Leaderboard

What gets me is the lack of action in the beginning when it really could have helped. We really dropped the ball. I've been registered red since I was old enough, but I've lost a lot of faith in the current administration since this crisis started. It's really highlighted some failings there, starting at the very top. From the top down, we downplayed the seriousness and didn't start to take serious action until the stock market started to tank. Our finger was on the pulse of the market instead on the pulse of the people who were getting sick. Back in mid-January, the World Health Org was setting off warning flares while we were saying that we have it totally under control. It’s one person coming in from China, and we have it under control. It’s going to be just fine. And it just went downhill from there. Dropped the ball. "Looks like by April, you know, in theory, when it gets a little warmer, it miraculously goes away,” We should have been working on making extra protective gear, working on getting test produced, getting hospitals trained, geared up and expanded, etc.... We seem to be taking it serious now, but we missed the opportunity to take it seriously then.

If you study the Founding Fathers and read the federalist papers you realize that many didn’t believe the people could self-govern. They were students of history they knew the generally speaking that people’s self-interest will alway take precedent over the interest of others. All politicians are more interested in self than country. How is it possible all these politicians are millionaires. Biden has been in government for 3 decades and is a mulit millionaire. He got that “serving the people”....really. It was never supposed to be like that. If you have ever read The Peloponnesian War (Sparta vs Athens) you realize NOTHING has changed politically in this world. It blew my mind, could have been written describing this decade. The point is anyone who thinks when your fill in the circle on your vote that it really makes a difference they you are living in a false reality. You may have a few issues that are dealt with differently but generally there will be corruption and deception. We have NO good choices. If your read “The Next 100 years” by George Friedman I think it was in this book. He talks about how no Honest and Non-corrupt person can make it to the position of President. You have to compromise your values to get there and make deals to with power brokers to get there. Joe Biden can’t recall where is is 20% of the time. Anyone who thinks he’s a saint is living in a alter universe. This is why I’m not tied to any political organization. I generally trust no politician and accept that the power brokers in the world choose our leader by manipulating the public and funding the own who will play their game. Bottom line....stop looking and judging them on your values. They are all dirtbags. I’ve met many of them. Met John McCain 3x and sat with him and 4 other people for 3 hrs discussing F-35 procurement. I wasn’t impressed when I saw who he really was and someone I previously respected. Only worried about his political power only and his political ties to Lockeed Martin. We are pawns....we are nothing to the political elite. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Unfortunately while everything you say is true this is kind of how humanity ialways deals with a crisis. People don’t go into action until they feel like their lives are threatened. People don’t stop smoking cigarettes until the doctor tells them they’re going to die of lung cancer. I surely don’t think team blue if they were in charge would’ve done any better. I didn’t hear any of them screaming bloody murder in January and February about this virus. All they cared about was a laser focused effort on ensuring this president was removed from office. I’m surely not saying I think this administration has handled this appropriately but I think it’s easy to point fingers until you’re on the field with the ball in your hand. Do we really think Joe Biden would’ve knock this out of the park, last month he was crucifying the president for canceling flights out of China imagine if we let that thing keep rolling like he wanted. Obama didn’t do anything until 1000 people in United States had died from the swine flu. So my point is this is not about red or blue or this administration it’s about how people generally deal with crisis and we have to depoliticize things like this and focus on solutions. Nobody had a crystal ball nobody could 100% accurately determine how this was going to pan out especially since we were getting some false data coming out of China the whole thing is a total $^!# show. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is my biggest beef . I’ll admit I don’t like the guy . I’ll admit I didn’t vote for him. I’ll admit that I’m hoping something good will come out of his mouth . Most everything is misleading , egotistical, and contradictory to the experts . This is bad in a time like this . He is not up to the task . Just let the team handle it . Let Dr Fouchi make the decisions . He has lost his credibility at this point - so this will be an obstacle in this fight

Thank you for the suggestion. I ended up grabbing the cable at the speedo end with a pair of vice grips and pulled it out about an inch an change. It definitely needed some force. After that I realigned the cable with the speedo and felt a much more significant "drop-in" than previous attempts. Turned the car on and it worked like a charm. Thanks again, super helpful.

