malcolm

.. hi ... greetings ... a 2000 R34 ... nice ! ... the list i think you must be referring to is the "Members" ... best way to get on that is to join Skylines Australia ... its not expensive & youll receive a laminated membership card & a SAU sticker & SAU bottle opener ... with the card you will get a discount on SAU merchandise & i think theres some workshops & tyre places that will give a discount to SAU members ... ... the annual fee payment system has recently changed ... message Shell (above) im sure she will run through what to do to get you up & running. ... cheers malcolm -ps- ... im with Shell - please get some pics up of your car

... Hi & thank you for your reply ... ... ... 200 is heaps ! ... as far as what happens to all the prototypes ? ... I know with my car that it was returned (almost) to OEM spec which made it legal to ship to Australia as a grey import ... most see out their days as test cars & continue to be used ... as long as the chassis or floor pan is identical they will even be used in "cross over" models like the Tida from the Pulsar ... you can see in mass production how important it is to have a lot of generic parts that will not only fit between cars within a model range but also between cars of a different category ... I had a the Skyline a GTi-R & my Super S Micra all at the same time ... things like the rear view mirror petrol flap release lever are identical as well as the power mirror adjuster switch on the Skyline & Micra ... not too mention the countless other components within the electrics & fasteners ... ... yes ADR regulations are tough but I guess there needs to be a very strict set of parameters that applies to everyone otherwise itd be a field day of interpretation with everyone making up their own set of rules ... ... theres a great true story in the 1980's regarding a whole bunch of the Nissan Australia 200B Rally Cars that werent allowed to stay in Australia due to ADR regulations & Nissan Japan refused to ship them back to Japan where they had been developed ... so after Rally Australia finished one year somewhere in a pine forest near Port Macquarie or Coffs Harbour the entire collection of cars was put on a barge & taken miles out to sea & pushed off - dumped into the ocean !! ... crazy ... !!! ... i know - WTF ... ... ... such a shame ... what a waste ... oh well theyre probably being used as accommodation by fish lobsters & sea slugs ... ... cheers malcolm ...

Just got sent this information emailed by an associate in London on the deal behind the "blacking out" & "camouflaging" of prototype cars during development. Its interesting to note that some of those blacked out cars we sometimes see in car magazines may not be a "new model" thats just about to come out but could indeed be one of around 200 different prototype vehicles that are required in the development of each new production model. Camouflage and Disguise of Cars How Car Makers Hide New Models from Prototype Paparazzi Spyshots Mar 19, 2008 Simon McBride Launching a new car is all about glitz and glamour but if Prototype Paparazzi get the chance they will sell spyshots of the car even when it's disguised by camouflage. When launching a new car, manufacturers must test the vehicle both on road and on track to get the set-up exactly the way they want it. So camouflaging cars against snooping paparazzi is all important. But this is not always as straight-forward as it seems, as they want to keep the vehicle a secret until its official public unveiling. Camouflaging Cars against Prototype Paparazzi This is mainly the fault of the car Paparazzi as they are always on the look out for a good shot – these specialist photographers are called prototype hunters, or simply photo spies. The car manufacturers fight against early pictures of their vehicles by camouflage and disguise tactics. A spokesman from Vauxhall said: “There is usually a special team responsible for camouflaging prototypes – their job entails figuring out which of the cars characteristic lines should be kept hidden the longest from Prototype Paparazzi. The model is then disguised by masking tape and plastic parts, which are stuck on to hide unique design lines.” The replacement car for the Vauxhall Vectra, the new Insignia has been going through this process. The car is due to be given its public unveil in July at the 2008 British Motorshow in London UK, but spy shots have already come out. When trying to foil the Paparazzi the design team will build a wooden model as a cast to form the plastic camouflage parts. This is needed for around 200 test cars that have to be disguised in the run-up to production. And there is more bad news for the Prototype Paparazzi as the car-makers are pulling out all the stops. Flimmies a Better Prototype Disguise The top brands claim that the disguising job will soon be even better as they have discovered a technique called ‘Flimmies’. This is a new type of camouflage where the pattern creates a flickering effect. No matter how well a model is disguised, a common give away are the Headlamps and rear lights as most enthusiasts will be able to tell what a is car by only seeing a glimpse of these. Getting round this is a problem for car manufacturers as vehicle licensing authorities stipulate that a car’s – even a prototype’s – headlights, brake lights and all other exterior functions must meet legal regulations. One of the most important characteristics of a new car is its exterior design and the makers want to keep it a secret until the marque is ready to show it off at its public unveil. Hide and Seek So, the game of hide and seek between the car manufacturers and the Prototype Paparazzi is set to continue... So some of those blacked out cars could be the finished product about to be released & some could be 200 "steps away" from being fully developed which i imagine would be years. I always thought it was a bit silly to go to such extreme lengths to hide a new model after completing it - its not as though you can change it then - bit late for that Now I see how important it is !! Its actually more important on all of the prototypes during a new cars development - as I am sure that a lot of very important "engineering direction" & "breakthrough technology" is "discovered" "thought through" & "stumbled upon" during this time that you dont want your competitors knowing about. It also nicely outlines that car manufacturers with say 5 models in development will have literally hundreds of prototype vehicles on the go over a 2 or 3 year period - with all of the prototype vehicles for the series twos & limited edition upgrade tweaks being pulled from the production line Interesting stuff !! ... I knew they went through a lot of prototype cars during development but I would have never guessed 200 !!! ... cheers malcolm

