Kathy & Rick

Yup, lock 'em up and you go straight!! Guess he didn't get the SCCA or other private race driving instruction option w/his purchase....... Rick

Maybe at the time, Mike, but not nowadays. Restored, those little guys can bring up to $16k for a convertible, less for a coupe. A friend of mine in the next town loves them, and he just brought home another one that I thought was, charitably, mediocre, for I think a couple thou'. BTW, a Datsun L16, L18, or L20B fits and can make them fly! My worst? Definitely an '84 Chev pickup. The lower end of the engine let go at 28000, and I was at war with (in order): the Svc Mgr, the Dealer, Chev Natl Svc Dept, and GM Natl Svc Dept. since the warrantly expired at 24000. They accused me of being negligent in maintenance, which was the wrong thing to do because (1) I am anal about maintenance, (2) I had documentation, and (3) I was in parts and service at Bob Sharp at one time, so I know better than to be neglectful. I also know what can be done to bend the rules to help (and keep) a customer, I don't know how many sales of Chev or GMC trucks that cost them by my negative testimony and salesmanship, I quit counting at 13!

(See below, I goofed)

Nice driving, Ron, glad you finally got a break!!! I'm formerly w/Bob Sharp so I was kind of assessing the race as it went. You obviously had a much better line and drove a lot smoother than the Alfa guy did. So it occurred to me that either the other driver was much less experienced or had an ill-prepared car, to get off-line so badly so often! But you were there, you could tell if he was blocking a lot better than I could from here, and I'm glad it finally worked out for you. All Z Best,................................Rick

GunnerRob and JimmyZ, I'm just so envious of you (and happy for you) that you can think that fast on your feet. I'm the guy who struggles for an answer, ends up keeping his mouth shut, and two hours later I think, "I wish I had said......................!" Rick

Our #06289 is close to TexasZ's #06293, our #19851 was close to ZZTom's #19867, and our #86105 was close to hls30.com's #86306. But Chris (26th Z) takes the cake, nobody's going to beat that! BTW Zguitar71, please check one more time? I may be wrong (probably am), but my records show #20419 as the highest VIN I've seen for 1/71, and #21204 as the earliest I've seen for 2/71. Great thread, fascinating! Z Car VIN numbers have been a kind of hobby or fascination of mine for years. Y'all are helping me fill in the gaps still remaining from my nearly 40 year research. Mike, PM me and I'll see what I can do to help formulate some kind of a matrix. All Z Best,.....................Kathy & Rick

It's obvious to anyone with even mediocre vision that Kathy and I missed a terrific event. We were unable to make it not only because of learning of it late, but also because of conflicts w/the CTZCC and NYZCC events in that time frame, to which we had committed to show one our cars. Maybe next year? It would, however, be wonderful if we could meet one, several, or even all of you when we come down to Jimbo Frederick's event next month. It's a little too far to trailer the #13 car down this time, but y'all can see it in Nissan Sport Mag and maybe even at ZCCA in Nashville next summer if we can raise some sponsorship. Glad to hear that everyone had such a great time; to me the friendly interaction among people of like mind is just as important as the cars themselves.

It asked for a quick reply. Well, this will be way too quick to get into any detail. I was born 5 days before Pearl Harbor was bombed, you do the math. But that didn't affect my eventual choice of where my car was manufactured, because in the meantime I had several cars (VW's and Karmann Ghias mostly) which were made in Germany and Italy, who were also on the other side in the War and also the nations of my ancestors. Eventually in early '71 I totaled my '69 Bug and the prices of VW's just having gone up dramatically, I had to settle for "one of those cheap Japanese pieces of tin," which was the reputation at that time. I had in mind for a 1200 hatchback or a 510 2-door, but when I saw that orange Ferrari-looking car in the left rear corner of the showroom, I had to have it. Long story short, after great debate with the salesman, the sales manager, and the owner (in that order), I jumped over about 20 people who had placed deposits and were on a waiting list. I got the "leftover" '70 that they were keeping for display. I still have my "cheap Japanese piece of tin" to this day, and it has been anything but. I have always been interested in low VIN's since a friend of mine had XKE #38 since new. I decided to be alert to opportunities to see how low a VIN Z I could find, and found a beauty in Aug '73. I then outdid that in Aug '76 and now I have nowhere else to go.

