Carl Beck

I've used Hagerty for all my Classic, Collectible and Special Interest cars for about 30 years now - would not think of changing. The Hagerty was the first Classic Car Insurer that would even issue an Agreed Value policy on Datsun 240Z's. I made arrangements with them to insure the Original Owners of Datsun 240Z's back in the late 80's. At that point I think we had about 10 people on the Original Owners Register. Today Hagerty insures most of our Z Car Original Owners Register - 240Z's. Now some 175 of us. Plus about 500 other Datsun Z & ZX owners. Z Car Original Owners Register http://www.zhome.com/IZCC/ZRegisters/original.htm FWIW, Carl B.

I departed Clearwater, Florida at about 1:30 AM Wednesday and arrived at the Convention Hotel at about 7:30 AM some 356 miles later. The Freeways were pretty clear during those hours -and it was a LOT COOLER then as well. Normal cruise was in the 80 mph to 85 mph range {sometimes above that}. My white 72 ran like a clock, very smooth and very stable. All-in-all it was a very enjoyable drive to say the least. On the return leg, I left the hotel at about 2:30AM Saturday morning.. and was home here in Clearwater by 9:00 AM {fog in the Northern part of Florida slowed the return leg}. The Convention Hotel was great - best shower and beds I've have experienced in a hotel in years. No water savers in the shower heads!! In room WiFi could have been better... As you can see from the pictures posted by others - lots of beautiful Z's to see and enjoy. Lots of great people to meet and hang out with. A fifteen minute "free" Fairy ride and you were in the heart of old Savannah - with lots of shops, places to eat and drink. Most very reasonable in price as well. The highlight of this years convention was of course Bob Sharp. Bob held briefings in a conference room beside the Car Show Floor several times. He told us a bit about his history and how he became a Race Driver and Datsun Dealer. Followed by lots of interesting and funny stores about the early days. Bob and his wife were a pure pleasure to be with and I'm sure that everyone really enjoyed meeting and talking with them. Bob was truly amazed at the number and condition of the Z's present. He fully recognized the time, effort and money needed to restore or build these cars and bring them to the Convention. Hats off to Will for putting together a wonderful time for all of us, at a really great site. FWIW, Carl B.

I'll be there - with several guys from Florida. I'll be driving up late at night - when the temp. is below 90 degrees and highways are clear!! Should be there very early Wednesday morning. Looking forward to seeing everyone.. Carl B.

and Hi Guys: It might be more productive to consider "durability" than "reliability". We would have to agree that how reliable any car is - at any point in time - would depend on how faithfully its owner maintained it according to the manufacture's recommendations. However there can be a large difference in durability between different models from the same manufacturer, or different models from different manufacturers. After 40 years on the highways of America in the hands of American drivers - the 240Z has proven itself to be highly durable. The FIAT X 1/9's.... not so much. I'd say that they are fragile by comparison in typical use or abuse here. FWIW, Carl B.

I don't know why anyone would bother with a Fiat X 1/9 for $5K - when you can find a very solid 1990+ Toyota MR2 or perhaps MR2 Turbo - for just a couple thousand more. I sold FIAT, DATSUN and SABB in the early 70's and VW / FIAT & Lancia in 75... I'd avoid buying any Fiat - short of the 2.0L 124 Spyders - - even then it takes a careful and caring owner. If your looking for a street rod project - swap the Toyota's MR2 turbo engine and drive train into a less expensive X 1 1/9... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Guy: Don't forget to "black out" that area behind the grill... before you get too far on the assembly. ;-) Everything looks stunning... Carl B.

The Facet Part Number is FEP60SV. I bought mine from the local NAPA store - they have their own NAPA part number for it - but they can use the Facet Number to cross-reference to the NAPA part number. Or you can shop on-line. It's around $99.95 to $108.00 depending on where you buy it.

