodd, Bill Ford Capri 2600 8. Callon, Jim Datsun 510 9. Dorr, Steve Datsun 510 10. McLaren, Charles Datsun 510 From memory the best result Jeep achieved was in an East African Safari Rally where I think they gained three places in the top ten but please do not quote me on this. I do not think that any North American driver has won a World Rally Championship event. The WRC started in 1973. I am not wanting to denigrate the achievements of those mentioned above and I am happy to be advised that I am in error in my thoughts. I will post again once I have had time to check on a few things. Regards Dave

Have bought several items from him through ebay and have always got exactly what I signed up for with absolutely no problems. Shipping prices were high but I was pre warned about that through this forum. He is honest, efficient, reliable. With a little more leg work and research you can do better prices and I generally prefer to deal with MSA but I feel that you can also deal with Reddat with confidence. FWIW Dave

My most recent order was a matter of a little urgency for me as I required the parts for work in progress at a workshop - parts arrived in Western Australia four working days after placement of the order. OUTSTANDING. Thanks JON. All attended to most efficiently again. Great service.

I can understand the frustration that Alan and others feel about the perpetuation and promotion of incorrect or unbalanced information with regard to the history of the development of the Zed car. Other threads in this forum have gone to great lengths to accurately define and verify the circumstances surrounding the origin of the Zed and continue to do so. However, despite the investigation and publication of more reliable and accurate information on these matters, "modern" articles seem to continue to rely an old information from 40 years ago. This Australian article from 2008? barely preceded the publication of an Australian book discussed on http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,8390.msg83880.html#msg83880 - both continued with the delivery of the Goertz myth. Any search of threads in this and other forums would reveal that Alan has been open with his information, and supportive of accurate statements supported by references or sources for verification. He welcomes any challenge to his opinions and is willing to discuss and support or qualify any statement he makes. He is also quick to support others in their investigations. I do not think he needs to be excused for anything here but if there is a perceived tone of frustration in his response I can certainly understand why. Maybe we should scrutinise this article a little more critically and look at whether or not the comments that have been made are valid.

Well spotted Steve. This is a good buy. I have copies of both the CD and the Australian parts catalogue and find that I prefer the hard copy as a ready reference. The price on this item is very good value given that catalogues for RHD S30 on Australian Ebay have sold for $200 to $540 in the last four years.

H4Lights, that is an excellent chart depicting the beam patterns for lights. The quote you took from my post should have been written by myself as "the statutory differences lie in the operation and wiring of the lights". However, this legal definition ignores the functionality of the lenses and the patterns that match the relevant terms described in your chart. On my own car the upper larger lights are clear pencil beams for long range open road driving and the lower lights have a medium spread beam (as distinct from a fog beam) to illuminate the sides of the road and the insides of the bends in the roads. If drivers want a genuine fog beam they need to choose a lens that suits the shorter range pattern on your chart. People purchasing and mounting additional lights on their vehicles would do well to carefully consider their driving environments and purchase lights with lenses with light patterns from your chart that best suit them.

Hi Jan Links to some photos of my Zeds with additional lights mounted. Both Zeds, front view http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=1.jpg Black Zed with rectangular lights http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=2.jpg Gold Zed with horrible light mounting bar http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=6.jpg Sorry about not having the skills to edit and upload photos properly. Tomohawk, I agree with your comments although the classic rally photos of the works BDA Escorts often show 4 driving lights with a two above , two under configuration. A lot of people mount driving lights in a less than best lighting position to preserve the lines and appearance of their car. Where I come from fog lights are those that can be switched on independently of the head lights while the parking lights are on. This stops the head lights from illuminating the fog and the additional lights get the light on the ground. Driving lights are wired into the light system to only be allowed to operate in conjunction with the high beam. A spotlight is a light that operates independently of the others eg a rear mounted reversing light on a rally car or even a roof mounted light for some other vehicles for non driving purposes - hunting, taxi drivers looking for street numbers etc. Jan, in the galleries I think I noticed both Jackhammer and 280Z turbo had lights mounted similar to those in the photo you posted. Regards Dave

