Carl Beck

Hi Avery: The fact that you mentioned that you "planed to use" your car for transportation to/from work on a regular basis - even if once a week, automatically makes it a daily driver... even if only one day a week, or every other week. In effect, regardless if you realized it or not - you told them you planned to use your Classic Car in place of your daily transportation, just to get you to/from work. I've been with the Hagerty for many many years - and every once in a while - I'd drive one of my Classic, Collectible or Special Interest cars into work - just to show it off. The company I worked for held "Classic Car Appreciation Days" about twice a year - and everyone brought their Classics to work for a parking lot lunch hour show.. In both cases the cars were fully covered under the terms and conditions of the Hagerty Policy. That's quite a different situation than the planned use of the car for transportation to/from work. The fact of the matter is - Classic, Collectible and Special Interest policies are regulated by the States the insurance is sold in. For that reason, the CC&SI policies are not allowed to offer the same coverage as Full Line Insurance Companies what write normal automobile insurance. For the most part the CC&SI carriers full a need, that is left void by regular insurance companies - ie. to insure cars older than 15 to 20 years, to offer Agreed Values on cars with no traditional Book Values and very few data points in terms of "current market values". The rule really is - that you can not use a Classic Car for daily transportation, nor use it to replace your daily transportation should that daily transportation be tied up or out of service for the day. All CC&SI insurers can offer very low rates because they are very picky about your driving record, your age, the number of other potential drivers in the household... that is especially true of teenage drivers... Nonetheless, better to be honest up front - than to have something happen then only to find out that coverage was being denied because you misrepresented your planned use of the car. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Bob: As all things - moderation. Don't over insure.. I see insurance as a way of laying off risk that I can not afford to realize by myself. Small claims like things under $5K won't change my lifestyle, nor keep me broke for a lifetime. The risks associated with Personal Liability represent very large risk however. Since I do drive all my cars on occasion, I insure mostly against personal liability actions when it comes to Classic Car insurance. {lets face it, we all still drive relatively inexpensive Classics and even a $20K loss wouldn't be the end of the world - but a $300,000.00 or more judgment for personal liability would be a really killer...} The real value here is the fact that since you drive the car so little, and most people are usually very careful when driving their Classic's.. the exposure for the insurance company is also greatly reduced.. and in turn the premiums are very low by comparison to normal automobile insurance. You don't want to set an Agreed Value much above the actual replacement costs of your car, because then you are paying higher premiums than needed. However you do want to assure that your Z would be properly repaired, rather than totalled out for less than it's value. To me, the real discriminator among any of the Classic Car Insurance speciality companies is their Customer Service. So far, in the last 15 years I have not had one person write that they were not happy campers with the Hagerty. Like I said, they are very real Car People... FWIW, Carl B.

I don't know who "they" are - but your local Datsun Dealer had one for sale back in the day... Part Number 99990-0004 Luggage Rack This was a Nissan Authorized, Dealer Installed Accessory <a href=http://zhome.com/History/72AccBroch.htm TARGET=NEW> Luggage Rack</a> I doubt you'll find too many today - took me about six years of watching E-Bay to finally find one... I also had a roof mounted TENT that was neat as heck... long since lost... FWIW, Carl B.

Carbon build up - or a deposit preventing a valve from fully closing. Did you check the valve adjustment before the compression test? Run the test with a warm engine? FWIW Carl B.