@Randalla Where Weaker is Better: New US Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) were issued and put into force for all Vehicles Manufactured on or after March 1971 to be sold in the USA. One of them specified the amount of force at which the steering wheels had to break-away or yield. It was intended to lower the number of broken wrists and arms - when Drivers were thrown against the steering wheel. Much the same as earlier specifications applied to the collapsable steering column requirements. To meet that standard, the original design steering wheel had to weakened and it was done by punching out the former indents in the steel. Figuring out how to meet that new standard most economically; and putting it into production - was one reason the Series II 240Z’s had to be put into production by or before March of 1971. So the weaker and safer steering wheel started with the Series II cars at HLS30 21001.

Sounds like the opening line in a Stephen King book. Dennis

I only see two paths: 1. A vaccine is made in the next few months and puts everything back to somewhat normal. 2. A few months stoppage of our economic systems will change the world. Most of us will be unemployed with debt AND we will still have this Chinese virus problem. The Govt's have to prepare for #2 and start taking radical actions. The economy will need a reset and jobless people will need income. A first easy step would be to immediately force power companies to reduce charges that match the drop in oil. All the bs fuel surcharges have to be revoked and all corporate greed needs to be reigned in. Energy is a basic requirement for life and an economy and it should not be speculated on or abused by corporate greed. Instead of waiting for the economic avalanche to take place, perhaps a controlled avalanche is needed such as radically forgiving of ALL DEBT. This will cause a lot of pain for some but not for most... yes you will have 0 credit card debt and you will own your home. There are many creative and new tools that can be used in the terrible time IF our govt's act with logic and intelligence.... hopefully this will happen. Bottom line: some of us will die, there will soon be mass unemployment and the world as we knew it will take some time to return. Prepare.

No man is an island and no man can survive on an island alone. We only get through this with a community effort and approach. Some people will die and some people suffer more than others but in the end will be judged about how we dealt with it during this time. This will pass and we will return to of a normal life after a big reality check. A WROL (without rule of law) scenario should scare the hell out of anyone no matter how prepared anyone may think they are. These drugs like hydroxychloroquine a seem very promising I really think there’s going to be some positive information regarding that very soon. Some very good lesson learned in this event is that we have to start decoupling ourselves from the Chinese especially when it comes to our medical supplies in pharmaceuticals. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Blocking and sanding progressing in quick order. I need another two weeks self isolation! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My feelings exactly Jeff. In 1970 and 71, no one noticed the stock Z’s with skinny tires and rolling around the turns. When one came by with front and rear spoilers, lowered and a tuned exhaust music, a nice set of 7 inch wheels, it turned the heads. Some like a museum piece ( not me or Brandon) and that’s ok....to each his own. When you have a Z set up right, there ain’t nothing like it.....you know what I’m talking about ( your race car included). They are meant to be drivers....easy to modify, and a blast to be driven.....thanks for the compliment....why I consider you in the same fraternity as me and Brandon!!!!!!! Guy

I'd take the cash and have Guy @Diseazd @five&dime build me a 240 like one of his gorgeous cars. I'd rather have a stroker with everything rebuilt than an all-original car.

I would avoid getting wrapped around the axel about the political BS. The disdain the opposition party has for the president has blinded them and damaged their credibility. He can do nothing right and they’ll always spin a negative on anything he does. When he imposed a Chinese travel Ban they called him a racist. That act likely slowed the virus’ spreads. Europe kept its doors open and look what happened to them. Was it really racist? People may not agree or like him but he’s the president and we need unity not partisanship right now. Both sides do this, it what they do. Don’t be fooling thinking either side is different. The republicans attacked Obama on everything he did. They win when they divide the people. Division gives them power. Unity takes it away! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just thought I'd chime in to say thanks to everyone being responsible in practicing social distancing and good hygiene. I am getting Surgery Monday to remove my right lung due to cancer. I have been stressed about his thing exploding and overloading hospitals, but it looks like I will be in and out before things get too bad. Remember that it's the older people and people like me who you are protecting, not just yourself!!

