Carl Beck

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

Hi Stephen: The bad news is the B.S. continues into yet another year - the good news is most the people interested in the Z now know that it is B.S. Progress maybe??? The quote from Nissan's Legal Letter is taken completely out of context by Mr. Ludvigsen - from the entire text of the letter from Nissan's Legal Department. In reviewing the complete letter, I believe you have to keep two things in mind. 1) Nissan's Corporate People in Japan, wanted to avoid the publicity that would have resulted from a prolonged legal action taking place in Detroit - sure to be reported by the American Media as "Japan vs Detroit" and drawing unwanted attention to the growing threat of the Japanese imports to the big three .... So the letter is intended to sooth Mr. Goertz's feathers and settle the dispute quickly and quitely. 2) it is a very purposefully and craftily "weasel worded" statement conceived by corporate lawyers. With the above in mind - let's look at the entire text of that settlement letter... = = = = = = = = = = = = = = == = Dear Mr. Goertz: At your request, we have examined the relevant evidence pertaining to the development of the highly successful Datsun 240Z which was first introduced in 1969. You were retained by Nissan during the period from 1963 to 1965 as an automotive design consultant. During that period, you consulted with Nissan on the basic methods of styling a general sports car. You were also the sole design consultant on a two-liter sports car which Nissan was trying to develop as part of a joint venture with Yamaha. This car was not produced. While it is our view that the design of the 240Z was the product of Nissan's design staff, Nissan agrees that the personnel who designed that automobile were influenced by your fine work for Nissan and had the benefit of your designs Sincerely yours, NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD. Signed Toshikuni Nyui General Manager Legal Dept. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = In the first place - Nissan stated right up front that the sports car Mr. Goertz worked on - was not produced. They then state firmly that it is their belief that the Datsun 240-Z was the work of their in-house people. Something that Mr. Ludvigsen either did not know - or chose to leave out by not quoting the entire sentence. (wonder why?). Seen in its entire context - we also have to keep in mind that Goertz Agreed to this statement - otherwise he wouldn't have settled. He accepted the statement.... "the design of the 240-Z was the product of Nissan's design staff"... and he took the settlement money. I think any honest designer would have either had to accept that and live up to it - or rejected that wording and insist on proper credit for the design of the 240-Z. Goertz could have continued his "threatened law suite". Keep in mind it was only a threat - never went to court... That sentence continued then "... the personnel who designed the 240-Z were influenced by your fine work for Nissan and had the benefit of your designs".... THAT Translates to: A) as a result of Mr. Goertz's fine consulting work - several design techniques were improved or added to Nissan's in house design capabilities.... ie. Nissan started using full size clay models during the design conceptual stages, Nissan Designers also started rendering design concepts in pastels.. That is really the "fine work" that Mr. Goertz did for Nissan's Design Dept....??? I believe it may have been.... knowing what previously displeased upper management - is just as important a "benefit " as knowing what previously pleased them. Goertz's concepts for the Nissan 2000GT didn't cause much pleasure with Nissan's Upper Level Management.. and the project was cancelled... So the "benefit" written about was most likely that of knowing what NOT to do again. While Mr. Matsuo maintains that he did not see Mr. Goertz's work - nor did any of the people that worked on the team Goertz worked with - serve on Mr. Matsuo's team..... Mr. Matsuo's boss and his boss's boss certainly did. Reading Mr. Matsuo's account - you can see that his management chain was not too encouraging of his original "Plan A" and they seemed more than a bit gun shy of making any real push to bring a new Sports Car Concept out of the design studio - and put it in front of upper management for approval to proceed from conceptual styling to automotive engineering. At least during the period from 1965 to 1967. { if you don't have a copy of Mr. Matsuo's account - e-mail me and I'll loan you my digital back up copy beck@becksystems.com} Note also that Nissan's Legal Response - which Goertz Agreed To... states that he was employed by them From 1963 To 1965. It does NOT say "into 1965" nor "through 1965"... it says "TO 1965" meaning that Goetz left sometime before 1965 started. However in his autobiography - Goertz says that he worked at Nissan for four years. The single most striking observation in Mr. Goertz autobiography - is the fact that he covers at least seven pages with his original sketches and pictures of clay models of the BMW 507 he did design. He also publishes his original sketches of his unsolicited and rejected Porsche design of 1958, as well as sketches of a later proposal to BMW - - - Yet when he claims to have designed the 240-Z - he can only show pictures of the finished product... the Datsun 240-Z. I believe there is lots of truth to be found here - the truth is that the initial stories written about the design of the 240-Z and associating it with Goertz - were all too typical of the writing we see in the automotive media... just like the one that started this thread. Very poorly researched, incorrectly summarized, phrases taken completely out of context, and misquotes galore! Goertz got just as caught up in them as the authors inventing them..and having failed to set the record straight from the beginning - he started to believe the myth himself... The truth is his own autobiography defeats his false claim to the design. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Guys: First - let me make it quite clear that "writers" or "reporters" for the automotive media are driven by a personal goal to get something/anything published. Since they are simply "reporting" what others say, they seem to feel no personal need to verify facts, nor even accurately quote their sources - rather they paraphrase, summarize, edit.... all in an attempt to put a story together that captures the readers interest and fits within a very confined column inch goal. The paragraph that Stephen presents us with is a classic example of the above - let's take a look at it first. If you want the truth - it takes more than a couple of paragraphs and you have to do some reading... "In 1961, Albrecht Goertz became one of the first occidental designers to take up the challenge of Japan." Actually, Mr. Goertz states in his autobiography that he first thought of going to Japan News Year's Eve 1961 - and for the first few days of 1962 he tried to find out what major industries existed there. Hardly what any of us would report as "taking up the challenge of Japan".... and given that the thought popped into his mind a couple hours before 1961 ended... I don't think we'd report "in 1961". Mr. Goertz tells us that since he had been successful in gaining work on his visits to Germany, he thought he'd try Japan next. He was simply looking for work, and in his autobiography he tells us what methods were successful for him. "After five visits, Nissan assigned him a consulting contract." After five visits where, to whom? - To Japan or to Nissan? It was after this fifth visit to Japan, and after he had been to Honda, Toyota, Mazda as well as many other Japanese companies, that he signed a contract for design consulting with Nissan. {note: unlike his work for BMW where he was contracted to Design a Sports Car - here he was hired as a design consultant}. Mr. Goertz tells us that he returned to Japan every three months seeking interviews/work so his fifth visit would have been either in Dec. of 1962 or more likely Jan. of 1963. {keep this in mind as it becomes important later} At any rate he finally signed a ONE YEAR agreement with Nissan. Nissan's deployment of employees was related to its overall manpower, which meant that their Design Department consisted of one percent of the total. Otherwise, Goertz reports that the design departments were similar to what he had seen in the US and Europe, with closed-off sections, for the various models. He had his section, but was not permitted to see any of the others. (keep this in mind...as it actually supports Mr. Matsuo's contention that he had not seen the work of Goertz, nor did any of Matsuo's team work with Goertz}. Goertz contract required that he visit Nissan Tokyo every seven to eight weeks. Goertz tells us that Nissan's HQ was in Tokyo, but the factory that housed their design dept. was in Yokohama. Five Designers were assigned to Goertz, the lead was Mr. Kimura and he spoke a little English.. Goetz writes..."At Nissan my first assignment was the "Silvia" coupe, based on the existing Nissan roadster. Work on that model had begun, but management did not like what it saw. Nissan's real reason for hiring me was that they wanted to produce a 2 liter sports car especially for the US market, mainly California, the land of the MG, Triumph, Jaguar, Porsche and Mercedes. The development of a 4 cylinder engine for the anticipated car was entrusted to Yamaha, and my designs and spec.'s were made over to them. Yamaha was a very large, diversified company that produced pianos and other musical instruments, as well as motorcycles, in their factory at Hamamatsu. Like Porsche, Yamaha had a center to which other companies assigned projects for development, and since Nissan had commissioned them to develop the prototypes for the new sports car, I was frequently at the Hamamatsu factory." As you can see - Mr. Kimura had actually designed the Silvia by the time Goertz arrived. Goertz made a few minor - but very important changes to the overall shape and fine details. Maybe he should be credited with the design - but I would have reported that the Silvia was a joint effort between Kimura and Goertz at best. In Chapter Ten Mr. Goetz continues.... "The 4 cylinder engine developed by Yamaha for the 2-liter sports car (eventually to be named the Fair Lady in Japan and later exported as the 240-Z) did not meet Nissan's expectations, and collaboration between the two companies came to an unpleasant end. The metal prototype produced by Yamaha to my design and specifications was shipped to Nissan and the project came to a halt." Here Mr. Goertz is taking proper credit for the metal prototype, that was delivered to Nissan at the close of the project. This is very important to keep in mind - and to understand that it is the metal prototype that Nissan's in-house designation for was the Nissan 2000GT. Yamaha's designation for the Joint Nissan/Yamaha project was the A550X. Mr. Goertz's design, by his own account is reflected by the metal prototype delivered back to Nissan and always pictured outside the Nissan Plant: See: <a href=http://zhome.com/History/Truth/A550Xvs240Z.htm TARGET=NEW> You Can Not Get There From Here </a> OK - lets stop there for a minute.. and let some of this soak in... Next we will look at the complete legal statement from Nissan - and see how misleading Karl Ludvigsen's report really is.... Carl B.

