Scottz

A few years have rolled bye and it's worth catching up with those that contributed to the discussion previously to see how things have changed for them. Recently in Qld we had an increase in electricity prices. I now pay 30.227 cents per kWh. My consumption is down to 1017 kW per quarter and I have 7.5kW PV solar installed. My quarterly bill is about $310, and since we are coming up to state elections, the current government is attempting to buying votes by handing out electricity rebates. I got $137.50 rebate so my total for the quarter is $177. I wish the tariff were cheaper rather than the hand-out, or simply remove the flat rate service fee (which is actually an access fee). BTW my consumption is less than my solar export, but I only get 13.441 cents per kWh for solar export. I did not get the golden handshake deal that was on offer pre 2010. And we only have 1 provider here in regional Qld, so I can't shop around with other providers to get a better deal, it's Ergon or no-one! I'm interested to know if others have also dropped consumption and or installed solar and what $$ you are getting for solar export. Also have any pre-2010 solar owners hit the sunset dates and lost their solar deals, and now receiving a lot less for their solar export. As for the previous remarks about carbon tax....well.....just look back on time and also look towards the future. New topics coming up: NVES https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/infrastructure-transport-vehicles/vehicles/new-vehicle-efficiency-standard Queensland Written-off Vehicle Scheme Reform Consultation Paper. Enjoy the reading !!

Last ran the zed 3 months ago. Cranked it over today and a sound you don't want to hear was heard....clank clunk clank. Took off the rocker cover and 3 lash pads are stray. Yep, just siting about out of their correct position. Looks like 3 valves stayed in their last static position (open or partially open) and decided not to move. I suspect the pistons have slammed into the valves and knocked the lash pads off. Probably got 3 bent valve stems now and maybe a notch or 2 in the pistons. I have another L20A in the shed. Came out of a R30 Skyline (I think). Has turbo, where as the one in the zed now is efi without turbo. Is now the time to change?

Merry Christmas Peter.

Yep - agree with all that This site explains it in simple talk: http://www.millerstooling.com.au/Mill-Tools-Taps-and-Threading.asp Sutton or P&N, High Speed Steel (HSS) taps are good quailty. Make sure you use the correct size, so buy a thread gauge (metric) to check your existing thread size before you start plunging a tap through it. Always use cutting lubricant. Take your time (forward / reverse) turning in and out, advancing forwards slowly. Remove swarf as you progress. Don't choke it.

Pulled the dash out of a car once and found a $2 note - Yep the old paper stuff.

Hi Adam, What about remanufactured stuff. That is; a reconditioned engine block, heads, short block or what ever. If value is over $1000 can labour costs be seperated on the invoice and not taxable. I'm thinking about the free trade agreement between Australia and other countries E.G. USA.

I've been away for a while and just found this topic and although a month gone, still worth a comment. I bought Rotas a few years ago. When I spun them on a balancer they were not good. Lucky I bought enough rims I was able to pick out the best to make a set. The worst rim needed 80g to balance. I have seen cars on the street with more weights than that, but for me a brand new rim should spin true and balanced. I contacted Rota in Perth and they said "those rims are not ours". So yes - like Gav said, sometimes things are not real and all that glitters is not gold. But just because Rota Perth say 'not ours', does that mean they are not Rotas? But they are Rotas. Perth is the import agent, not the point of manufacturer. If you look up 'Rota Australia' website today the contact number is (07) Qld. Ask them any questions and they will tell you....As part of our ordering process we ask our customers to supply us with details on their car. This means that whenever an order is placed we are able to check that the correct part is delivered. Therefore if you order a set of alloy wheels we can check with our supplier that they will fit your registered car..........We source all of our wheels from Rota Wheels and do not hold physical stock of any wheels. All orders are shipped from Rota Wheels Australia, directly to yourself. Note the bold text.....They are just a retailer and not top dog. Actually they are distributors for the Australian distributor. There are many hands to feed along the way from point of manufacturer to end user, this naturally affects the price, so I would not be surprised if some Rotas in country arrived via a different and cheaper route. I contacted the seller in Sydney, who offered a refund, but I had to pay freight to send them back. Now the Rotas I kept are great, no doubt, so how is it that the others were so bad? QUALITY ASSURANCE & QUALITY CONTROL. You might get a bad one but does that mean they are all bad? Not necessarily. And maybe you are just extra fussy (like me) and don't accept what others will. So, wether you buy expensive or cheap, be sure and get a warranty and gaurantee that if you are not satisfied you can get your money back. Rota Australia legal gaf here: http://www.rotawheels.com.au/legal Check out Replica Rotas here: http://www.alibaba.com/wheel-rota-suppliers.html Official Rota website - Philippine Aluminum Wheels, Inc. (PAWI).: http://www.rotawheels.com/contact.php Find the only Australian Distributor listed is: Vision R / Rota Wheels Australia Unit 3/18 Hines Rd, O’Connor, Perth, Western Australia 6163 Phone: +61 (08) 9314 3444 Fax: +61 (08) 9331 3480 E-mail: sales[at]rotawheels.com.au Website: www.rotawheels.com.au And Rota Wheels Australia lists its distributors and agents within Australia, 2 of which are in Qld. And 1 of the Qld distributors uses this web address (just to confuse you): http://www.rotaaustralia.com.au/contact_us.php Later I bought wider Watanabes.

