February 12th, 2010
Just when I was gearing up to get some work done on the cars in February, I've had to stop. I was diagnosed with appendicitis and had to have it removed, so no heavy lifting for a month.
Which is a real pain since I have just bought a second manual Z31 to swap the gearbox out of into the red Z31, and had been stripping parts off the spare Super Six, so I can sent if off to be recycled to make room in the shed.
Posted
by Craig
in:
General,
January 18th, 2010
Perth recorded the hottest day in two years yesterday on Sunday the 17th. The temperature reached 42.9 degrees Celsius (109.2 degrees Fahrenheit).
It was Perth’s hottest day since Boxing Day 2007, when the mercury tipped 44.2C.
The electricity usage record was also broken, Power consumption reached 3790 megawatts on the south west electricity grid, surpassing the previous peak level of consumption set in February last year. The increased usage was blamed on air conditioners, pool pumps and big screen televisions.
Movie theaters also recorded higher than usual Sunday attendance, with some theaters reporting 40% to 50% more customers. With the lack of Sunday trading in Perth there is nowhere to go when the temperature soars, apart from the beach, the movies, or staying at home if you have air conditioning. If shops had been open I dare say they would have seen record numbers too.
We also used the most water as a city since 2001, using 100 million litres than the previous usage record.
The previous record for water used in 24 hours was in 1991 before Perth introduced sprinkler restrictions, when a 45.7C day saw us use 1269 million litres of water. I've been thinking about installing a few rain barrels before winter, to help reduce usage. "Propper" rain tanks are too expensive for me at this time.
Yesterday afternoon I was out in the hot sun trying to start a few of my cars that run. The 240K coupe seems to have developed an electrical fault. Nothing at all happens when you turn the key. No gauges move, no lights, nothing. The Super Six on the other hand fired up no problem at all.
I'll give the others a go when the weather cools down a little.
Posted
by Craig
in:
General,
December 17th, 2009
Merry Christmas everyone. Lets hope next year is a better year than this one.
Posted
by Craig
in:
General,
December 1st, 2009
So a while ago I was down in Margaret River for another little break, can't say no when there's free accommodation and free wine tasting. The pasta lunch at Olio Bello is very nice too, and reasonably priced compared to the other places around that region.
While down there I stopped in at a little second hand shop called "The Flying Wardrobe & Macho Crappo" a little further south in Witchcliffe. Actually I was dragged there by my other half in her eternal pursuit of vintage plush toys.
The place was filled with a usual assortment of uninteresting second hand stuff I usually refer to as junk, but as I ventured deeper into the establishment the junk started to become interesting.
Out in the back section, which resembled a tin shed tacked on the back of the building, I started to notice old tools, car mirrors and emblems. Blokey stuff that you'd expect to find in an old country garage.
On a shelf uni in the far back corner I spotted them. A shelf full of old Datsun Manuals and Service Bulletins. It was a hot day, and even warmer in that tin shed, but that was the last thing on my mind as I flipped through the old manuals and picked out the interesting ones.
We struck up a deal with the shop keeper for a bulk price on the ones I was interested in. Packed them in a box and drove off back to Margaret River.
Later that night the collector urge in me took over. I figured that it would be a long time before I'm down this way again, so the next day we stopped in again and made another deal with the shop keeper for the remaining manuals.
Posted
by Craig
in:
General,
June 26th, 2009
Went outside to check the mail box the other day only to find that 2 of my cars, the 240K sedan and the 300ZX had smashed side windows. The neighbours car across the road also had a smashed window. During the night some people had tried to break into them, but the people next door heard a noise and came outside and they ran off to a waiting four wheel drive without getting into any of the cars.
At least the windows held together to keep the rain out. I've taped them up with tape to stop them from falling apart in the meantime. I've arranged another window from a guy on the
auZ31club for the ZX. Not too concerned about the K as it's destined to be parts car for the hardtop.
Posted
by Craig
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