EScanlon

I think that one of the problems that Nissan ran into is that it is hard to identify a specific trait / characteristic / look to the whole Z line that could be tapped into a marketing tool for the 350Z. The 70-78 Z's share a common body style. So much so that we can interchange some parts. The changes between the different models and years were so subtle as to deceive many, and is probably one of the first questions a true new fan asks. The 79 280ZX is the first change to the body that is notable, but the changes are an obvious progression to the original body. I may be wrong, but wasn't it because of the body style change that is why Nissan added the X to the name? The 84 300ZX (Z31) however, is the first to really change the body to where some people might not readily see it as a Z. (Anyone ever seen the Celica GT of the same time period? or the Supra GT? Very similar vehicles.) The "half-lid" headlights have replaced the famous sugar scoops, the quarter windows are now much longer and triangular, the pillar between the windows is now flush and part of the body and not the windows. The hood "bump" or "nose" is completely different. Very little of the original body lines were retained. A bit of the parentage is noticeable, but it is a different look. To an unknowing person, it would be hard to ascertain that the 240Z and the 300ZX were related. The 90 300ZX (Z32) now takes the original (Z31) look and modernizes it. Many people accused Nissan of producing a Porsche 944 Replica. The half-lid headlights are now recessed into the body and behind rectangular clear covers. The little bit of taper left from the original hatch lines is now gone, and it almost looks as though a trunk is there. The car is lower and wider than it's original design. The latest 350Z (now without the X) doesn't have the side profile of ANY of the prior Z's, nor is there a discernable parentage...other than rounded body panels with the Z32. So where do you say....THIS.... is the definitive Z look? Other marques have features that have been carried on, model to model, year to year, that help identify a vehicle as belonging to the family. The Aston Martin's grille, the Ferrari's compact height, the Alfa Romeo's wheel bumps extending above the fender line, the BMW's double oval grille. The Z, sadly doesn't have a lot that's passed down the line. But then again, what are your thoughts? Enrique

Jack, while everyone here would love to welcome you to the club, and by no means am I opposing that, I think you need to realize that by stating that you are limited with the $ you can afford to spend, and requesting a Z in original condition, you've lost the race without competing. An early Z in original condition that doesn't need work, parts, etc, is going to fetch money. There are rare and joyous exceptions to this, but they are usually in the manner of a friend of a friend who knows a Z owner who's about to go to a retirement home and is selling his baby who is satisfied with recouping his original purchase price ($3.5k). But these ARE exceptions. If you contact a Z club and their members there will be a ton of other Z people who will know and jump on an offer before it becomes available outside the club / community. Now, a car that is in good restoreable or repairable shape, will be a lot more reasonable for your pocket book. At least to purchase it. But, and I don't think ANYONE on this site will deny this....the Z bug hits you. And you want to .....fix this ..... upgrade that.....tweak that.....buy a new whatever, and before long, you are more than hopelessly addicted and ..... another Z junkie. Then you suddenly know what the rest of us mean when we state that you have to LOVE the car, and not look to it as an investment or money making opportunity. Simply put, you'll be dumping money into it in nothing flat. Your wife / girlfriend will accuse you of loving the car more than her. You'll find yourself looking for reasons .... to work on your Z. Ask any member here, from the guys who still have theirs in the garage being restored, fixed, upgraded, ...to the guys who drive theirs every day and put up with the temporary fixes while dreaming of the day when they'll be able to do everything "right".... to the guys who bought it all "done" from another Z lover. You still find a way to dump money into it. So, my advice to you is to decide what you really mean by "anything decent that I can afford" and do a little research here and other sites as to what the actual value of that car that you deem "decent". Then, double that amount. Heck, I may be too conservative on this. Anyone else want to chime in? Enrique

