Carl Beck

Having lived in Spokane, Washington 1969-73 I can assure you it was common practice to run 4 Snow Tires (usually with ice studs) in the Winter months, especially on light weight sports cars. Snow Tires or Tire Chains (on all 4 wheels) were required, if you were to be allowed in any of several mountain passes in Eastern or Western Washington during the winter months. Among sports car enthusiast Pirelli and Semperit winter tires were most popular and broadly available in town. Of course Michelin had great winter tires, but usually their cost was significantly higher.

When we discussed this earlier - Kats and I believed that the North American Test 240Z's were #4 from Aug. and #5 from Sep. One with A/T and the other with 4spd. #6 from Sep. and #7 and #8 from Oct were used for the New Car Shows in North America & Press Relations. FWIW, Carl B.

#1776 had a Date of Manufacture data tag stamped 12/69. So it is a 69 Production Year example. As are all the specific individuals on that list. Correct, not all VIN's below #1776 and above #00500 were 69 Production Year examples - only the specific individual examples on that list have been found to be 69 production year examples at this point. Carl B.

Yes - #1776 in that list - is an HLS30. We have not found any HS30's produced in 1969 still in existence. HS30 00004 was sold in Australia, based on its original engine serial number and the Australian Compliance Tag on the Z - its owner at the time and I believe it was produced in early 1970. FWIW, Carl B.

@Patcon @Namerow Hi Guys, thanks for the kind words and Marry Christmas wishes to you as well. I think this has been a tough year for everyone, but so far we are doing well. Mostly staying home, but did attend Jim Frederick’s Z Mecca Christmas Party earlier this month in Lutz, Florida. Great turn-out with Bob Sharp as an Honored Guest. Florida weather co-operated with a bright sunny day. Stay safe and healthy to enjoy the holidays with your friends and family. Carl B.

There were two different groups of VIN's for Datsun 240Z's produced in 1969. One for the Left Hand Drive models and another for the Right Hand Drive Models; HLS30 and HS30. Both had their own series of chassis serial numbers. Because all new cars offered for sale in the USA were required by Federal Law to have their Date Of Manufacture (DOM) affixed to the car; the Left Hand Drive HLS30's produced in 1969 can be individually identified if their original DOM Data Tags are still on them. It would seem that some 543 240Z'z were completed in 1969. Best guess is that 2 or 3 of them were HS30's with the remainder being HLS30's. The first 13 HLS30's were not sold to the public. Because the units were not completed in perfect serial number order, there are a few with VIN's higher than #543, that were also completed in 1969. (as shown above with #587 being completed in 12/69) http://zhome.com/History/69ZArticle.html FWIW, Carl B.

Thanks- @chaseincats I guess that confirms what I wrote; “I know nothing about the F.I. on the 280Z”. Have to say - even in 1978, I’m surprised they sent the level at 3675ft. - given California is 282ft below sea level in one place and 14,000ft above in others. Perhaps its more an Emission Control thing for Calif.

Air pressure at 14,000 Ft. would be closer to 8.26 psi. Still an L28E ruling at factory spec.'s shouldn't have any problem going up Mt Evans even at 60% power. I've driven a stock 72 240Z up there. Just thinking out loud - I know nothing about the F.I. on the 280Z.... but for some reason I'm thinking the ECU on the 280Z is an analog computer. I'm wondering if that Gold Canister that @chasincats pictured, with the Blue&Black wires - is a sort of altimeter - that outputs an analog signal of varying strength. So it is not a matter of sending ON/OFF signal to the ECU - so much as sending an analog signal of the correct strength to the ECU - to adjust the air/fuel mixture for different altitudes. Like a fuel level sender in the tank, or a temperature gauge. Jumping the wires together - might send the opposite signal needed to the ECU and make things worse at higher altitudes. Does the Factory Service Manual tell you how to test that Gold Canister, or give a signal strength that it should output at Sea Level ?