Oh.. thanks Gary... now that you've told everyone - no need for a PM -vbg-... I had have Collectible, Classic and Special Interest vehicles insured with Class Car Insurance companies for about 40 years now.. I've been with several different companies over that period. YES - DARN - after driving 240-Z's for 35 years without ever bending a fender - I bent the right front fender, front bumper, broke the headlight bucket, bent the lower right finishers, BRE Spook broken and right front turn signal cracked.....dented the hood dead center as well. On my white 72 that I had recently finished "Refreshing". I'm the second owner on the car, it had about 60K miles and I had about $16K in the car and the Refresh... I rolled down a slight incline, leaving a shopping center parking lot... when a Ford Expedition stopped suddenly and very unexpectedly in front of me - I hit it at about 5 mph... I saw it pull out onto the street ahead of me, I looked back up the street one more time to assure traffic was clear - let my foot off the brake and started to roll down the incline - out toward the street - looked back ahead - and BANG.. hit the Ford... that for no reason had unexpectedly stopped again about twenty feet ahead...#$*&%(*%#@! I called Hagerty a few days later - and told them I had a claim to fill... CB> - - -is me HI> -- is the lady in Claims at Hagerty Insurance CB> Hello, I hate to say it, but I have had a minor accident with one of my 240-Z's and need to know what the process is for filing a claim. HI> Oh, that too bad, are you alright? BR> Yes, I'm fine, just bent the nose of my 72 Z up a bit. HI> I'm sorry to hear that - you must feel horrible. Just take it to the repair shop of our choice and let us know how much it is going to cost. If you don't have a good repair shop that you deal with and trust in your area - give me a call and we'll get you recommendations from other Classic Car owners in your area. If there is anything else you need, or we can do, just give me a call. CB> Is there a number to which I need to FAX an estimate, or how do I get approval for the body shop to proceed? HI> if you like, you can FAX the estimate to me at xxx-xxx-xxxx..... Again, if there is anything else we can do, just give me a call. So I took the car to my body shop - told them to replace every bent/broken part with only new OEM Nissan parts.. then repaint the car. The car was stripped down again (meaning all panels taken back off.. all glass out back out, the interior removed etc etc... just like we had done it the first time)... No real body work - just paint the new parts along with the car and bolt everything back together. As I recall it was around $6K... (had to get some NOS parts out of Charlie in Canada) The body shop FAX'd the estimate to the number at the Hagety after going over it with me ... and told them to proceed with the work. About seven or eight days later - I was at the shop checking on the progress... and my bodyman said that he hadn't heard back from the insurance company. I told him I'd call them when I got home. CB> Hello - I was just at my body shop and the manager said he had not received authorization to proceed with the repair of my Z. Can you tell me how long that usually takes? HI> Hold on Mr. Beck, I'll check to see what's going on........ Hello Mr. Beck, we sent the check out three days ago - you should have it in the mail today or tomorrow. If you don't receive it in a another day or two let me know. Send us some new pictures when it's done - If there is anything else we can do - just give me a call. The next day - I received the check from the Hagety - in full. I took it to the body shop and the manager said he'd never seen anything like that... I handed him the check, and told him I'd sign off on it when the car was done - and as usual when I was happy. <vbg>... If Hagety's premiums were twice as much as everyone else - which they aren't - you couldn't get me to switch carriers. I like their total involvement in the Classic Car hobby, their support for votech schools to train people in auto restoration, their road service coverage and most of all - I really like the way they treat their CUSTOMERS... The only thing I don't like - is that they implemented one of those damn automated phone answering systems... and I've told them that. IMHO - you can not do better than the Hagerty. They are real car people and a pleasure to deal with. FWIW, Carl B.

Well it was worth $10,700.00 to E-Bayer "ben_stamper" - who had three feedbacks... Was it "worth" it - yes, to ben at least... was worth $10,600.00 to the second highest bidder... If the car was "as presented".... Rebuilt Engine:.... at least $5K in that one Repaint...top coat ... maybe $3500.00n (would have to see the car and the before and after pictures) Rebuilt 81/83 5spd. with 3.56 rear gear $750.00 at least. Tokiko Gas Shocks, new suspension bushings...at least $250.00 There's $9500.00 - so for an extra $1,200.00 the buyer got a fairly clean 1971 240-Z... with an interior that looks very good, Granted it isn't perfect - wrong hood, sun roof... The new owner can drive that car now - enjoy it for a couple years... and if later a cleaner car can be found - he will most likely get most of his money back out of this car... The seller on the other hand was lucky if he got half his money back... Three or four years ago - this would have been a $4,500.00 car at best.... FWIW, Carl B.

Of the four 240-Z's that were in the warehouse, that Nissan did not want to keep - 1 is at Universal Nissan, 2 are owned by a friend of mine, and 1 is now owned by another member of this forum. BTW - Nissan didn't own all the cars pictured in that Poster... FWIW, Carl B.

$450.00 to rebuild your 5spd., if you carry it in to the shop - sounds reasonable to me. $750.00 to $800.00 for a rebuilt 5spd. also sounds reasonable. You can figure $150.00/$250.00 for a good used but worn 5spd., then $100.00 for the mechanic to go pull one out of the junk yard. In which case he is responsible for making sure it's a good rebuildable unit of the proper type/year to start with. Depends on where you are and how plentiful 5spd.s are. $850.00/ $875.00 to swap-in a fully rebuilt 5spd. - into your car - Drive Out so to speak... FWIW, Carl B.