So Far Nothing... but I'm still pressing them. FWIW, Carl B.

Upon what do you base the belief that the interior is "original"? Pictures of the car when new at the Selling Dealership? A signed waver - from the original purchaser to the Dealership stating he would not make them put the correct interior parts in at a later date? Sorry, I don't think you'd find a Datsun Dealer that would have sold the car with non-standard color mixed interior bits/pieces - - - without first fixing it and charging the factory - in the unlikely event that it somehow got out of the factory that way in the first place. FWIW, Carl

Photoshop Elements is about $79.95 - and in many cases there is a $20.00 mail in rebate if you have a previous version of Photoshop. Elements will do just about anything you want... once you learn how to use it. Runs on the Mac or Wintel type PC Carl B.

Hello Everyone: The following note is from Gayle Brock, Peter's wife: I forward it to you with her permission. Carl B. Gayle writes: "Sat January 20th, while shooting SCORE’s season opening off-road race in Laughlin, NV, Peter was hit by an off-road vehicle that went off course. The upper part of his right leg was hit by the front tire of the vehicle, he did a 360 degree backward flip landing face down in the dirt and his right foot/ankle were then run over by the vehicle’s rear tire. Other photographers in the area and the SCORE rescue team were onsite within seconds. Thanks to help from Mark Post of the Riviera team and a recommendation from the Herbst family of the Terrible Herbst team, Peter was taken by helicopter from the regional medical center to the well-respected trauma center at the UMC (University Medical Center) in Las Vegas. His injuries involve primarily that right leg with a broken femur a couple of inches below the ball and socket of the hip, a break in the tibia just below the knee and a broken lower fibula and ankle. Surgery from 1am-4am Sunday involved placing a rod down the length of his femur and installing a plate with screws to reconstruct his lower leg and ankle area. This is capped off with a cast from his foot up to just below his knee. The surgeons are very happy with how everything aligned. In regards to the most explosive area of the ankle they said that once they secured the bone pieces to the plate with the screws they couldn’t even see where the breaks were anymore. As you already know from the description of the accident, we are incredibly lucky! this is the primary extent of his injuries. His hip and pelvis area are fine. His left leg is fine. His back is fine. His arms are fine. His face, neck and head are fine (with the exception of some road rash on the left side of his head/face which is almost entirely healed). To those who’ve been asking about my experience, let me share that I was shooting in the infield when the accident occurred. The immediate response of the ambulance leaving the infield led me to suspect someone outside of a car had been injured (an unconscious driver in a car is not quite as apparent to onlookers as an unconscious photographer on the ground). I knew Peter was in that area and my anxiety rose when he did not respond to my calls to him on our 2-way radios. A few minutes later Peter’s voice came over the radio I was still unconsciously clutching in my hand: “Do you read me?” Upon my confirmation he relayed: “I’ve been hit. They’re putting me in the ambulance.” His voice was normal, clear and sound… and music to my ears. It’s a call Peter doesn’t remember making but I continue to thank him profusely for doing it, even if unconsciously. The call allowed me to report to the officials at the start/finish line who it was that had been injured and allowed them to get me in the ambulance. When the ambulance doors opened to let me in, there was Peter on the gurney chatting away with his hat on his head (yes… although the hat did not take the entire 360 degree trip, it lives and will be back soon to a race track near you! most namely the 12 hours of Sebring race). I’ve been able to stay with Peter the entire time and as always it’s an incredible pleasure and honor. In addition, Peter’s oldest son, Ian was at the race, along with his fiancée Nikki. They immediately spotted my “focused” actions in the infield and have been by at our side ever since. They allowed me to focus on Peter as they took care of everything else such as retrieving his equipment at the track, retrieving our rental car from the track and packing up our hotel room in Laughlin as I went with Peter to the Vegas trauma center. They followed us to Vegas and allowed me to take some needed breaks those first couple of days when otherwise I wouldn’t have left for even a minute. We are so blessed to have you and these great people in our lives. Peter’s been in great spirits and we think we’ve discovered a great new talk show skit called Stupid Patient Tricks (if you haven’t heard of Stupid Pet Tricks before let me explain the Stupid refers to the Tricks and not to the Patient). Peter’s repertoire of stupid patient tricks grows every day and we should soon be ready for the talk show circuit (I say “we” as some of the best tricks require a partner). So as you can tell, we’re having a good time together, even under these circumstances. Going forward, a femur break requires no weight be put on it for 2 months. In a couple of weeks Peter will be sporting around on crutches which will carry him thru that time period. After that he’ll gradually be able to increase the weight he can put on the leg. In the meantime, he’s really enjoyed catching up with friends on the phone (so feel free to call him. Good hours while he’s at the hospital are 6:30am to 9pm). There’s no internet access at the hospital so I’m sending this from a nearby Starbucks. It’s my first time online since the accident and I’m not sure when I’ll be online again. We want to thank everyone for their calls (and I’m sure there are e-mails waiting for us too) and the beautiful flowers which have begun to fill the hospital room here in Vegas are a real bright spot. At one point today Peter exclaimed: “They really do make the room look nice.” It’s all greatly appreciated! And last night we got a special treat as we got a call from Daytona where in a meeting of the Road Racing Drivers Club they announced Peter had been inducted into the club as an honorary member (a decision that was made prior to the accident). The crowd was still clapping as the call came into Peter’s hospital room. Peter’s immediate response: “What an honor!” We’ve started working with physical therapy here at the hospital and our goal is for Peter to be discharged Saturday at which point we’ll take a flight back to Seattle late that afternoon. He can’t wait to get back home and back online to all of you. I’d say he’s also anxious to get back to racing but he’s never left. His first call Monday was to an editor regarding a story idea and most, if not all, calls since have been racing related. He’s so totally committed to this sport and amongst other things it’s been great to see a young driver he’s believed in the last few years come to the hospital every night to visit him… every night. And you should see the light in his eyes every time this young talent enters the room. He’s thrilled to be able to give his “all” to this sport and we’re very lucky it wasn’t taken to the most extreme of meaning this last weekend. We want to thank all of you for your thoughts and well wishes. It means more than you can possibly imagine and we’re thinking of all of you too. Best regards, Gayle & Peter