Thanks to everyone for the help. Especially to @heyitsrama and @jonbill for the detailed analysis and suggested corrective actions. I passed them on to our Sys. Admin. and he was able to implement the cure. 🙂

Hi Guys - I think we have ZHome.com working... If everyone would give it a try - The broken links will be address a bit later - but 95% of the links in the Left Hand Frame should work with either http or https - thanks, Carl http://ZHome.com

Hi Al - Good to hear from you. Yes, its been a while and we’ve had a long journey in the Z Car Community together. Doesn’t seem possible its been 34 years! Unbelievable how this ARPANet /Internet and WorldWideWeb thing as evolved! Someone earlier referred to the Web Page or perhaps me as being a Dinosaur - LOL. I guess he got that right. I do actually think of you, Paul and Stef quite often. You and Stef were both in Grad School when we started this journey - today my Daughter is headed there. For those that don’t know “Pilgrim” aka Al - When the "Z Car List" had to move off of Princeton University’s computer systems - Al worked with a friend at Texas A&M to get us a new Home and keep us going.

@hayitsrama - thanks - PM Sent. Carl

Hi Terrapin @Racer X - thanks for the feedback and help. The fact is "How to join" and "Searchable members list" - - should no longer be on the Site. Thought I had eliminated the links... but obviously had not completely done the job. I'll work on that as I get time. Just as a bit of background: We subscribers to "the Z Car List", an Email Based Z Car Discussion Group started in 1987 - started " the Internet Z Car Club" because at the time vendors offered discounts to Car Club Members. All you needed was a Club Name and your Club Membership Number. So we started a "virtual" club on the Internet. At the time we had somewhere around 12,000 subscribers. As all things Internet and Business evolved, competition for Customers drove most retail prices down and Club Membership Discounts became pretty much a thing of the past. If people shopped on-line they could usually find better prices everywhere. So the real reason and need for the Virtual Club evaporated. Secondly maintaining the Membership Data Base became more and more an issue - as it was usually based on vendor proprietary software - that was or was not supported by all the different Operating Systems on which the Web Site was hosted over the decades. Thirdly the number of volunteers with the software knowledge capable of supporting all this - became fewer and fewer. So today the Internet Z Car Club is truly virtual - it exist only in the minds of its members.

Hi jonbill Thanks for the feedback and help. - - Since you found aktar and ask... "aktar" was Tony Fruzza. He was one of many volunteers that pitched in, devoted his time to help build and keep both the Z Car Home Page and the original "Z Car List" up and running. Since then he has long since moved on (who knows maybe he driving Porsche's now). The Membership Sign up form and data base -as I recall - was a based on a Pearl Script, and as such it required an O/S that included or supported Pearl Scipts. So the form was hosted at mlinks. This was all in the late 80's early 90's and since the beginning both the Web Page and Email list - were moved from one O/S to another and another and another. (IBM Main Frame, DEC/VAX, Univac, Unix, Mac OS-X..). OK - back to the problem - - Interesting thing is - if you go to that Page (links) - and hit the hyper-link back to the ZHome.com sight - at least on my browser (Safari) everything works as it should - everything that is supposed to work -not previously deleted content. That hyper link is "http://www.zhome.com/" This is interesting - as of right now - If I open a new Browser Window - enter just ZHome.com - everything that is supposed to work seems to work. Tried opening an additional Tab in a Browser that was already open and holding several Tabs... and everything on ZHome.com is now working for me. I have not updated nor changed anything. Did all the same using www.ZHome.com and everything is now working. Strange...

Hi Terrapin - thanks for the feedback - in 25 years with the Web Server, I haven't run into this problem. Kind of weird .... all the HTML is the same, the server software is the same for over 2 years now..

Thanks for the feedback - - use this URL http://zhome.com/Racing/Racing.htm When that page comes up - shorten the URL to just http://Zhome.com and enter that - then try the links on the Left Hand frame - - for some reason that works in older versions of Safari ..