Yes - you can move the assembly a bit forwards or back by having different washers/spacers each side, but not much. Not sure, but searching my memory bank - Early 240Z's had the diff 1" further forward which caused an annoying vibration at about 70mph. Later Z's have the diff a little further back, which changes the angle of the halfshafts from diff to wheel and solved the vibration problem. My '78 260Z 2+2 has a dampener (lump of steel) bolted to the front of the diff, which is suppose to dampen the vibration. Changing the angle of the halfshafts might change the harmonics and you could get a vibration problem, but you won't know until you try, and you can always change it back to original.

Yep - wire the spring to the perch. Unless your rally driving you will probably never get enough droop to allow the spring to come free of the perch anyway.

Hmmm.... L28 mods are expensive when you can go 20DET (or bigger) for less dollars. What's your definition of "rev beyond 7000rpm but still maintain torque"? Do you mean torque flat lines at 7000rpm and above, continues to increase or stays close to maximum? HP sells cars, torque wins races and I know nothing about drifting - other than it's all rpm. No straight lines. Think about this - Twin turbo L28 http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/turbo/index.html

Hi Brabham, I use the following: Anti-Sieze Compound A (Known in America as LED-PLATE) Spanjaard Copper Compound Spanjaard Chrome Compound Loctite Silver Grade Anti-Sieze, part No. 76741 For very high temperature and pressure I always used Led-Plate, until a few rather stubborn reactors and heat exchangers made me look for something better. That's when I changed to the Chrome Compound. I use the Loctite 76741 for all stainless steel threads. Copper compound is for general purpose stuff. Low temperature and pressure, not in contact with liquid / vapour. http://www.spanjaard.co.nz/

A to Z of Materials - a handy website: http://www.azom.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=2868 Engineering Tool Box - also a handy website: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/stainless-steel-classifications-d_368.html Don't use copper anti-sieze on ss. To prevent gauling: 1. Reduce torque (not always possible) 2. Mix ss parts EG; 316 screw with 304 nut. 3. Use lubricant made for ss. Save the hassle and cost. Use carbon steel with anti-sieze compound or buy cadmium plated fasteners, if you can find a supplier, as cad coating is getting phased out.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. – Luke 2:4-14 KJV 1pm here and still working. It's amazing how the people who normally want to argue with you everyday at work, forget all that, shake hands and behave pleasant to one another. God should have created a Jesus on every day of the year, but would every day then be as good as this one? Hope you all had a wonderful and safe day.

I have some photos of this car. When it was up for sale in 2012 I inspected it in Sydney sometime around March. Another member also inspected it 2 weeks before me. Photos are MB size, so if you need them send me a pm and we can swap email addresses.

Errrr....run that by me again...... Try expanding the logic for dummies like me. Use small words and simple sentences.

Glad to see some input coming on this subject. Lead was removed from petrol and paint without a tax. DDT was removed without a tax. Asbestos was removed without a tax. Exhaust emissions were "cleaned" without a tax. (Low sulphur fuel, NOX and SOX regulations). Carbon tax does not clean anything. It say's you can produce carbon so long as you can pay the bill. Some are paying the bill and others are shutting up shop. If we keep shutting down our manufacturers I am sure emissions will go lower. Much lower than the 0.1% reduction so far ! New technology is delivered by industry all the time, and often with government partnership (EG: zero lead in fuel) and without tax. Government sets the act and regulations for new standards (or improvements) in consultation with industry experts and advisers. Industry is given time to change and conform (EG: Occupational Workplace Health and Safety Act and Regulations). We all play our part to make it work and no tax required. I was travelling from Johannesburg to Sydney one day and the young lady in the seat next to mine was so proud to tell me she had just finished an important assignment in South Africa. I asked what she did for a living and who did she work for. She replied that she worked for Anglo Coal in sustainability. Silly me, I thought sustainability was about risk management. Financial and asset risk management that is. But no - it is about the environment and she gave me a very good lecture on it making sure to show just what a dummy I must be. She then went further to tell me that Anglo Coal always fly's green, and you (me) can do it easily when booking your tickets. Just tick the box for "fly green" and get ripped off another $40 dollars or so. I replied, "sorry, no I do not fly green" and then asked her which of the 4 Boeing engines she was using today, because mine all burn A1 aviation gasoline.

Got to agree with you mate. As the producer of the resource we pay the carbon tax, but we sell it to others who burn it / use it in countries where there are nil or less regulations for allowable emissions. They produce cheap power for their citizens, who then manufacture products that undercut our products and we bitch about it. Having made the rope to hang our own necks we cry foul ! Go figure. In our desire to make our backyard cleaner, we have a made a toilet of someone else's. On a global scale we have gone backwards. I say better to use it here where we have strong regulations and controls.

