240sx heads up display

[elmerfudpucker]

thanks for the insult tendril, if thats how people treat each other on ratsun then i think ill minimize the amount of posting i do for now on. I may just go on with my project without any pics so i can just get it done and finished, i mean why waste my time updating things here if this is how people are. (cant stand forum nazis, kinda kills the fun).

 

Good day sir.

 

fyi i wanted to see if anyone actually owned a 240sx with a hud on it.

 

 

Quality not quantity is what helps the rest of the forum, I wouldn't minimize your posting or your oics over that. Have you noticed most of the trolls here have a high post count thanks to garbage posts in the extra threads? IMHO, we need to contribute ideas to help the OP, the chaos needs to stay in Insomniacs, post tits+@ss, ect... otherwise if you don't have any info to help...STFU. It has been said a thick skin is needed to post here. I guess it is also a good thing I am not a Mod, direct insults would get an automatic vacation and there would be a few that would get punted into low orbit.

 

Now as far as your heads up display...You mentioned an app for android, maybe a navigation app? My Evo Shift has a car mode that I will use sometimes, but most of the time I use my Nav status display. It shows speed, direction and elevation, but there is also apps for private planes that will go into more detail, pitch, roll, and G force too I think. My phone has took over in my truck, I pulled the radio and linked the amps to the phone via a bluetooth dongle, did I forget to mention Pandora is great! But another member here has made a couple custom dashes for a 720 that I wonder if my Galaxy tab would fit in...  :ninja:

[nerdistmonk]

Quality not quantity is what helps the rest of the forum, I wouldn't minimize your posting or your oics over that. Have you noticed most of the trolls here have a high post count thanks to garbage posts in the extra threads? IMHO, we need to contribute ideas to help the OP, the chaos needs to stay in Insomniacs, post tits+@ss, ect... otherwise if you don't have any info to help...STFU. It has been said a thick skin is needed to post here. I guess it is also a good thing I am not a Mod, direct insults would get an automatic vacation and there would be a few that would get punted into low orbit.

 

Now as far as your heads up display...You mentioned an app for android, maybe a navigation app? My Evo Shift has a car mode that I will use sometimes, but most of the time I use my Nav status display. It shows speed, direction and elevation, but there is also apps for private planes that will go into more detail, pitch, roll, and G force too I think. My phone has took over in my truck, I pulled the radio and linked the amps to the phone via a bluetooth dongle, did I forget to mention Pandora is great! But another member here has made a couple custom dashes for a 720 that I wonder if my Galaxy tab would fit in...  :ninja:

 

thanks everyone who came in to add to the thread, i started it late at night when i was about to hit the sack so i didnt add much to it, i just saw the info and thought "i bet those ratsun boys would love this."

 

Anyways ive been outside all day undoing the awful mess i made with a can of plastidip.

 

 

Note to self and to other ratsuners: Plastidip IS NOT an alternative to a dash cover....It was like peeling a hefty-bag off my dash.....sigh

[captaingamez]

the nav displays are great too, but I wouldnt want one on my windshield, I think it would be too distracting.

 

the S13 one is nice because it is a simple 3 digit speedo with check engine light, just in the range of vision where you need it when your hauling serious ass, of course some would also argue, who cares about speed at that point.

 

I think the one the guy on hybridz is using is a bit overcomplicated, as its large and displays too much information. I could see definitely modifying the S13 one, of course but someone smart really wouldnt even need the S13 one, I think if I sat down and actually did the research and thought about the schematics and wiring, I could design a circuit and LCD display that I could build from Radio shack parts that would just mimic the stock display, but as I said I need to find a digital dash first, which is another thing im not a fan of really, see, in my opinion, the best set up would be a full analog dashboard, with a simple 3 digit LCD HUD with maybe a check engine and oil light.

 

I have never liked digital display instrument clusters, digital in operation yes, but I like my analog speedo and tach.

 

what bugs me the most is when people restore cars and put digital dashes into cars that never had them originally (Boyd Coddington anyone?)

[nerdistmonk]

the nav displays are great too, but I wouldnt want one on my windshield, I think it would be too distracting.

 

the S13 one is nice because it is a simple 3 digit speedo with check engine light, just in the range of vision where you need it when your hauling serious ass, of course some would also argue, who cares about speed at that point.

 

I think the one the guy on hybridz is using is a bit overcomplicated, as its large and displays too much information. I could see definitely modifying the S13 one, of course but someone smart really wouldnt even need the S13 one, I think if I sat down and actually did the research and thought about the schematics and wiring, I could design a circuit and LCD display that I could build from Radio shack parts that would just mimic the stock display, but as I said I need to find a digital dash first, which is another thing im not a fan of really, see, in my opinion, the best set up would be a full analog dashboard, with a simple 3 digit LCD HUD with maybe a check engine and oil light.

