Marty Rogan

So, is your 280Z blue and needing paint? Maybe I saw you getting onto RT 53. I live right near Arlington Heights Road and Lake Cook Road. Marty

Where are you located? If you haven't already, join the Windy City Z Club. When they have their shows you can see plenty of nice Z's. I rarely see another old Z on the road. Just this summer I saw a 280Z a couple of times at Dundee and Rt. 53. I didn't get a good look at it, but it looked a little rough, definitely needing a paint job.

I know what you mean. I found my rust-free blue '70 in Cleveland. I had to go all the way to South Carolina for my yellow '71 and that was not totally rust free. Working on a rust free car is MUCH more enjoyable. Have fun with it.

Brookfield is about 30 - 40 minutes from me. Was it listed on Craigslist? There is a drain tube from the cowl area that dumps down at the rear part of the front fenders. It often get clogged with leaves and debris, leading to rusting out the lower part of the fender. Make sure that drain tube is clear. One of our members, Escanlon wrote up a fix to improve the drainage from that area. sorry, but I don't have time to search for it right now.

Dave, Congrats!! It looks like an incredible find for around $10K. I would say you did very well on it. I live in the NW Suburbs of Chicago. It is interesting that you found one so close to me. I would not have thought that there would be an original, rust-free 240Z in Chicago. What town was it in and how did you find it? Marty

The US cars did not have that feature.

It sounds like you are coming to your senses about keeping the Z. Believe me, if you sell it, you will be kicking yourself for years. I sold my yellow '71 Z almost 5 years ago, and I am still kicking myself. And I still have my '70 Z. These cars get under your skin. I have had 4 of them and would still like to get another. They are terrific cars for all the reasons stated above. Keep the Z and sell the roadster if you must.

I would agree with you on the Factory Five. I race with NASA and I see term at the track a lot. They are really fast and handle extremely well. The Owner of the Super Bird said that they made 1900 of them. There were only 600 of the Dodge Daytona version made, so it is likely that those are worth quite a bit more.

He is not trying to pass it off as an original. In fact he affectionately call it "The Phobra". Factory Five produces a VERRRRY nice product. The engineering in the suspension on that thing is impressive. It handles way better than an original would. He has a stroked 347 engine in it pumping out 425 H.P., that makes that car scary fast in 2,000lb body.

As the Captain said, it is not an original. It is a Factory Five Cobra with an enormous amount of details that make it look like an original. Although the Super Bird is the real deal. That's probably a $150,000 car.

Traveling Route 66 in your '71 Z back in the day must give you some fond memories. I hope to travel more of Rte 66, especially out west.

The vintage pumps are just ornamental. They are both just tourist stops now. Judging by the visitor log, they get a surprising number of people visiting each year from all over the globe.

Here are a few more pictures.

That's really a shame they did not preserve any of the history out in CA. There is quite a bit of it in Illinois. I hear there are quite a few cool things to see in Arizona, and a couple other western states. There are actually several books written about it.

Hey is only 2448 miles. How long could that take, a week? My friend that organized the trip wants to drive it from Illinois to California. Now, THAT would be one hell of a cruise!

This past weekend, a group of friends who are car enthusiasts took a short Fall Cruise down a stretch of Historic Route 66 between Dwight and Pontiac, IL. It was a gorgeous, sunny and blue sky October day. We had 10 people in 9 cars. I was the sole Z, and sole import for that matter in the group. One guy had an awesome 8K mile 1970 Superbird that was really mint. Other cars included: Factory Five Cobra, '66 Mustang, '71 Torino,'74 Grand Am, '76 Trans Am, '67 Camaro convertible, and a 2015 Mustang. The new Mustang was designated chase car in case someone broke down. Fortunately we did not need to press it into duty. The first stop was an old Texaco Gas Station that was built in 1933. It was the longest operating gas station along Route 66 until 1999. Next stop was a Standard Oil Gas Station built in 1932 and operated until 1975. Both had been restored back to their original condition. We met people from all over. At the Standard Station I met a father and son from Oregon. They were really excited to see my Z and talk about Z's. The son has a '72 Z that was handed down form his aunt, who was the original owner. It was his first car, at the age of 15! Lucky guy. We had lunch at the Old Log Cabin Restaurant which was built in 1926, the year Route 66 opened. The food is really good too. Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it. We ended the tour in Pontiac, IL. We saw the Route 66 Hall of Fame and Museum, along with multiple other museums. Lastly we saw the Oakland-Pontiac Automobile Museum. They had some beautiful cars on display. They have 51 cars in the collection. Eighteen at a time are on display and they rotate them periodically. If you are in the area and have the chance, it is well worth the time to take the tour. The Texaco Station had a map of the World, with push pins stuck in it, which showed where where visitors had come from. There was as many visitors from abroad as there were from the U.S. Route 66 clearly has a special place the hearts of travelers and car people from around the globe.

I have a 2009 Lexus GX470. It has the same V8 that the Toyota Tundra has and is rated at 6,500 lbs towing capacity. Although I don't tow a Z behind it anymore. I have a Featherlite aluminum trailer that weighs about 1,100 lbs, and my Bondurant Mustang weighs 3,410, so about 4,500 lbs total. I hardly know it is behind me when towing. I use a Teckonsha (sp?) brake controller. It has a adjustment wheel that you can turn until the truck and the tralier are stopping approximately at the same rate. Overall, I am really happy with this set up. Marty

If I recall correctly, there is a threaded hole on the top and the side. Just move the plug to the top and plug the other hole. That's what I did on my '71.

I don't remember who I sold it too. I bought it from John Coffey, who originally made it. Maybe John has a drawing of it? Would not hurt to ask, I guess.

This design does not mount to the bumper. It mount BEHIND the bumper. It only uses the bumper bolts to secure the bar, which is plenty strong. If anything, it adds protection to the body that the bumper sadly does not provide.

HA! That's the back of my car. The diff plate was made to mount up to the existing holes in the cross-member. The part that is not shown, connects just in front of the ball. That bar mounts behind the bumper and uses the existing bumper mounting holes. I added a couple of pictures, but it is hard to see the cross piece. There is a gentle bend to it to follow the curve of the rear of the car. I used to haul my track tires and a large tool box on a Harbour Freight trailer. It worked really well. I sold the hitch to a member on this forum years ago. If he is still around, maybe he would sell it to you. He seemed to only need it for a move that he was making at the time. Good luck with it. Marty

I saw this website years ago. It was never clear whether they actually produced any shells or not. I am sure shipping to the US would be pretty high.

Mark, In Illinois there is a cash lane. You will pay twice the toll, but you don't have to have an I-Pass. I believe Indiana and Ohio have cash booths as well. I live in a NW suburb of Chicago, if, heaven forbid you have car trouble in this area. I even have a car trailer that I could pick you up with. I will PM you my cell number. Marty

Here is a picture of my old track car. It shows you what round fog lights would look like on a car.

This is the second person that said it was a steal. I am curious as to what a car like like this goes for today.