Our first pilot at the company tested positive today. This is a big deal because we all share the same facilities, computers and lounges at the hubs. Who knows how many pilots he spread it too before testing positive. This could get ugly fast. We don’t have the luxury of not touching things. There are hundreds of knobs and switches in the cockpit. I try and wipe most down bit it’s impossible to get it all. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, someone got a heck of a deal for only $800.00! I just hope that the buyer plans to restore this solid car and not cut it up, that would be a shame if that were to happen.

We were aware of it mid-January. I had to go to a conference in Hawaii Jan 19-22 and was apprehensive as a lot of Chinese attend it. I brought masks but did not use. I then had to fly to Dallas on Feb 11-14 and wore masks. I remember one guy getting on the plane in Houston who was sweating profusely and demanding drinks of water from the stewardess when boarding! Not sure if he just ran a 4min mile but it was odd for sure. For the start of the virus, in early Jan, when news of the virus was getting out, the Chinese Govt confidently stated it began in early Dec and pointed the finger at a fish market where it was claimed that animals were also sold... but shortly after they said patient 0 was an old man in a hospital who never had connections or went to the market. They said he started it in the first week of Dec..... but a month ago a Brit in Wuhan survived it and he said he got it in late Nov. Recently it was stated that the first patient in Wuhan was November 17. As for the fish market story, locals who worked there said the ones who were infected were people who did not tend to the stalls but rather the regulars who hung out in front on the street and gambled/played card with passers-by. For tracing the early infected, it is easy to do in China as they keep records on everyone and track them just like the Nazi's did (association intended). Digital hospital records, cell phone tracking and face recognition tracking make it easy to track this virus. China knows more than they are saying.... the Wuhan P4 Biolab has not been cleared of association so who knows what will eventually turn up?

Regardless of the politics, it does not help anyone to deny reality, to say that a virus will never get here, and to spout repeated falsehoods about the situation. How many times do I have to hear Trump deny making any mistakes when first alerted to the virus, and then say that nothing like this has ever happened before, totally ignoring the Plague in Europe and the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that caused roughly 675,000 deaths in the US? (And 50 million worldwide.) Anyone can make mistakes. When a major problem occurs, mistakes will be made. But not everyone refuses to acknowledge having made any mistakes, no matter how trivial. Not everyone goes on a national TV broadcast and flatly denies responsibility for actions that are documented as belonging to them. Not everyone blames media and everyone but themselves for anything that goes wrong. Without being more pointed, that's enough to lay out my total lack of respect for, and faith in, the current occupant. Thank heavens for the experts and scientists who the administration has been forced to put on stage to speak to the American public. They do indeed know what they're doing, even if their statements are directly contradicted by the administration. The only people I believe are the scientists and experts who are doing the actual work. I automatically dismiss anything said by members of the administration, who adhere to the formula of spending 80% of their comments trying to quote the party line, and 20% kissing Trump's butt. But here's the sense I make out of it: - It's a virus. it's not going away, contrary to repeated assertions by Trump. We will be living with it for the foreseeable future, so our goal is to mitigate and manage it, not eradicate it, which has no historical precedent. (Even smallpox has not been eradicated, there was a small outbreak last year in a third world country.) - If we develop a vaccine, that will not happen before early 2021. It can't happen earlier. However, we may find that other drugs already on the market have positive effects on this virus, and if so, we may get help from them this summer or fall. - Long term, our goal must be to manage this virus like we manage the flu virus. There will probably be some buildup of immunity, but if it mutates (unknown at this time) there will be repeated seasons where we deal with it. A vaccine will be a critical part of managing it as an ongoing part of life. That's the scientific part the way it lays out to me after 39 years of working with scientists doing genetic research. As far as the lockdown, I expect that not to exceed 60 days (but more likely the end of April), because otherwise the economy will crater and thousands of businesses will fail. There will be a point where we have to open the doors and let people move around in some fashion just to preserve our economy.

Tiny oil leaks are common. Doesn't mean that things need rebuilding. People have had the tiny oil leak in the middle even after installing a new HG. It's where the feed port/orifice to the head is.

