Carl Beck

Too bad they didn't have Lee Midgley's Alfa beside the BRE 510. Lee was a friend of Peter Brock's, and co-driver of the Baja Z in the Baja 500 1973.

Yes, that is a Nissan Vintage Z - HLS30 32089. A 1971 Datsun 240Z https://zhome.com/IZCC/ZRegisters/VintageZ.htm

Nissan issued Factory Service Bulletins upon the introduction of each of the Four Models of Datsun 240Z’s that they produced and sold between Oct 1969 and Aug. 1973. Each of the four Models were assigned a distinct set of chassis serial numbers. The first series of chassis serial numbers for the 1st models sold to the public started at: HLS30 00013 and HS30 00003 The second series of chassis serial numbers for the 2nd models sold to the public started at: HLS30 21001 and HS30 00500 If you want to know exactly what the difference is between the 1st & 2nd. series of chassis serial numbers, you can find them individually listed by Nissan in the new model Introduction Service Bulletin, February 1971, Vol 137. All 18 items are listed here were on the "New & Improved Model", everything else stayed the same. https://zhome.com/History/New71LateP2.htm

1971 Oct 01 First Digit = Year 2nd Digit = Month 1 - 9 then switch to X,Y,.Z for Oct - Dec 3rd&4th = Day 5th is a Batch Code L24-067045 and 067838 were in HLS30's with Date of Mft. 11/71

I'm still around. Bob Weissman started the Z Car List on a majordomo server in 1987. Prior to that we had about 30 guys using personal E Mail's with a CC list. ( USENET /NSFNET). Seems like yesterday -

$1.00 in 1925 is $18.23 today. A US Penny in 1925 had the same buying power of $1.83 today. So your 2 cents worth is now 366 cents. An ounce of God in 1925 was $20.67 - that is 31.1035 grams.(call it 31). $0.66 per gram. An once of God today is $2,754.10 - that is $88.84 per gram. 133 times as much Where did your purchasing power go? $35,000,000,000,000.00 in National Debt.

Bob convinced Camel to sponsor the Pace Car. It was built as a backup Race Car, in case anything happened to the BSR Race Car. They were both built at the same time.

Not on BAT -but related to current market pricing... 2004 M/B SL500 with 14K miles. Was asking $26,500.00... now down to $18,500. https://www.hemmings.com/auction/2004-mercedes-benz-sl500-westport-ct-919098?utm_medium=email&utm_source=EDaily&utm_campaign=2024-10-01&uemlid=a9a67d1ba1d99fc8f383120b6c9aa055922883ecc7fd9867ed60273a116fd5e4 If that car was anywhere in Florida - I'd rush over and buy it.

Very True. Around here we car nuts, call them "metal men". The harder something is, the more they love doing it. Very hard to find these guys today. I wouldn't dream of starting a restoration on a rusty 50+ year old car today unless I had one of these guys to work with.

The last time that happened here was about 7 years ago. We lost power for about 6 days in that hurricane, I should have been better prepared this time. All in all we're thankful that power was the only thing we lost. Hundreds of people closer to the beach lost their homes and about 8 or 10 lost their lives. One friend lost 4 of his collector cars to storm surge flooding (a 65 Corvette, 65 GTO, 66 Chevelle SS, 68 Cutlass Convert.) Another neighbor of his lost his house do to fire - - his electric car was flooded with salt water and caught fire burning the house down. I think there was as bad to worse damage in the States North of us - death toll is up to 80/90 there.

Yes - thanks.. (lost power here for a couple days..)

26,750 10,500 $6250.00 difference between a very nice to excellent condition 72 240Z sold on the 18th - - and a Project needing full restoration sold today. Crazy Market. It will take $30k to $40K and a thousand hours of labor to match the condition of the finished Z sold on the 18th.

The market has changed significantly since 2018 and 2020. Since Feb of 2020 Inflation has driven consumer prices up over 21%. That can quickly cut deeply into what anyone thought was part of their "disposable" income. Plus make anyone have second thoughts about retained or increasing values... The "Buyers" just aren't there today...I'd be surprised to see bids on this go above $30k... The Bubble hasn't burst yet, nor are the Classic Car Markets in Free Fall.... but there is a great deal of uncertainly. The old saying is "don't try to catch a falling knife".

No question this is a very very nice example. Still….this is a different market today. First - it is NOT a Series I example. Won’t bring Series I money. The question is how much will the non-original items on this 240Z hurt it. Fog Lights - holes in the lower splash panel Head Light Covers - holes in the fiberglass nacelles Ash Tray modified Faded carpet in the rear deck Electric Fans at the Radiator (plus wiring and relays) Wrong Fuel Pump Wrong hose clamps on the fuel lines Wrong Fuel Filter Missing Battery Cover Clutch Master Cylinder non-original Non original muffler Spark Plug Wires??? Should be original with this mileage but can’t tell

The Strips gained a more rearward angle over the following years. 70/71 the strips were entirely on the front fender. On the 73 Baja Z the strips were swept rearward putting them partly on the door. When Mr. Brock built a 240Z for himself in the 2000’s - the strips were swept even farther rearward.