If they are actually selling... With hidden bidder I.D. you no longer have a right to know who your bidding against. The sellers brother, wife or mother could be bidding the price higher and higher.. Either to get you to raise your bid, or bid you up to the sellers real selling price. Bidding on E-Bay took a serious turn for the worse when they started hidding the bidder's ID's. I wouldn't buy anything there - it was bad enough before just taking a change on the car.... FWIW, Carl

If that piece had not been modified - and it still had the correct mouning studs and rubber gaskets etc... as it was originally installed... It would sell for or above the $125.00 price. As this one sits... it is no longer a collectible item.. FWIW, Carl

Actually it was designed to let hot air out from under the hood, mainly do to Percolation - and it did help with the vapor lock problem. But the electric fuel pump and fuel line insulation were the main solutions for vapor lock. The 73 240-Z's with the emissions carb's suffered from vapor lock while running - and then very hard starting after being ran. From the Datsun Fuel System Modifications Manual: PERCOLATION: Percolation causes a richer than normal air-fuel mixture. It affects the carburetor float bowl and the high pressure fuel line (the outlet side of the fuel pump), and may cause hot start problems. Percolation can come about in several ways: 1. Heat Soak - back into the fuel pump and high pressure fuel lines can raise the pressure enough to unseat the float bowl needle valve. This condition is known as "after fill". 2. Float bowl evaporation may lower the float level while there is residual pressure in the fuel line. This pressure then forces an excess amount of fuel into the float bowl. 3. Fuel evaporates in the float bowl, and the resulting vapor pressure may not vent out quickly enough. The high pressure developed in the float bowl forces fuel into the intake manifold. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Ron: See: <a href=http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/AandBtranny.htm TARGET=NEW>This Article on the Z Car Home Page</a> The part you listed is shown there. FWIW, Carl B. Cleaarwater, FL

Hi Alan: Could be that they were afraid of all the speeding fines they'd accumulate. Looking at the over-all gearing of US Spec. 240-Z's and Euro Spec cars... <pre> Over-all gearing US Euro. 1. 11.92 11.53 2. 7.36 7.25 3. 4.77 5.11 4. 3.36 3.90 5. 3.32 </pre> It would seem that in terms of over-all gearing the US Spec. Cars are geared very slightly lower in 1st and 2nd. Nonetheless it seems to me that if you stayed in the power band - 3,500 RPM to say 4,500 RPM for normal driving.. You'd be doing something like 21/27 mph in 1st, then 35/45 mph in 2nd. At that you'd be at the speed limit for driving on city streets, most places in America. Keeping the US Spec. car at the power band in 3rd gear would put you in the 55/70 mph range. Keeping the US Spec. car in 4th gear and in the Rev Range would be 75/97 mph. That would be at or well above the speed limits in most places... It's actually about the same for the Euro Spec. cars - 1st gear 22/28 mph, 2nd gear 35/45 mph, 3rd gear 50/64 mph, 4th gear 65/84 mph and 5th gear 78/99 mph. Final drive in both cars is also about the same.. 3.36 vs 3.32 I can see how having that extra step between 3rd gear and the final drive would be an advantage in road racing,where the on track conditions would benefit from staying in a higher Rev Range.. 4000 RPM to 6000 RPM with a race prepared engine - and where the associated speeds would be allowed - but I don't see it being of much use for a sports/GT here in the States driven on the streets, nor here in the States driven on the Freeways at 70-80 mph. On the tracks of course all the teams ran various competition 5 speeds and rear end ratio's selected for the specific track. Given the market competition here in the States and given the average use of the car here - a 5spd. simply wasn't called for. By 1977, with a heaver car and given the competition in the market, a 5sd. for the 280Z made more sense. Personally, as I stated earlier - I put a 5sp. in an otherwise stock 240-Z, mostly to drop the engine RPM at 80 mph for longer drives (6 to 18 hours) to reduce noise in the car... and partly due to the fact that a gallon of gas that was $0.29 in 1970 - is now $2.25. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Arne: Just a point of interest - at the ZFest in Florida last fall - we looked at a Series I car with a type B five speed. The owner used the shifter from I believe he said a 200SX. No cutting of the tunnel was necessary as that shifter had the correct "S" shaped bend from the factory. he was using the stock rubber boot and vinyl shift lever cover as well. So I guess there is a way to do it... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Tom: Yes it was the stock set up for the 280ZX - and the 280ZX was heavily bogged down with emissions controls and putting out 135 BHP (132 for California), plus being about 600lbs heavier than a 240-Z (2350lbs vs 2970lbs). So in that set-up - less power and more weight - the 3.9 was needed {the 79 ZX was only 2900lbs.. so 3.7). 15.7 pounds per HP for a stock 240 vs 22 lbs per HP for a stock 280ZX. The ZX simply had to be geared lower for stop and go - and having the 5th gear added to make the reported MPG acceptable.. True also that many people that make the swap - do so because they are more motivated by acceleration performance improvements - than I am - I clearly stated that my goal was better over-all driveability. My main point was that in my opinion the stock 3.36 is just fine for my intended use. I do believe that everyone has to really think about their intended use.. BTW - if you use the 77/79 5spd. the transmission gearing is all but the same as the 4 spd.. only with the additional overdrive 5th. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Guys: If you like the one in the Top Left - you'll enjoy this.... 1961 Ford Styling Studio - is visited by "Japanese Designers"... I meet **** Avrey - a pretty accomplished Designer himself, and he gave me the write-up that appeared in the Automotive News April 3, 1961. <a href=http://zhome.com/History/Ford/Ford.htm TARGET=NEW> The Shape Of Things To Come</a> Also check out his original design for a Jet Ski when he worked at Christ Craft) and the T-Tops he designed for the Datsun 240-Z. **** also designed the Christ Craft Commander... today also a highly collectible treasure itself. See: <a href=http://www.commanderclub.com/ TARGET=NEW>Commander Club</a> FWIW, Carl B.

