[lesmore49]

You should have taken the 510. This car won the SCCA Trans Am Under 2.5 Liter Championship.

Twice.

I remember how well Datsun did back then in race series. Just looking at the picture, supplied by you, it really was a nice looking car. In fact IMO, the best of the econo cars of that era.

When I think about it, Nissan really has been in the forefront of interesting vehicle designs over the years. The 240Z was the British sports car that the Brits never made, and too bad at that. A very stylish coupe, with power, handling. It had it all and it had it all when it came out, think it was '69 or so. As much as I like MGB's, TR4's, etc....the Z car really had it over these cars.

Then there was the Nissan Patrol, which may have been out, before the similar Toyota truck. Both good, but who came out first among the Japanese off road trucks....I dunno.

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8...LP1SfauFfs8WWN

I've never had a Datsun/Nissan, but given my son's current experience with his mid sized, Frontier Pro4X 4WD pickup truck....I'm impressed.

Actually the Japanese cars and motorcycles were very impressive, when I first saw them in the mid '60's. The bikes...Honda, Yamaha (my favourite), Suzuki...Hodaka...and later in the '60's the motorbikes from Kawasaki Aircraft (as their initial badging said) were superior to many others. I saw my first Honda CB 750 4 cylinder in June/69 and I couldn't believe how sophisticated and reliable this road burner was. It was kind of nice, seeing all these Japanese vehicles ...so early on...in their development...simply due to the fact that I was a teenager/young man in the '60's...and could appreciate what I was seeing at the time.

The first Toyota car I saw (around '65) was, I think called a Toyopet...it didn't impress me much, but short years later ... Toyota cars were significantly improved, enough for me to consider buying one.

[lesmore49]

Worker's lives are priceless.

Every one of them have families that expect to see them at the end of the day.

I've worked along roadsides, when doing repair calls on big trucks. It really sucks how jackass motorists don't slow down and move over when people are working along the roadside.

As if their journey is more important than the safety of those who are working.

I think the penalty for failing to slow down and move over should be severe, say, life in prison.

And if someone hits a person working along the roadside, the penalty should match the injuries to the workers. Severely injured? Stand them up and hit them with a car. Kill someone? The death penalty.

I enjoy watching the cable tow truck shows, particularly Highway thru Hell, which is filmed primarily in B.C. It is frightening how close many cars, trucks, etc...come ....to tow truck operators, road construction people., while they're working. One misstep by a worker, one mistake or moment of inattention by a driver....can have tragic results.

A few years ago Manitoba legislated that drivers on the highway must slow down to 60 kph (40 mph) when passing workers. I do this ...no exceptions....and in addition throw on my 4 way flashers...so others behind me (particularly for the benefit of the the distracted) ...realize slow moving vehicles ahead.

During my brief stint , many decades ago driving commercial trucks, I saw many near misses and some accidents that were not, and could of been avoided.

[StiffLegged]

Watching a jolly little video on the Tube reminded me of a recent tale from a retired forensics officer. A farmer's son had taken an object to town: a cylindrical object about 1 inch in diameter and about 6 or 8 inches long with an odd sweaty appearance, glistening in the sunlight. Nobody paid much attention until the object exploded, blowing Joe Jnr's hand off. Police questioned this unhappy but worthy son of the soil about where the dynamite had come from: "From the farm," he told them.

The officer was sent to the farm in question to investigate and the Army were called. Told which barn to look in, he discovered a drawer well filled with similarly sweating sticks of explosive; in fact the sweating was forming pools of glistening liquid. As ordered, the officer pulled out a camera and flashgun and recorded the scene before withdrawing to find the bomb squad had just arrived to deal with things. An NCO emerged shakily from the barn: "Did you go in there?" he asked the policeman. "Yes..." came the reply. "And did you take a photo with an electronic flash?" "Yes......" The NCO's voice rose an octave or two as he asked "Have you any idea how close you came to setting the whole lot off???"

The farmer used the stuff occasionally to remove tree stumps on his land...

[lesmore49]

I remember my Mom talking about crossing over the Rockies with her family way back when and mentioning how her Dad would have to back up some of the steeper grades. I guess the cars back then did not have a deep sump in the oil pan so the engine would starve for oil going forward up the hill. In reverse the oil would collect at the front of the engine and allow the oil pump to do it's thing.

When I was a teenager I used to work for the local city bus transit. They mostly used GM city buses, but also had the occasional Mitsubishi city bus (with their honking big diesel V8's that sounded marvelous), a few Can Car buses (think they were made in Thunder Bay) and a few older...even some late '40's electric trolley buses. Geez...I've really drifted here.

Anyways, back to the original point. Oil lights coming on in some vehicles that had shallow oil sumps. One of the jobs I had at Transit was checking buses...in regards to # of passengers both sitting and standing, time checks at certain bus stop points, bus number, run number, etc. Mostly I sat in a specialized trailer, but on occasion I rode on the bus and usually at the front of the seating area, with my check list.