 

I have never liked digital display instrument clusters, digital in operation yes, but I like my analog speedo and tach.

 

what bugs me the most is when people restore cars and put digital dashes into cars that never had them originally (Boyd Coddington anyone?)

 

 

Its one of those things where its cool and you want it, but at the sametime you dont want it and the analog stuff is equally cool so basically you go "meh" and keep the analog stuff. lol

 

i think plastic interior has to be the worst idea of the 21st century, what i would give to have an all metal dash. pure win. ive talked on here for 3 days and so far all ive accomplished is pulling ONE piece of trim. lol

 

I guess im weary of whats going to be behind all that plastic. I know nissan and i know them well enough to know they triple-task everything in these trucks so i wouldnt be shocked to find a butt-load of wiring tucked behind all these trim panels which would suck. Especially the vinyl rug.

[captaingamez]

im in arizona, if my dash was metal i would be hotter than Satans underpants

[datzenmike]

Metal dashes were pre 70s. (my '64 Dodge was painted hard metal so was my '55 ans '57 Chev, '65 Pawnticket and on and on...)  People's heads didn't survive collisions with them very well so things were changed for the better. Radio knobs were changed as well for the same reason.

[Tristin]

Radio knobs were changed as well for the same reason.

 

Yep, too many people dying after head-on radio collisions.

[datzenmike]

Well no, not now. Look up at the shit the public put up with in the past. Now we have safety glass, seat belts, padded dashes, four wheel brakes, dual master cylinders, (when I was a kid I always herd the term 'brake failure') crumple zones.... on and on

[Tristin]

Well no, not now. Look up at the shit the public put up with in the past. Now we have safety glass, seat belts, padded dashes, four wheel brakes, dual master cylinders, (when I was a kid I always herd the term 'brake failure') crumple zones.... on and on

 

You cant say its all bad. Remember that Chevy vs. Chevy video I posted? Some of it is some pretty lame stuff, but 90% of it seems to be quite effective. 

[datzenmike]

My first car didn't have and wasn't required to have seat belts. I shudder now.

[nerdistmonk]

well i just updated my project, did half of the interior removal just earlier. it was pretty bad got plenty of pics.

I tend to have a 6th sense on things, a gut feeling like i should do something right now because somethings wrong, this was one of those moments.

[its_karl]

Well no, not now. Look up at the shit the public put up with in the past. Now we have safety glass, seat belts, padded dashes, four wheel brakes, dual master cylinders, (when I was a kid I always herd the term 'brake failure') crumple zones.... on and on

LOL, my 66 ford f250, has a metal dash, lap belts, 4 drum brakes, single res master cylinder (which has gone out on me), split rims with tires made in 1969... and probably 450+ft torque...

 

I'd still drive it with 10mpg (on a good day) long before 99% of the garbage on the roads today. And it still costs me less to maintain/drive than 99% of garabage on the road today. How? it never breaks down, i keep either liability or classic auto insurance (About 100 a year), and drive about 4000-6000 miles a year. Costs me maybe 2300 a year average total.

 

average new car, 300/mo payments, 100/mo full coverage insurance, 100-200 misc maint or more at stealership... aprox 5700 including fuel cost (6000 miles on 30mpg @ 3.50 gallon)

 

even assuming a 20% error on my calculations, 2900 vs 4600... I was very generous on calculations

 

 

 

What's so wrong with a HUD? if done right, you'd never even realize it's there. Wouldnt have to be a hack job.

[captaingamez]

thats all true, but a new civic will run indefinitely until you die if you only put 6000 miles a year on it, and it would require less maintainence than even your 66 ford, I hate to say it but its true.

[nerdistmonk]

No vehicle can truly run indefinitely, letting a vehicle sit is much more damaging than driving it daily.

 

Its like my truck, the truck has been a loyal servant to 2 other owners besides me for 27 years, the only reason it didnt lay down and die is because it was drove for nearly all of those years, it had a period from 2004 to 2012 where it simply sat and those would have been the years where it deteriorated the worst.

 

 

In the end its a machine, built by human hands for human usage, as with anything built by a human it will inevitably return to the earth much like its owner and the person who built it.

Just enjoy your machine while its around and for as long as you can keep it around.

[its_karl]

thats all true, but a new civic will run indefinitely until you die if you only put 6000 miles a year on it, and it would require less maintainence than even your 66 ford, I hate to say it but its true.