Forgot to mention, that photo was taken from the ATP shale oil plant, right next door to the coal mine and shale mine, looking out over the polyolefin and polypropylene plant. Very dirty stinky place.

Yes Jason, I did see how disgustingly filthy the air in China is, and the wide use of breathing masks! And imagine this - Gladstone is worse than Fushun. Fushun has the world's largest open pit coal mine and is the worlds largest producer of shale oil. It is a major industrial center, and I was surprised how clean it is. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fushun About 2 million people in Fushun and just 45 minutes drive away is Shenyang with 12 million people. Imagine half the population of Australia living in an area from Brisbane to Southport.

I currently pay 26.730 cents per kWh for electricity. My consumption is 1903 kWh (plus/minus) for Sept, Oct, Nov quarter. My statement says this is about normal consumption for a household with 4 occupants. In big red font on the front page of my recent bill is printed..."Qld Competition Authority estimates the Federal carbon tax blah blah....add $259 a year to a typical 6.3MWh bill". I guess they mean 6.3MWh per year. So my 1.903 x 4 = 7.612MWh which is apparently 21% higher than the average yearly bill. Although I have an energy efficient house, I do not get mains supply water pressure. I receive water from the water authority and store it in tanks, plus harvest rain water. Every time I use water the booster pump delivers water from the storage tanks to the house. So my biggest electricity usage is pumping water. I also recycle all waste water with a grey water system. This also consumes electricity which most households would not. I hear that Qld has one of the lowest costs per kWh in the country, and this is the argument used by those who want to increase the tariff, but my thinking is the other states are being ripped off more than Qld. We don't need to match them. If we have so much coal, why do we pay so much for electricity? When I was in China, I paid 150 Yuan per month for electricity, for a 2 bedroom apartment with 2 occupants. That's about $25/month. And that was during winter with -20 deg C during the night. From 6pm to 6am the reverse cycle heater stayed on all night. During the day the central heating (circulated heated water) was enough to stop the apartment freezing but at night we turned on the reverse cycle as well. Hot water and cooking was gas. Here in Qld I have Solarhart hot water and gas cooking and I do not need any central heating or reverse cycle heater. My electricity consumption in China was far more than here, but cost was about 6 cents per kWh. Why am I paying 26.73 cents here? No wonder it's cheaper to make a car, train, washing machine or what-ever in China. And China burns our coal, go figure ! It's not just the carbon tax, it's the darn ripoff price we pay that is killing off our manufacturing industries and hurting households. What do you pay for electricity?

Welcome Scott. Is your 2L efi and no turbo? L20A

I just bought some 17" rims and tyres from Ozzy Tyres about 1 hour ago, for another car project (not the zed). http://www.ozzytyres.com.au/store/wheel-tyre-packages I did a lot of digging around and Ozzy guarantee to beat any other price, so once I got the best price I went back to Ozzy and they beat it, plus delivered. I also rang their tech (1300 699 699) and got him to check offset and overall diameter for a few combinations before making the final decision. Now just have to wait 2 days for delivery.

George - You are spot on. It's just one person's viewpoint. I stumbled into the story and found it interesting. Agno - What are you saying? Shannons is part of Suncorp?, or they use the same claims department?, or what? Got any proof for that? 'Cause I once had 3 houses, 3 cars and a boat insured with Suncorp. But when they did me for $72K for damage done to one of my houses I dropped all Suncorp policies. Suncorp only paid me $6600 for "The Water Damage". The rest was my problem. My fancy pancy Solarhart hot water system shat itself one summer. The mother board shorted out. Sparky said it was a power surge. I figured no worries, I have fusion insurance with Suncorp. Rang the claims dept only to find out my fusion excess had crept from $150 up to $1000. No point making a claim for a $780 circuit board if I have to pay a grand. My bad. Every year when you renew your policy you must read the T's and C's and policy documents. That's how they change things and you have to stay on top of it by reading all the literature. Don't assume each year is the same as the previous. Jaded ?- not at all, but all my insurance is now with others, however my special interest registered cars are insured with Shannons. Incidentally all my policies are more expensive then the old Suncorp policies, but I wasn't looking for cheap cover. I wanted the best cover I could afford. I still have one house mortgage with Suncorp, and I'm doing my best to get rid of that. Now back to affordable / cheap tyres: http://www.hendrasecondhandtyres.com.au/index.html http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/etyrestore http://www.tyresales.com.au/

http://www.tyreshack.com.au/ Found this web page while searching for 15" tyres for another project car. Interesting reading the link regarding "Tyre Shack DO NOT recommend Shannon's Insurance for your muscle car". http://www.productreview.com.au/r/shannons/301709.html And something to be aware of with our zeds. We value them more than the insurer.