I want to take a moment to commend all you good folks who took the time to encourage Chris and help him through his perceived dilemma. That's one of the things I've always enjoyed most about being in the 240-Z fraternity, how the vast majority try hard to be helpful and en- couraging rather than disparaging and negative. Chris, trust a guy who's been around Z's forever: YOU'VE COME TO THE RIGHT PLACE!!!!1 All Z Best,..............Rick

I don't remember ever seeing an orange-on-white Z, that sounds real purty! It must look like a Creamsicle on wheels, and probably just as sweet. I think all the 918's I ever saw had black interiors, but they were probably all '71 and earlier. I think the only white interiors I recall were in the 904 blues and 905 reds, does that cover it correctly Carl? (Other than the '72 orange combination, of course)....................Rick

Going from memory (30 plus years ago), you had to put the little clips (pin grabbers) in the holes in the sheet metal first, then press the pins on whichever badge or hatch grille you are installing, into the clips. But a friend who is re-doing his '70 said the clips are virtually impossible to obtain anymore, so you might have to improvise as Mike said........ All Z Best,..........................Kathy & Rick

Clive is being his usual modest self. The pictures only present HALF of the picture. When he fires it up it gets everybody's attention, and the earth tremor wakens the dead for miles around. I found out personally at the recent NYZCC event......Rick

Hi Everybody, I'm tagging onto the original request, but am asking advice on Logan1's behalf before he spends megabucks on something he might be unhappy with long term. I've been away from cars (I mean REAL cars) for so long that technology has probably improved a lot. But here's the question: Do you still have to adjust the tension of the individual spokes periodically like you used to have to on the MG's, Healeys, Morgans, and the like~ or are wires pretty stable nowadays?........................Rick

Hey Everybody, Could somebody please help me out? I'm so confused I don't know which end of the gun the bullet comes out of anymore! I always thought that Datsun is (I should say "was") a branch of Nissan, in the same way as Buick is a branch of GM, or Dodge is a branch of Chrysler Corp. By extension, the larger, parent corporations have other branches or "divisions" under the corporate umbrella. So then, when I say "Datsun," I'm addres- sing but one division of the corporation and not the entire entity. Am I way far off base here? HEEELLLLLPPPP!!!!!............Rick

Hi, Lee! Hi, everybody else listening in.... Sorry for reopening a 1.5 year old thread, but I wanted to be of some encouragement to Lee. Good things sometimes happen; and sometimes they take awhile. Frank, a new, close friend of mine who introduced me to the CT Z Car Club (CTZCC) had a story very similar to Lee's which had a very happy ending. See the CTZCC.com website, then click on Discussion Forums. Then go to the New Member forum, and about 20 entries down you will find "My INCREDIBLE 240-Z story." Make sure to have some Kleenex handy. I can't think of anyone who has as much love for his car as Frank does now that they have been reunited after 23 years. I hope that Lee's story ends like Frank's did, and that one of us will be able to help make it happen. All Z Best,.................Kathy & Rick

Both of you guys have AWESOME rides, and I don't just throw that word around loosely!!! It would be a honor to meet both of you and your respective cars at some time. Anyone who wouldn't like to have one or both of those beauties in their stable must be poco loco in the coco........... All Z Best,...................Kathy & Rick

Hi, Mr. Blake, I appreciate your reply. I'm new to computers and am, how do you say, surfing around? on such Z Car sites as I can find. I did indeed read as much as I could before contributing: many of those inputs were very long and technical and hard for me to read. So if I offended you or anyone else in some way, I apologize. I hope to "get up to speed" and work my way up to more current topics as soon as I can develop a little more mastery of this machine..... Frankly, I wasn't even looking for dates, only content of text!! Sorry..... All Z Best,...............Rick & Kathy

Funny, I've been a continuous owner of one or more of these vehicles virtually since they came out, meaning almost 40 years, and the placement of the handbrake never occurred to me until I came upon this entry in this thread. I'm only 5'8" and have a 34" sleeve, but that always seemed to reach very comfortably, thank you!!

Forgive me if my memory is short, that is well over 30 years ago!! I was w/Bob Sharp Datsun at the time, and I seem to recall that the first 5-speed HLS-30 Z-cars were the 1977 280-Z's. Up till that time the only 5-speeds in Z cars were either transplants from the SRL-511 (2-liter roadster), or special ordered parts from Datsun Competition Department. I opted for the latter in my '70, somewhere around 1972 I think. At that time those units were being used in cars driven by Sharp, Fitzgerald, Morton, Devendorf......

The only difference I'm aware of is a reduction in compression ratio from 9.0 to 8.8. Anybody else? All Z Best,.............Kathy & Rick

