Carl Beck

Hi Guys: I realize that this car may belong in the "Classifieds" section - but I felt it was such a unique DATSUN that some of you might enjoy seeing it - and perhaps know someone that really loves truly "Original" Cars. I've copied the owners comments to me - below for your information. If any serious buyers are out there - contact me and I'll be glad to hook you up directly with the owner. In my opinion the car is very reasonably priced given its condition, unique history and actual beauty. $25K.... See below... FWIW, Carl B. BTW - I'll be in Cleveland 28th of Sept though 5 Oct. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Hi Carl: I have a 1979 280 ZX that through stories and circumstances ends up today having only 6.900 original miles. It has been in storage with a car cover for its entire life. It is black, 2 + 2 with gold pin-striping. I have been told through the years and certainly originally when I acquired the vehicle directly from Nissan that, in fact, this model was the early 10th anniversary model. I certainly am aware that for the most part the two-tone 1980 claims that position and when I briefly glanced at your website I saw that you are quite the authority on this subject. I had the pleasure of directing and my company producing quite a number of TV specials for Datsun on the SCCA yearly run-offs. I became good friends with Bob Sharp and Paul Newman during the hay day of his racing career. In addition to the stock rims, Bob Sharp sent me a beautiful set of Gotti gold rimmed Michelin tires. At that time it was a $5000 value. 1. I have copies of all the original transfer of ownership of this vehicle from Nissan to me. 2. Of course, since there are only 6,900 miles there aren't many service records, however, I have each and every one of them in my file. 3. As you now see in the attached photos and if my recall is correct, there are two slight flaws. I believe on the right rear quarter panel there may be a 3-inch very thin scratch. The photo does not show it well because of the significant reflection. I also believe on the rear deck lid maybe the size of a dime there is a slight dent. Otherwise the finish is quite spectacular for its 29 years of age. This is partly because the car has been covered with a car cover and stored in a garage, thus the black paint truly does not show hardly any signs of sun oxidation. 4. There have been no changes in spark plug wires since I acquired the car. I have the original tires and the original rims plus the Gotti set up I referenced. All original fuel lines, water hoses, etc. are still on the vehicle. Because it has been in Colorado all of its life and the fact we are in a fairly dry climate, i.e. approximately 6,000 feet in elevation, the plastic and rubber throughout the vehicle both under the hood and the exterior remains in excellent condition. The vehicle was started, idled, and driven on the property where it is stored as recently as two summers ago. Even though stored the vehicle has received a hand wax and detail every 2 or 3 years throughout its entire life.

I'll be flying up to Cleveland with a couple other Bay Area zcar people Sunday... No free Wifi at the convention hotel?.... that's a real bummer... the hotel isn't cheap either.. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Eric: Good to see you here. You might consider just comming to Florida or Texas and buying a clean (as clean and complete as possible) 240-Z's to start with. It might be far less expensive... At any rate - good luck with your project. kind regards, Carl B. IZCC #260

In my garage : White 72 240Z (second owner) BRE Baja Z (third owner) Metallic Blue 72 240Z (original owner) My wife's 91 Thunderbrid Super Coupe (original owner, 9K miles) Super-charged with inner-cooler, full independent suspension with adjustable shocks, 4 wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, posi rear end and "V" rated high speed radials. Either I need to seriously clean out my garage - or most of you guys need to accumulate for more important junk!! My garage is 42' by 24', the doors are oversize 18' in front and the rear is 16'. When the garage was empty of junk - I could easily get 7 cars in... But it was actually planned to be a 4 car garage. The 18' doors were intended to allow a couple extra feet between the cars... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Mike: I meant to follow this up earlier - but I forgot. Anyway, #3, #4 and yes the higher number - #300 arrived here. All signed by Mr. Brock and Mr. Morton. I'll most likely donate #3 and #4 to the Datsun Heritage Museum, to auction off some time in the future. Mr. and Mrs. Brock will be doing an Autograph session at the JCCS, with proceeds going to the DHM as well. FWIW, Carl B.

If you "up-grade" to the ZX distributor - you have to also supply it with a ZX spec. coil. Otherwise you can suffer from too weak a spark, to jump that larger gap consistantly. The car will run with the 240-Z coil - it just won't run as well... FWIW, Carl

Hi Steve: I was asking about the "type" of paint listed on the sticker, not the color code. The metallic colors were Acrylic Enamel in 70/71 - the non-metallic's were Alkyd Enamel - just thought that if you could still see the type - it would provide more informaiton Carl

Is the original color code sticker still on the car? If what type of paint does it list? Carl

Hi Jack T: I've been with the Hagerty for about 25 years now... I did have a claim... it was a wonderful experience. I'd highly recommend them, they are real "car people". They have taken care of the Classic Z Car Community for many many years - way ahead of the other Classic, Collectible and Special Interest auto insurance carriers. You do have to have a pretty good driving record... To replace that car today, you'd most likely need $20K. FWIW, Carl B.

They usually pick the next year's convention location - at the current convention.

Looks pretty nice in the pictures... if you bought it two years ago, and the things you list are all you've done - it was most likely a very good purchase. When you are restoring Z's it's always that last 5% that gets you:stupid: As always - Make sure you have it properly insured!!! FWIW, Carl B.