Most of the roads here, are flat. But on this route, there was a rural road the bus would go down that had a significant and long incline. Three quarters of the way up, the buses red oil light would come on in the dash and a minor gong-like sound, would sound. I was startled the first time this happened and asked the driver why that sound and re light activated. He said, because of the incline, the engine oil would floe back in the sump...and not have a deep enough oil supply for the oil pump to suck up. As soon as we levelled out, the red light would go out and the gong would stop.

Now that doesn't sound quite right. But then the bus company back then, even with ur fierce winters, would not use anti freeze in the cooling systems of the buses, as their theory was the buses were always in a heated garage and when they were out on their routes, they never shut off. So as long as that continuted, the company could save on not using antifreeze in the hundreds of buses they had.

Made me think as the routes were invariably on flat, level roads, maybe they could keep the engine oil levels at a minimum. As far as I knew there was only was significant grade. If you minimize the oil level by a quart or so...over hundreds of bus engines...that could be a significant savings due to economy of scale. But I'm just guessing about the oil. I could be wrong. This was the 17 year old mind of mine speculatin'.

[MarkJerling]

As promised (like, forever ago) here is the information from our recent cannonball across the US to deliver the grandson's car .

We left the house at around 11am on Friday, April 9.

In Washington we traveled on SR92, SR9, US2, I5, I405, I90 and I82, crossing into Oregon at Hermiston. we stopped for lunch at the Buzz In at Ellensburg.

In Oregon we traveled on I82 and I84, crossing into Idaho at Ontario.

The trip through Idaho was on I84, all the way to Utah, near Snowville, Utah.

Utah saw us pass along I84, I15, I84 (again) and I80. We crossed into Wyoming on I80, near Evanston, Wyoming.
Wyoming was I80 all the way to Nebraska, crossing at Pine Bluffs, Wyoming.

We stopped for breakfast at Big Springs, Nebraska, and followed I80, crossing into Iowa at Omaha.

In Iowa we followed I80, then I29, crossing into Missouri near Hamburg, Iowa.

Following I29, and I435, then to I70 we headed west, stopping in Fawcett for an early dinner at the Farris Truck Stop Saturday then Oak Grove for a shower at the Oak Grove 70 truck stop, then continuing East on I70, I270, crossing into Illinois on I64 after waving to Bob, who was sleeping soundly as we went by.

In Illinois we followed I64, I57 then I64 again to Indiana near Grayville, Illinois. We had to stop and take a 4 hour nap in Illinois Saturday night, as both of us were so tired we couldn't keep it up.

Crossing Indiana is a short trip on I64, about 120 miles, then we passed into Kentucky at Louisville.

Continuing across Kentucky on I64 to West Virginia at Huntington. We stopped for gas at Shelbyville, and grabbed some breakfast to go from the McDonald's there.

In West Virginia the route followed I64 to Charleston, the South on I77 (the West Virginia Turnpike) crossing into Virginia between Princeton and Rocky Gap.

Passing through Bland, Virginia on I77, then I81 to Fort Chiswell, then South to North Carolina on I77. We grabbed a Subway sammich at Fort Chiswell.

In North Carolina the road followed I77, then I74, to Winston-Salem, following I74 through High Point, past Randleman (home of The King, Richard Petty) to SR22, US501, SR24, SR87 into Fayetteville, near Fort Bragg, at 5pm local time, Sunday afternoon, April 11.

3,000 miles.

46 hours, 10 minutes (not counting the 4 hour nap in Illinois).

9 stops for gas.

One stop for a shower.

The car got 36 miles to the gallon.


Whew!

And Mrs. Racer was skeptical that we could get it done.

I showed here how a team gets it done.

Epic roadtrip. Well done.

[rod_grant]

Worker's lives are priceless.

Every one of them have families that expect to see them at the end of the day.

I've worked along roadsides, when doing repair calls on big trucks. It really sucks how jackass motorists don't slow down and move over when people are working along the roadside.

As if their journey is more important than the safety of those who are working.

I think the penalty for failing to slow down and move over should be severe, say, life in prison.

And if someone hits a person working along the roadside, the penalty should match the injuries to the workers. Severely injured? Stand them up and hit them with a car. Kill someone? The death penalty.

I have no argument with protecting road workers lives. My point was entirely to do with the 40kmh limit for maybe 5kms when the workers are all centred around a 50 metre area. Or when mowing grass 20 metres off the pavement.

[Racer X 69]

Back in the early '70's, I was looking for a new car. The candidates were, Datsun 510, Toyota Corolla (with the 1600cc engine option), Ford Pinto, VW Super Beetle.

A 71 510 with a VG30ET swap just went up on Bring A Trailer. A little rough, really needs a makeover.