Anyone have a picture of the final lap - Finish - Checkered Flag Lap - from the 1970 ARRC - - where the Datsun 240Z’s finished 1,2,3…. Got to be pictures of that somewhere... thanks,' Carl

Thanks !

What exactly was the "donor" pump for? Carl

The Look on their faces is priceless! I'm going to forward this to Bob..

The rubber seal as added to the 1973 240Z's.

Good idea to also have the 73/74 Fuel System Modifications Plus manual.

If one wanted to keep it perfectly "as it left the factory”; yes it would have the Flat Tops. Back in 73/74 if one wanted to drive it in a more reliable fashion, they switched the Flat Top’s out for the SU’s as used on the 70-72 model years. To comply with the EPA Emission standards for 1973, Nissan had to redesign the original SU’s, the result was what we call the Flat Tops. They passed the emissions tests/standard, but the engines suffered from Percolation and/or Vapor Lock. In higher temp. area’s the cars would just die, or when shut off with a warm engine the cars would not restart until the engine was cold again.

Might have a R200 3.5 or 3.9 ... both desirable today.. Might have a 5spd.. and who knows,might have a good running L-28....

As to a great change or reversal of beliefs, I have to say no. Having spent the better part of 30 years working in the Engineering Design environment of large corp. structures, Mr. Uemura’s story made me feel right at home. I see both Mr. Uemura and his team, as well as Mr. Matsuo and his team in quite a different light than the one you portray. Much more along the lines of the actual work environment; - Take Management Direction, Salute, and Execute. Design A New and More Modern Sports Car For Nissan To Sell. From Mr. Uemura’s story, I see the engineering development team excited and happy to play a part in the development of A New Sports Car that would be put into production. The only conceivable “family” of variants I could think of were created by the Domestic and Export Sales Departments. They had more to do with the definition and range of models, with standard & optional equipment that would comprise the Model Line at the Dealerships. Some quotes from Chapters 2 - Before Development of the Datsun 240Z & 3 - Development of The Datsun 240Z. "At that time, the Styling Section, looking for a design for the new sports car, started preparing for developing the new sports car by building some clay models, including both open and closed models of two-seater cars. The executives, however, did not immediately give their approval for developing the new sports car. Then-president Katsuji Kawamata had a consistent belief: “A sports car is not for making profits but to act as a showcase for our company.” I think that he thought the company did not have to take this sort of risk, because Nissan already had two sports car models: the Datsun Sports and the Silvia. On the other hand, there was a strong desire for a new model in the US market, the Datsun Sports’ main market. This was due to the large number of complaints regarding the existing Datsun Sports, which we were asked to eliminate by bringing out a new model. In Chapter 3 - Development of the Datsun 240Z for example: Mr. Uemura writes "In April 1967, Hajime Suitsu, the Chief Engineer, held a talk with the leaders of the Engineering Department who controlled the production, and they came up with the development course of the new sports car, as follows: a) Development shall be completed in time for shipment in August 1969. b) The retail price in North America shall be 2,546 dollars. c) The car shall be profitable in North America. d) The initial cost shall be estimated on the assumption that 1,000 units will be produced in a month and the cost will be amortized over two years. e) The capacities of the facility shall be 2,000 units per month. f) The base model shall be equipped with a 1600 cc four-cylinder engine. g) As a high-performance specification model, a vehicle equipped with a 2000 cc six-cylinder engine shall be added. h) The new model shall be produced by Nissan Shatai, as with the current Datsun Sports. While the Domestic Sales Department desired a performance car that could compete with the Toyota 2000GT in terms of performance, this set out the basic policy that a profitable new model mainly targeted for the North America market, rather than for hardcore car fans, would be developed. On June 8, 1967, the first liaison meeting for the next-generation sports car was held. A total of about 20 people from the design sections and the modeling, trial production, testing, body and outfitting departments, as well as those from Nissan Shatai who were in charge of development and production were called in for this meeting. They were given the fundamental plan by Suitsu, and the specifications and the layout chart were distributed. In this meeting, he spoke to them, saying, “We will develop three types for this model: a two-seater coupe, a two-seater convertible, and a 2+2 coupe, and give first priority to the two-seater coupe. We would like to make an unconventional car that leads the sports car market by aiming at a top speed of at least 124 mph (200 km).” This served as the formal kick-off in the Design Department. The model was developed following a rigid schedule. For example, the drawings of bulky parts (cast, forged, and stamped parts) had to be released by the end of July, and the first prototype vehicle be completed by the end of November. Suitsu gave us a pep talk, saying, “If it’s difficult to meet a deadline, don’t struggle with it alone. Talk with me and we will hammer out ways to deal with it.” - end quotes - - - The Book was priced at a very low price point - so every enthusiast could easily afford to enjoy it. https://www.lulu.com/search?page=1&q=Datsun+240Z&pageSize=10&adult_audience_rating=00