wheelman Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Found out about some frustrating news for me last night. My son Derek got his second speeding ticket on Memorial Day weekend. Doing 73 in a 55 zone. Why is this frustrating? Here’s the story. Last Oct he received a ticket for going 60 in a 40 zone. In WA state we have a deferral system where if you plead guilt and pay the whole fine the ticket will be placed on pending status and dropped completely from your record if you can keep your nose clean for the next 12 months. Derek chose this route and paid the fine, about $250.00. He leaves for Airforce basic training on July 17th and I’ve been working real hard to get the Z road worthy in time to take him for a ride in it before he leaves. My wife called the insurance company today and was told that as long as we don’t make a change to our insurance (add/subtract a car or driver) Derek’s tickets will not show up and his rates will remain unchanged (about 550 every 6 months) otherwise he will be labeled a high risk driver and his rates will rise to 1300 or more every 6 months. So now I can’t place the Z on our insurance policy without causing his rates to almost double, which he cannot pay for right now. I could say F-it and just take him out in the Z anyway but the cops around here are very anal about seat belt laws and my Z doesn’t have a shoulder belt, so I’m almost guaranteed to get pulled over which means an automatic insurance check which is a $150.00 (I believe, maybe more) ticket. After talking to the wife and Derek we decided we won’t make any changes until he is at least in tech school, which will be Sept, so in the mean time the Z is grounded and he will probably have to wait until next spring for a ride. When we finally take him off our insurance he is guaranteed to be considered high risk, which will cost him big. Really sucks for him as he’s not a bad driver and is generally a very good kid, just a little bit of a lead footed aggressive driver, just the type the cops around here target for harassment. You guys are probably thinking “What are you talking about, you took it for a spin through the neighborhood last weekend?â€. Yes I did, but it was just up and down the block, no other traffic and rather secluded, so not a big risk. I did take Derek with me for one trip up and back so he did get to ride in it. Anyway I guess I just needed to vent and I consider you guys to be my big extended family so thanks for listening. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbc3 Posted June 7, 2005 Share Posted June 7, 2005 Put the Z on a different policy or different company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Datsun660z Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I’m almost guaranteed to get pulled over which means an automatic insurance check which is a $150.00 (I believe, maybe more) ticket. [/font'] MAYBE MORE hehe. It is $500.00 here in Washington. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Battle Pope Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 MAYBE MORE hehe. It is $500.00 here in Washington. YOWZA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 MAYBE MORE hehe. It is $500.00 here in Washington. I guess maybe I better bone up on the local laws, I live in WA. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Put the Z on a different policy or different company. The information we get from the insurance companies say that we can't do this. I'm going to do some more checking but there might be a law in WA state that precludes me from doing this, if not then I'll get the Z covered under a different company so I can drive it. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auxilary Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I have a spare pair of Z belts w/ shoulder belts, if memory serves correctly. Do you want them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airjockie Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 A little off topic...but...ohh well. He'll be in the Airforce, so he willbe able to get their group rates on car insurance, which is almost half of what he would pay anyways....all service men can get better, cheaper, and decent insurance. Plus..When he's in Basic...going toward Tech school...they will ask him if he wants CONUS or non-CONUS for his first duty station...so if he wants...he will be stationed in the states or Oversea's...I'd highly suggest he puts in for Okinawa...I did...and I loved it down there. And if he does go there...then he will have to get an R33 and a completely different insurance company anyways... Also...I feel sorry for the kid, going to Basic in the hot months in Texas...I went in July 1990...and it was HOT AS HE11 at that time... Good luck with the cops there, and tell your son good luck and God's speed for his upcoming adventures... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 I went through basic at Lackland in July and August myself back 1985. Yes ut is very hot and humid. I've been telling him to try to get stationed overseas, we'll see what happens. This is the second time someone has mentined a special car insurance for servicemen, can yo ugive me more details on it? There was nothing like that available when I was in, sure wish there had been. I was stationed in Sacramento CA at McClellan AFB and insurance there was outrageous. Aux, How and where do the shoulder belts mount? My Z is a 73 240, which model did the belts come from? What condition are they in? I would like to have normal seat belts if possible, I don't plan on doing much more than a few AutoX sessions so racing harnesses are a bit much. I want something a little less restrictive. I've seen "racing" harnesses on ebay that bolt to the floor and don't require a rollbar. I would need to use something like these, which I really don't trust, unless I went with a bar. I've thought about it but haven't decided yet. How much do you want for them shipped to my house (zip 99337). PM me with the details. I still have the original belts so if the shoulder belts will work with them I may not need the entire setup. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rival5 Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 My best friend is about to get out of tech school (Sheppard, Tx) in the Air Force. Have your son look into USAA for insurance, its only available to service men and their family. I can use it because my Dad's in the USAF and it saves me a good hunk of cash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airjockie Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 USAA is the one I heard about.