Sorry Gary, but just the fact that you were in an accident is noted on your insurance record, and you DON'T want to contact them with the news, unless you're going to make a claim. (I found this out when I had my house fire. Luckily I hadn't given my name.) The other reason you wouldn't want to contact the insurance company is that NOBODY was charged nor cited for the accident. With no one to fault and therefore recover from, the insurance company has no one to pursue for payment. They will pay for it, but they'll cite it against your uninsured, or comprehensive coverage. The end result is....it goes on your record. Those "demerits" are used by them to determine whether you are an "at-risk" driver, and although the insurance is on your car, it is YOU that is actually "graded". Toss in young age and male......ZAPPO.....higher premiums. Then you have the value issue. Unless your policy has been underwritten with the VALUE of the Z as a Classic, AND the value thereof has been agreed on, they'll resort to their actuarial tables and not the NADA and Blue Book guides. Unless you want to get into a small battle with your insurance company, you might suddenly find your car being totalled by them. Remember they decide to total the car when a given percentage (don't know the number) of it's value in their actuarial tables has been exceeded by the repair amount estimated. So bottom line, if you CAN fix it and the cost is minimal....fix it and chalk it up to another life experience, or as Forrest Gump would say....Sh!t Happens. And DON'T contact your insurance company at all. Regarding the deductible and the amount of the repair, two points to offer. First, raise that deductible. Although a $500 ded. sounds good, in actuality you will always be debating whether to claim or not. You'll be right back here. Make it an even thousand and that way you will know what you will be paying for, and can then approach the damage with the care you'll want to assign to picking the repair parts, time and if necessary body shop. Secondly, by raising that deductible you will lower your premium considerably. If you do get into an accident that is expensive, that first thousand, although yours to pay, will be a small part of the claim. Remember, the deductible is for damages to YOUR car and not anyone else's car you might damage. Stash the savings into a bank account, and soon you'll have that grand earning YOU interest, and there should you have to use it. Hope this helps. Enrique

Unless I'm too tired from working in the yard all day, the horn circuit doesn't run through the combination switch. It has a separate wire. Check to make sure you have all the bullet and spade connectors connected, you might have missed one, or inadvertently put in a spade such that it isn't actually inside the female. I'll check my diagrams tomorrow. Enrique

On many of the rods in there, where they come close to the other rods or metal, try inserting them through some silicone tubing, like the type used in aquariums. Get the type made out of silicone, not the clear plastic. The difference will be readily apparent if you try to squeeze or bend it. The silicone will, the plastic one will be harder, and almost impossible to bend backwards without having a kink left in the plastic. Then with a little bit of stretching and a little bit of pulling, slide it on the rod until it gets to the area where the rods meet. The silicone will absorb the rattling and will not harden or crack like the plastic one would. 2¢ Enrique

John; Unless you are making them of a specific material different from the original vinyl, why not just buy a new one? Several of the vendors have them for a very reasonable price. 2¢ Enrique

Hail to the King. I'll join you in drinking a few of those beers. I think you are absolutely right. Not only does the overall design of the fender, scoops, hood literally BEG for the headlight covers simply due to the start change from curved to cut out. But on a different note, there is a distinct LACK of chrome trim on the front of the car to correspond (symetrically) with the rear of the car as well as an overall balance. The tail lights have the chrome trim with the black stripe. All the windows have the stainless trim surrounding them. The wipers are stainless. The 4 corner lights have chrome surrounds, even the door handles are chromed. Yet the FRONT of the car only has the bumper and the hood emblem. Once you're past the bumpers and the hood emblem, the back of the car still has a LOT of chrome that the front does not. Once you've seen a Z with the Chrome Headlight covers, you'll appreciate the look of the scoops that much more. If you'll collect the oranges, we'll brew them up and make a batch of Grand Marnier. Enrique

Now Mike, the post was starting to die down and you go rattle the cage? Now we'll never get the monkeys to settle down. Geeeeeezzzzzz Enrique

Give Tomohawk a PM or wait till he posts, I believe he's the only one that has experience on this. E