It rains on the just and the unjust alike. Who is gloating? Nowhere in my written word is there language that would describe gloating. That is your interpretation based on what? Maybe you are just projecting your habit of gloating onto me. How does this sound, " Oh my God I am so scared, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna....go wait in line to buy toilet paper." I would still have to be a born coward to be afraid of something as inevitable as death.

@grannyknot as if I needed more reasons to like you. If we both make it through this, I need to get back up there to spend some more time together.

I don't need saving, if I catch it I catch it and regardless of all your prepping, you are going to catch it too. We are all on the same cruise ship together. You are not wondering about these people, you're gloating about their pain and fear because you're prepped and they are not. Fine, accept it. Just stop enjoying it so much.

@Randalla Sorry I had to be away from this for a few days - but getting back to your original Post. The 2400 Valve Covers were used on all 240Z’s arriving here produced up until the first 240Z’s with A/T started to arrive. The 240Z’s with A/T that we saw at the time, came though with the OHC valve covers, and soon that followed on the manual shift cars. I do not believe we ever pinned it down factually to a specific VIN range - - but that was on cars produced in 08/71 and VIN ranges around 8000. If some original owner had a 240Z produced in 09/70 with a 2400cc valve cover in the 9000 VIN range it wouldn’t surprise me - but I seriously doubt we received more than 9000 or 10,000 2400 cc valve covers - and that is why today they sell for $450.00+.

The VAST majority of the OK decals were scraped off by the guys in the wash rack before the Z was delivered to the happy new owner. Therefore just about every time I sell one of my reproductions my customer asks me where, exactly, it should go on the right quarter window. Before I give my recommendation I stress that the guys on the assembly line weren't to exact about location. Over the more than 40 years Banzai has been in business I've been very lucky to have a large # of original owner cars go through my shop. A couple of days ago another landed in my shop. It's a blue on blue mid 71 build correct down to the hubcaps. It does have dealer installed a/c. This picture of the factory installed OK decal is an example of what I'm talking about regarding placement! I've also included a picture of our latest offering, 240 tire info decal. Unlike the decal offered by our would be competitor in B.C, ours has the correct font.

Well it is 6 mos. or more because it just happened that way. I used to be a professional chef and know something about stretching food and more importantly, not wasting a thing. As far as politics go, I saw it all start with Ronald Reagan; "The nine most terrifying words in the English Language are; I'm from the government, and I'm here to help". Forty years later and I am living in the logical conclusion of that unbridled cynicism.

Nothing wrong with being prepared. 6 months is a lot. I'm sitting here. prepared, for me, but not for the rest of society. Not looking forward to reading about or hearing about people dying, maybe even losing friends or family. This is kind of back to politics but it brings things home - this is why we have the "Feds". It's their job. Let's hope they can figure out what they're doing.

Why do you live down in the part of the country that is going to fall in to the sea? ?

Food production is out of my immediate control and food is still safe & plentiful. My family is good for at least 6 mos. with our current supplies if the supply chain is cut. I am prepared as I can be for this and that is not just in the obvious external ways. I wonder how many people are feeling the hard slap of reality snapping them in the face right about now? I wonder how many people are confronting their mortalities and it is filling them with fear because they have never dealt with it before? I wonder how many people are looking at themselves in the mirror and saying to themselves, " Uh oh, I have really let myself go and now I am ripe pickings for a pandemic that I was never prepared for." "Maybe I should have lost that 50 lbs. Maybe I should have quit smoking. Maybe I should have lightened up on the booze and the dope". I have been preparing for this since way before it showed up. For me there is never an excuse to not be prepared.

Thanks, maybe I got the last one, sort of like the last pack of Chicken Breasts I got from the grocery store today. It was $45 shipped, so it wasn’t cheap that’s for sure. But now I’m confident it should work.

I have the Skillard grill in my 260z. The original grill had corroded, some of the louvers were missing so I took it off and ended up using wire mesh for years Last year I found the Skillard website, saw their grill and ordered it. Very well made product , and fits perfectly. The bars (from memory, no longer have original) are slightly larger but that gives it more strength and rigidity Owner was easy to deal with, communicated well and promptly cheers

Well, the only good new I have is that all the parts for my distributor rebuild have finally arrived. So I can lock myself in my garage without guilt and rebuild one maybe two distributors. Last part (breaker plate) arrived this AM. Really was surprised to see it arrive with all this chaos. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I 'll take the cash. You can find a realllllly nice 240Z with a little more miles and still have a ton of cash left over. Even if you spent $50K on it. I would be afraid to drive a 21K mile car. What is the fun in that!!!!