Way to go JT - the only thing better than winning, is winning when there is stiff competition. Fiddle with the Z if it makes you feel better, but I think most of us know that in this case it's 90% the DRIVER and perhaps 10% the car. Good car with a great driver plus several years of experience makes a very hard combination to beat. None-the-less we love to see that old Z carry you to victory. FWIW, Carl B.

She's young by todays standardsLOL If you had told me, when I was 49 that I'd be having kids again, I would have told you that you were nuts. Lucky that we never know what life will hold for us tomorrow. At 50 I had my first Daughter - quite a surprise - and completely different than raising the boys (now 39 and 36). My wife was 41 and more surprised than me. My Daughter has been a complete joy..... You never know... Carl B.

JimmyZ/Poindexter: Way off topic - but what the heck.. I built models of all the WW-II planes in the mid to late 50's. I was 10 to 15 years old then. My father had gone to Emery-Riddle Flight School in the 20's and I used to have his Bearskin Flying Gloves. (lost them somehow during my homeless days). By the mid 60's I was in college - and got my Private Ticket at Lane Aviation, Port Columbus International Air Port. Loved learning how to fly, and for the first few years it was affordable. By the late 60's early 70's I was in the Air Force - and making something like $350.00 per month - the cost of private planes was just too high and I have to admit that having been there and done that, I wasn't as motivated as I used to be. A few friends had planes and I'd fly with them every one-in-awhile. Funny thing was, by the mid 70's, 80's and 90's I was working on engineering programs for the F-14, F-16, AV8-B, F-18, F-22..(among other things). By the 90's I was getting old, eyes going South and problems with my heart... so I was grounded for good. Nonetheless, like you guys - I still love to see the war birds from WW-II. Personally I'd like to have an ME-109 or P-51... but it doesn't look like that's going happen. FWIW, Carl B.

Oh.. I see... you have to go to your Personal Profile - then see the photo album. I wondered why it didn't show up in the "User Gallery"... One of these day's I'll have to learn how to use this forum software... The Z looks much better in front of your house than it did in mineROFL Looks like you washed it!! Anyway - here are a couple more for you... As I recall we were at an auto-cross in Spokane that day. FWIW, Carl

Did the dupont vendor use 14239 Poly Blue as a cross reference? It was used on the 1970/1971 Model Year cars. Too bad your in a rush - I'm sure some of the older Automotive Paint Suppliers have the older records. 903 was a shade darker blue and non metallic, than the 115 Metallic Blue in 72/73. FWIW, Carl B.

BUMP - any updates to this thread? FWIW, Carl B.

Thanks for including the pages - Will read the data to me over the phone, so I must have recored the last one incorrectly. Nonetheless, the difference in OEM vs Euro rear springs - only accounts for 0.7in increase in rid height.. The original picture you Posted looks like the car was sitting 3 to 5 inches higher than it should. Could be - the shop had torqued the lower control arms down, with them suspended in the air. Could be something else was done wrong. Either of which they corrected when they swapped the OEM springs back in. Sorry - you did say Stage I. I may be calling them Stage II because the Stage I springs for the 240-Z's are 12% stiffer than OEM. The Stage II springs for the 240Z are closer to the 140 lbs/in... So when I see 140lbs/in I think Stage II. That may not be the case for the 260Z - If you can get an accurate measure of the wire diameter used in the Eupo Spec. Springs - we can get pretty close to what they would measure out to be. You have to find someone that has a coil spring measuring machine to get accurate measurements. The Coil Spring Measuring machine will be able to hold the spring in place, then compress it to 80% of its free length - then take load measurements as it is compressed an additional inch or two. Call Race Car Development shop's in your area - and you might find one with the necessary machine to measure the coil spring rates.. If you bought them in 84 they are the low pressure type - no one was building high pressure gas shocks as OEM replacements then. The newer high pressure gas shocks can have 100 to 200 lbs of lift - and they will set a very light weight 240-Z from 0.75 to 1.5 inches higher by off loading that much weight from the springs. But the FSM also says that if the bumper height isn't correct - you move the bumper up/down. We may never know exactly what caused the rear of your 260Z to be sticking up so high after the original installation of the Euro Spec. Springs FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jim... buddy.. old friend... exactly where in Florida do you liveROFL Carl B.