$50k IS a significant amount of money, no argument there. However, I'll still wager that the average price of a modest, 3 bedroom, 1-2 bath, with a small back yardin your area of CA is up close to $250k. That is an EXORBITANT amount to pay. That makes the house payment close to $2k plus insurance and taxes. Figuring that total as $2500, it comes up to being 60% of $50k/yr BEFORE taxes (50k/yr = 4166/mo). That would make it a hard reach for most young people. Rent? HAH! Same thing there. In fact, you can sometimes buy cheaper than you can rent. My mother and sister and her family live in San Jose. You can't find a house for under $500k that is NOT considered a remodeling candidate. In fact, that's how some houses are advertised. A home that's equitable to mine with a similar amount of land and in a similar neighborhood is over $1M, I paid $150k. Sorry Carl, although $50k is high for OTHER parts of the country, it's definitely not a GOOD wage for California. No doubt there are many people earning less than that, but again, that's the amount that has been deemed NECESSARY to ATTRACT people to the job of police officer and hopefully stay on and live there. Then again, your crime rate is much higher...maybe that has a LOT to do with it. Not too many rookie positions (other than the military) offer the possibility of getting killed as part of the job. I stand by my post, maybe I ought to delete the word SOUTHERN, as the rest does apply. Enrique

Couple thoughts: Carl, wages in southern California are not a good indicator. Home values and costs of living in California are exorbitant, whereas other parts of the country have more reasonable values. People who work in California require more money to stay there. Where $50k may seem high it may in fact be what's required to get people to do the job period. Alfa and Rick, as far as good raport with the police, it all boils down to how you wish to relate to them. Even in larger cities, police usually get assigned a "beat", in order for them to become accustomed to what goes on in that area. That familiarity is what allows them to pick out the odd behaviour that points to criminal wrong doing. If you wave and act friendly towards the cops, trust me, the word will get passed around and they'll respond in kind. Act rudely, glare at them and push the envelope of the law and you can expect to be treated accordingly. Just my 2¢ Enrique

Ditto Landmizzle's post. Part of the problem is that the very early Z's and the later Z's (and I'm not sure when it happened) had a slightly different dimension between the closed door and the door frame opening. The later Z's had a thicker weatherstrip which on the earlier Z's causes the problem you mention. Unfortunately, it is this newer weatherstripping that's readily available that is thicker than the one your car requires. Also, even if it were the exact year that the rubber was made for, there will also be some time before the weatherstrip gets "crushed" to shape. Just remember that when you adjust your doors, that you adjust them to fit the body and opening properly, and force the weatherstrip to adjust. 2¢ Enrique

The STG-LOCK wires go to the ignition switch and connect to the two wires that attach to the side of the tumbler housing. That's a switch that buzzes when you open the driver's door and the key is still in the ignition. Many times this switch gets removed. If you have a rectangular opening on the lower left of the ignition switch housing, it's gone. The rear brakes don't adjust with the reverse brake procedure you mentioned. That's on 70's GM vehicles, and I believe also Ford and Dodge. I may be wrong on that, but they are definitely NOT on the Z. To adjust the rear brakes, you use your Parking Brake, Hand Brake or Emergency Brake (depending on what you call it). When you pull up on the handle it takes up the slack and clicks the adjuster if necessary. A properly adjusted hand brake should only alow 6-7 clicks max. Hope this helps Enrique

And some "jokes" aren't funny regardless of where they come from. In the middle of a discussion that makes it obvious that I and others feel that safety is NOT something to "joke" about, you choose to debut your comedy routine. Then you wonder why people reacted as they did. To boot, you choose to open with an expression which some people would find sacrilegious. If this is the kind of contribution you make, please don't contribute. Enrique