Up-date. The Z Car Home Page at ZHome.com seems to fine. The problem appears to be with the Browser being used. Older versions of Safari seem to be effected . Google Chrome works fine and newer versions of Safari are working fine - Safari version 14 works but version 11 no longer seems to.

Hi Guys: Thanks for the heads up - working on it - - code all seems to be good - so may be something at the system level? FWIW, Carl B.

After seeing some additional pictures, I will repeat my advice from above - - "Other than a good detailing, I wouldn’t put any more money into it, as it won’t seriously effect its sale price in the market. Actually most serious buyers would rather fix whatever they want, the way they want. They would rather see it “as is” than worry about “cover-ups”, or “cheap fixes”. (not saying you would do any of that - just pointing out the skepticism in any used car market)." Looking at the additional pictures - - I'll add, messing with such an original condition 240Z - can actually reduce its value to the most serious collectors. They will not only have to address its minor flaws, they will first have to pay their professional restorers to undo what ever you have done. They will pay more for a car that hasn't been messed with.. If you want to help your Dad get the highest dollar value, I would say spend your time and money getting clear high resolution pictures of every detail. Get that Z up on a lift and get pictures of the undercarriage, lots of pictures of the most common rust areas. Take the battery out and get clear pictures of the area under the battery. Pay a professional photographer to provide good high resolution well lite images if you have to, pay someone to put the car up on a lift so you can get great pictures. IMHO that would be the best time and money you could spend on the Z. Go look at the Series I 240Z that sell on BAT - read the comments - you will see that the cars that sell for the most have a couple things in common - 1) 150 to 200 great pictures and 2) a seller that stays on top of answering questions and responding to requests. To get the most value out of a 50 year old Classic Car - you have to put the most effort into SELLING IT. Good luck, Carl B.

@Miljack It wasn't "research" - so much as record keeping. I've kept records of every 240Z VIN I could find for the past 30 years or so. Especially the 69 production years and very low VIN's. (cheap hobby). Glad it helped. FWIW, Carl

Hello Miljack - welcome back! HLS30 00798 was on eBay 12Jan2015 in Conyers, GA. Then it was offered For Sale in Pompano Beach, FL 8May2018. Good luck with finding another one... still plenty of very nice 240Z's - FWIW, Carl B.

Guestimates: MOR - More Or Less ROM = Rough Order of Magnitude SWAG = Swinging Wild arse Guess A “little” a “lot” are relative terms. To me, it is worth a lot - how many people have $30,000.00 in savings? For that matter how many people can plunk down $30K for a fun purchase? Regardless, the fact is you did the research and now both you and your Parents are in a better position - should any need to actually sell the Z arise. That's a Good Thing.

Hi orangecounty240Z - your Dad has a wonderful 240Z and I’m happy that he has enjoyed for 50+ years. It is actually amazing how many people purchased their Datsun 240Z new from the Dealer, and kept them to this day. There are about 189 of them listed on the “Z Car Original Owners Register” on the Z Car Home Page. Most likely twice that many out there still not Registered. Speaks volumes about the desirability of the Datsun 240Z’s from 48+ years ago. http://www.zhome.com/IZCC/ZRegisters/original.htm We would have to see a lot more detailed pictures of your Z - to give any real estimate related to its market value. Engine Compartment, dash, interior etc. With what we know - a ROM - $25K to $35K as it sits. Other than a good detailing, I wouldn’t put any more money into it, as it won’t seriously effect its sale price in the market. Actually most serious buyers would rather fix whatever they want, the way they want. They would rather see it “as is” than worry about “cover-ups”, or “cheap fixes”. (not saying you would do any of that - just pointing out the skepticism in any used car market). The paint flaking on the hood - that is just paint peeling off of the galvanized sheet metal, usually see it on the firewall as well. The cracking of the paint in the rear deck area - that is just the tar mat heat&sound insulation shrinking with 50 years of age - quit normal.

What happened to the Pictures/Images that were Posted here? thanks, Carl

It its 33xxx it is a 06/71 build date - if it is 38xx it is a 07/71 build date. #42464 seems to start 09/71 build dates..