lonetreesteve

I think this one from a couple months back was a better specimen (notice how high the bid was and it didn't meet the reserve!): http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2471957802&category=6187

Check this one out! It's an all original rust-free Arizona car! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2482367178&category=6187&sspagename=WDVW

Does anyone know the significance of the casting numbers on the Driver's side on the lower portion of the engine block? Is there a special code for day, month & year for production date? For example, on the old Pontiac GTOs of the mid & late '60s, a letter such as an "X" stood for the 24th day of the month and a "4" would indiate that the engine was made the 4th week of the month, etc.

Mike & Abas, Thanks for the very interesting information, I really appreciate it! One thing that I really love about 240Zs, you constanly learn something new all the time!! Steve

Mike, That's very interesting to me. It has the 20 mph speedometer, rear vent grills and "240Z" logos on the rear pillars, that I thought were only on '70 240's only.

Check this one out: They guy has it listed as a '71 when it is actually a -70!! Very good price for the vintage and condition! http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2480032092&category=6187

Has anyone or does any know someone who has these block casting numbers figured out?

I agree, the automatic is less desirable and therefore the car is not as valuable. I don't get the door panels at all. Perhaps the buyer put some speakers in the doors after they bought the car 6 or 7 years ago and then took them out and put some replacement panels in so it was "stock" again..... who knows? The other one that is available that I'm sure you are all familiar with is the Orange '71 (4-speed) at Peak Nissan in the Denver area. As I mentioned on that earlier thread, my son and I went by to take a look at that car. It actually looks better in person than it does in pictures. It is a better specimen than the car we are discussing (even though I like the British Racing Green color better than the orange). Peak Nissan wants $29k for their car. It will be a few years before it will get that kind of money I'm afraid. As I mentioned in that other thread, the owner of Peak doesn't really care if they sell the Z or not because it brings people into their showroom! The only flaw that my son and I could really see was some paint overspray on the chrome on the passenger-side door. The car is behind ropes on the showroom floor, so its kind of hard to get a real close look at it. Maybe another Nissan dealer should buy this one and put it on thir showroom floor. Its certainly has helped Peak's business!!

I e-mailed the buyer of #390 (Chuck) the other day and he replied back to me today. He has plans of restoring the car back to stock! He said that he has been buying parts in anticipation of finding a 1969 240. Steve

Or perhaps the "X" is like a "space" and the 04 is for the 4th day and the D is for December: 12/04/1969?? Steve

The block is a E31, not a P30. I wonder if the first number "9" is for 1969, the "X" was for 24th letter in the alphabet or 24th day of the month and the "D" is for December for 12/24/69. Perhaps the high L24 #060039 was like Carl thought: mis-stamped, should have been stamped 006039. Or the engine was re-stamped at some point in time. I wonder if an early 1972 240Z's original engine blew when it was still under warranty and Datsun replaced it with an "off the shelf" engine. Maybe Datsun had a stash of these '70 engines and didn't assign them numbers until they were ready to ship them to the dealer for a repalcement? Or when the Datsun dealer replaced the engine they stamped the original engine number of the '72. I'm not sure!! But is certainly is a lot of fun trying to figure this one out!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2479358623&category=6187 Looks like #390 was sold. Looks like it just barely made it over the reserve price at $510.00 (it was at $500.00 earlier today and the reserve was not met at that point). I hope the buyer has the time & resources to restore #390 back to its original glory, but of course I am a "glass half full" guy. I understand that the original interior color was one I have never seen or heard of on a Z - turquoise. I would love to see pics of the car if it ever is restored. cbuczesk was the winning bidder and looking at a few of the items that he has previoulsy purchased, there are a lot of Z items. Figures it would take a real Z nut (like all of us!) to purchase such a basket case. In all seriousness though, I really do hope it is restored and not just parted out. Does anyone know who cbuczesk is? And what plans he has for the car?

Hi Guys, Well, I took your advise (and a wire brush!) and found the raised number to the right of the E31 on the driver's side near the bottom of the block and it was "9X04D". I will leave this up for you guys to figure out..... I don't want to speculate, its just tooo strange!

HLS-00390 is for sale. This important piece of 24Z history is less than 2 days from the shredder and needs someone to save it! Check it out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=2479358623&category=6187 It needs a lot of work, but has most of it's original parts! If I lived in or near PA I would buy it! Save this classic from the shredder! Pass the word!!!!

Yes, it's a dealer in the Denver area (where I live) called Peak Nissan. My son and I went to take a look at it a couple months ago after seeing it on eBay. The car is an absolute gem! Everything is perfect on this car. As mentioned on the eBay listing, it's #33 of the 42 '70 thru '72 240Zs that Nissan had restored a few yersa back. It looks like a brand new 240Z sitting there on the showroom floor! They want $29k for the car, but I'm afraid it will be a while before they will get that kind of money! I spoke to a couple salespeople there and the owner really doesn't care if the car sells or not.... it is brings a ton of people into the store!! With all the interest it draws, it has actually helped them sell new 350Zs, as well as other Nissans. Someday, 240Zs in this condition will bring $25k or more, but it will be a while. The '70 Series 1's (particularly restored '69-vintage cars will bring the most and the others will follow. I hope to see more 240Z activity at the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction in Scottsdale, AZ. Cars like this '71 beauty and others like it will start fetching big bucks once they catch on. Hey, I remember when GTOs didn't used to be worth that much, and now they are priced out-of-sight!!