Last time I looked in my home state of Western Australia there were different definitions for spotlights, fog lamps and driving lights even though they may be identical in appearance and mounting - the differences lay in the operation and wiring of the lights. However, I think this is an aside to my perceived intent of the question which is seeking suggestions as to how additional lights might be mounted a a Zed. One of Zeds had two rectangular lights mounted under the bumper and I thought they looked fairly appropriate in that location. I have seen many owners mount lights on the bumpers but others do not want to drill holes in the bumpers to do so, particularly if their bumpers are in good condition. One alternative to mounting lights close to the bumpers is to have brackets fabricated that mount onto the bumper brackets. We do not have the 280Z in Australia but I would imagine that the mounting of lights would not be allowed to obscure vision of the grill mounted indicators. The early works Zed rally cars had additional lights mounted on the bonnet / hood and the fenders but I would think that is not really an option for a nice road car. For those owners mounting round lights such as the Hella 500 which have a slim profile, I have seen brackets fabricated that mount the lights between the grill and the radiator. They are not as efficient in that location but they are out of the way, better protected from stones or debris from oncoming traffic, less prone to being stolen, and do not alter the external appearance of your vehicle. I have four additional lights on my daily driver, two (Hella 500) angled off the road to illuminate the sides of the road, and two (Hella 2000) shining straight ahead. They are mounted on an alloy nudge bar and look bloody awful but this is a car I drive on dirt roads in all weather and where kangaroos can cause mayhem so I can live with it on this particular car. My black refresh project car has two rectangular Hella lights that will be mounted under the bumper by brackets that share the bumper brackets. I have new fibreglass bumpers and want to avoid a vibration or strength of mounting problem. I think the rectangular lights with their light covers on look like they were meant to be in this position. Some statutory authorities might have regulations restricting the height of your additional lights relative to the position of your headlights. This would be worth checking out before you decided to do anything at all. FWIW Dave

If you do not have inertia reel belts then you could just measure the length of the belts in your vehicle and ask the seller to provide the length measurement of those that you are considering purchasing. There is usually a fair amount of adjustment available in conventional lap sash belts so if the two measurements are close then you should be good to proceed. I am sure you will feel that it is money well spent once you have them installed.

I have no knowledge of how well suited this part # might be compared to the original item but this question might be solved by comparing the two items side by side. Britax have been around for decades and I do not know of any reason to question the quality of their product. I have serious reservations about any suggestion of "fixing" a belt faded by sunlight. UV light is a factor in the degradation of seat belt fabric and other items of similar manufacture or materials. Age is also a consideration. I have played with vertical roping and rescue activities for years and retire our equipment after five years regardless of the amount of use, and earlier if there is any discernible damage eg fraying of the edges. I do not know of any manufacturer of vertical roping equipment, which includes products made from seat belt webbing, that will recommend their product beyond a five year period. In past threads there has been discussion of upholsterers "making" seat belts by replacing new webbing with old. Caution is also required here as the stitching involved in seat belt webbing is critical and has to be able to be relied upon. By all means use an upholsterer to replace the webbing in things like luggage straps but I would suggest that a person in a car involved in a motoring incident would want their seat belt webbing to work as well as it possibly can. Second hand belts or belts of unknown history should also be treated with reservation. I would never use a seat belt that had previously been involved in a collision. Finally, it is possible to damage seat belt fabric with some cleaners or other liquids. The cleaning agents that we might apply to seat belts need to be carefully selected. This is not about appearance or saving money but more about how well you want your safety restraint to work in a crisis. Seat belts need to be in good condition and worn properly if they are to have a chance of serving you well. If in doubt, throw it out and buy a new one. Sorry to rant about something that is off topic but the potential consequences involved here are very serious.