How much does the new civic cost? paying that in full and putting liability on it? OK, dumb enough to do that then your new civic gets backed into or maybe a freak hail storm (because that doesn't happen in Phoenix), how much will repairs be?

 

I rest my case, my 66 ford will outlast your civic. My truck will continue running through hell and back, and you'll be trading in or buying another POS civic in 10 years... It's 48 years old, and will literally total your car without so much as adding maybe a scrape to it. In your lifetime of buying civics (50 years), you could easily spend 300000, while I may spend 150000 (assuming we don't complicate the variables)

 

See it's sad because cars today are DESIGNED to wear out. I grant you 6000 miles a year isn't alot, but it's how much I drive it.

 

Driving any Datsun would just shit all over a new civic in the same analysis, just saying...

 

 

No vehicle can truly run indefinitely, letting a vehicle sit is much more damaging than driving it daily.

 

Its like my truck, the truck has been a loyal servant to 2 other owners besides me for 27 years, the only reason it didnt lay down and die is because it was drove for nearly all of those years, it had a period from 2004 to 2012 where it simply sat and those would have been the years where it deteriorated the worst.

 

 

In the end its a machine, built by human hands for human usage, as with anything built by a human it will inevitably return to the earth much like its owner and the person who built it.

Just enjoy your machine while its around and for as long as you can keep it around.

True, and put in the right hands they will see many owners to the grave.

[captaingamez]

your just totally wrong, I put 30,000 miles a year on my car and if you had normal insurance on your truck and it was hail damaged in phoenix (because thats not freak shit, we have epic hail) it would be totaled too, and yours would be a bigger loss than mine, wait a minute, no it wouldnt, not by huge numbers anyway, the blue book on my buddies "66 150 isnt much more than my civic. civic has 260,000 miles and counting...... sooo yeah, and there are civics on the road today that have had only normal maintainence and are over 30 years old now. with more than 300,000 miles.

 

being able to drive over something doesnt make it better, just bigger. I could buy (and have bought and plan to do so) one civic and drive it for 50 years so I, and anyone smart, doesnt see your point.

 

 

and at the rate of the cost of american car parts these days, there is NO WAY, I would spend less on maintainence in the life of my vehicle. dont believe me? what do you wanna see my receipts?

 

This isnt news man, the damn cars last forever now too if you take care of them. Honestly its the american cars that are the main culprits of being designed to wear out!!!,on japanese cars, there are a few minor things designed to wear out but, the cars are not designed to wear out, no, if you believe that then you dont know anything about how japanese business works. they take into consideration what their cars from 30 years ago will be thought of in 30 years when designing a car. its part of something called Lean Process.

 

honestly have you ever built a new project car?, no? so I guess you dont have a lot of room for opinion here eh?, I mean how can you comment on how poorly they are designed these days if you have never built one? I have built 2008 Civic SI race cars, and show cars, and I can tell you that they are NOT poorly designed. they are better designed than a lot of datsuns im sorry to say, and I am not bias toward honda, I actually prefer nissans.

 

I have built 96 240sx's and I can tell you that they are better engineered than 240z's by like hundreds of times, and I can tell you for damn sure that none of these cars are designed to break down and die and wear out.

[nerdistmonk]

your just totally wrong, I put 30,000 miles a year on my car and if you had normal insurance on your truck and it was hail damaged in phoenix (because thats not freak shit, we have epic hail) it would be totaled too, and yours would be a bigger loss than mine, wait a minute, no it wouldnt, not by huge numbers anyway, the blue book on my buddies "66 150 isnt much more than my civic. civic has 260,000 miles and counting...... sooo yeah, and there are civics on the road today that have had only normal maintainence and are over 30 years old now. with more than 300,000 miles.

 

being able to drive over something doesnt make it better, just bigger. I could buy (and have bought and plan to do so) one civic and drive it for 50 years so I, and anyone smart, doesnt see your point.

 

 

and at the rate of the cost of american car parts these days, there is NO WAY, I would spend less on maintainence in the life of my vehicle. dont believe me? what do you wanna see my receipts?

 

This isnt news man, the damn cars last forever now too if you take care of them. Honestly its the american cars that are the main culprits of being designed to wear out!!!,on japanese cars, there are a few minor things designed to wear out but, the cars are not designed to wear out, no, if you believe that then you dont know anything about how japanese business works. they take into consideration what their cars from 30 years ago will be thought of in 30 years when designing a car. its part of something called Lean Process.

