Oiluj

You guys are reading wa-ay too much into the post. As I said before, The WSJ recently "re-published" the article. One can assume that the WSJ still thinks the information to be of some interest. I never said it was current or valid, only that it's nice to see classic Z's getting some press. FWIW, I never use the WSJ in making my personal investment decisions. By the time it's published in the WSJ, generally the opportunity for making a killing has passed...

FWIW, she's no trailer or garage queen. I drive her about twice a week, as long as it's dry out. In early September I'll be driving her to the LA area, and have tentative plans for a drive to Vegas with a buddy. I have made plans to do a fun-run autocross this Summer, but have no intention of taking her on the track. I don't have track tires, but more important, don't want to add more rock chips in my nice paint. I look forward to attending one of your Sacra-tomato gatherings one of these weekends when I don't have "honey-do", sailing and family obligations. It's just a matter of time.

I'm with Arne, that I built my car to drive and don't expect to ever make any money on it. I had my MGA for 17 years, and made about $1,500 when I sold it over what I had invested in it. While it's a 2004 copyright, it was recently re-published. My take is that it's just nice to see our cars getting some recognition.

Displayed my car at Burlingame's "Cars-in -the-Park" today. There were about 240 cars of all types, with the majority being 70's muscle and vintage 1930's to 1960's. I was parked next to an swe-ee-et 1963 split window corvette. The corvette owner & I were joking that one could buy 4, (or more), 240Z's like mine for the cost of his classic vette. I was very surprised to find my humble little Z garnered maybe 3X the interest than the corvette! I must have heard 40 stories of people's fond recollections of riding or driving one years before. Also received a number of compliments on restoring a classic Z. It clearly resonated with many of the people who attended. I was even more surprised to win one of the "Sponsor's Choice" awards. Kinda nice to have the car and my efforts recognized.

Anybody see this article from the wall street journal? It's about what cars to buy, hold and sell. The 240Z made the "buy" llst with a potemtial price increase of 195%. http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-invcar04.html

Unless you plan to make it a "show" car, paint it as you like.

looks ike a very nice ride. Congrats & welcome!

I'm guessing 2500 with me and 212 HP. The calculator says it' should be a little over 13 seconds and almost 103 MPH. Seems optimistic to me... I do remember years ago watching a late 70's Chevy SS driven by a teenager take on a good driver in a Lotus. The Lotus took off and left the SS in the dust while he ineffectually spun his tires. It's often not just the car, but also the driver...

I know how you feel. On my previous 240Z, (many years ago), I had that done to me not once, but THREE times!

I had to remove 1 coil from my front Eibach springs to get the car to sit flat. I took the coils from the top. Since it only lowered the front about 3/8", I noticed no significant difference in suspension travel. However, with so little change, it also did not seem any significant effect on camber either.

Not my cup of tea, but nicely done!

Red-line is the same at 7K. The stroker engine puts out 212 HP at just over 200 ft-lbs torque. I'm thinking the std 3.364 diff will be fine because of the extra torque. The 3.545 diff would probably be better for the reason you state, as 5th gear may only usable above 60 mph.

I'm about to replace my 4-speed with a 1978 5-speed and am debating whether to start looking for a 3.545 rear end. I have a 2.7 stroker, with more HP & torque, so I may be OK wth the 3.364 stock diff. I put together this chart to compare the gearing to the stock set-up. RPM vs Drivetrain.pdf

Given the weight and drag of our cars is fixed, I agree with John that it's more a function of engine displacement and a good fuel mixture ratio, but mostly the driver. My 2.7 L stroker w/ round-top carbs gets 26 MPG on the freeway if I drive in a sane, (but not boring), fashion. I havn't measured "in-town" milelage, but I'm guessing it's between 15 to 17 mpg. This is actually better than what I get from my 1997 ES300 (Lexus V6 Camry). But then the Z is a much lighter car... Out of curiosity, I played with advancing the timing and leaning-out the idle mixture a bit and saw no measureable difference. Perhaps there is some small amount to be gained by minor ajdustments of valve timing, as done in modern engines.

The un-cracked dash alone is worth over $1K. Can't tell much else about the condition of the console and the rest of the interior, but many of these parts and the glass have value. If the bumpers are straight, they are worth about $300+, depending on their condition. Other "original" parts, if in good condition, have value as well. If you can find documentation showing the car truely has only 71K on the clock, the engine & drive train should be in pretty good shape as well. If you can get it for under $2,000, it's probably still a good buy as a parts car. Find a car with a good body but trashed interior and build one good one.

Panasports.... What are on mine and I really like'em. (see pic below)

You will need a spring compressor to get the top of the struts back into the tower. I found the back struts could be be muscled-in without using the compressors, but not the fronts, even after cutting one coil from the springs to get the car to sit level.

Attended the ZONC Z gathering at Brisbane marina on SF Bay. Good group of people and it was nice to chat with other Z owners. I'm guessing there were about 40 cars total, (S30's, a couple S31's & 32's, 350's and 370's, 3 GTR's, a couple 510's and a 1600 roadster). The Mach 5 was there as well. Here's a few pics.

No such thing as not ready. Just a different stages of condition. Most classic Z fans are appreciative of cars that are actually "driven"... Mine's got a few small paint nicks to prove it's no show-queen, the most notable is a stone chip on one wheel and a small amount of curb rash on a wheel rim edge.

Thanks. I like the color of yours as well.

Looks like I'll be able to make it. See you there!

I'm signed-up to display my car on the 9th, but may not make it.

Got them at Autozoneo about a year ag. They were inexpensive, "Blazer" brand halogen driving lights. They do a decent job of improving visibility at normal, (non-autobon), freeway speeds and I'm happy with appearance. I did have to modify the backets to make them fit in the barke ducts.

Actually, those are meant to be brake cooling ducts, but I found lights that would fit...