Carl Beck

Just so no one is confused - - The Blue Oval Z - - - - is listed as "Terry's Datsun 240Z" Just a reminder - You can and SHOULD remember to Vote once every 24 hours - - - just because the BOZ is ahead now - let's not let one of the other groups sand bag us, by holding out votes until the last couple of days. Also - while you are there - Under "Best StreetFire Video" - - I have to admit that Ray Millen's Pike's Peak run in the Hyundia Genesis is pretty amazing... http://blog.cardomain.com/2009/12/22/peoples-choice-2009/ Vote Now... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Ron: Here in the State we have Automobile Titles that show ownership. You can Own a car without paying for a license plate needed to drive it on public roads. So a State Automobile Title shows ownership only. Then on top of that we have Registered License Plates {to show that you have paid the license tax each year}. So here you would would search the Department of Motor Vehicles for VIN numbers associated with the Title, then look to see how many are currently "Registered" as having current license plates for road use. However - being 50 individual but United States - State Laws are not completely uniform. In some States, they quite tracking Titles after a car is 25 years old - for them then the Registration of the license plates shows ownership as well. The transfer the license plates from person to person as ownership changes {meaning that the plates stay on the car}. In other States the license plates belong to the individual, and as that individual trades cars, the license plates are moved from car to car. In either case - tracking Registered License Plates would most likely provide the most useful data. Even if the license plate isn't current {meaning that the current year's fee's have not been paid} the older record would still be in the system. FWIW, Carl B.

The car has rust in the doglegs and the front fenders - but not major. The front frame rail has what looks like surface rust forming on one side. A friend of mine inspected the car and sent more detailed pictures. Yes, I am helping an over-seals buyer find a good car. $7K, $8K, $10K, $12K doesn't matter a bit for the right car.. but he wouldn't give $2K for the wrong one... Overall - I told the owner I wouldn't take less than $8K for it. If he is now quoting $7K he is foolish. A one owner Z is almost always worth an extra $4K just because it hasn't been hacked to death by 10 stupid previous owners and almost always has had far better care than usual. IMHO - unless a 240Z has had the doglegs replace - they are about to rust through anyway, no matter how good they look from the outside. Likewise there is an 80% chance that the front fenders are about to show rust unless they have been removed, cleaned and some type of rust prevention work done. The exceptions to the above are cars that have less than 15K miles, have been stored carefully and properly cared for - they are all over $20K now and usually over $25K. The other expecitons are of course the fully refreshed or restored examples - with photo documentation of the process - they too are way over $18K now if properly refreshed - over $25K if properly restored. Again - just my opinion - if you are looking for something for $5K you are looking for a car that will need at least $10K in repairs and work to get it to a reliable and presentable Classic Car condition. Even in California now it takes at least $6,500.00 to find a "good" car... and even then it will need another $5K to make it road ready and presentable. There are always "exceptions" - if you look at 100 cars, travel all over the country, spend the next year looking - who knows you might get lucky. Most of the time people get tired of that and come to the realization that it will take at least $8K to $12K to get started with a good 240Z, then once they start fixing, imporving etc - they wind up spending another $5K to $10K... Heck - the bumper on that car would cost $2,500.00 to replace.. FWIW, Carl B.

"Well maybe next year".... Hang in there Arne - no good deed goes unpunished. thanks for the effort... Carl B.

So I guess that this means that I won't be giving any of these away as Christmas Presents this year...... FWIW, Carl B.

I agree - it looks way to dark in that picture. Put it on the white floor and take the picture again.. could be it is picking up some of the color from the chair.. I've seen a few engines painted with paint from Les - that look way to teal... Motorman's engine looks about right. The engine block should pretty closely match the OEM bracket/crank pully's etc. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Guys: Just a small correction - although somewhat off Topic - the Rear Spoiler was a Factory option. The BRE Rear Spoiler is just slightly different.. no flat place molded in for the badging, and no reinforcing ribs on the external front side. The BRE Spook - for the front is strictly a BRE development/design. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Derrick: Go to HybridZ.org and do a lot of reading/research BEFORE you start to ask questions. The guys there will help in any way they can - BUT they have no desire to educate nubee's with basic information already discussed/coverd - all the information your looking for is there..... Read/study/search and only after you have done that - ask questions that you can not find the answers too... good luck Carl B.

Looking GREAT Dave....That does it - I'm going to go pull my Webers off and refresh them...! FWIW, Carl B.

That is because the seals on the piston in your Clutch Master Cylinder are shot - fluid that is supposed to be pressurized into the line, is leaking past the piston and getting pushed back up into the reservoir - - Replace the Master.:stupid:

It was another beautiful day in sunny Florida, with just enough cloud cover to keep things cool and comfortable. Just the day to stroll along the Z Cars at Jim Frederick's ZMeca. People were coming and going all day - but I did manage to get a few pictures in case you missed the gathering in Lutz. I've put a few pictures up on the server See: http://zhome.com/Dropbox/ZMecaChristmas09/Jims09Christmas.htm FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Lonny That is a bummer.... most likely it just reached its limit on thermal cycles. Subjected to thermal cycles over an extended period of time - all of them will most likely crack sooner or later. The one's sitting in the most stable climates will probably last the longest - but they are man made plastic after all - the truth is that it is amazing that many have lasted as long as they have. While extreme swings between the high and low temperatures in the thermal cycle will hasten the break down, even smaller differences will cause expansion then contraction within the materials - and sooner or later they reach their limit. VU and Ozone are two of the environmentally hostile agents that attack the long chain polymers used in the vinyls such as this. Coatings/Protectants might help shield or slowdown the chemical actions/reactions that break down the original structures - - but the sad truth is that sooner or later they will reach the end of their life-cycle. The dashes in both my 72 Z's have had Armor-All used on them since new - both are still crack free - but as they approach 40 years of service - it's just a matter of time.... FWIW, Carl

According to R& T - the first boat to carry 240Z's arrived in Jan. 1970 with 20 cars. BRE got their first Z in early Jan. and that was HLS30 00492. So very possible that #488 was one of the first 20 to arrive in Jan. 70 FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Dan: Agreed - If you bought the car new from your Authorized Datsun Dealer and you still have it today - you are the original owner. Now - we also have 2nd Generation Original Z Car Owners. As the Original Owners pass their 240Z's on to their family members. Otherwise all Original Owners would sooner or later be passing on themselves;-) That is however somewhat different than the original question ask in this thread, but once and original - if you have the car you are still the original owner. FWIW, Carl B.

I talked to him last year. He has been thinking of selling it - but so far he hasn't let me know it is available... Ann said she bought her's at the end of 1970... Not unusual for the Dealers at that time to keep the first 240Z for disply and to take orders off of. I'm guessing that is what happened in that case. FWIW, Carl B.

The longest owner on the IZCC's Z Car Original Owners Register" http://www.zhome.com/IZCC/ZRegisters/original.htm 39 years, 8 months..and 9 days Original 240Z Owner, #28, 4/17/96 HLS30 00415, 11/1969, 901, Silver/Black Donn Walklet, Los Altos,CA, DEALER...Mobile, Alabama Datsun ...4/1/70 FWIW, Carl B.

Change the master.. sounds like you don't have time to screw with it.. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Arne: There is an interview - Posted somewhere else on the site - where Peter is talking about the man that did the lettering on the BRE Cars - - originally they were hand painted. I think Adam C. was mentioning the fact that one could see the brush-marks in the lettering on one of the BRE cars... So it might not actually be a BRE copyrighted design - but rather the hand work of the original sign painter - who is no longer with us. I doubt he ever actually released a Font in his name or intended any copy rights for an entire set of numbers/letters... More likely the sign painter used some existing font released to the public domain. FWIW, Carl B.

There are none so blind....:stupid: FWIW, Carl B.

Does your Insurance Policy say that they will only pay Kelly Blue Book? Or does it say "actual cash value" or "ACV". If it says actual cash value take them to small claims court - you don't need a lawyer there - and chances are very good -that if you present cars of equal condition currently advertised for sale - at much higher prices - the Judge will award you far more than $500.00. Especially if you have current receipts for work done on the car. If it really pisses you off - take them to Court... you really don't have anything to lose..And to avoid Court they may offer significantly more right up front. You have to notify them and then go file the papers at the Small Claims Court.. FWIW, Carl B.

Yes - looks like they need more curve.. so they don't wrinkle.. The DATSUN needs more of a curve to it.. I thought you said the type face/font would be just like the originals... FWIW, Carl B.

Yes - and then you said "however not on anyone's list yet"... #87 and #89 are also 12/69 build dates. Engine numbers in the 69 Z's found so far range from L24-2079 to L24-3198. The engines seem to be pretty well mixed among the VIN's. Keep in mind that the L24 was also used in other sedans, even before the 240Z. I have #79 as the earliest listed with Blue/Blue. Of course we only have about 160 of the first 500 found so far. According to Nissan TS70-28 the switch to the eight counter weighted cranks took place at L24-3607. FWIW, Carl B.

crucial - no. I believe that they are there more to provide an even distribution of load along the rather thin lip - than to actually reinforce the pan itself. The pan bolts take very little torque - and most people don't have inch/pound torque wrenches - so it's easy to over tighten, or tighten unevenly the pan bolts - which can result in leaks. Years ago - BRE sold a stud kit - to replace the pan bolts. So you could lock the studs in the block with LocTight. Then they used nila-lock aircraft type nuts - along with a rubber pan gasket. It made R&R'ing the pan a breeze - and eliminated any leaks/seeps.. FWIW, Carl B.

The reinforcements go over the outside lip of the oil pan - not between the pan and block. They are just shown above the pan so you can see them. It wouldn't surprise me if they were never put on a 09/70 car. FWIW, Carl B.

It's on my list Lonny! I've been keeping records for every Datsun 240Z that I could gather more or less complete information on - for about 20 years now. If I could get the Build Date, the Original Engine Serial Number, original Color along with the VIN - or any combination complete or not - I recorded the VIN on my own private listing. My goal was simple research - I wanted to see how the VIN's lined up with the Build Dates, and now the Build Dates lined up with the original engine numbers. I also wanted a statistical sample to work with... So far I have just over 400 Series I cars listed... Some are on the Public Register, but most are not. FWIW, Carl B.