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naplesZ Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 I would say just drop him from your insurance right before he goes in. What is he going to be doing in the air force? I had a medium length tech school and I was in 8 months before I reached my first duty station. He can't drive in basic and some tech schools want let you have a car unless your going to be their over 6 months. Even at his first duty station most lower ranking people don't have cars. You get paid very little and generally your not the best with money at this age. He want be making decent money till he's makes e-3 @ 16 months. I had several tickets and wrecks on my record when I went in and the quotes I got were outrages. Usaa is great insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airjockie Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 another BTW post... if your in need of seat belts...you can go to any junkyard and get them for free....and also if your doing an online transaction for stock seatbelts...only pay for shipping. You can make a donation to the person you are getting the seatbelts from...but don't actually pay for them as you would a normal part bought thru ways other parts are bought as...that's to cover both parties intentions... If Auxilary *sold* you a seatbelt, and if in the event an accident did happen, and a death was involved...then the funky little lawyer with bad breath can come and sue Auxilary...for selling a faulty product... Also....by Law...Junkyards can't make a profit with seatbelts...but they can give them away... but racing harness's should fall under the same laws...but don't....because they are not DOT approved...except one...Scroth. Same applies to used JDM rims...which I have...but won't sell unless the buyer is fully aware that at the time of purchase...I releive all legal issues with the rims..and tell them I can not be held responsible for them after they take possesion of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Naplesz, He's not sure exactly which job he'll be doing yet, he finds out at basic, but it's limited to 20 jobs in the electronics catagory. He's real interested in a Network admin job and a job doing maintenance on medical equipment. I think he'd be better off with the medical equipment job, netowrk admins are a dime a dozen these days and really don't get paid all that well but we'll see what happens. I think both of those jobs and most of the others on his list are going to have fairly long tech schools. We didn't want to drop him from insurance yet because he might have trouble getting new coverage if there's a gap in his coverage. I'm not sure this is such a big deal but the wife is convinced it is, I'm going to talk to his recruiter about the USAA and see if we can get him on it now. I didn't know that about the seat belts. A local JY that I've dealt with quite a bit has a late 260 that I've bought parts off of, I wonder if the belts from it would work. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airjockie Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 You can get them from the JY...but would you really want to? If you do..and they decide to charge you..remind them...to give you a handwritten receipt with their name on it...so your family can sue them for selling a defective safety part in an event of an accident... They will let you walk out with it....hehe. But do you really want to?.... personally...I'd rather go and buy a brand new $60 race harness, and install it and wear it even for daily driving...than to trust a 30 year old OEM belt. But sadly...the DOT doesn't recognize any race belt's except Scrothe...and they run $160 each new... plus...most of the seatbelts I see in any car at any JY, are all old, moldy from the rain and dryrotted...and are not even worth the time to even get them... So I would get a set from someone here...and pay the shipping and a decent tip for their time.... But also...I'm not sure on all old cars...but if they did not come stock with the 3-point seatbelt, and the cop pulls you over on a suspition that you don't have a belt on...and he see's that there is only a lapbelt...and you have it on...then he can't do anything about it. More than likely...just tell him your car did not come with the shoulder belt, and wear your lapbelt...and he'll look at the age of the car...and will prolly let you go...unless he is a Z freak as well...and at that point...he'll prolly tell you about how many Z's he's had and you'll become good freinds...and he'll foreget why he even pulled you over in the first place.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 I'm sure WA has a provision in the seat belt law that accounts for cars that never had a shoulder belt, that's not what will cause me problems. Right now WA has a ClickIt-or-Ticket campaign going on and they are extra vigilant about seat belts. The law has also been changed so that I can be pulled over for no other reason than not wearing a seat belt. So I anticipate being pulled over because the officer won't see a shoulder belt, even though I'll be wearing a lap belt, which will then prompt an insurance check, they are very anal about the insurance laws as well. The insurance check is what will get me into hot water because I currently don't have any for the Z. Very good point about the moldy, dry rotted belts that might come out of a JY car. In fact the original belts that were in my Z when I bought it were in pretty rough shape. I guess if I wasn't so cheap I'd just say F-it, get a good 6 point rollbar and good set of harnesses and be done with it. I don't know if I'd call my Z a freak but others probably will. High performance LT1 with a 5-speed and a rearend that can handle the power lowered about 1 inch and running open exhaust at the current moment. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airjockie Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 The cop might be a Z freak.... and with that much power and mods...and no cage or a HARNESS....your crAZY:D <---still building my little monster...errr...monsters.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted June 8, 2005 Share Posted June 8, 2005 Didn't all Z cars come sholder belts? My 1970 vintage had the non-retractable type of belts, but if memory serves it did have a sholder belt. I think you have to go back to the mid 60's to find a car that had lap belts only. And you are right about getting pulled over if the cop doesn't see the sholder belt. BTW a JY is really your only option for seat belts. Racing harnesses are totally impractible for a street car and I can't believe Nissan still stocks original belts for an old Z. Expecially since they went to the retractable belts with completely different mounts after only a few years. If you are worried about the age of the belts, then you can adapt some JY belts out of a later model car for the Z. That is what I did with my 1970 in order to get retractable belts. IMO if belts are visibly in good shape and good working order then they are more than likely fine for street use. Racing rules are more aggressive because of the more intense application and greater liability potential. I honestly would not worry about belts you buy from a JY. BTW 2, when I bought the belts from the JY they practically gave them to me. Not because they were worried about selling a defective product but because they knew there is no market for them. They guys said they had no demand for used belts and thus sold them cheap. I think if I had tried the "sign you name on a piece of paper" approach I would have been told where to put that piece of paper. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 with that much power and mods...and no cage or a HARNESS....your crAZY My Z is relatively mild in comparison with most of the others on this board, or at least thats my impression. I think mine is producing somewhere around 300 HP at the crank so RWHP is probably around 255 assuming 15% loss to the drivetrain. Not really a freak but definitely fun. I still haven't decide whether I want to install a bar. I'm leaning that way but haven't decided yet. Part of my hesitation is that the area I live in is relatively small population wise so my access to a shop that can build a good one is limited and I'm not sure I want to attempt it myself. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted June 8, 2005 Author Share Posted June 8, 2005 Pop, If mine had shoulder belts they had been removed by a PO. The lap belts were in it but there were no shoulder belts and the buckles don't have a slot to connect them. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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