halz

That was the main thing that put me off. The owner says that reversing the process is an 'easy' job but I'm not a panel beater. In the car's favour, it has the original engine and gearbox and has had the current owner for 18 years (he's the 2nd oner). Sounds like he would be pretty negotiable too...

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3403&papass=&sort=1&thecat=998

Guys, The owner posted pics of this car a few days ago - any of you Adelaide Z-hounds interested? Datsun 240Z, 2 seater. RZB-648. Very clean in/out, mech A1. Rare find $6500 ono. ph 0411 576 994

Can't knock the free beer..! Did you manage to sell the commodore?

While cycling home through Subiaco last night I saw my 1st 350Z. It was silver, being driven by a lady along Roberts rd. I got a brief look at the front and side. The rear (apart from those angular tail lights) reminds me a lot of the Audi TT. I'll need to see one close up in a Nissan showroom before making a final judgment...

Inf, Apart from the blue smoke issue, what you describe could be pretty well termed minor issues. You could spend another $1000 on a supposedly better car and still have the same problems bob up. We are talking about a 30 year old car here after all - its bound to have some niggles. As for the blue smoke - if it turns out to be rings then think of it as a chance to put the engine into the same great condition as the rest of the car...:cheeky:

The photo was taken in Feb 2003 (2 weeks ago) and the vines in the background are largely obscured by the Ecalypts on the far side of the track. I don't know too much about the grape growing side of wineries except that these vines are all in berry with harvest set to be around March (I think) which is our Autumn (fall). The winery is called Sandalford and yes, they have a website: www.sandalford.com. Being in the Swan valley, the winery could be termed a 'warm climate' type - it was 43degrees Celsius on the day of the car event - so the wines they produce would reflect the climate. I'm thinking that big reds would be good here. anyay, I hope that fills you in - check the wensite for more info...

Try this: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3320&papass=&sort=1&thecat=998

Guys, Attached is a pic of a 1970 240Z which was taken at the 2003 'Classic Sandalford' in Perth Australia. This event is basically a quarter mile sprint for classis and interesting cars held at one of the wineries near Perth (yes, those are grape vines in the background!) The owner is Rich Davies, a local 240Z identity. He and his wife Pat (both retired) regularly compete in Classic rallies, sprints and navigation trials in Western Australia... Now, after the odd disparaging remark about female drivers/navigators, he has asked me to defend Pat. Rather than paraphrase, I'll include Rich's own words which provide us all a lesson in growing old (dis)gracefully! "...so perhaps you would be good enough to do so for me , with tongue in cheek of course . In the last 5 years Pat has navigated me to 5 class wins , 3rd outright once and 2nd outright twice in the Classic Rally in W.A. As well as that she navigated me to 1st outright in the Cape to Cape Rally late last year. You are no doubt aware that these rallies are all tarmac rallies [ I would not use the car on dirt ] and are absolutely full on .The Classic for example had , I think , 27 driving stages and is run over 3 days .When you consider that the combined age of the car , the driver and navigator is 170 years I reckon she does a wonderful job . She is the bravest lady , and is usually urging me on in special stages. Anyway , if you feel like defending her and giving the guys who access the site a giggle I would be grateful..."

Morena and Agostino - my friend will be contacting shortly... Hayden.

ooo but notice the 3 instrument pods angled toward the driver? Presumeably that whole section of the console would be replaced for LHD cars.

Whoops! Looks like the worms are escaping from their can again!

Alan, I found those pics particularly interesting. The blue car (1st pic) is especially attractive... something about the increased glass area around the cabin and the slight 'swoop' in the shoulder line...a bit of 'E' in there..? The motorshow pic is also a good one. I like seeing cars in their 'new from the factory with extra spit and polish' state. That the shot includes a 432 is even nicer!

Mr C. check this site out, looks like they import just about anything that burns fuel and rubber from Japan...http://www.c-red.com.au/

Langwarrin is in Victoria on the Gippsland side of Melbourne.

I have a buddy in Melbourne who has restored several cars over the decades. He mentioned a shop to me that he knows of which specializes in period car accessories...he mentioned it because I asked him exactly the same question. If you like, I'll find out the details of the shop...

So...reading beteen the lines Mr. C... are you planning on frightening the paint off your new car by putting in a turbo donk?!

Cot of living my friends... My brother lived in London for 4 years and the only way he didn't get seriously depressed at the cost of living was to pretend that AUD=GBP. By that he meant that if the weekly grocery shopping cost him AUD$100 in Australia, it would cost him GBP 100 in London! At that time the Aus/UK exchange rate was 2.5:1 so his London groceries cost would convert to AUD$250!! Now... the other side of the story is high salary (or hourly rate) which was also about 2.5 times higher than he would have made in Australia. As I said, he was there for nearly 4 years and only money he really 'made' was that which he sent back to the 'Land of droughts and flooding rains' which benefitted from the generous exchange rate (in the reverse direction it is very generous!) So...what is the cost of living in the US? I'm sure that you'll find the difference in salaries can be accounted for there Mike... Besides, As I keep telling my expat friends who live in Perth, even if they 'take a pay cut' and work for local dollars, there are still lots of intangible benefits to living in Australia: Miles of unpopulated beaches and countryside, clean, safe cities, low gun-related death rate, better than even chance of seeing blue sky on most days, low chance of dying in a blizzard, etc, etc... just a pity the cars are so expensive :tapemouth