Ron Carter

The same applies to the 280Z's on up as well. Although not as sought after, a 280 in #1 or #2 condition will bring a a hefty number as well at some point. Example would be the 383 challenger's at Barrett Jackson. Not as desirable as a Hemi car, but still brought big numbers.

Yeah, I agree...but the valuation of these cars is related to what someone will pay for one. You think I am out of line according to your response? There are guys out there that see collector cars as an investment and bring millions of dollars to Barrett Jackson events (and others) to purchase an item that they can drive occasionally park most of the time and sell in 10 years for 3X to 10X the purchase price. As the price to restore these vehicles go up the valuation goes up as well. What do you think it would cost to do a full restoration on a 240Z like what Nissan attempted a few years ago? I can tell you that today it would cost you $35K to $40K, so a $50K Z car is not out of the realm of reality at some point in the near future. These cars are becoming rolling art...hang a Monet on your wall and sell it in 10 years for several hundred grand more than you paid for it. It's a solid investment that is liquid and you can almost bank on a 100%+ return of investment. As Carl mentioned there are some indicators, and I will as well...As the price for muscle cars goes through the roof, the only "affordable" cars from that time frame will be japanese sports cars, and they will start going up in value as demand increases and the number of true #1 and #2 cars available deminishes. Currently 2 door 510's are going up in price in leaps and bounds. So are 1200's and Roadsters. Buy a 67.5 two liter roadster there were only 1000 ever made. What are they worth? What ever some one is willing to pay. R

montoya fan, I am sure that Gerry Mason's BRE Z race car would fetch 6 digits if he were to sell.... If a Chevelle can get 1.1Million your Z is on its way to bigger $$$'s.

I grew up in the Bay Area I have spent my share of time in San Francisco. Although the area you were in was not too bad, some one of low moral fiber decided to pick on your car. This is extremely unfortunate, I suspect it could have been some bum or drunk wandering that part of the city and picked your car out the blue.

North County San Diego, Oceanside & Vista Area

The Nismo 350Z JGTC cars in Japan are a large budget outfit...

Preith, Gerry said he would come out to this event, it is not that far for him to tow and his dad Gerry Senior would be able to make it as he winters in FLA. With the current situation it is anyones guess.... As for moving their headquarters...well there are relationships that have been in place in southern california for 40 years that Nissan is walking away from. It is Cheaper long term to move to Tennessee, and they do have their factory facilities there for the Armada's and Titans. Motorsport is looking to go NASCRAP truck racing and where better to be than in the south....

You can get the flares from Les Cannaday at Classic Datsun. 760-940-6365

26th-z, Les and I had lunch with Jonnie Gable (Mr K's secretary) last week and got the news at the same time. Les and I are thinking of flying out....There is a good chance that Gerry Mason will make it...I am sure it will be a good event. So many people that used to work for Nissan out here work for Mazda, go figure. There will be some great cars there! and we wanted to join you guys for a great east coast west coast thing. Dang it!! I will keep in touch as we get this figured out. R

Well Gents, An ugly turn of events.... I have also heard that Nissan has pulled the plug on this event and that looks to have killed any chance of getting my Z hauled across the country and back...I doubt that the BRE 510 will be there. Guys I want to be there, but 4K in hauling fees for a track day is too steep. I have an email into my friends at Nissan USA but it does not look good. There are about 10 of us, (who are willing to fly out there on our own dime if we can get transport across the country and back for our cars) including Hector (the artist that did "Zeal"). A number of first rate race cars that would be a great photo op, and positive marketing for Nissan. Personally, I was hoping to run with Gerry Mason and the #3 BRE Z....What an awesome photo op that would have been.... Nissan is in so much termoil right now, I am not even sure who we would need to petition to get cars hauled out to the show. R

first class Ben! the car is really coming together! looks great with the new wheels!

Well, with performance increases like big carbs, your mileage will drop....it depends how much and how often you use the throttle. Well worth it to me though....

Fun, you need to get out more....spend some time in Southern California, shopping for a new Z. There is plenty to look at out here. Nice cars too..... I rest my case.

I ran 44's on my street 240Z for years with great results.

Yeah! Hey I have a highly modified N42 and a set of 50's that need a good home "her majesty" would really fly....you could build a nice little 3.1 with this set up and tease her a little bit

Solex sidedrafts will have Mikuni markings as well as they are known as Mikuni Solex's that were available in several different sizes. 40's and 44's are hard to tell apart unless you know what you are looking for. 50's look completely different, and the bodies are made out of magnesium. You will want to measure the diameter across the back of the carburator 40mm=40PHH Mikunis / Solex carbs and up from there. BRE sold Mikuni / Solex Carburators until they were bought out by Mac Tilton who changed the name of the company to Interpart and sold Dellorto's. There are several posts comparing Webers to Mikuni's. I have a set (3) of 50 Mikuni's (waiting for the right Z car project) a set of (3) 44 Mikuni Solex carbs on my BRE Z and a set (2) of 44 Mikunis on my 2000 roadster. My preference is for Mikuni only because they are what I am used to....

BRE used locked rear ends to maintain lower temps in the diff so that they would hold up longer under racing conditions. Locked rear ends are very violent and not something you would want on a street car. If you guys have a R190 with a detroit locker in it, I would be interested in it for my race cars. Thanks, R

Gary that makes a lot more sense...welding and remachining the wheels would be expensive, and falls in line with your estimated cost. Sorry it wasn't clear at first what you had done to refinish your Libras. Thanks for your nice words, I have family up in the Spokane /Liberty Lake area, I will drop you a line next time I am up in that area. Ron

Impressive win!! congratulations!

Hmm. what did they do to "restore" the wheels? I had my American LeMans wheels sand blasted, and the lips polished for $110 for all four? Valve stems and center caps would be a bit more but not 110 per wheel. Are these magnesium wheels or aluminum (they look to be magnesium)? Ron

His website does not do justice for the items that he has available, Les has a very large collection of parts, or access to parts that are difficult to find. I suggest contacting him directly with what you need specifically.... Les can be a little rough around the edges, but he knows these cars better than anyone, and has resored and raced them for many years. He is a great resourse.

Les sends stuff all over the world, South Africa, Japan etc. I am at his shop regularly (I store one of my race cars there) and see boxes marked for places all over the world. I am sure he can help you out. Also, Les is very reasonable, his pricing is very fair. www.classicdatsun.com les@classicdatsun.com

Always want to help a fellow racer! good luck! and keep in touch.