 

honestly have you ever built a new project car?, no? so I guess you dont have a lot of room for opinion here eh?, I mean how can you comment on how poorly they are designed these days if you have never built one? I have built 2008 Civic SI race cars, and show cars, and I can tell you that they are NOT poorly designed. they are better designed than a lot of datsuns im sorry to say, and I am not bias toward honda, I actually prefer nissans.

 

I have built 96 240sx's and I can tell you that they are better engineered than 240z's by like hundreds of times, and I can tell you for damn sure that none of these cars are designed to break down and die and wear out.

 

saying "i can just buy a civic and drive it 50 years" is a logical fallacy, my truck is only 27 years old, it had a factory warranty for 6 years of its life and was babied from day one, it even had antirust coating put on the underside, it never got revved passed 2500 rpm because it has been in limp mode for 15 years i was the only one who knew that and fixed it, i suggest you look at the photos in my project thread to see how 27 years has treated my truck. If it wasnt for my actions the truck would be dead in a year or two.

 

Your civic will only make the 50 years if it gets 2 major overhauls (once for the body/frame and once for the engine/transmission) in its lifetime, rust is inevitable and engine failure is inevitable, parts fail. My truck will make 50 years only if i eventually get those cab mounts repaired.

 

 

Ive never seen a single vehicle that was 50 years old that didnt have hundreds of replacement parts on it. I havent seen a vehicle that was 15 years old that didnt have several replacement parts on it. This truck had a few when i got it, and it was running with most of its old stuff, but 90% of that old stuff was within weeks/days/minutes of critical failure.

 

 

A well taken care of vehicle with constant maintenance will run forever assuming it doesnt have a date with a tree or another car. But i would expect to basically replace the entire car parts wise within that 50 year span, they designed these cars for a 25 year service life (and honestly they expect you to trade in much sooner), a vehicle that still is chugging after 25 years is a testament to its build quality

[Tristin]

Your civic will only make the 50 years if it gets 2 major overhauls (once for the body/frame and once for the engine/transmission) in its lifetime, rust is inevitable and engine failure is inevitable, parts fail. My truck will make 50 years only if i eventually get those cab mounts repaired.

 

 

Ive never seen a single vehicle that was 50 years old that didnt have hundreds of replacement parts on it. 

 

Im at 44 years with a [what was] mostly original 510. There were only a few replaced items before I got it and it ran pretty well. No "major overhauls" and no "hundreds of replacement" parts.  

[nerdistmonk]

thats great tristin, but around here in my half of the US, in my city in indiana there is only but a handful of vehicles from 80s still going (i hardly ever see one), junkyard is full of them, ive seen 5 of my truck on the road and thats because they are 94 and newer.

 

The western half of the US tends to be a little nicer to vehicles (minus the salt water spray).

 

Also your saying you havent had to do any rust restoration at all to it in 44 years, it hasnt had its motor pulled in 44 years, then that is impressive for a machine to operate continuously that long without any sort of major work.

[captaingamez]

its not a fallacy at all, well, that only applies to some people, there is no reason you should need an engine or chassis overhaul in 50 years if you didnt wreck the car or blow the motor, I blew my motor because I am very hard on it, not cause it was old, that motor would have lasted indefinitely had it been maintained, and If you dont believe me you need to read up on the Honda K series engines. I know racers that will install 300,000 mile used thermostats, and no Im not joking, and no they have never had a problem

 

 

the owner of HASPORT himself Brian Gillespie, has installed 300,000 mile water pumps on racing engines going on the track and never seen a failure, same with injectors, and hes only seen 2 bad injectors and one ignition bad coil...... in racing!

 

and dont think that these people are screwing around, they spend alot of time looking at track logging, and wouldnt run this shit if it had an effect on cooling or performance.

 

so yes a newer k series honda will last indefinitely, and I would like to think that applies to most cars not just the honda.

 

let me just replay that, I beat the piss out of my motor, it lasted til 260,000, and I could have threw a head gasket on it and kept going. that is the reality of the "new" engineering of vehicles today.

 

Im using Hondas as an example because that is the best one that comes to mind, I have not worked on as many other new vehicles. plenty of old ones, but mostly the only new ones I mess with are Honda.

 

 

My old boss had a al original unrestored 59' Cadillac, nothing major was EVER done to it, the engine had never even been removed, and all the rubber on the exterior of the car was still good.

 

there is no reason that a car will need any type of overhaul if its well maintained.

 

 

he also had a totally unrestored 1954 Pierce firetruck, also mint, and non restored, and that was a work vehicle, but in my home town, a firetruck is one of the most valuable things our town had, so you can bet your ass it was very well maintained.