That's why actually watching those morning briefings is important. You can see the man for what he is. Even biased media reports don't show what you can see by watching, live. It can't be put in to words. He is in way over his head but won't let the pros do their job. We've all known people like that. Many people are getting exposed by this crisis. Some things cannot be B.S.'ed away.

Burr is asking the Senate ethics committee to investigate (that's humor). We should move on. Looks like many states are locking down. I'd hate to be living in a big city right now.

I’ll dig through my pile-o-stuff and see if I can find a few obscure parts and get you to guess what they are. Maybe some pictures taken super close up to distort the view.

I think a direct vacuum line from the engine would work fine. You could install a little check valve in the line so that vacuum applied to that cokk would not be able to bleed off back into the intake manifold. Never a perfect seal, but would probably slow the bleed-off down to the point where that cokk would stay open. Might close down again overnight when the engine isn't running, but as long as the engine is running, that cokk would be forced open. I was only suggesting trying mouth vacuum first (before you invested time running vacuum lines to the engine) because there may be other problems as well. Your heater core might be plugged solid for example. You may have forgotten to connect the heater hoses up in the engine compartment. The mouth vacuum was just a quick way to identify one possible cause for your no heat condition. From where I sit it's the most probable cause, but not the only one.

Nice. Where did you find the replacement hoses?

The bumpers without the rubber trims - or the holes in which to fit them - were not "aftermarket", they were Nissan OEM equipment on S30-S 'Fairlady Z' Standard/ZS and PS30-SB 'Fairlady Z432-R'/PZR Japanese market models from 1969 on.

The engine bay is being wetsanded and buffed now and it's looking incredible. The rear subframe is cleaned up and installed and the front subframe will go in tomorrow. All that is left is the body to be wetsanded/buffed, the cargo bay will sprayed in the safari gold, the tail panel to be sprayed the trim color and the body panels/door rubber and T top seals to be installed. I am hoping it will be towed to my friends house on Sunday but might be a stretch.

I try to always look at the facts before making assumptions vs people who make assumptions and then look for “facts” to support their view. Conspiracy Theories are not just the product of stupid people we have some very intelligent people who somehow fall for this stuff too. The fact of the matter many times there is some truth to many of them so it reinforces their way of thinking, just like AK260 said about NSA that is able to listen to phone conversations and keeping all text data in a national data base, I have a very close friend that is highly intelligent and successful but he is one of these guys that is always talking about Conspiracy Theories. We’ve been friend since 1989 and so I know him well, he was my best man at my wedding. He believes in the stupid conspiracy theory that the contrails you see from jet liners are “Chemtrails”, emitted by government to control the population. I told him how stupid this theory is. I’ve been flying airplanes since 1993. I fly for one of the worlds biggest airlines, I know the business. I sent him the science behind why jets produce a vapor trail and even send him photos of me tucked in formation 10 behind a tanker when a I flew fighters. He still believe there are tanks in the jets with secret chemicals. The logistics and people involved in this theory would be impossible to hide, not to mention if the government wanted to do something like this there are much easier methods, like the tainting the water or food supply. But alas....he believes in Chemtrails still. So we know we will never get the full story from governments, so I look at their actions to clue me into what their true intent is over their words. My small town declared a “State of Emergency”. I live in a vacation town and people are rolling around here on bikes and playing volleyball on the beach like it’s spring break and the Mayor had to do something, NY license plates everywhere, people with second vacation homes or grabbing a VRBO. As of now only residents and critical persons are allowed on the the island (intercoastal island). I smell lawsuits coming in the months ahead as the business here depend on tourist $$. We haven’t had a COVID-19 case in my entire county and many will say them Mayor went to far too early. Business won’t survive a long shutdown, many struggle to make it through the winter months. My final comment: Many of us are able to financially weather this storm. Some cannot. I always told my Marines...”Influence your circle”. This means you have an obligation to assist those around you, that are not able to help themselves due to age, $$, or health reasons, The best way we get through this is help your neighbors, friends and co-workers through this. If you have a coupe in there 80’s maybe you go get their groceries. This is the time to give if you have extra. This is a time to be extra vigilant with regards to people in your neighborhood that don’t belong there. I know there are many foreign members on this forum and this is not slight on them or their counties, I can only speak for the US here. American’s ....hated and loved for many reasons that are many times valid. We have a segment of our population that I despise, watch Jerry Springer and you need not say more. I hate airport terminals because your see people only concerned about themselves there. At the same time we are also a people with incredible spirit here, very giving and generous. People here raise to the challenge, we do well when down , we come together when the odds are against us. It’s in our DNA...I don’t know why. I think we are our best when faced with a crisis. Again please take no offense to the non-American’s. These observations may hold true for you and your home as well, but I cannot speak to them.

