Classicman

I had a very heated discussion with the AQIS inspector who failed my cars this morning. He has now agreed to put the cars on a hoist and inspect them properly. If he was wrong, he will reverse the quarantine decision. If not, he has to provide me with photographic evidence of why the cars need to be cleaned. Either way, I am taking this higher up the chain of command. I think they have underestimated an angry South African..........

So, last week I picked up a Sunbeam Alpine from Port Kembla that I brought in from NZ, and there were no quarantine issues. I get a call today to tell me both the 240Z and Mini have been stopped for quarantine in Sydney and need to be cleaned!!!! The 240Z has driven a sum total of 15km after the restoration, and the Mini was professionally cleaned by a Valet company. WTF??? I've called them now with a massive Rant, and am waiting for the inspector who failed the cars to phone me back....,

OK, so I have bought a set of hubcaps for the second car. I need some steel rims now, either a set of 4 or 4 guys with extra spare wheels to sell :-) Anyone?

Original thread...... http://www.viczcar.com/forum/topic/13979-auto-pyjama-car-covers/

If you're looking for an indoor cover Gav, I'll have an Auto-Pyjama Satin in stock for your RX-7. They've been around in Europe for 40 years and have been voted "Best Product" by Classic and Sportscar Magazine amongst others.

We import Auto-Pyjama car covers from Germany. Mainly indoor covers, buy you could put a cheap outdoor cover over it for added protection. http://www.affordableclassics.com.au/accessories/car-covers/auto-pyjama?product_id=56. i have stock in blue at the moment.

Gav, I've been looking for a post that you made a while ago about parts suppliers in Japan, but can't find it. Please can you forward me the link if possible?

Thanks.

Thanks Retro Z. I bought one from them on eBay on Friday and collected it in Canberra this morning. Great service! The screen ahas the broad black border around the edge like modern windscreens though. Not too happy with that....

I'm looking for these? - Rear sway bar with mounting brackets (Stock); - Male Bonnet catch; - Engine inspection light; - Interior rearview mirror (Clips into sunvisor locating bracket); - Seat belt hanger clip - Left side (universal, I think) - Drivers side door armrest in black; - Right front brake rotor/disc backing plate; - Front lower center valence; - door mirrors (Both sides)

Thanks, that'll help a lot.

I've been trying to find new bumper rubbers for both my '73's, but can't seem to find them anywhere. All sites have them for the earlier cars up to '72, but '73 is NLA. Is there a difference in the bumpers and or rubbers between the early and late cars? Does anyone know if the '72 rubbers will fit the later cars?

Yeah, just placed an order for US$6k worth of parts, and thats not everything I need :-( I didn't like the way they handled the "auction" either, first time I've come across that......

Hi Guys I've just placed a large order on new parts from the US, but the following is a list of parts missing or damaged on my '73 that I'm looking to buy. First prize is that all of the parts come from the same source, but if not, thats also OK: - Rear sway bar with mounting brackets (Stock); - Male Bonnet catch; - Engine inspection light; - Interior rearview mirror (Clips into sunvisor locating bracket); - Seat belt hanger clip - Left side (universal, I think) - Drivers side door armrest in black; - Right front brake rotor/disc backing plate; - Front lower center valence; - door mirrors (Both sides) That should be it :-) Thanks.

I'm looking for another set please if anyone has and can help?

I tried the radio this morning and it does seem to work, although it doesn't seem to lock onto any stations. That may have something to do with the coat-hanger arial though lol. The auto-search function is quite cool, hahaha. Sorry Gav, not selling the radio.

$480 per car and they just do the areas that they deem needs it. If they impound the cars for quarantine, they give you notice and you have to agree to them cleaning the car and sign an indemnity for damage. If it gets to this point I will drive down and make them show / prove why it needs a clean. Last time they blew half the fresh paint off the underside of my 2002tii Alpina and they destroyed the bonnet and boot catch mechanism on my Lotus Elan. I was not impressed, and because you sign an indemnity, you have no recourse.

My last two cars were stopped in Sydney for the same reason. I brought a car in through Port Kembla and it came through fine. The Datsun is "New" and the mini has been steam cleaned on the underside and wheel arches etc. if they stop these cars, I will lodge a formal complaint with the ACT Government. I'm tired of being fleeced!

So all has been quiet on this front as the cars are still at sea. ETA to dock in Sydney is 2 March, so we are two weeks away, plus another week for customs to do their stuff, and I should be picking up the Zed and Mini around the 8th of March! Can't wait.

Hi So I bought another 240Z. This was the car that was in Qld (Gumtree) a while back, and it only arrived today. At first glance its not too bad, although there is some rust in the floor. Its all there though, numbers matching and the dash is uncracked, which is important to me. She comes with the original service books and a Finance agreement dated 1 Jan 1976, so it looks as though I am the third owner. The recorded kms in 1976 were 38,737km, so she was well used in the first three years of her life. She was delivered as an orange car and has had a crappy layer of white paint which is peeling off all over the place. I think she is a solid enough car for a restoration project and will be getting the same treatment as my '73 Zimbabwe car. The plan is to give her a going over here, order all of the parts, stick her and the parts into a container and ship to my guys in South Africa for the Restoration job. All told, Im guessing the car will take 8-9 months before she is back again and driving around Canberra. Here are a few photos to star with, and there are some concerns here that I would appreciate some input on please, namely: 1. Right rear lower suspension member seems like rust has got to it - repair or replace? 2. Left front chassis rail (dog-leg?) also looks a bit rusted, are these replaceable? 3. Both front floor pans need to be replaced, but sills look good. 4. The sump guard / bash-plate has seen better days.... 5. The bonnet catch is faulty and will need replacing. They have drilled trough the bonnet about midway up on both sides and mounted bonnet pins on the strut turrets :-( For the rest though, the car isn't too bad. Definitely worse than the last one, but very, very saveable: Lastly, are windscreens available locally, or will I need to import? So, I'm guessing this is going to be quite a drawn out build thread, but I'll keep updating as I go along.

I'm not sure how you get to a figure of $10k for shipping and getting the car on the road? I paid NZ$1,700 to put my BMW on a RoRo from Auckland to Sydney. I've just paid another $3,800 in Sydney for clearing costs and the dreaded GST ($2,550 of the $3,800). Your costs will be lower as mine was based on a $25k car. Lets say yours will be $3k, that will make your total landed cost (NZ$18,000 x 0.91 =) AU$16,400 + (NZ$1,700 x 0.91=) AU$1,550 + AU$3,000 = $21,000. You can collect the car from the Melbourne port yourself, and unless there is a lot of work required on the car, can get it ready for Rego yourself. I'd be happy to help if you need some advice?

All good advice, thanks guys. A well concealed relay might just do the trick.

Thats good advice, thanks.

Hi There is an issue with the dim / bright on the 73 Zim car that I've had restored. Park lights and dim (low beam) work fine. If you use the "flash" function on the stalk, then both brights (high beam) work. If you click over to brights for normal use, then only one headlight works. This points to a fault in the stalk switch to me, but I thought I would just put it our there in case anyone has experienced a similar problem, and the solution was something else. Thanks in advance.

Yup, plus this arrives next week from NZ: