Carl Beck

SOLD $230K or $253K with buyer's premium

Wow.. a short drive to Memphis for the ZCCA Convention.. Bentonville by chance? good luck with the move.. Carl B.

As usual - you would have to see the quality of the repaint - along with everything else to determine if it's worth $17K.. High Quality repaint {as good or better than the original factory job} - with the engine bay gleaming etc etc - $17K doesn't seem too far out of line.. especial with a one owner car. If it was a less expensive surface repaint, with all glass left in etc... and the engine bay looks like 76K miles ..needing new shocks, a complete brake job, other suspension work....etc etc... $12K.. Although it looks great in the two pictures show.. Carl

Factor Service Manuals - show the windshield in the 240Z's attached with adhesive..

How about something like this...?

I wonder - without the rear strut tower brace - who has actually measured the amount of flex or distortion that is taking place at the tops of the shock towers to begin with. Is the brace supposed to hold them apart - or hold them down? {especially on a street car}. As far as body rigidity, or suspension movement etc goes - you might be better off bracing something else on a street car - without going to a full roll cage. As to your question - I don't see any difference between bracing one side or the other - but then I'm not an M.E... I could see the suggestion of using an "X" between the two sides - to help keep the floor or that section of the body from flexing. Up front you have a strong cross member holding the engine - and a strut tower brace above. With the rear you don't really have a lower structure as strong. At least no one else is offering anything like that {effective or not - }. Carl

Mr. K's first return to the USA for a Z Car event - was at the invitation of the Georgia Z Car Club. That was for the 25th Anniversary of the Z and held in Atlanta, GA 1995. Much of the HISTORY CHANNEL "History of the Z Car" was filmed there at that time. FWIW, Carl

Tamo - very confusing. Especially when you quote only part of what is on Wikipedia. Wikipedia says: "Mr. K, was a Japanese automotive executive who was employed by Nissan and served as the first president of Nissan Motor Corporation U.S.A” Wikipedia is quite wrong. Mr. K. was the second person to hold the office of President, "Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A.” Mr. Takashi Ishihara was the first President of "Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A.” Mr. Ishihara’s offices were located in Japan, so Mr. K. was the first President of "Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A.” … who was located in the U.S.A. So perhaps it was poorly phrased -“Nissan’s first President in U.S.A." - but for the most part I think the fact that Mr. K was the first person outside of the Nissan Corporate Offices in Japan - to be elevated to that level of authority, President of a wholly own Nissan Subsidiary here in the US is significant.

True - Mr. K. hired the attorney that wrote and filed the paperwork that created the corporation, and was one of three Nissan Employees that signed the Articles of Incorporation for "Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A."

82/83 280ZX Turbo's are already changing hands again - in #1/#2 Condition for above $20K. But they still haven't recovered the ground they lost with the 08 Financial Meltdown. Before that they were stingily in the $25K range. #1/#2 Condition examples are ZXT's with less than 15K original miles - completely factory original and Concours Show Ready. Below that level of perfection - really nice weekend pleasure cars, with less than 90K miles, drop down into the $10K range. Prices can go up a bit from there if the mileage comes down - one with less than 40K miles and cared for accordingly might cost $14K etc. So still some pretty nice, well cared for examples out there - although they too are getting harder to find. The people that have them simply keep them, as market prices aren't currently a motivation to sell. Of the 10 cars listed in the article - I personally see the 280ZX-T's as being in a higher class. Maybe the Gen II Supra is there as well. FWIW, Carl B.

If he holds his price - he'll get it. If the car checks out. The pictures are sure encouraging.. I think it will depend a little on how good a job they did on the paint, then the front and fender were repainted. If the whole car need to be repainted.. it would drop the value quite a bit... $32K could easily go down to $25K or less. It is a real shame that had to be resprayed... Carl B.

Interesting discussion. Terms and their meanings seem to vary by use and user. NOS usually means an Old Part that is still unused originated by the original manufacturer. Both shift knobs are from Nissan, one is 16 years old and the other ??. Who knows when Nissan last purchased shift knobs for the 70’s Z’s? I would say that both are actually NOS Parts from Nissan. Reproductions - are made by after market suppliers - to look like the original Nissan Parts. You might have an NOS part from the 70’s - but you could also have an NOS part from the 90’s. I don’t think the manufacturer that puts their part number on the item is really selling “a reproduction”. I think they sometimes refer to them as “Replacement Parts”. Meaning the form, fit and function is the same - even if there are minor cosmetic issues. So maybe - one is NOS and the other is an NOS Replacement Part if you want to more specifically define it. Just a thoughtCarl B.

Check the Facebook page - DuctTape Garage. They had a Group Buy Price of $1650.00... you would save a lot if you can get in on that.. Carl

$1.92.9 per US gallon for Regular - almost everywhere in the Tampa Bay area - $2.43.9 for High Test. Clean Diesel is about the same $245.9 per gallon. Carl B.

EZCarLift - has already thought of you "Purie" - they offer a "drive-over" option. You back the car out - place the lift on the floor and drive over it. Then position the ramps under your pick-up points. When your done - reverse the process, then roll the lift over to a wall and stand it up on end, out of the way. Visit their web site to see all the "options" and "uses". If you have a relatively short job to do - and your driveway is flat/level - you can also easily roll the lift outside to work. A big Plus is that if you move - it is very easy to take with you. Carl B.

I believe that activity was envisioned.. Carl B.

I've had several El Cam's - loved them all. Can't believe he bought that one for that money - it would be at least $4.5K in that condition around here.

