Carl Beck

Hi Steve: The duPont Registry hosts our local Cars & Coffee here in the Clearwater/St. Petersburg area of Florida. I took the BRE Baja Z one morning just after I got it put back together and runing.. I was pleased to see that it caught the eye of the Publisher - Tom duPont. There are always so many Ferrari etc there - I guess my little Datsun caught his eye.. So everyone needs to get their Z's out to their local C&C.. you'll be amazed at the attention and appreciation they get. Anyone can go buy a new Ferrari - it takes someone very special to to show up with a 40+ year old DATSUN looking like new.. FWIW, Carl B.

240Z's had fiberglass head light nacelles {sugar scoops} until the 1973 Model Year. After that they were steel. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi monster875: I knew because I bought my first 240Z in March of 1970. The drove it across America. Started in Spokane, Washington and by the time I got past Idaho, I knew I had a problem with the tires. At Speeds above 70 mph they would shake you out of the car. Thought perhaps I had thrown some wheel weights... Stopped at the first large town in Montana - no Bridgestone Dealer there, but they had a Goodyear Tire Store. We pulled a wheel/Tire off the car - and it was indeed out of balance. However no matter what was tried - it couldn't be brought into balance. Finally sat up dial gauges and measured radial and lateral run-run out on the wheels and tires.. The tires were out of round by quite a bit. That was true of all four tires.. So they wound up cutting about 3/32's of an inch off the tread..to make them round again. I went on across the top of the US to the Great Lakes, then South to Ohio. Once in Columbus, Ohio I finally found a Bridgestone Tire Dealer, as they were fairly new in the US back then... Since I had 3/32's of an inch of tread cut off - the Bridgestone Dealer offered very little allowance on a Warranty Replacement. So I then went to the closest Goodyear Tire Dealer and bought a new set of Goodyear tires... Drove from Ohio down to Florida, then from Florida back across the Southern US - to the West Coast - then up the coast back to Washington State.. The Goodyears were smooth as glass at 100+ mph.. Never bought another Bridgestone Tire until around 2006... FWIW, Carl B.

Vehicle Identification Number {VIN} It is visible though the windshield on the drivers side of the car - riveted to the dashboard. That same number should be stamped into the firewall on the drivers side of the car - just below where the hood closes down. There is also a Data Plate on the Passenger Side of the car -under the hood -screwed to the shock tower. It will have the VIN and Original Engine Serial Number. The pictures would "seem" to indicate a 240Z that was white with a red interior.

No money from SCCA for sure - but the Datsun Competition Department did offer cash rewards for winners driving Datsun's. As I recall it was like $25.00 to $50.00. {$145.81 to $291.61 in inflation adjusted values} As it relates to a discussion of "Decals": There are two or more "types" of Decals involved here as well. There are General Advertising & Promotion Decals that are handed out to the public. Then there are "Racing Contingency Decals". To get the Contingency Rewards offered by a sponsor; a Racer had to win, or in some cases finish in the top 3, and had to have signed up with the Sponsor for the Contingency Money. When he did that he would received the "Official Contingency Decal" for his car, and it had to be on the car as raced to claim the rewards. These Contingency Decals were just slightly different than all the others.. FWIW, Carl B.

Bridgestone Super Speed 20 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-zcar-discussion/20520-1971-240z-oem-bridgestone-175-14-value.html FWIW, Carl B.

Factory Service Manual for 1970 has 2300 lbs for the car, given in the General Info. Section. The Factory Service Manual for 1972 doesn't have that info listed. If you look at the 72 spec.'s related to spring rates - the Manual lists LF 562 lbs & RF 604 lbs = 1166 lbs {48%} Rears 635 & 635 = 1270 lbs {52%} 2436 total FWIW, Carl B.

Of course - Dave Irwin was selling the plugs pre-make, to anyone that wanted one - years ago here. FWIW, Carl B.

