How many 240z's left?

[Friar-Tuck]

Carl & Friends,

Make that 9774 Right Hand Drive 240Z's. There is a Lady in my small Nor. Cal. town that got the RHD 240 for her daughter's first car and still has it.

I saw a "Suspicious" tarp out near the barn and had to inquire.

The Lady who answered the door was not very.. umm.. willing to talk to me, so I had to do a little snooping around.

I happen to work with her Nephew and got the scoop.

Gold with black interior. R/F fender dented. all original.

Since I found it a year ago the owners have put it in the garage and my co-worker took my son over to look at the car and he verified RHD dented fender all original etc. He didn't get the vin or pics.

The owner was obviously irratated by the surprise visit but her nephew just laughed and said Remington (my son) needs a car for high school and he'd give her $2500.00 bucks for it. She just chased them out of the garage with her walker ... Oy-Va...

I'll get more info if I can find a way to approach her...

I'm thinking maybe I can get Cesar Milan " the dog whisperer" to come up and help.

Tuck \o/

[deadflo]

5000 240-Z's?? You really think it's that few? Man, It seems like I've seen at least that many for sale on ebay in the last couple years!

[lonetreesteve]

5000 240-Z's?? You really think it's that few? Man, It seems like I've seen at least that many for sale on ebay in the last couple years!

If you figure there are maybe 8 240Zs on average each week on Ebay and of the 8, maybe 6 are sold (the other 2 didn't make reserve and are usually re-listed at least once again) that would only make about 300 on average sold per year on Ebay. Obviously, this doesn't include any Zs sold by private party on Craigslist, Cars.com, local classifieds, etc.

[deadflo]

I notice more 240-Z's (like the two green/tan ones on Ebay now) that show up in incredible condition, that have been well cared for. I recall Sal at Motorsport telling me how surprised he was that over the years more older cars in great condition show up at the nationals each year, cars that no one knew about.

A car like the 240-Z were and are often highly cherished possessions by their original, and ensuing owners. I believe there are lots of cars out there in storage that we have no idea exist. Their owners may be older folks who don't participate in the internet.

It's not like this or Carl's website are universally known.

That said, I suppose a good deal of Z's were run into the ground by the time they were handed down to some uncaring, younger owners as well.

I recall an ad that Porsche used to run that said something like "95 percent of them are still on the road" or something to that effect. I wonder what the ratio is for the early Z? It's not like they were considered disposable bic lighters.

[Oiluj]

A car like the 240-Z were and are often highly cherished possessions by their original, and ensuing owners. I believe there are lots of cars out there in storage that we have no idea exist. Their owners may be older folks who don't participate in the internet.

That's my next door neighbor. She's original owner of a green, 1972 (automatic) 240. Paint is gone and it has a few minor dents. Other than the cracked dash, the tan interior is almost perfect. Get's driven maybe four to five times per year.

When I first saw it, I made a gentle inquiry about her selling it. The answer was "No... It has too much sentimental value"

After seeing what I've doing with mine, she's indicated she might be interested in paying me to fix-up hers.

[lonetreesteve]

You make some good points, Deadflo. There certainly are a lot of 240Zs left in California and a good number in Arizona that weren't affected by the cold, wet weather and salted roads. Obviously, rust is the biggest killer of the 240Zs, followed by Zs that were involved in car crashes, then ended up in junk yards where they sat for years and rusted away or were crushed. I've probably seen at least a dozen 240Zs in junkyards here in Colorado over the past 4 years. Most of them were stripped down and had a good amount of rust.

I agree that there are probably a lot of unknown 240s that are stored away and there's a very good chance that there are a lot more still in existence than the estimated 4000 or 5000 number that has been discussed in this thread.

[Arne]

I believe there are lots of cars out there in storage that we have no idea exist. Their owners may be older folks who don't participate in the internet.

Very possible. That's where my red car came from. The former owner lives less than three blocks away from me. I drive past his place several times per week. I had no clue he had a Z, until he walked up to me one day while I was working on the yellow car in my driveway, introduced himself and told me he had a 240Z he wanted to sell, and asked if I had any idea how to contact other Z people.

Make's you wonder how many of them are scattered throughout the Western states unseen in garages.

[a7dz]

Mine was unseen for many years.

[Arne]

Mine was unseen for many years.

And I'm eagerly awaiting the chance to see it in person!

[JimmyZ]

Shouldn't there be a national DMV database which some FBI or law enforcement person could use? Are there any members who work for law enforcement in our ranks?

One would think it could be as easy as that.

[Arne]

Not so easy, even if you could do it. First, there's probably a lot of them that aren't currently registered, and second, not all states identify the model on the registration. I believe that the Oregon registration for mine calls it a '1971 DATSU 2DR'. Or something along those lines. You'd probably have to search for 'HLS30'.

[Carl Beck]

Shouldn't there be a national DMV database which some FBI or law enforcement person could use? Are there any members who work for law enforcement in our ranks?

One would think it could be as easy as that.

If they used it - they would be risking their jobs and perhaps prison time.

The DMV data in most States used to be "Public Record" - and anyone could pay for a records search. In that case a simple search by VIN's for HLS30' with serial numbers ending before say 200000 would have yielded the results we wanted.

Today however, do to new Federal Laws governing "Personal Privacy" those records are no longer open to the Public. In cases involving law enforcement, or court actions - they can be searched for specific information.

FWIW,

Carl B.