... YES ! ... what a great idea ! ... "count" me in for that ... ...

Hi & thankyou for your input it is always much appreciated There is no indication that this document originated from NISMO - it may have been transcribed from another list that did - resulting in the "exhaust typo" The (11A) does refer to the "combustion" component of the car - the component where the "plenum" is fitted & where it directly interacts The N1 oil water pan assembly refers to to use of an N1 oil pump & an N1 water pump & an N1 oil pan baffle plate Details: The N1 water pump is designed to limit the cavitation produced through sustained high engine revolution. This doesn't make the pump superior to the regular Nissan item, simply that it is more suited to a race/track oriented vehicle.It has 6 larger blades than the usual 8 smaller blades of the standard OEM water pump. Applications: •Nissan Skyline, R32 GTR •Nissan Skyline, R33 GTS25-t •Nissan Skyline, R33 GTR •Nissan Skyline, R34 25GT-t •Nissan Skyline, R34 GTR •Nissan Stagea, WGNC34 RS-4 •Nissan Stagea, WGNC34 260RS The N1 Oil Pump is designed for the RB series Nissan Engines. This item will work on the RB26DETT, RB25DE(T), RB30(D)E(T), and RB20DE(T) engines. This item is a great replacement for the `achilles tendon' of the RB series engines, the OEM unit is notoriously known to starve tuned RB engines of oil at high RPM`s.The Nissan N1 oil pump provides increased oil flow to cope with the demands of making power. The N1 baffle plate - NISMO designed this part for the Professional N1 Races in Japan. After extensive use on the street and in the extremes of race & track NISMO found the added benefits undeniable and made it readily available for all GTR BNR32 & BCNR33 owners with a modified version for the GTS ECR33.Providing stable oil pressure by preventing oil from pooling due to the front-rear or lateral G forces often experienced in circuit racing. This prevents metal damage and other engine trouble from occurring. Applications: - Nissan Skyline GTR BNR32 - Nissan Skyline GTR BCNR33 - Nissan Skyline GTS ECR33 (modified version) ... many thanks again for your kind input ... cheers malcolm

... great !! ... my birthday in jan ... F**K work im going !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ... ...

