aegean

Don't mean to make you nervous - I can only relay my experience. To take it one step further, I emailed my Lumley contact for the unresolved claim early last week, with a follow up late in the week, and another yesterday following my intention to take it to the Financial Services Ombudsman - in the hope that they would see sense and take some action, and, guess what - no reply ! Now I can't say for sure that the guy is there, but you would think that if he were out of the office on a course, or whatever, that they would have an automated system that replies with an out of office message. I will be calling them tomorrow.

I was also with Vigil before Lumley's took them over. Talking about values, I recall (when it was Vigil) I wanted to insure my recently restored 1955 Mercedes 300b. I requested a value of $65,000 and they responded by saying they would insure it for $40,000. I responded that it would be a shame to lose all the other vehicles because of one, and they promptly changed their mind and gave me the valuation requested.

Until 2007, I would have agreed with you. However, I had a flood damage claim with LSV in December 2007 (if you recall the Melbourne storms on December 19 I think it was) and I had 7 cars in storage semi under ground. End result - the water came half way up the doors. It is now (almost) June 2010 and the claim has still not been resolved, and I have just informed them that I am going to take the issue to the Financial Ombudsman Service. So, I would be very careful about buying insurance on price alone.

And don't forget that each year when the rego falls due you will have to have the club secretary or authorised member sign off on it to prove that you are still a financial member of the club. Unlike Queensland where you can just renew it.

Absolute zero ! Bought it in October 2006, had it picked up by tow truck and delivered to my storage place. Had 96,602 km on it then and it has 96,602 km on it now. Intend to rectify that next year !

There is always these ones. I've had my eye on them for a while http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190325209587&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

You can also try these guys. They only charge US$690 for a set of pistons. http://www.paeco.com/Piston%20Ordering.htm

It's all in the ad !

There are usually a few 2 + 2 panels on eBay Australia as well from a company in Adelaide.

I agree - I think these are grossly undervalued and to find an original one that has not been messed with, at a reasonable price - even cheap, should be snapped up immediately. If I didn't have 12 cars already, and no spare cash, it would be gone ! I have an original '74 260z 2 + 2 auto - probably the least popular or collectible of the lot - with less than 100,000 km on it, and would not sell it for less than $8,000, (not that it's for sale) so to me, the price is more than realistic.

That's me. You can contact me via the message system.

For a change, there are some good shows coming out of the US. Some that I am watching are: Hung Burn Notice Breaking Bad Mad Men Eastbound and Down It's always sunny in Philadelphia Leverage Not all of these are shown in Australia, but most are available on the web somewhere, like Rapidshare.

And therein lies the reason for the question ! Quickest is not what I am after, but best. There doesn't seem much sense in doing what might be a quick and more cost effective "repair" initially, but this would seem to be a short term solution and would likely return in 5 years or so if not corrected completely. As you say, the rust is likely to be considerably greater than what is visible, and if not removed and treated completely, is sure to return. I see a lot of cars for sale that say "restored 5 (or 10) years ago and they mention that some rust has "just started to appear". With rust treatments such as POR 15 and others, there should not be any need to re-visit it in as short a time frame as this.

And some more

A question for you panel beaters out there - or is that metal surgeons these days ? I have the usual rust in most panels - perhaps not as bad as most, but rust nonetheless. My question, since I won't be doing the work myself, is is it better to replace the sheet metal with new skins, or repair the existing panel work ? Taking into account the time to strip the existing paintwork, and repairing the rust, versus unpicking the welds, and replacing the skin, what would be the most economical and/or preferred ? The cost of replacement skins seems to be fairly reasonable, but I'm not sure how good the fit is, and if not good, considerable time might need to be spent to get a good fit. To make the visualisation easier, here are some pics of the rust.

Just be aware that if you pull the head and clean everything up, you will likely have more compression. If the rest of the motor is not in top condition, the increased compression may cause some further problems, such as blowing smoke because the oil rings are worn. I'm not saying it will happen, but it is something to be aware of if all of a sudden it starts blowing smoke when it never used to. If you can find another way to decoke the head without removing it, it might be better - it won't be as good, but then, it might be enough to get rid of the run on problem. Have a look at water injection for cleaning the head. http://www.hotrodder.com/kwkride/tech.html

It is there, but I'll save you the trouble. "Hey everyone its Rob from Z Factory, to help anyone confused I am located at 9 Beach av Mordialloc 3195. I have used and new parts available and still do restoration work and rust repairs. My phone number is 0418 869933. I sometimes do also have 240z/260z cars for sale. Thanks everyone."

I would also get them rebuilt using stainless steel sleeves. Much better than new and will last almost indefinitely. Here is one company in Sydney that do it http://maps.google.com/maps/place?client=safari&rls=en&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=Partmasters+Sydney&fb=1&hq=Partmasters&hnear=Sydney&cid=12657249827252771746

I buy quite a few of them for various cars (my own) and always buy them from the US - Pertronix, Hot Spark, etc, and pay around US 75 - 100 depending on the model, including freight. I have just bought a 1847V Pertronix unit for a 4cyl (VW tyoe) for US 38 and $22 freight. You just need to know what you need and look around for a while for the best deal.

I thought it was "Got Rust Sport !".

I've been riding a 150cc scooter for about 4 years. It doesn't get too much use as I only use it for short trips - up to 30 km round trips, and going to the supermarket, post office, etc. and it has only done less than 4000 km in that time. You need to have two heads when riding any bike - one looking forward and the other looking back - as car drivers can't or don't want to see you. Aside from that, they can be fun, there is generally enough storage, and cheap to run. I've had my bike licence longer than I've had my car licence, so have been around bikes for a long time, and can only say that you need to be on the look out ALL the time for other drivers.

They tried that on Myth Busters, but it didn't work !

Unless you were still rolling backwards when you put it into drive and the strain just snapped it. Would still agree with Gav that some weakness should have been evident.

This is about the cheapest one you can buy new http://cgi.ebay.com.au/DIRECTLIFT-ROTISSERIE-car-hoist-car-rotisserie_W0QQitemZ220480505162QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAU_Car_Parts_Accessories?hash=item3355a9854a&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 A mechanic friend of mine bought one as he costed out all the parts and said he couldn't build one for the price.

I think there must be a lot of people out there looking. I called two employment agencies a month ago, left messages, and I'm still waiting for a call back. Needless to say, I won't be contacting those agencies again, but in a way, it is probably a good indicator that they are inundated with candidates. I never left any details about myself, so they had no clue who or what I was, so I know tat is not the reason they didn't call back. I have been self employed for the past 11 years, but it is not challenging enough on a day to day basis and I need more to occupy my time. I would love to get involved in a restoration business, although with 12 cars of my own, finding time to dedicate to customers might be bit of a problem ! As much as it is showing some initiative to put your request out there, perhaps this is not the right forum to do it - especially when you have not narrowed the field down to something that you really want to do - as opposed to just a job that perhaps pays more. In the end, it is not about the money - it is feeling that you want to get up in the morning and go to a job you love doing.