Fixitman: Coil springs provide a fairly constant rate of compression, once they are compressed to about 80% of their Free Length. If you look at the Spring Spec's for a stock US Spec. 260Z produced between 8/73 and 8/74.. you will see that the Free Length is 15.4 inches, the Installed length 8.7 inches. The load on the installed spring is 706 lbs. The stock spring constant (rate) is 106 lbs/in. So if you divide the load 706 by the spring constant 106 you get 6.66 inches of initial spring compression when the car is sitting on it's struts. If you subtract the listed Installed Length of 8.7 inch, from the listed Free Length of 15.4 you get 6.7 inches. (rounding errors etc) - so close enough. Now change the rear springs - to one's with a spring constant of 140 lbs/in. (the spring rate you provided) Looking strictly at the picture of the springs you Posted above - I'd guess that the Euro Spec. Spring is the clean one on the far left - and it looks like it might be 1 inch shorter than the others.. So call it 14.4 in. Free Length. Divide the load of 706 by the spring constant of 140 lbs/in and you get 5 inches of initial compression. 14.4 Free length minus 5 inches of initial compression = should be close to 9.4 inches installed length. 9.4 minus the stock 8.7 inch is only 0.7 inch increase in ride height. I'd have to have the exact length of that "Euro Stage II" spring.... to be sure, I would also have to know for sure what the spring constant is (to be sure you have the springs that you think you do) However it strikes me that it was NOT only the Euro Springs that could account for the huge difference in ride height, as pictured on the rear of your 260Z in your first Post. Where did you get your Shocks? Now old are they? Billstein hasn't sold OEM replacement shocks for the 240/260Z's since the mid 80's. Back then they were low pressure gas shocks. With the Euro Spec. springs removed, and stock springs back in the car - it still looks like it is sitting a couple inches higher - but that just may be the angle of the pictures... We'll know more when you measure the usually places... THE STOCK SPRINGS - according to the Field Service Manual: -The two rear and the Left Front are the same - the Right Front is the shorter one. -The two rear and Left Front have a free length of 15.4 inches -The Right Front has a Free Length of 14.9 FWIW, Carl B. BTW - thanks to Will (HLS30.com) for the info on the 260Z springs from the 260Z FSM.

Reset - - - I should have said, it is BEST to have a set of metric swivel sockets. In the case of the intake/exhaust manifold - I can't remember if the nuts are 12mm or 14mm... If you go to Sears for Craftsman - buy the individual swivel 6 point sockets - don't buy the 6 piece set - the set is missing the 14mm socket - one of the dumber things I've seen Craftsman do.. individually they run $8.50 for the 10 though 14mm sizes.. That will cover 95% of the things you need a swivel for on a 240-Z. The way Sears has them priced, you really don't save anything buying the 6 piece set anyway.. If you can afford Snap-On you'll always hate the price, but you'll never reqret the quality. FWIW Carl B.

You need a universal swivel, a 10" extension and the socket... as I recall. FWIW, Carl B.

Sorry mally002 - I thought you had the air injection tubes circled in Red in that picture. If your not staying stock - then I'd take the air injection tubes out as well. They stick down into the exhaust ports and restrict exhaust flow, plus you can eliminate the air pump - which most likely isn't working anyway. As for headers - to each his own. I don't like the additional heat and noise under the hood. You don't gain any measureable HP with them alone. Opening up the stock "y" pipe into a 2.5" or larger dia. exhaust system will yeild measureable HP however. I remember seeing the new Carbs/Air cleaners - but can't remember if they retain the air horns on the SU's. Do they? Removing the OEM Air Horns, without replacement will cause a loss of power. FWIW, Carl B.

Take the intake manifold and old carb's off first to get them out of the way. Soak the flair nuts on the air injection tubes, where they bolt into the exhaust manifold - down with Kroil Penetrating Oil (Aero Kroil). Spray them and let them set for a day.. spray them again and let them set for an hour or so, then spray them one final time before putting a wrench on the flair nuts. See: http://kanolabs.com/ I cut the tubes off about an inch above the flair nuts, so I can get a good box end wrench on the nuts to avoid rounding them off. The I put the box end wrench on the nut - and give the other end of the wrench a swift blow with a good brass hammer. A good brass hammer is a must have - if your working on 30+ year old cars. You can get them at Harbor Freight for around $25.00. Using the above method - I've removed about 15 air injection tube assemblies - without having to drill any of them out. If you aren't using "Kroil Oil" (Aero Kroil is the spray car version) - then all bets are off. You then get some brass pipe plugs (Allan head type), put a little pipe dope on the threads and screw them in the holes. FWIW, Carl B. BTW - if you have a gas tourch set - you can heat the flair nuts to break them loose. You just have to be careful not to melt them. This is best down with the exhaust manifold off the car.

Hi Fixitman: Where did you get "factory spec's" for the height of the top of the front and rear bumpers for a 260Z? So far - almost all of us have been using measurements taken at: 1. The center of the headlight - that is the headlight adjusting screw on the outside of the headlight nacelle. 2 The height of the front wheel arch - from the ground, measured though the center of the wheel. 3. The height of the rocker panel in front - measured from the bottom of the rocker (not the lip that sticks down), to the ground - at the cutouts that show where to place the jack. 4. The height of the rocker panel in the rear - measured from the bottom of the rocker (not the lip that sticks down), to the ground - at the cutouts that show where to place the jack. 5. The height of the rear wheel arch - from the ground, measured though the center of the wheel. The only measurement that I have found - given by the factory - is the distance from the bottom of the front frame rail to the ground - taken below the front frame rail where it meets the firewall. That is given as 6" in the FSM. So with the "bumper height" spec's you list - we have really no idea how that compares to all the previous measurements gathered. If you get a chance, can you take the 5 measurements above and report them? <img src=http://ZHome.com/FixitZMeasure.jpg> FWIW, Carl B.