Take that car to a frame shop and have them chain / block the rest of the car and then straighten the front end back out. What you have is the result of a collision with an object on the lower left corner of the frame "cube", causing that corner to come up and in towards the center. Even though the metal has been "straightened" you can still see the twist in the frame from the front picture. Get the dimensions from the FM for that year if they don't have them available. They'll chain and block your car, and then using hydraulic rams, will pull that corner back down and out. The frame shop will pull out the twist and allow you to properly straighten the metal there. You'll probably notice the roundness in the vent holes comme back on it's own. 2¢ Enrique

Actually, the putty you are referring to is INSIDE the cabin compartment, on the underside of the Cowl Bucket. That's where the fresh air intake for the blower system is. The problem more than likely is a leak in the flange around that opening. The hard part will be to inspect all around that flange, since the front part of the flange is so far underneath the cowl lip that you can't see it well without mirrors. Additionally, repairing it will be a major pain. You won't be able to weld in there without cutting off a bunch of the upper lip of the cowl. You might be better off by using JB Weld or POR with the Power Mesh, to seal that flange. The putty (plumber's putty) is a soft pliable seal that permits the two pieces to flex without direct mechanical connection, while still maintaining the seal. It's main purpose is to ensure the connection to the outside. If it were missing, you would draw air in from the back of the dash area and recirculate it, while diminishing the amount of fresh air from the cowl.. Even if the plumber's putty were completely missing, that, by itself wouldn't be the reason for the water coming in. The flange, where it meets the bottom pan of the cowl bucket, is best described if you imagine a trumpet horn, or a funnel laid on a flat surface. Imagine sealing the edge down. Then at the other end of the funnel (the small end) place a cap that fits all the way around the opening, and extends down below it's top edge. There is approximately 1" of separation all the way around the top of the flange and that cap. This is what prevents water from being driven in directly into the upside down funnel. Only if the water backs up enough that the lower edge of the cap is below water, would you suck water into the fresh air vent. (If your drains were to be that clogged, whenever you would accelerate from a dead stop, the wave surge would cause water to surge out by the kick panels on both sides of the car, and also up by the air vents below the windshield.) I think you have a hole or two at the point where the flange meets the bottom of the cowl bucket OR you have a missing or holed cap over the flange. 2¢ Enrique