Two recent publications from fairly well known Australian magazine writers and historians? continue to perpetuate the Goertz myth down under. The first is a book book published in 2009,The Nissan Z - A Forty Year History Of The Z Sportscar IN Australia which has received some comment on the Auszcar site. Unfortunately, a lot of the authors' comment that I did enjoy was overshadowed by the bulk of comment on pages 12 - 15 that described Goertz involvement in both the S30 and the Toyota 2000GT. The thing that possibly concerned me a little with this book was that while I do not have any trouble in seeing how the Goertz myth might be perpetuated given that other recent authors of books have made similar comments, I am, however, surprised to see that the book had a link to the 2009 Managing Editor of "Nissan Corporate Communications" and thought that there might have been some more written of the currently acknowledged design team responsible for the development of the S30. The second was an article in Wheels magazine that had some similar comments and did quote from the letter (1982?) written by Nissan to Goertz. So easy to print something that is not quite right. So very hard to correct and erase the same thing or even to have balanced comment to be considered. Even quoting a passage from a reference without an explanation of the full context in which it was written can "slant" a view which might be inferred from the words.

I have ordered a variety of parts on multiple occasions over the past five years and while I might be able to get parts cheaper elsewhere, the effort and risk involved with sourcing and dealing with others has left me thinking that MSA is likely to be my first port of call for parts that I cannot easily source in Australia. I get a 10% discount, receive news on monthly specials, have always appreciated the service provided by the sales staff, and always think I get a pretty good deal. The term "rip off" is a very strong descriptor that I would most definitely NOT apply to MSA. The amusing thing that I see on ebay is listings of items at higher prices than I see for the same products available from MSA and the shipping prices associated with some of those listings have been the subject of discussion on this site. At least MSA prepare a final amount with a firm shipping quote for your consideration before the order is confirmed. Finally, I see MSA actively supporting the Z community at formal gatherings and events. They get my support for that alone when other considerations are roughly equal.

Plenty of nice wheels posted here. Why create a problem for yourself if there is a concern about this matter? It should be no problem to prove that the 260Z came out with a Nissan alloy rim - or at least it did in some markets. Why not have it inspected with a genuine item and then put whatever you want on the car afterwards? Either that or follow Yorgo's suggestion.

They look absolutely outstanding!!! I personally like a bumper without rubbers and appendages and have gone fibreglass on two of my cars but I am super impressed with the appearance of what you have here and would think that this solution would be number one on my list for my next project. Brilliant solution and a most competitive price when compared to other options.

Good to hear you are well Rick and that the essential sense of humour remains intact. There will hardly be an Australian who is not affected in one way or another by the current range of adverse environmental events across Australia. I cannot imagine that there will be enough manpower in Australia to meet the demands of the recovery over the current projections that already mention five years as a realistic period. There are already calls being made to allow a relaxation of visa requirements for specialist workers to come to Australia. Interesting to note that the Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is really publicly showing our national leader, Prime Minister Julia Gillard, how to be a leader in these circumstances. Premier Bligh is demonstrating a fantastic presence and authority and seems to be just what Queensland needs at this moment. In the meantime, Victorian towns at this minute are at the peak of their own floodwaters.

Queensland has certainly been walloped and Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales are also in the throes of flood threats. In Western Australia Canarvon had its own serious flooding two weeks ago and is in the recovery phase. One weather station in the Kimberly recorded 650+ mils (26 inches) of rain over two days. Drought, flood and fires have all been prominent news headlines in the past two weeks. Volunteers and donations are starting to flow in. The military has been called on to provide the largest response to a natural disaster since cyclone Tracy in 1974. Thinking of Ric at the moment who has been quiet - probably up to his neck volunteering his efforts towards the recovery. 1Bravo6 - how are you doing?

I have a two seater that the PO or the PO before that changed from white to some bloody terrible shade of non nissan blue. The interior paint was left the original white and the whole thing does not do much for me at all. The car is now going through a slow staged refresh starting from the ground up and I had the engine bay and the underneath of the car painted black while the engine and gearbox were removed. The rest of the car will be returned to white with black fibreglass bumpers, black vents in the bonnet and possibly black mirrors - can easily change any or all of the black exterior items to white if it does not look the goods. The interior is black. I know the black in the engine bay has been discussed in other threads and members offered differing opinions on what they thought best. For me, black engine bays flow well into the underside of the car and look great when the car is viewed from underneath when they are raised on a hoist. I do think that the underside of the bonnet / hood looks great if left the same as the exterior colour of the car. However, if I was Mike in the original post and doing a blast and full respray on a vehicle that is likely to be kept original, then I would probably only do a colour change if it was to be a full high quality respray.