[Tristin]

thats great tristin, but around here in my half of the US, in my city in indiana there is only but a handful of vehicles from 80s still going (i hardly ever see one), junkyard is full of them, ive seen 5 of my truck on the road and thats because they are 94 and newer.

 

The western half of the US tends to be a little nicer to vehicles (minus the salt water spray).

 

Also your saying you havent had to do any rust restoration at all to it in 44 years, it hasnt had its motor pulled in 44 years, then that is impressive for a machine to operate continuously that long without any sort of major work.

 

Yep. Zero rust restoration and no engine pulling in three owners (including myself). Prior to me owning the car, above general maintenance there was a sunroof installed, crappy repaint (no body work), and the exhaust manifold was replaced due to being cracked. Otherwise everything else is original.  

 

Im sure cars are better here compared to your area, but you said you had never seen older cars in good stock condition. Just saying there are plenty around. You take car of your car and the car will take care of you. 

 

You may also want to take a look at a video I posted where two Chevys built 50yrs apart crashed into each other at 40mph. Older car demolished. Newer car fine comparatively. Im not a fan of too many newer cars (I dont ever plan on owning any of them), but the technology is pretty impressive. For safety reasons, I would want to be in a newer car hands down for any crash above like 15mph. 

[datzenmike]

HUD.... haven't we wandered far enough, even for Ratsun???

[nerdistmonk]

Well its good your vehicle has lasted so long tristin just shows that those datsun engineers were a class act. If it were me though i would have rebuilt the engine anyway after 40 years the reason i say this is because that engine block has a large dollar value associated with it and at 44 years old a replacement isnt a synch to get. (nor cheap i would imagine)

 

Now while the engine runs great no issues what would happen if something went wrong internally for whatever reason and it damages the block. That would suck.

 

Not saying it will happen but theres always a chance, if my truck makes it 40 years it will get a mandatory engine rebuild (im not saying i would replace everything but it would at least need a thorough visual inspection of all the bearings and pistons/bores)

 

 

Also as for a car lasting indefinitely yes you could conceivably keep a car your whole life but like i said regular maintenance is a must if you want it to still be half the car it was when you bought it. My truck looks very clean in photos you would have no idea the horrors hid away that i had to fix some of it still isnt fixed.

[its_karl]

The point I made captaingamez was that I operate my original truck at an annual cost of 2400 a year, and a new civic cannot come close to being operated at that. You can't buy a new civic for 1000, and drive it for 48 years, no matter what you think.

 

I've owned 50+ vehicles (9 at the moment, not that it matters), including a couple Hondas (and yes the Japanese are renowned for taking an idea and refining it). I've been building projects since the early 90's, and helping friends build theirs as well. I had a ZC in a crx in 1998, I drove them hard and that's how I know they do break. In 3 years I swapped 4 clutches, 3 transmissions, and 2 engines in 2 CRX's before going overseas in 2002. While living in Japan, I learned what most Japanese tuners think about Hondas (do I really need to tell you?).

 

Questioning a persons credability and parading the fact that you know someone who owns a business is just poor form. Gutting a 2008 civic and flogging it at firebird is a weak excuse for racing, anyone can do that.

 

I know all too well about the "lean" process, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaizen. Some of what they come up with is good, and some is absolute crap. We use the lean process where I work, I KNOW what the hell i'm talking about. It's intended to benefit the upper echelon of a corporation more than it is to improve the end product, or quality of life for the lowest levels of the people in a company. It draws down the resources used and wasted in the entire process (it's corporate bullshit). Lean doesn't account for unforeseen circumstances, and creates an intolerance for them.

 

I have no problem with you, I think you just don't understand that my truck is cheaper to own than your civic.

[captaingamez]

but you cant do that with your truck either, so what is your point? even if the truck was 1000$ in 1966, calculate for inflation, and you will still find the truck is more expensive.

 

In japan Hondas are highly regarded by tuners and others alike, anything to the contrary is false info.

 

you seriously have no idea what your talking about  just "gutting a civic and racing at firebird cause anyone can do that"

 

you really have no idea, not anyone can beat corvettes in a 2008 civic braniac.

 

and I only mentioned him because he happens to be a VERY credible source, who actually revolutionized an entire industry, show some respect, you havent done that.

 

you havent even succeeded in making your point.

 

and I dont know what you did t o you honda clutches, but the one in my accord went for 274k, and my civic went to 250k, so again, whats your point?

 

your truck is not cheaper to own man, im sorry that is just not true.

 

and if that is what you think about Kaizen and Lean process, you apparently havent studied them enough, additionally, using an american company you work for is a bad example when the americans have struggled with both concepts for years now and arent getting much better.