Check my gallery, my car has a set of the OEM. The installation instruction sheet I received with mine, was more of a pictogram than a detailed instruction sheet. I'll describe it as I interpreted them, corrected by my experience: (This is what I learned the hard way.) Locate the Plexiglass cover onto the sugar scoop, to determine the position it best fits. Make notations on the fender through the holes in the plexiglass, identifying the 4 screw hole locations. When adjusting the plastic, look at the way that the edges touch or don't touch the sugar scoop. Use masking tape to "tack" the pieces in place while you make minor adjustments. Look at the position of the bend at the nose, and how it meets the bend as well as the curve on the side. Ideally, it will fit very nicely ALL the way around with even edges overlapping the edge of the sugar scoop. Do this same fit with the metal trim piece, to determine it's fit to the car. If you wanted you could mark the trim holes also, but the plastic will not accept the pressure of the trim if the holes DO NOT MATCH. (I cracked mine. :stupid: ) Place the corresponding metal trim piece and determine if the screw holes in the trim are in line with the marks on the sugar scoop. If everything lines up well (there's not much room for error here.), then do a final fit with the trim AND the plexiglass. This is to make absolutely sure that BOTH sets of holes match. Take care not to scratch the plexiglass by moving the trim excessively. If everything is ok, then proceed to mounting the screw plates. Important Note: If you do NOT fit these well, and try to use the old tighten the screw and it will "gunch" it into position, you can almost guarantee that one of the plexiglass covers will crack. The picture shows that once you've marked these holes, that you should place the rectangular screw plates directly over the holes, and then mark the two mounting holes for those screw plates on the fender. If you are using a fibreglass sugar scoop, you drill the center hole (the one that actually retains the trim ring and the cover) only deep enough so that the screw won't bottom out, but not THROUGH the material. In metal, you'll go right through. The screw plate mounting holes are drilled next, and depending on whether it's fibreglass or metal, you adjust the diameter of the drill bit. In fibreglass you don't want to stress the material by drilling out a smaller hole than the screw shank, nor so large that the thread is only barely into the metal. The ideal would be just slightly larger than the actual center of the screw (the distance between the innermost points of the thread), and small enough that at least 2/3 of the thread BITES into the material. In sheet metal, my rule of thumb is to split the difference. That is, roughly halfway between those two. Others may have differences of opinion and if so please post. The screws that hold the screw plates onto the sugar scoop are beveled heads that fit flush with the top of the screw plate. Don't loose these. For some reason, they are an "odd" head diameter and you won't easily find replacements. Once you have the 4 Trim Retainer Screw Plates mounted on the car place the trim ring and the cover onto the car and use the stainless screws provided to install it. That's it. As a note to those who would be interested in a variation of the procedure. I wanted to be able to remove the covers completely for the car, for those times when I would be polishing or waxing. Additionally, I didn't want the screw plates on TOP of the sugarscoop where they would provide a hazard to my applicator sponge or polisher pad. Since I have metal scoops, I decided to mount the screw plates underneath the sheet metal of the scoop. Since this would be a very tedious mount and install, if you had to hold the screw plates from below, I epoxied the screw plates to the underside of the sheet metal. (be sure to use a small amount of release agent on the screw if you choose to use the screw to hold the plate in place.) Now, other than the holes in the sugarscoop (and only 4 through the metal, instead of 12), you wouldn't readily note that I had had the covers on the car. Additionally, filling 4 holes, should I ever decide to do without the covers, would be far easier and faster than filling 12. Additionally, in order to preclude scratches and dirt from seeping into the headlight opening, I added a 1/16th thick layer of closed cell foam BELOW the plastic cover, such that the trim ring hides it. There's also a 1/8th layer ABOVE the plastic that is compressed by the trim ring as it presses the clear cover down. Between these two pieces of foam, and the rubber ring I applied around the headlight, the space in front of the headlight bulbs has stayed dirt and moisture free even in the rain in the Pac. NW. Aftermarket Headlight Cover Install: The commonly available set of headlight covers available for this car, require a bit of tricky manipulation. At least in my book. The trick to mounting these, is that in order to get a very good fit, you need to make sure the gasket that fits around the edge of the clear cover, and the edge of the sugarscoop meet properly. If you don't, you'll have all sorts of gunk inside the headlight area, which will require continual maintenance. The problem with locating this, is that in order to mount the covers, you fasten a set of "L" brackets with screws through the cover. The other side of the "L", has a section of double stick emblem tape. Locating these and in turn afixing them to the sugar scoop so that they don't fall off can be an exercise in futility. The easiest (though complicated) method I've seen to ensuring a good snug and weatherproof seal to these covers, was to remove the sugar scoop from the car and after locating the plastic and seal in the desired location, to work THROUGH the headlight bulb opening into this area to affix the double stick tape. Lastly, after removing the headlight covers for final cleaning, the L brackets will be stuck to the scoop with the tape, If you want to avoid further problems, drill a hole for a sheet metal screw and your problems will be over. Unfortunately, one of the "pluses" of these covers, is that they tout that you don't need to drill holes in the sugar scoop. That's right, if you don't mind buying double stick foam tape by the roll, and replacing it every so many days, hours, ..... Get my drift? After a while, the original locations are lost, and you then have a poorly fit cover that can literally get ripped off the car by a high gust of wind. Additionally, you find that TONS of gunk gets past the "seal". Hope this helps, sorry if my bias shows. Enrique