My thoughts. From, shall we say, my european point of view. It's frustrating to see such a good shell and people asking to cut it up. In this part of the world rust is inevitable because of the intense use of salt (past tense) on the roads in the winter. You could restore a rust bucket, strip it down, sandblast it and replace all the rusted sections. An alternative would be to do the same on a relatively rust free rolling chassis and use the rust bucket for parts. Quite feasable for a 72-73 model 240Z.

Gosh! That is quite shocking and clearly foreknowledge. Time and again we see this but no one in those positions of power is held to account - unless they are scape goats and it suits the narrative. Financial Services sector workers would be castrated, fired instantly and shot at dawn for dealing even in their private pensions without prior declaration and approvals. It’s good to see elected officials with conflicts of interest having to live up to such high standards !!! As for Trump, he is, if nothing else, consistent! ;) And I agree with the comments above - they are “theories”. Somehow breaking out alternatives to the official narrative has been stigmatised historically with the words conspiracy theory. If someone in the year 2000 told you that the government was listening to your calls and reading your emails you would have laughed in their face and called them a conspiracy theorist foil hat wearing nut job.

You can pull the cable out partially and insert just the end of the cable in to the speedometer. You can even twist it between your thumb and finger and should see the speedo needle move. It will then be disconnected at the transmission end, but the sheath will still be connected. That might work for you, the transmission end might slip in more easily, since it's a different shape. Pull the speedo end out, firmly place it in to the speedo, then screw the end of the sheath down. You might not have to get under the car to mess with the other end at all. I think that you are being too cautious. It's a very simple mechanism. Easy to take apart and put back together. Not as mysterious as it seems.

@Carl Beck Thanks for the ammo for teasing my wife (the assistant) and the laughs: Nissan recommends speeding and has made provisions for it:

According to Nissan, some 18 new improvements were incorporated into the 1971 LATE MODELS - aka Series II - the second series of chassis serial numbers starting at HLS30 21001 and HS30 00501. All 18 of these improvements were made at the Model Change Over.

The switch from Vertical to Horizontal Defroster Lines - took place at VIN HLS30 062001 - Jan. 1972

Given the tough position so many of us are probably in or going to be in soon, you can have 6 for $4k. Canadian. Good news is I’ll lots of time to make plenty. Got a big sheet of 18 gauge to gobble up.

For starters I would consult the following: https://zhome.com/ A lot of time and effort was put in to create this valuable reference. This will give you a good baseline on what is original equipment at a given time of the production series. I believe canvassing the community will produce conflicting information, given how many of surviving vehicles have changed hands over the years, and was at the mercy on what was available at your local Datsun parts counter when a replacement was needed.

Whilst poking around inside my 4/70 HLS30UV project car the other day, I noted that the passenger floor tar mat was manufactured in a shape which accommodates the possibility of fitting an OEM passenger footrest:

These are the replacement seat covers I purchased and installed about 10 years ago - pictured with the original covers for comparison. They came from Seatz, a company in CA, probably the most "original-like" covers available at that time. He does not sell retail. The last I heard he was selling thru MSA - a call to them would be in order to confirm. I used a hog-ring kit to install and similar to @240260280, added some sections of 1/2" thick upholstery foam to beef up various areas of the seats.