I originally put the triple Webers on my 72 when I had the original L24 in car... around 1975 as I recall. Then transferred them to the L28.. They just looked and sounded so neat... Originally getting them jetted correctly was a trial and effort taking place over a couple of years... and tons of money spent on them... over and above the original cost... The main problem with the triples as far as I am concerned - is finding someone that really knows what they are doing - to tune them out at your location. If you learn to do it yourself - expect to spend a lot of money on the learning curve. Today - I'd never recommend triples for a street car ... Spend your time and money and add a good after-market Fuel Injection system. There will be learning curve there as well - but it will transfer to most other modern cars anyway... Other than that I'd stick with a good set of SU's.. just my experience... FWIW, Carl B.

They are the type that uses the H4's ... it's the reflector design and the glass that were the problem.. I do not know how much more wattage you could use with them other than the originals... don't know if the materials of the reflectors would hold up to high temp.'s There was an NOS Pair on e-bay a few months back - maybe six or eight months ago. I too thought they looked neat... so I ask the guys at CIBIE about them.... CIBIE was one of the main sponsors in the early 70's - for one of the car's I'm restoring, so I thought I might just as well use the CIBIE headlights, in addition to the Off-Road lights... When I called them, they laughed and and said - DON'T DO IT ... they suck big time... We'll send you a free set of good headlights... The later "Z-Beams" were far better. I also had a set of the CIBIE Biodes in 1970... GREAT LIGHTS... but they had a metal backing... and grounded out when put in the Z's headlight buckets... had to use a rubber mount to insulate them from the body...(another very expensive lesson!) FWIW, Carl B.

If you talk to the guys at CIBIE USA - they will tell you that the lights your friend saw - were about the worst lights they ever turned out!! Lasted only a couple of years on the market. If you don't drive at night, no problem... they look neat during the day. Tungsten is the material the wire used as the filament in any of the usual light bulbs is make of, and it is only one element (so to speak)... The material the bulb envelope is made of is another - glass or quartz crystal are the two most common. The gas used to fill the bulb is another - it's usually argon or nitrogen in the conventional sealed beams.. or it's a halogen gas of some type - if used with a quartz envelope (the very small replaceable bulb types) or the newer sealed beams. Quartz Iodine Bulbs.... same/same - Iodine is a halogen gas HID is an entirely different matter - just think of an arc welder... basically it's an electrical arc contained in a quartz envelope... I only know this - because I just spent two years tracking down vintage CIBIE and Lucas lights..many calls to CIBIE.... FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Dave: Since you have a 72 240-Z - you just use the shift lever off the 4 spd. for the 5sp. If all you are changing is the transmission - no need to worry about the Clutch Assembly {Pressure Plate and Clutch Disc} .... However - you will want to take the Throw-out bearing collar off your 4spd.. and put it on your 5spd. Since this is the first time you have done this - BE CAREFUL NOT to get the two confused... don't hold them up together to look at them!......Take the throw-out bearing collar off the 5spd. and set it far aside - out of the way. Then take the throw-out bearing collar off the 4spd. and put it directly on the 5spd. If you retain the stock rear gear - you'll have to swap the speedometer drive gear from the 4spd. to the 5spd. {one bolt to take out, and the carrier and gear will lift out}. This will keep your Speedo accurate. Before you do any of the above - a) order a new throw out bearing from Nissan {cheap insurance} order new shift lever bushing for the 83 5spd. There are three of them. Two go in the sides of the shift lever at the tranny - and one goes on the bottom of the shift lever. Two different Part Numbers {cheap insurance - these always wear out} c) depending on the type of exhaust system you have - you may need to get and exhaust manifold to exhaust header pipe gasket. If the car is still stock - you have to loosen the exhaust header pipe to move the exhaust system aside - to get the tranny in/out. I also recommend that you order new nuts for the exhaust header pipe while your at it. You may or may not need them.. but better to have them on hand and again cheap insurance. As for changing the rear end ratio - I didn't. I'm perfectly happy with the slightly taller gearing in town.. all stop and go traffic can be easily handled in 1st and 2nd... Likewise on the highway - the taller gearing is GREAT....much lower engine RPM and a more quite ride... If you like drag racing from stop light to stop light - yep... you'll need the 3.9. If you put an L28 in front of that 5spd. - you'll have enough additional HP/Torque to easily pull the 3.3... and you wouldn't want to go much lower then a 3.7. FWIW, Carl B.