I believe that everybody who posts / reads here is using English, and whether you use the Australian, English, New Zealand, Scotland, Ireland, or the United States' version of the English language, you can't have something that does not exist. Do you see my point about defying the basic tenets of ....everything? You don't say what you mean, you give yourself the option of denying everything you said because what you write isn't interpreted correctly. Huh? "I believe you understand what you think I said, but you don't realize that what you heard is not what I meant" is a FUNNY statement, but as a way of life? If everyone is afraid to ask those questions, WHO asked YOU? If nobody asks the question, it's probably because they've discovered that it's easier to sit back, be quiet and learn, and THEN propose new methods and procedures which would then be ON TOPIC and PLAUSIBLE. Or then again, maybe they've heard the saying " It's better to be quiet and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all possible doubt.". Tomy, I think you may indeed have an intelligent viewpoint, if you would only learn some of the basics first. The problem is that you are a legend... ONLY in your own mind. The only legend you are promoting here is the one of club bufoon, but I disagree with that. I think you're grossly over qualified for the position. PFFFT! (Not even a short burst of flatulence.) Enrique

Really? Geez, my numismatic collection either just shot up several thousand percent, or devaluated to next to nothing. I have at least 30 or 40 U.S. Treasury $2 bills. I'm sure others have some and more people remember them. Funny what you don't know. That may be, mis-information is exactly what we try to AVOID on this site. I've requested correction to my posts whenever I'm not entirely sure about something. I also DO NOT post to subjects I know nothing about. Maybe if you followed the same logic, you wouldn't be posting on EVERY topic that comes up. As far as other people's capabilities, if they are in fact CAPABLE, it becomes apparent in just a few posts. If they are incapable, they usually try to learn from the various posts that are offered and not try to "figure out" a "better" solution based on their ignorance. I do care about those that do know, and it is the main reason that buffoons who don't know must be stomped on, in order that those who come here to learn aren't misguided by them. It is a rare post where you don't come up with a new method to negate the laws of physics. The main thrust of all this is to advise you to use the intelligence you claim to have to realize that you are way off topic on most of your suggestions. Either that or you aren't presenting them in such a manner as to make them plausible. Usually however, it is just pipe-dreams that you put down and very little actual physical research has been done to support those pipe-dreams is presented. So, either put on another layer on your AFBD or quit "shooting the sh!t" with a mouthfull of diarrhea. And I hope you also have a nice day. Enrique

Actually, no problem is created since there is no misunderstanding. It's YOUR misunderstanding that has caused the problem. And so you won't obfuscate and ignorige it, it's TOMYCHICKEN that's misunderstanding the basic function in REPAIRING automobiles. If repairing were "PARTS REPLACING" then he could find a job working at the dealers that specialize in this, but he still won't understand the basic concept of repair. Tomy, by your logic (if that's not an oxymoron), you should replace and upgrade ALL parts associated with the part that failed, since, they're all as old as the part that failed. Well then, just replace the car. You ASSUME that by replacing with "upgrades" you won't have further problems that may in fact exacerbate other parts into failure. That's a MAJOR misunderstanding, that DOES create a problem. Now the only "repair" possible in your book is to transmogrify a 240 into a 350. The problem is, that if we WANTED a 350 instead of a 240 we'd just sell and trade our cars to "upgrade" properly, per your "logic". Unfortunately, this has been tried with TOMYCHICKEN and all we get are more squawks and promises of another rotten egg. We get a lot of stink, but no product. The reason it's easy to presume that your response is in fact UNREASONABLE, is that you'd be batting less than 100% for us to question that presumption. I've yet to see the post regarding repairs where you didn't suggest "upgrading" in some warped method that everyone ballyhooed. Your upgrades almost always involve re-engineering the vehicle. Your input would be much more appreciated if you weren't so pathetically off base every time. Why not stick to what you DO know, and leave the "hypothetical" to those who can breathe with their mouth shut. Go watch Monster Garage or Junkyard Wars for the type of engineering you suggest. $2 Enrique