BUGGER !!! ... GOT CALLED OFF TO THE KIMBERLEYS FOR A BORING OPTUS AD ... ... next time " get out of work fairy" can i pleeeeease have the day off ?? - huh ? ... have only driven the car twice since last decembers show & shine - aaarrggghhhh !!!!! ... hope to see you all soon - cheers malcolm

..... go the R34 GTT ... build quality ... performance ... handling ... resale ... smiles on the dial ... all a notch up on the Commodore in my opinion ... ...

... thanks gents for the headsup ... fingers crossed im not working ... cheers malcolm

..... another WOW !! ..... ..... this certainly looks the business ! ... what a thoroughly well thought out & exquisitely executed project !! ..... ..... cheers malcolm

..... WOW !! ..... ... what an amazing spectacle ... ..... cant believe i had to work ... well done everyone ... cheers malcolm

... i cannot stress enough how much i agree with & support ALL of the above ... ... as ive mentioned before a 10 year old member of my family was killed in a parking lot while she was walking back from the shops by some moron who was showing off doing a burnout ... he lost control sideways mounted the kerb & the car rolled over & landed on top of her ... ... if youre a dickhead who cant help themselves & has to behave like a moron or if youre not a dickhead but think theres a good chance youll be a moron on this particular day ... ,,, STAY AT HOME ... ...

... hi matt & thanks for the "special stage" notes ! ... maybe im imagining those dips in the road or they were somewhere else !? ... ill try my hardest to show up ... im a freelancer in the film industry & we never know what we're doing till we're doing it ... im working this sunday & will miss out on katoomba so ill be more than peeved if it happens again ... fingers crossed ... see you on the day ... cheers malcolm

... what a b*gg*r ... i have to work on sunday now ! ... @##!%#@ !! ... i was looking forward to the drive ... hope everyone enjoys the day ... its going to be a cracker !! ... ... ... hopefully i can make the Royal National Park at the end of the month ... cheers ... malcolm

... heres 3 pics ... ... cheers malcolm

many thanks "admin team" (you know who you are) ... got my membership renewal sorted - arrived last night apologies too ... there might have been a year or two since 2004 when i joined that i didnt renew my card probably too busy at the time replying to all the "queries" in relation to my R33 on what seemed like at the time worlds first "never ending thread" ... hehe ... just quietly i actually enjoyed every minute of it ... & learnt that negativity can work in a positive way ... ... i will try to come for the drive on sunday 10/10/10 to katoomba & to the royal national park the poor thing has only been driven once since last decembers show & shine ! thanks again for getting the card & bottle opener in the post cheers malcolm ... ...

... sounds like a top day ... if im not working ill go ... ... ... its been a while since i drove through the national park ... does it still have those little "causeway" dips in the road to let excess rain run off ... depending on that ill either take the R33 or micra ... ... ... cheers malcolm ...

... without sounding too much like a complete idiot but wouldnt getting pulled over & not getting defected be as simple as not having anything to defect on, in or under your car ?? ... ... am i just getting old but who wants to have an unsafe, illegal, dodgy car that could potentially hurt you or even worse hurt someone else ?? ... ... having enough brains to hold a drivers licence should qualify you with enough intelligence to equip your car in a 100% roadworthy, legal & safe manner ... ... if it aint then dont drive it till it is ... ... not driving it while its being properly equipped will absolutely guarantee you wont get defected !! ... ... just as i thought - simple !! ... ...

... ah duncan you got me drivng down memory lane ... ... mine was my sensational little 1972 "510" datsun 1600 ... bought it in 1978 as 1 owner from a little old greek man in Top Ryde for $1600 ... had it 14 years ... sold it in 1992 for $4500 to a very happy young man from Port Macquarie ... it had been given "the works" in the eighties from the boys at "SSS" ie: full comp engine to 1800 - webers - clutch - gearbox - diff - suspension - wheels - tyres ... it was pretty quick for the day & handling also for the day was outstanding ... ... ive driven flasher cars since but none will ever match that "grin" that would consume me once behind the wheel of the "datto" ... ... for me i think the fact that it was my first car ("L plates" & "P plates") that adds directly to it being the best ... as then it was the only car i had ever driven ... ... cheers malcolm

Cheers ! ... ... ... dont get me wrong ive got the worlds biggest plasma screen surround sound set up i could afford with my laptop hooked up to it etc ... i get news off the net & am always buying dvds ... just did away with television stations & cable networks ... pretty much addicted to youtube ...with the difference being you can literally watch whatever you want whenever you want ... ...