Hi Gus: I just caught up with this thread... Glad to see that you started the restoration the first of the year. That is "a rust free" 240Z ;-) Perhaps the cleanest 71 I've seen in years. Great to know you caught the surface rust before it did much damage. Make sure you treat all the bare metal you have exposed with Ospho. You can whip the small amount of remaining tag down with some lacquer thinner - then go over everything with some Ospho. It will prevent flash rust until you get it to the body shop. Surface rust - like in the doors should also be wire brushed and then soaked down with Ospho. You can simply use a spray bottle - and spray it in all the crack and nooks. If you have any trouble locating any parts - just drop me an e-mail, or give me a call. Most importantly take your time and ENJOY the Process. FWIW, Carl B.

As far as I know - they are only "included" when you order a new Drive Shaft Assembly. I've never seen a rebuild kit that included them. Time to look for a good used assembly... FWIW, Carl B.

Interesting - how long ago did you find one on E-Bay? There were about 59 240Z's purchased for the Program - several were "Parts Cars" that had blown engines. When the Program was shut down - there were about three complete shells, still waiting in the body shops. 37 {Thirty Seven} 240Z's were completed for the Vintage Z Program. The VIN numbers are listed on the Z Car Home Page's - Vintage Z Register. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?8106-Anyone-Know-Nissan-Restorations At this point we have about 80% of them found and registered there. Do you know what the VIN is for the car you bought your Father? FWIW, Carl B.

Under the Fair Use clause of the copyright laws - I reproduce in part and as a reference - the New York Times article of 23 Oct. 1969. Anyone that would like to read the complete article can search the N.Y.Times historical archives on-line. There is a fee for service and you have to agree to their copyright agreement. Anyone can also access the L.A. Times historical archives - to find their coverage as well. There are other on-line services that offer historical newspaper databases as well. Sorry for the brief reply- but .. everyone can do their own research and decide for themselves.. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Alan: No not really - just too limited on my time right now. FWIW, Carl B.

I wrote and you quoted, By March of 1970 the first couple thousand - that would be 2000. Ok - 1553 Jan+2061 Feb = 3614 that could easily have been in the US by March. Even if you take out the 7% for the entire year that Canada received {1201} and the 2% that went to other countries for that entire year according to Nissan {324} - you still have 2089 by March. If you believe that the cars were delivered to the Dealers and sold in sequential serial number order - I can understand your doubts. If you believe that the Dealers actually let go of the first cars they received - and did not in fact retain them to show and demonstrate to build customer orders..then I guess you might be right. I believe that all the cars were well mixed having been loaded/off loaded at the Ports, then shuffled around again as they were loaded onto trucks and trains for delivery to the Dealers. I believe that most Dealers retained some of the first cars as showroom displays and demo's - and only sold them after the supply became more steady. So it wouldn't surprise me at all if cars that arrived in Jan or Feb would have not been actually sold and delivered until April or May. Very possibility correct. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Chris: Actually I was at the local Porsche Dealership trying to trade my 67 911S on a 70 911E. We couldn't get together on the bottom line - and I was on my way back to the Base when I passed the Datsun Dealership and saw the 240Z in the showroom. March 14th 1970 was my 25th birthday - Paul Jaremko and I pushed the car off the showroom floor at Valley Datsun in Spokane, Washington after the dealership closed for the day - Paul hadn't driven one yet so he and I took it for a drive. I actually bought the car that night - as Paul and I didn't get back to the dealership until pretty late. Bill Jones is on this forum - Bill had ordered a 70 2000 roadster - but canceled that when Paul gave him a copy of the Oct. 69 showroom sales brochure. Bill then ordered a 240Z - but he was shipped out before it arrived. Bill had ordered a Silver Z - and 1777 was silver. Bill used to tell me that I got HIS Z.. Of course Bill did return and took delivery of a Silver 71. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Alex: Can you check the Date of Production as listed on the Data Tag on the Drivers Door - - Several other cars with higher VINS on my list have reported production dates of 03/72 I'd keep the white interior FWIW, Carl

Happy Anniversary Jim! The Z looks GREAT. Ready for another 40 years. Take care of yourself and you could still be driving it then! Lots of people here in Florida are still driving at 101 years of age. regards, Carl B.