Michael: As far as the dimension on your plan go, I don't know that 6' to the Depth of the garage would do you a whole heck of a lot of good with that stairway there. As the design overview shows, with an external measurement of 30 (your mod) you'd loose at least a foot from the thickness of the walls, add to that the nominal width of 3.5' of the staircase, and an "oops" factor to the walls and back of the car (for parking it so that the garage door doesn't hit it) and you could easily loose another 1.5', which nulifies your additional room. But you would end up with 6' INSIDE more. Problem with this is that, in my experience 6' is barely enough room to set up tools and start removing / replacing items. But that's my experience. Garden equipment is also another pain, 6' to store these means that there will be an AWFUL amount of shuffling to pull out the lawnmower, or the edger, or the.... you get my drift? Then to have this be a COMMON area between the two, and you'll quickly wish you had done something different. Although the width seems ok, unfortunately by the time you put in your tool boxes and other paraphernelia that eventually ends up on the wall of any garage, you might find yourself pulling one car out to work on the other. Also, the height of the work area at 97" is in my opinion, terribly low. Not only will it be impossible to have any overhead storage, but you're not going to be putting a larger vehicle up on stands without careful checking of clearance. Don't forget that the overhead door will likely hang down about 8-10" BELOW the ceiling and you are looking at only 87" in USEABLE height. (item height without being affected by the garage doors) You were once talking about a rotisserie, not in this garage. How about a lift? You'd be better off using Jack Stands for the available height. Put your garden equipment outside in one of those inexpensive metal or plastic sheds. Increase the height in the garage to at least 9' USEABLE if not 10'. Put the stairway outside, unless you are planning on making it into the "office" part of the garage. Even then, what can you do in the UPSTAIRS office that you would need to have it IN the garage? Have one of the bays have a pit underneath with metal grate cover. That way you aren't worried about driving into it, but can yet access it quickly. Have Air and Water connections available IN the pit, and put a good size drain in there (even if it has to be a sump pump). This way you can wash the car, or the underneath quickly and easily. Just my 2¢ Enrique

This deserves repeating. DON'T THROW MONEY AWAY ON STUPID THINGS, such as speeding tickets and raised insurance rates. Bill, Don't be defensive, nor angry about all this ribbing. Hopefully next time the old lead-foot disease hits you, you'll remember it and save yourself a ticket. If you insist on going fast, go out on the back roads, CRUISE the road first to learn where it goes to, how it moves, and most importantly what hazards are involved, including danger and surveillance areas. Once you've done that, you'll find that you can indeed go out and "blow the cobwebs out", without getting penalized, but get some seat belts installed. Going fast around a left hand turn is no fun if you slide over the console. We old farts, wrinklies, or whatever you want to call us, have usually been there and done that. We all bear the scars of our failures. If you think you can take on a grizzly bear that's kicked the heck out of the rest of us, go ahead, but don't complain when you acquire your own scars. Or, listen to us golden oldies when we tell you that there's dog poop on the sidewalk and DON'T step in it, or ignore us and put up with the stench. Enrique

Huge bank account? Nope, not here. But to address the point you make about having to spend money, if you'll recall way back when you did NOT have a car, we all advised that it wasn't a car that would NOT require money to maintain. A 30+ year old car is going to require maintenance, TLC, and attention to the "little things". That means spending the money. As far as replacing things, that's what you do, but not having seat belts and then speeding? Seems to me that you're spending more money and time zipping around and breaking things, and not addressing those safety items which will allow you to enjoy the car for a LONG time. Isn't this the 3rd or 4th incident with this car since you got it....less than 6 months ago? And you STILL don't have seat belts? What were you waiting for, a seat belt ticket at $200 a pop? Just my 2¢ Enrique

Well I did say my neighbor was a Supervisor, from that I figured you'd see that he wasn't a spring chicken. That's why to him a good day was one where you did NOT have to go for the "chase". Danger is a thrill only when you are wired that way, to others when you get past the thrill, it's only danger and is something to avoid. So whatever his original motivation for joining the police, after 20+ years, he just wanted to survive to retirement. Not that he would shun danger when it came at him, but he didn't go stir it up. For what it's worth, he'd always chuckle along with me. Enrique