Hi Don: In my experience - your speculation would be quite wrong. If it's been sitting in a garage for 16 years, it would need MAJOR and CAREFUL preparation prior to any attempt to turn it over with a battery. Throw a new battery in it, crank it over and you run significant risk of totally screwing it up - and the following expensive and extensive repairs. Do a lot of pre-wake-up work - and you might get away with only having to spend a few thousand dollars on it to bring it back to roadworthy condition. You can bet at this point, it will need front calipers, rear wheel cylinders, all rubber brake lines and a new Master Cylinder. Most likely the radiator will be rotted out and you'll have to replace all coolent lines and heater lines. Figure a new clutch master and slave cylinder as well. All these things freeze up, corrode, or otherwise rot when the car sits in storage for more than 10 years. Often in less time than that. The carpet will more than likely be dry rotting as well. Then there are the tires too. As to value today of the RHD cars in North America - everyone likes to look at them at shows... but very few people will buy one. So their market prices usually run about 75% of what a like condition LHD car will. Keep in mind that if it's a 70 240-Z with RHD - it is most likely to have come from Australia or GB. If on the other hand it is a 1970 Nissan Fairlady Z - it isn't a 240-Z. Rather it has a smaller and less powerful 2.0L engine. (if it's still stock). FWIW, Carl B.

What is the most you are willing to pay for a good 240-Z Body?

Clean car - if it checks out upon close inspection.. A/T most likely driven with more care and therefore in better than average shape. With 39K miles - you aviod having the rebuild the transmission, rear end and engine!! That's a major expense and very time consuming process. Well worth an extra $5K in my opinion. Many of you guys in the Pacific Northwest and California... seem to be actually spoiled by the ability to go find solid 240-Z's at really cheap prices. You still seem to have it in your mind that these cars will always be worth $6K..... If I lived in those area's today - I'd be out buying ever car like this one that I get my hands on for $6K ... and sticking them away for future sales... I personally agree that this one might be priced a bit higher than I'd like - but.... if your going to put $30K to $45K in a full restoration, does it really matter if the starting point is two, three or four thousand higher? What really matters is starting with a good solid, mostly rust free and all stock, complete car. This one might not bring it's BIN but it will finish close... Carl B.