Ron Carter

welcome welcome, glad to have you on board

I prefer ultrashield race seats in my race cars. They are size specific because of the large bolsters on the sides...They are very light and can be attached to the stock mounting locations for a street car. In our race cars it is necessary to attach them to a roll bar.

Hi guys, had to chime in on this one.... Hemmings Sports and Exotics uses the number #1 through #5 definition on cars that are sold at auction on a regular basis. I still have yet to see a published 240Z sold at auction, but I am sure it wont be long. Looking at the photos of cars that they published photos of I would say that there is a little more latitude in their numbering definition, but that is my opinion. To me I look at the collectability of a car based on its history. Race cars to me have the most colorful history and an original, well documented race car will fetch very large numbers at auction because they are very rare. But at car shows, race cars are frequently lumped into a "Modified Class" with every other street modified car. I would consider taking my Z to a ZCCA event if I thought it was eligible for a Gold Medallion, or gold cup award...It seems odd that the car show crowd snubs the race car crowd, at most shows there is not even a class for race cars. Of the many shows that I am aware of there are two that support the race car group in Southern California. The Japanese Classic Car Show, held in Long Beach and the Julian Classic Motoring Show, held in Julian California, which features race cars. www.julianclassic.com. And I think that is too bad... Carl I think that you are about to experience the same issues when you get your BRE Z out to the various Z shows...

Ian are you spraying single stage paint? I paid more in materials than $150.00.

It depends on what you want done I spent a bit more than 6 grand for paint and rust repair and body work.... A three color paint job with stripes.

Jeez guys. Les Cannaday (Classic Datsun) is on the west coast and carries a ton of stuff! Les Cannaday 760-940-6365 les@classicdatsun.com

A Martino? similar design to the 3 wheel Morgans accept this thing has a transverse mounted motor...Can't tell if the rear pods are useable, but I would say it is doubtful. The steering looks iffy to me...It looks to be a Monster Garage Contraption. Jesse James are u there?

Well put Carl, another aspect in respect to the value of a car is availablility of parts. We are seeing more and more discontinued parts, items are harder to get ie taillights, etc... The cost of labor to do a resotoration is now higher as well as the time necessary to rebuild these cars is extravagant. Finally, there are fewer and fewer examples of good Z cars. There are only a few original owners left (present company excluded Carl). And most of these cars have been ravaged by rust and excessive miles on the road. So there is a limited number of really good cars left, and those examples will bring bigger numbers. I say that $18k for that car and its parts might be a good deal, based off the condition of the work that has been done to this point. After all, it is an accurate recreation of a classic sports car icon. The 240Z Chris, Les is not on this thread, but will be over at my house this evening. I will ask him about the Vin numbers of the cars he restored. I am sure he has them on file somewhere. I also forwarded 2 of the mitty posters to him, and he appreciated it....

Alan, I agree that the head that I have is for a 3.1 liter motor. Know what you mean in regards to a length of string... I will forward you the specifications on the head, valve size etc. Unfortunately I do not have a cam card for this set up unfortunately so the cam is a bit of a mystery. however I can tell by a brief inspection that it has quite a bit of lift and durration. I will include some pictures of the different parts to shed some light on what I have. The rocker arms have had quite a bit of material removed from them. Alan, I will will PM you with my address info, thank you for your kind offer. Ron

So I picked up a Kakimoto head recently and am looking to find out a bit more about it. It is a hightly modified N42 head with oversized valves and a heavily modified valve train, high lift long durration cam and tripple 50mm Mikuni's.... Can I get the background on Kakimoto from a few of you in the know. PS I am looking for the Kakimoto Valve cover to go with it too if anyone has a lead on one of them too let me know via PM. Thanks,

Yeah, I am okay with the color, but stock Z cars are not my thing... If I were to buy one of these Z's I would find one of the 5 or 6 that Les Cannaday did, as his cars were really nicely put together. Chris this would be a nice way to buy all the parts you need for your cars on one rolling chassis. BTW, Chris isn't your one of your cars green? R

My understanding, and this is not confirmed, is that the last few cars were cobbled together as the program was winding down, and that the donor bodies used for the last couple of cars were suspect. I am sure that you can justify the cost of this car with all the new parts, however I would only want to purchase one of the offical cars AFTER it had been thuroughly inspected by an expert. Ron

I would be a little wary of the last few datsuns that were unfinished as I have heard some things that might make one pause prior to purchase...

Yes Preith, that would be correct.

Hey guys, I beleive you....the color seemed very similar to Mikes car....M&M blue. Mike's car had a big motor and all kinds of suspension mods...and he is an excellent driver too...that car was really fast. I know he sold it, and the guy that bought it had it up for sale again. Dont know what happened from there...thought this might be it.

Alan, I agree that there are some generalizations here but the internals of the roadster transmissions are what we are talking about. Remember in the United States the early Z cars did not come with 5 spd transmissions. R

On the A box transmissions it is a case where you have to count teeth to be sure..So if you have an early A box and you are not sure what it is...you will need to split the case and start counting.

Does anyone know the history of this car? It really looks like Mike Eckhaus's old Z with an orange stripe and meatballs added.

yep i hear you...costs $$$ to go fast....

zman525, If you are looking for a radical set up I have a modified N42 head with oversized valves, radical cam, lifters adjustable cam sprocket, 50mm Mikunis with airhorns, and intake manifold...the whole set up, perfect for a 3 liter or 3.1 liter motor that I am looking to sell... Let me know if your are looking to do something really wild...this could be the setup for you....

No worries! See you at the track!

To get back on point here...If you have a mid close or ultra close "A" box that you are looking to sell I am looking for them for my racing Roadster. These would be the steel syncro "A" box transmissions (with either the long or short tailshafts). IF you have these transmissions and you want them to go to a good home where they will be used in a race car please contact me. Thanks, Ron

Yeah you know Darrel everyone seems to find the problems listed on these posts, and you know I got sucked into that as well...Sorry... Great photos thanks for sharing. R

It is great to see these cars out where people can come to see them. BUT, The statements on the plaques are not correct... Here is a link to one of several registries. http://groups.msn.com/BADROC/_homepage.msnw?pgmarket=en-us There are a number of the early cars running around. see the promotional photo from last years Solvang show. Next to my 2000 (#33) third row back is a very early roadster.

If it is a true ITS car it would be a stock spec motor.