Hi Mike, thanks for the reply! As promised, I'll try to respond to all the questions or points you raised. It's well documented that #13 was the first 240-Z available to the public. It's also recognized that #16 was the first 240-Z sold in the US, since it was sold in Houston while #13 was still taking its sea cruise to Virginia. It really doesn't matter to me and Kathy. I got the car I really wanted, based on the fact that the factory parts and service manuals said that the product line began w/VIN #HLS30-00013. And when my friend George w/the identical car (#418) told me it was advertised, I just knew I had to have that specific car. Jim Frederick and Carl Beck, down in FL, have become good friends over the past 2 months. They are also blessed to have early VIN Z's, just as you and I are. I'm real glad that cars such as Jim's #16, #19, and others ended up in appreciative hands such as his, instead of in China as scrap iron, and I'm glad he can claim the first Z sold and the lowest SN of an L24 engine still running. I'm glad the other Z aficionado in FL, I think it is, got #26 and #27. I'm glad that Carl got and treasures #20 and others, and I'm glad that you got #32 and the other jewels. Yeah, I'm MORE than really happy for ALL of us. We are all so fortunate, BUT NOT NEARLY AS FORTUNATE AS THE CARS!!!!! Now for the tires, the early Z's came in w/any of three different radials, all 175R14: Bridgestone, Toyo, or Fulda. My '70 came w/Bridgestones, the 171 car has Fuldas. (Don't forget, #171 only has 28700 original miles.) I knew the original owner and bought it from her when it had only 26000 miles. I don't know what the #13 car had for original tires since I came along over six years and 90,000 miles later. The heater control panel in the #171 is original, and is exactly like my '70, which I've had since it was just a little infant Z in a showroom. Both #13 and #171 have the original rubber mats hiding under the carpeting; you're possibly the first person I havefound who even knew about that! Good job! Not to be evasive, but I really haven't checked out the badges to see what type they are. That's a really good trivia item! But I can tell you that all badging on both cars is exactly as I received them, w/the exception of the hood emblem on #171 which is missing, but I have spares. All three cars have been off the road for at least 25, maybe 30 years, due to lack of interest and activity in "things Z". Or so I thought. I've probably received at least 20 diverse opinions, suggestions, and recommendations as to how to get them off the trailer and back on the road, which is what I would like to do. But at the moment I'm leaning toward having Vinnie Bedini (former Bob Sharp Racing car builder and engine man) going through all the mechanicals to make sure I don't ruin anything, or even worse, wreck the cars (read: brakes, steering.....). If not Vinnie than maybe Bryan Little of Datsun Z Garage (see CTZCC.com), we are so talent laden around here it's intimidating!!!!! I keep having this thought go thru my mind, "IT'S ONLY ORIGINAL ONCE!!!" Not to mention the cost of restoration, though that shouldn't be a lot considering the condition. Since #13 only has a couple of door dings on each side, and a rust spot so low on each front fender it's almost unnoticeable, I tend toward leaving everything else alone as long as she's mechanically sound, safe, and roadworthy. #171 needs nothing, but #06289 could use a driver side floor pan, floor support, and a paint job. To think of how that Candy Apple Red w/gold trim used to look back when........... Mike, you really know your stuff and I respect that a lot. So, you can also expect to be hearing a lot of questions and comments from me. Deal?????????? All Z Best,............Kathy & Rick

You got it, that's a later '71. The flow-thru air outlets on the quarters started around VIN #21000 (2/71), while the vertical rear window defroster went thru about VIN #60000, going to horizontal around 1/72. Could be a very late '71 build~very early 72 reg, but very low probability. Ever see a former Airborne/Ranger cry? I did when I saw all those pix of Z's on the junkpile, and even more when I heard that a lot were crushed. Up here in the Northeast a lot of those would still be on the road, and you seldom find one of any condition, however poor, in a wrecking yard..... You guys west of the Mississippi have got it made, wish I was back in TX.... All Z Best,..................Ranger Rick

Hey OverdriveX!! Used to live in Belton before moving up to CT. You "ain't lyin'," that Gulf Coast salt air can eat up a car almost as fast as road salt up does up here. Wanted to comment on our mutual interests: we also have a 14-month-old yellow lab female we will be breeding in a few months. She has nearly 40 champions in her background, show, field trial, 6 best-in-shows, her grandpa was a natl. champion..

Madonna Mia, If I knew I was going to start a war, or re-ignite the Revolutionary War (Hi, Alan), I would have left the stupid car in the barn gathering dust and cobwebs for another 25 or 30 years!!!!!!!!!!! The L-24 engine is original, but the cylinder head has been replaced. If I had owned it then, I would have seen if I could have got the original head planed down even if it had raised the compression ratio from 9.0 to 9.5 or so, in order to save it. But that was before my time...... I am the third owner of the car, since 8/30/76. You can see a bazillion pictures of both our '69's by going to the Ct Z Car Club site (CTZCC.com). Get to the forum which has Upcoming Events, then go to the 2nd Annual CTZCC Car Show thread. Maybe 50 entries in, there is a link that will get you to a huge photo album. The #13 car is the butterscotch one; the #171 car is the British Racing Green. The car that nobody raises a big fuss about is the #171 car, which has 28,700 original miles and is totally original including the belts, hoses, and tires. I know that is true mileage because I knew the original owner and bought it from her with 26,000 miles on it on 8/24/73. Hope I haven't gotten into the middle of a crossfire, I'm already a Purple Heart veteran!! But I will try to answer your questions as accurately and honestly as I can, that is if everybody doesn't kill one another first!! All Z Best,.............Ranger Rick

Thanks for the feedback, Carl, I appreciate it. And Mike, thanks also, that was some great info you supplied and coming from the files it did, I can't refute it. But it still is WEIRD to me how that could possibly happen, any ideas? My little mind can onlythink in terms of the data plates having the build dates stamped in advance, then not having enough production that month to use them all, setting the extras aside. Later this little pile of data plates is found and not wanting to waste them, the boss says, "Get those old data plates outa here, stamp whatever VIN number is on the line and rivet them on.".............Conjecture....