No Reserve: VG30ET-Powered 1971 Datsun 510 Project for sale on BaT Auctions - ending May 20 (Lot #48,232) | Bring a Trailer

[Racer X 69]

I have no argument with protecting road workers lives. My point was entirely to do with the 40kmh limit for maybe 5kms when the workers are all centred around a 50 metre area. Or when mowing grass 20 metres off the pavement.

I understand the frustration.

On our recent trip across America we ran into a 50 mile stretch in Nebraska that was down to one lane each way, and the workers were spread here and there in small groups, working one task or another. I realized why, by observation. The surface restoration they were performing requires several steps. Remove the old surface, prepare the new roadbed, apply the new surface (pretty cool, continuous pour concrete, the machine and crews work 24/7), finish the new surface, stripe, regrade and hydroseed the shoulders and tidy up the drainage systems.

Makes sense to be spread out, so the crews of the various stages aren't stumbling over each other.

[dbs]

My grandfather said the model T had more torque in reverse so drivers would reverse up major challenge hills, like Willunga Hill.

Hi Tim
Now we have MMIL trying to do it on a pushbike

[Racer X 69]

The Volvo 142 which I really liked was out of my budget.

How about today?

This one sold November 2019 for $15,400. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1969-volvo-142-4/



I've always liked the 142. Two doors, manual transmission, torquey 6 cylinder, decent handling.

If I had one I'd put a Datsun L28 engine in it.

[Racer X 69]

Watching a jolly little video on the Tube reminded me of a recent tale from a retired forensics officer. A farmer's son had taken an object to town: a cylindrical object about 1 inch in diameter and about 6 or 8 inches long with an odd sweaty appearance, glistening in the sunlight. Nobody paid much attention until the object exploded, blowing Joe Jnr's hand off. Police questioned this unhappy but worthy son of the soil about where the dynamite had come from: "From the farm," he told them.

The officer was sent to the farm in question to investigate and the Army were called. Told which barn to look in, he discovered a drawer well filled with similarly sweating sticks of explosive; in fact the sweating was forming pools of glistening liquid. As ordered, the officer pulled out a camera and flashgun and recorded the scene before withdrawing to find the bomb squad had just arrived to deal with things. An NCO emerged shakily from the barn: "Did you go in there?" he asked the policeman. "Yes..." came the reply. "And did you take a photo with an electronic flash?" "Yes......" The NCO's voice rose an octave or two as he asked "Have you any idea how close you came to setting the whole lot off???"

The farmer used the stuff occasionally to remove tree stumps on his land...

What was the boy carrying a stick of it into town for?

[robtcorl]

[lesmore49]

How about today?

This one sold November 2019 for $15,400. No Reserve: Modified 1969 Volvo 142S 4-Speed for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $15,400 on November 4, 2019 (Lot #24,709) | Bring a Trailer



I've always liked the 142. Two doors, manual transmission, torquey 6 cylinder, decent handling.

If I had one I'd put a Datsun L28 engine in it.

When I first read the post...I went through it quickly and thought ...WOW...Racer says he'd put an L-78 engine in a Volvo 142...thinking you meant the Chevy Rat motor of yore...375 -425 horsepower. The I realized you wrote Datsun L28 engine.


https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8...U9Ua2AmQ83nhOw

[eddie1960]

Move to Missouri and enjoy all of the seasons to an extreme.

Universal health care is top of my requirements so if I want extremes Winnipeg it will have to be

[lesmore49]

How about today?

This one sold November 2019 for $15,400. No Reserve: Modified 1969 Volvo 142S 4-Speed for sale on BaT Auctions - sold for $15,400 on November 4, 2019 (Lot #24,709) | Bring a Trailer



I've always liked the 142. Two doors, manual transmission, torquey 6 cylinder, decent handling.

If I had one I'd put a Datsun L28 engine in it.

I have mentioned before, that many moons ago, I had a '62 Volvo PV544s with the B18s...twin SU carb Volvo engine. Looked like a '46 Ford Tudor, probably could easily blow the doors off the old Ford with it's flattie V8. The PV544s was quite a sports sedan...before that term was in common use. Did well in international rallying and even SCCA sportscar racing, in certain classes.

So I like Volvos, particularly the PV 444/544, 122/123/Amazon in some markets, 140/240/164 series. All rear wheel drive.

With the 140/240 series there have been a few that have had commercially available powertrain conversions...particularly the small block Chevy V8/ Mustang 5 liter V8 (302 OHV) ... complemented with those engines...available manual transmissions. These powertrains added a nice chunk of go power to these cars.

Think Paul Newman had a Volvo 240 (?) wagon with a Mustang 5 liter V8 (hotted up a bit) , manual transmission...which was stock appearing, beefed up suspension/brakes...what a 'sleeper'.

Now, this Newman special...would be the kind of car I would love to have, perhaps though with a V8/transmission out of a Camaro....as I'm a Chevy guy. Sorry Mark.