You can put a 280Z front fender on a 240-Z {the part numbers may all be the same now for that reason}. When you try to put a real 240-Z front fender on a 280Z you will find that the additional strengthening done to hold the larger 280Z bumpers and pass the higher front impact requirements - resulted in a 1/4" flange (where two pieces of sheetmetal are sandwiched together) right at the intersection of the headlight bucket and front fender. The 280Z front fender has a notch cut out - so it sits down over that flange - the 240-Z front fender does not. You will have to notch that area out on the 240-Z front fender... if you want to sit down where it should, and line up the hood... FWIW, Carl B.

Is the car For Sale? Does a lady own it? What's the Asking Price? Can you copy the ad to us? thanks, Carl

The Libre wheels work on the 240-Z. None were available for the 240-Z wider than 5.5 inch wide. I have American Racing Libre's on both my 72 240-Z's - wouldn't have anything else. You can run 185R70's or 195R70's (one or two sizes larger than stock) on them with no problem. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Bob: I'll give you my take on the subject. A Concours Quality car would be one that is first a Classic, Collectible or Special Interest vehicle, that has been maintained in or, restored to "as it left the factory" condition. It would be judged by knowledgeable Judges of the Marque as being a #1 Condition example. You might get by with a #2 Condition example as long as a #1 Condition example wasn't sitting next to it. Judged right down to the level of every nut, bolt and hose clamp. Judging however infers that a person designated as the Judge - will be expected to use his judgment in gray area's. While the ZCCA for example has published Judging Guidelines or Standards for the Stock Class - there are many area's in which the Judges have use their judgment. Today - to restore a 240-Z to Concours Quality - I would expect to spend at least a couple of years and $50K+. I can tell you that if you keep very sloppy records, account for only the most expensive items and simply forget many of the items you've paid for - you can delude yourself into thinking that you have $35K in the project... In most Concours Events, and in many cases most car shows - Points would be deducted in the "Stock Class" - if after-market parts of any kind replaced the original factory part. Mag wheels would be considered as a "modification" since they didn't come from the factory. Likewise a carb change. "As New" and "Like New" might have different meanings to different people. When you restore a car you are attempting to put it in the same condition as it was when new....ie. as new. On the other hand I prefer to use the term "Refresh" to mean that you are putting the car in what most average people would say looks like a new car..ie... like new. When you refresh a car - you don't worry about every nut, bolt and hose clamp being the correct factory part - the day it left the factory. Rather you put the car in cosmetically beautiful condition as well as mechanically excellent condition - and for the most part you retain the stock appearance and overall form. For the most part, once the car is done - the joy continues as you drive the finished product on the weekends or nice days. The joy continues as you can take the car to a Z Car Club show and not be embarrassed by it's lack of proper condition... You can still refresh a 240-Z for about $15K to $20K depending on how much of the work you can do for yourself. When you restore a car - the finished product is really a showcase for each individual detail, every original part. You restore a car when you enjoy the process and the process is 90% research and searching for the rare NOS Parts you need, or restoring each individual part to as new condition before placing it back on the "display". When it is complete - most of the joy is over... Now it becomes a permanent "display".. but one that is done. Time to look for the next car to restore... the next collection of unique individual parts to gather... the next knowledge base to build... Is the additional cost of Restoring a car to Concours condition worth it? Only you can decide that. To a few people it is well worth it - because that is the process in total they enjoy - and it's the process they are spending their money and time on. It is worth it to the general market - no, not in the short run, maybe in the longer run. good luck with your project.. Carl B.

Yes, I report that he is credited with the design of the Silvia - in most of the articles I've written - because Nissan Did. If I had been at Nissan at the time - I would have credited both him and Kimura. One can only refute one Myth at a time Carl