MBentsen, On the '72 240 that my son are currently restoring, we found that the driver side door had a lot of bondo in it, so rather than go to all of the trouble and expense (we do not have a welder nor do we know how to weld) we purchased a good, solid door (complete with working window, good glass, etc). Since the door we purchased was orange and the 240 is white, I used a grinder on the outside face of the door and wherever else I could to get rid of the orange paint with the grinder. The remaining area that I could not get a grinder on was sanded by hand. Once it is primered, painted and has the inside door panel installed it should look great! Oh, by the way we also changed out the door lock. For only a few man hours of labor and only $75.00 for the door we have a good solid, matching color door! We also have a spare window, etc. from the old door as well (which we will probably need for our '71 once we start restoring it).

MBentsen, On the '72 240 that my son are currently restoring, we found that the driver side door had a lot of bondo in it, so rather than go to all of the trouble and expense (we do not have a welder nor do we know how to weld) we purchased a good, solid door (complete with working window, good glass, etc). Since the door we purchased was orange and the 240 is white, I used a grinder on the outside face of the door and wherever else I could to get rid of the orange paint with the grinder. The remaining area that I could not get a grinder on was sanded by hand. Once it is primered, painted and has the inside door panel installed it should look great! Oh, by the way we also changed out the door lock. For only a few man hours of labor and only $75.00 for the door we have a good solid, matching color door! We also have a spare window, etc. from the old door as well (which we will probably need for our '71 once we start restoring it).

Carl, Thank you for the very interesting info and thank you for the link to Zhome.com! I will register our '71 amd '72 240Zs in the next couple days. I noticed that you have #20, that's terrific!!! I saw that #390 (needs restoration) is currently on eBay, item #2479358623. I also noticed that you have a '72, white with red interior, that's what our '72 is also (#64733, with the engine matching the data plate #081097). My son and I have had a real tough time finding the red interior parts during our restoration process. With regard to my original post on the extra engine we have with the E31 engine block, E31 head, E88 intake manifold, Hitachi SU carbs, '70 air cleaner, Series 1 valve cover, and the higher #060039 engine number I am still at a loss, everything points to a '70 engine with the single exception of the high engine number. You hve come up with some very good ideas on why this is, but your'e right, it is a strange specimen. Thanks again and look into #390 on eBay, the seller says that if is not sold, it will be parted out and "sent to the shredder". That would be a shame for one of the rare "500" 240Zs to end up like that.. Maybe one of the classic zcar members may look into saving this historical car!!

Carl. Thank you for your most informative reply! Unfortunately, I don't have the data plate. The engine was a "throw in" along with some other misc. 240z parts with a '71 240z that my son and i purchased a couple weeks ago (which has matching numbers by the way). As I mentioned earlier, the valve cover has the early '70 "Nissan 2400 OHC" valve coveron it and not just the Nissan OHC" that you see on later '70 and the '71-73 240s. I was told by a very-well respected 240z shop owner here in the Denver-area that valve cover could be worth in the neighborhood of $500.00 US by itself. Is that true? are these covers that rare and that much in demand? MDBrandy, Yes, I am getting the stamped 060039 number off the raiseed area next to the stamped L24 on the upper portion of the block below the head, just below the head. The E31 on the lower portion of the block is raised lettering. As Carl mentioned, just another strange, quirky mystery with the 240Zs that we all love! Steve

72240Z, Your Z must be white! My son and I have a '72 240 white with red interior as well. We have also had a tough time finding interior parts. I heard that you can paint the white interior plastic panels red, but I'm not sure how that will match up with the rest of the exsiting red panels. The other thing that is real tough to find are the red rivets for the rear plastic panels. We also have a '71 240 that we will be restoring after we finish the '72, but it has the common black interior. Good luck and I will look around for you and let you know if we come across the panel you are looking for. Steve

Abas, Yes, the number is 060039. I'm still a little confused. What 2-4-T-ZMan said makes sense, since it has the E-31 stamped on the block (as well as on the head and early 1970 valve cover). At the same time, what both Mr. Camouflage and MDBrandy said also makes a lot of sense. Perhaps there is someone else out there that will have the definitive answer...... and maybe not. Thanks to all you guys for your help on trying to find this out for my son and me.

Thanks for your help on this guys! 2-4-T-Z-Man, My son and I checked the place on the block where you said to look and it does indeed show E31 !!! The head shows E31 as well. Also, I understand that the 'Nissan 2400 OHC" on the top of the valve cover is very rare and only appeared on the 1970 240Zs and only the first 7,000 (approx) made. I am still a little confused about the engine number. With the #060039, what does that indicate? From what you have brought to my attention, it doesn't appear that this the # sixty-thousand and thirty-nine and made in 1972 like Abas mentioned (which seemed very likely). Do you know what it means? TexasZ, Yes, if you were referring to the Z in Colorado, that is the one! Yes, my son and I got a great deal!

This is my first thread to Classic Z-Cars, and I am excited to join all of you other Z-Car enthusiats! My son and I have 2 classic Z-Cars: a 1972 240 and a 1971 240. I use to have a '72 240Z when I was in college over 20 years ago and loved it! My 17 year old son and I just recently purchsed both of these cars and are currently restoring the '72 and once we complete it, we will start on the '71. I have a question: When we purchased the '71 last week, the seller also included 4 crates of misc Z parts including a spare engine, 4-speed tranny, dash (no cracks!), console (no cracks either!). He was told that the engine was from a 1970 240Z. I would like to verify this. Here's a description: I has the "Nissan 2400 OHC" valve cover, which is different from our '71 and '72 valve covers. It has the Hitachi SU carbs (like our '71 & '72). The ID plates on the engine block show "L24" and the number is "060039" does anyone know if this is from a '70 or is this just a later L24 block with the earlier valve cover?