It was a pretty easy compromise for me to make. The alternative was to raise the roof - and block the walls up another 3 or 4 foot. Or move somewhere else and start over. The truth is I don't need a full height lift 99% of the time. I like to lift the car for wheel and brake work, oil changes. Nice to have it up a bit for buffing/polishing the sides and detailing the area under the rockers etc. Also, nice to be able to lift the car when reinstalling and engine and tranny combination - you can tilt the whole assembly down to clear the firewall and not worry about jacking the car up as you go. Plus with this lift you can easily roll it outside for use. I couldn't find a four post lift with Posts that were short enough to roll out a standard garage door {6'8"}.Then in a small garage like mine - a 4Post or even a single Post just take up too much room all the time. This one takes next to ZERO room when stored. I'll get some pictures from under the car - yes you could remove the cross braces - they are held on with two bolts on each side (on each end). Each side of the lift has a larger footprint than any of my jack-stands. Although I did like the fact that the two sides were connected -it just seems to be a more stable set up - - most of the other scissor lifts I looked at weren't connected. The BRE Z is on the lift - because as you can see in the photo's - it is time to once again Polish the Mag.'s and detail the tires - - this time I won't be sitting on the floor for hours. If there is a compromise or trade-off involved - it might be between Price and Function. I really like the build quality of this lift - and the extra uses I can put it too. That however does come with a slightly higher initial price. Like most tools higher quality can cost more to start with - but I've never been disappointed buying Quality over Price alone. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Robert: Yes - two new 3/4HP Sears Chain Drive's. Best openers I've ever found. Seems that Sears will stop offering them - as all their newer models are now Tape Drives. {junk}. Had to replace the older ones - do to lighting hitting the Garage a few months ago. You might notice that two or three of the lights are also out, lightening fried the transformers in them - bought replacements for them today. Yes, the Blue Z is in for it's once every 20 year - refresh. Pulled the engine to work on detailing the engine bay etc - and to clean/repaint the block etc. One of the reasons for the lift was the three hours I spent under it, when it was up on Jack Stands...last month. Sent the White 72 home with my son. Sorry I missed you when you were at Jim's - FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Guys: Yes, it is a worm gear that moves it up/down. You use an electric drill with a socket adapter. The mfg. recommends a drill with at least 8 amp motor - that you can operate at between 800 and 1200 RPM. I had a 22 year old Craftsman 1/2 Drill but it was only rated at 6.5Amp. It had enough power to drive the lift - but the drill was getting very warm and pretty close to HOT. Well it is pretty old and worn. So off to Harbor Freight - right down the street..Bought a 1/2 Drill with 8.5 Amp rating. It doesn’t even get warm. The amazing thing is - the new Drill was $42.95, about $20.00 less than my old one cost 22 years ago. Plus for $10.00 HF warranties the new Drill for 24 months. I usually don’t buy store warranties - but given the questionable reputation of HF electronic products - for $5.00 a year .. count me in. Several owners that use theirs at tracks etc - say the 18 to 24 Volt cordless drills will do the job, but it takes a battery for each up/down cycle. Most have power converters in their tow vehicles.. so they just use A.C. corded drills. Dave - aka “Jarvo2” pointed me to the EZCarlift… I had been looking at scissors lifts for quite some time, but couldn’t find anything that really addressed my needs / desires. This lift does everything I wanted plus has several additional capabilities that I can actually use. When I checked the EZCarlift site - they were on sale for $1795.00 - a bit more than many others, but they do a lot more of the things I wanted. 1) open access from the side of the car, with nothing under the car; 2) can’t take up much room to store; 3) had to be easy to move & set-up; 4) had to be useful for most of our cars "While I was at it” - I thought might as well get all the options and be done. Bought the Vinyl Floor Protector Pads, the Hocky Puck lift point adaptors [for the M/B}, the movable Castor Kit so I can roll the car around in the garage on the lift, Ramp Extensions to extend the ramps from 60 inches to 68 inches {wive's E350}, and a kit to turn the lift into a work bench. Right off the bat I was glad I ordered the Hock Pucks..had to use them on the Z. So far, everything I’ve seen has been first class materials and assembly. Very high quality though out and all made in the USA. The only downside that I can see so far - it takes about 1 minute to raise the car to 20 inches, and another 30 seconds to go up to 26 inches. Doesn’t sound like much - but seems like a lot of time as you are waiting. Of course it is FAR FASTER than using a floor jack at each end and setting up Jack Stands. I put a few more pictures on my Web Page.. if anyone is interested.http://becksystems.com/garage/EZCarLift/EZCarLift.htm FWIW,Carl B.

Ordered an EZCarLift on the 15th and it arrived on the 19th. Every aspect of it is very high quality. Works like a charm... The picture is taken with the lift only 20 inches up - it will go to 26". Shown with the optional Vinyl Floor Tile Protectors - under the feet. Very stable.. Full easy access from either side or either end.

You left out the important part - :-) How much did it cost.. thanks, Carl B.

I think anyone that knew John - knows how baddy I feel at his passing. Really Great Guys are few and far between, so it is very hard to say farewell to them. RIP, Carl B.

Thanks Dave: I think I'd go with the EZcarlift. Compact storage, good array of alternative uses and I really like the fact that the two sides are tied together. Makes the platform far more rigid. I also like the fact that is is mechanical rather than hydraulic {less to mess with and less to go wrong}. I can actually use a platform to stand on - so I can reach the top of my 3/4 ton Silverado Crew Cab when it comes time to wash, clay bar, polish and wax. I've been using a step stool and that is a pain. Also for when I'm cleaning by Car Trailer.. I like the 26" lift heigh too. Maybe I'll order one for Christmas.. Carl B.

An ounce of Gold: $20.66 in 1928 $1200.76 today.58.12 times as much A $5.00 fender is $290.60 A $1.00 dollar tune up is $58.12 4 new pistons and ring at $7.00 would be $406.84... Things haven't really changed to much. Carl B.