A couple of collectors ask me about that FB Battery when the car was up for auction. The one zed2 pictured came originally in the 72 Models that I sold. It was one noticable change among several that the 72's came though with. It looks the same as the one that came in my Blue 72 for that matter. It's doubtful - but I'll Poll the original owners to see if any of them have pictures of their engine compartments when their cars were new - you never know. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Koss: Gee.... to bad you didn't give me a call. We could have meet and made a trip to "Z Mecca". Jim is located in North Tampa. Not too far from ZDoc's. Good to hear you found a 240Z that you like... Do you know what items will be inspected / required to allow import of the car into Norway? FWIW, Carl B.

By March of 1970 the first couple thousand Datsun 240Z's had arrived in the U.S. I bought HLS30 01777 March 14, 1970. The East and West Coast States seemed to get most of them - and most people in the Mid-Western States had no idea what the car was when they first saw one on the roads. Actually - the man that made the arrangements for the International Preview held in N.Y. in Oct - thought he remembered the car that was there being Gold. As I recall when I talked to Bob Sharp he said the car at the New York Auto Show, held later was Green. "Lucky 13" - Lucky to have survived the past 41 years. Lucky that someone that knew its significance grabbed it and preserved it. FWIW, Carl B.

I'd take at least 4 sets - metal would be better. In any case accurate fit would be most important. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Dave: Yes, thanks. English and Spelling were my worst subjects in Grade School, High School and College. I still use Eudora as an E-Mail Client because it has the best Spell Checker I've found. Glad to hear that things worked out for you on the repairs. Carl B.

+1 for this !! Not up your ally - but door skins - really excellent OEM quality would be required. Needed presently or not - many people I know would buy two or three pares just for spares if the price was at all reasonable. FWIW, Carl B.

In my personal experience - synthetic oil {Mobile 1} reduced my engine operating temperatures by 15 degrees here in Florida. That's a big difference when it's 90 degrees plus outside. Nothing else was changed other than the oil. Secondly - with my 70 SS 396 El Camino - when left sitting for 60 to 90 days - the lifter clatter at startup would scare you. Switched to Mobile 1 - end of lifter clatter. Same story with my 69 428 Super Cobra Jet in the Cougar Eliminator. {both have been sold several years ago}. I don't have heat nor lifter clatter in my Chevy 2500HD Pickup - so I run Valvoline dino oil and change oil and filters every 6K miles. {Factory recommended service}. Our 2009 M/B E-350 runs Mobile 1 - per the factory recommendation, if you want to keep the warranty intact. Oil and filter change once per year or 12,000 miles. With the carb's and the use of chokes on start up - an overly rich mixture can dilute the oil in the crank case with gasoline. All my Z's get oil and filter changed every 4,000 miles. In my opinion the bottom line - for certain issues - the synthetics are well worth the money. Also one has to wonder how much wear or how much increased HP you get when you reduce friction enough to reduce engine temperatures by 15 degrees. FWIW, Carl B.

Somehow "unfortunately" and "they were beyond helpful" seem somewhat a contradiction in the same sentence. Did you mean "fortunately" or "they were less than helpful" Seems you stayed with them... My only claim was handled in a very impressive manor - one reason I recommend them to everyone. FWIW, Carl B.

The 280Z springs are quite a bit stiffer - looks like you could cut a coil or 1 1/2 coils off. As I recall the 280Z's sit higher because they have a taller isolator at the top of the strut. <pre> 1977 280Z 240Z FRONT Spring Rate: 103 lb/in 83 lb/in Free Length: 15.98 in 15.2 in Active Coils: 9.5 8.5 REAR Spring Rate: 127.7 103 lb/in Free Length: 15.43 in 15.0 in Active Coils: 8.5 9.5 </Pre> FWIW, Carl B.