... to try to counteract a negative action with a negative solution is only going to provide a negative result ... ... if they spent half the money on crushing the car & spent it on educating the driver with positive ideals theyd be twice as far ahead by now ... ... current affairs programmes like today tonight feed off this kind of negativity & fob it off as news ... i wouldnt waste any of my precious time on this planet watching any of those ridiculous programmes ... i cant anyway ... i havnt had any form of tv signal/cable in my house for over 10 years ... cant say i miss any of it ... ...

... its just revenue raising ... state goverments have to come up with revenue raising schemes & ideas to help supplement their expenditure ... ... thats why theres so many ways they can catch you ... they figure sooner or later even the most careful driver will fall prey to something ... ... the points system is designed to make money ... why 12 points ? ... why not just 3 & have you lose your license after you go through 4 sets of 3 points ? ... they have 12 because someone with 12 points is more likely to make a mistake than someone with 3 ... you feel with 12 points that you can afford to lose some & therefore will have your guard down & more likely to offend ... a driver down to 3 points is more likely to safeguard those precious last 3 points & be more careful ... thats also why they will offer someone who has lost all their points a 12 month good behaviour contract ... it would normally take 3 years to get all your individual offence points back ... with the 12 month good behaviour contract they give them all back to you after just 1 year ! ... why ? ... so they can quickly get you back into that comfortable feeling of having that buffer of 12 points so you can start losing them again ... it has nothing to do with making anyone a better driver ... just all about making money ... ... $253 in 6 years is $42 a year ... not a figure worth worrying about ... they could always get rid of that $253 bus lane fine & add $253 to your rego & greenslip ... ... but they wont ... ... unfortunately in the western world this is just how things are done ... a society based on economics needs economics to maintain itself ... ... having to complain about stuff like this isnt nearly as bad as living somewhere where owning your own motor car is still a far away dream

... interersting !! ... i recently got pulled over in Manly on the beach front & got breath tested & drug tested ... had to blow into the machine for alcohol & got my mouth swabbed for drugs ... the swab can detect pot, cocaine & speed ... quite an un nerving experience all round ... ...

. ... WOW !!! ... my excess is $1000 on the Skyline & $600 on the Micra ... they were & still are the only insurance company i could find to offer an agreed value policy that reflected its exact replacement if i had to turn around & buy all the parts again to build another one ... i guess being with them for 8 years & nearly 50 years old helps ... ...

... ive had my Skyline & Micra insured with DAWES - FAMOUS INSURANCE for 8 years & found them to be the best as far as agreed value / excess & premium cost ... i call around from time to time to compare & i still find them the best value for money today ... im a firm believer that no one is rich enough or poor enough not to have insurance .. if youre rich well its not a problem & if youre poor you really cant afford not to have it ... it costs me around 30 bucks a week to fully comp insure both my cars for agreed values that realistically reflect what it would cost to replace to the same spec that they are currently in ... i went to great great lengths to document every process on the build of the Skyline offering up copies of every receipt including photos of every stage right up to completion ... in fact it took over 6 years to complete the car & every year FAMOUS agreed to increase the value to reflect A: what had i spent & B: its current value in relation to its completed state ... a set of Dunlop DZ03 255/40/17's each year for the Skyline cost approx $2400.00 which twice as much as i spend on it for insurance ... if you get paid weekly or fortnightly my tip would be set up a direct debit with your insurance company & pay for it as you go every payday ... seeing 30 odd bucks go from your bank account every week wont seem like a lot ... in fact you wont even miss it & hey presto !! youll be fully comp insured without thinking about !! ... cheers malcolm