Have you tried ordering a R180 from you local Nissan Dealer? Secondy - lots of cars used the same R180 - most junk yards here have an interchange manual that will list all the current {up to 20 years old} cars that use an R180. Maybe you should try that.. I packed and shipped an R200 - it weighed 98 lbs - cost just under $100.00 to ship it from Flordia to Wis.... The R180's are a little lighter, but by the time you get them packed..they would be at least 70 to 80 lbs. FWIW, Carl B.

That is what happens when everyone is told to use the "Search" function - What is the Build Date on your 260Z? - I think the early 260Z's doors are the same as the 240Z doors - but the late year 260Z's that had the 280Z body were different. Location Location Location..??? FWIW, Carl B.

I don't know where you would find another one - and I'm not giving yours back!! I looked for years for one for the BRE Baja Z and Montezum wouldn't sell me his. He gave it to me!! So 71Nissan240Z got a great deal on a Choke/Throttle Assembly...thanks to Montezuma. I had offered a set for $1400.00 some time ago - but no one here was a buyer. I sold the set I had locally for $1400.00 {no EBay and PayPal fees, no shipping}. Montezuma - if you need / want anything just let me know... Carl B.

The story I got goes something like this - When the Vintage Z Program was first getting started - the people at Nissan had no real idea what the cost of restoration would be. The previous owner of that car had already done a major "refresh" - and Nissan bought it. As the real costs of the restorations started to become known -Nissan realized that they had put too much into the car to begin with - so they held it with the intention of selling it back into the Used Car Market. So it got stuck in the Nissan warehouse to be delt with later. Later never came and the car sat there. Personal changed and the car was simply forgotten about - Until Nissan decided to move out of California.. When people started looking at what was in the warehouse - the car was mistaken as being one of the Vintage Z's - because it was sitting there with two other Vintage Z's that Nissan had kept. The cars were covered with years of warehouse dust and grim and it the warehouse was dimly lite.. So the VIN on that car was included on a list of VIN's for the Vintage Z's by mistake.. Once everything was brought out into the light of day and cars cleaned up - Nissan realized that it wasn't one of the Vintage Z's.. so it was sold into the used car market - as I recall it went to Courtesy Nissan for sale.. then to it first buyer in Atlanta, then to a second buyer in Atlanta.. Nonetheless it was a pretty nicely "refreshed" 240Z - as I recall the only issue with it was that the floorboards had not been fully replaced with new ones - only patched in. Which was fine for the intended use of the car, by its previous owner. BTW - I think the cars history does add something to the ownership experienced. How or if that converts to an increased value at this point I don't know.. FWIW, Carl B.

The Bracket is welded to the car - but it is smaller than the part of the strut that attaches to it. So take it out. Secondly - 40 years ago, the plastic panels were new and could stand a lot of FLEX.. today that is no longer true. The advice above is correct.. with the understanding that you have every panel already out - and your starting to put them all back in.. FWIW, Carl B. FWIW, Carl B.

It is not only the Type "B" shifter - it is a two piece case - ie a Type "B" tranny. The only way to know that it is a Close Ratio Competition box - is to take it apart and look at the gears and synchro's. I suppose one could count input/output rotations in each gear and at least get close to a picture of each gear ratio... but that is easier to say than do accurately. If it is a Close Ratio Competition box - then it should sell quickly at $1500.00. But for that kind of money - I'd pull it apart before I left the seller.. FWIW, Carl B.

No - none that are for sale. Not wood anyway.. Carl

Hi Jim: The "Happy Rabbit" was just something to use as a trial run.. although it is pretty neat for a Kids room etc. Local Artist does them.. But it still hasn't sold... humm... Nonetheless - An NOS combination Choke & Hand Throttle Assembly - sold in 2 minutes $595.00 Sold one of three - NOS Wood 4spd Shift Lever Knobs for $95.00 and a pair of NOS 240Z 1/4 Panel Emblems - METAL for $249.00 - all sold in 3 or 4 minutes of listing. It would seem that if anyone wants to find something on EBay - they better have something set up to search the listings every few minutes - and notify them when whatever they want - is listed. Maybe that explains why we never see really rare items go to auction.. and why the headlight covers sold so quickly.. FWIW, Carl B.

Jim - EBay ID is: beckatbecksystemscom Only a few things on EBay right now - but I'll be adding stuff every day for the next few weeks.. mostly NOS stuff, but a few harder to find good used parts as well. Some smaller stuff I may just group into Package Deals - as the packing and shipping costs are so high. I don't want to sell 4 hose clamps for $15.00 then charge $10.00 to pack & ship them. {if you know what I mean}. thanks for asking.. Carl B.

Man - that was a very nice "donation" to say the least... Now you'll have to keep us Posted on the progress you are making on the restoration of your Z. Maybe I need to raise the prices on some of the NOS Parts I'm putting on EBay.. Good luck, Carl B.

Wonderful! Great information .. I appreciate it. Carl B.

Looks Great to say the least. Gee.. "what kind of Gas Mileage does it get"? On a swap of this nature - I always wonder about connections to retain the OEM Tach, Oil Pressure, Coolant Temp. gauges - as well as the OEM A/C hookup and Cruise Control etc. Did you attempt to retain any of that - or did you just swap everything like that out - and replace it all with after-market stuff? Carl B. What did you do?

Ah.. the joys of owning and driving OLD cars. First - most of our engines have cast iron blocks - the internal coolant passages on which are not coated with any corrosion protectant. What protects them is the use of anti-corrosives contained in what is commonly called Anti-Freeze & Summer Coolant. We used to call it Permanent Anti-Freeze, but that term was actually misleading to many people - they thought you left it in the car Permanently. Nothing could be farther from the truth - to remain an effective anti-corrosive protecting that cast iron - you have to change that coolant every year or two at the most. {depending on mileage/conditions}. The anti-corrosive chemicals do get diluted and are no longer effective past that point. Not too many people change their coolant every year or two - so most engines build up a lot of corrosion on top of the cast iron coolant passages. That acts somewhat like an insulation - and reduces the efficiency of the cooling system. In effect, the coolant is not making as direct a contact with the cast iron as is needed to extract the maximum amount of heat and carry it away to the radiator. This is not something that can be easily cured when you have an over-heating problem. It is something that needs to be addressed - usually over time - to prevent a problem. First step is to flush the cooling system, getting rid of all the old coolant and as much curd as it can carry away with it. After a through FLUSH - you need to add some type of Coolant Flush and run that though. Usually that requires leaving it in for a few days - so that it can dissolve and absorb as much of the built up corrosion as possible, then carry it out on the next Flush... Cleaning these old cooling systems out in the above manor - can reveal other "issues". Some say that these Flushings can "cause" other issues. In some heater cores for example - it is the built up corrosion that is the only part of the metal left - remove that and the heater core starts to leak. The only question is - do you want to be revealed while you are at home or when your on a long trip? Corroded Radiators are easy to deal with - you just pull them and have a trusted Radiator Shop flush and pressure test them - then flow test them. After you have flushed that old block a few times - you need to return with fresh Coolants that contain the proper anticorrosion chemicals and water pump lubricants. Then keep up with it - clean it out every year or two. FWIW, Carl B.

The name does sound familar - Robby I think.. The Club had a fairly large and very active membership. Around 1967 I joined the "Classic Thunderbird Club" in Columbus, Ohio. Another great group of people, but far more reserved. My Ashland High School 50th Class Reunion is this Fall - if I make it back there - it would be the first time since the late 60's. How time flies.. Carl B.

Joined the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Cub in 1963. The track came later, but it was the first road course I ever drove on. Had a 1959 Corvette then - aka "the plastic pig". Great group of people... Monthly meetings at the German Club of Mansfield's Beer Hall. Carl B.

PM Sent.. Carl B.

- Hi Bart - yes, and beyond that for Manned Space Projects. However my interests in Dr. Deming has more to do with his work in Japan for the Japanese Auto Industry among others. Deming and Juran actually. Amazing guys. FWIW, Carl