Carl Beck

Most of the time - the problem with windows rolling up/down are caused by the felt pads and seals in the window door frames. You have to take the door apart - pull the window frames out - and replace the felt and rubber seals. Many times the plastic rollers on the window lift will be gone as well.. but cleaning and new grease will solve most problems.

Fresh Tires close to the original size will work wonders for both ride and handling. 195/70x14's - 205/60x15's will work, but steering is a little harder and wider tires tend to "track" or follow the road more. Very important to assure you have good bushings in the Tension/Compression rods. KYBs are good if you can still get them, Tokico gas pressures are fine as well. Stock spring rates are fine, a slightly larger diameter front anti-sway bar improves handling without having too much effect on ride quality.

Just an FYI - - https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-datsun-met-corvette-sparks-flew-11569942100 Carl B.

Thanks for the Travelog @Dave WM - Hats Off to you for venturing out on the journey! Now I'm wondering what inspired the trip to begin with? Carl B.

However - nothing ever seems to work out so simply. I believe that there are good reasons no one initially said - “Hey lets put that big engine in that car”. Mr.Idia revealed in an interview with Nostalic Hero Magazine that he started development of an in-line six cylinder engine in July of 1964. The purpose of this was to compete with Toyota, which already had a six cylinder engine in the Toyota Crown. In order to catch-up with Toyota Mr. Idia’s team, in the Large Engine Development section was given only one year to develop the L20. The L20 was introduced in Oct. of 1965 in the Cedric. Mr. Idia tell us that the fastest way to develop an in-line six cylinder engine, was to use an existing 4 cylinder block and add two cylinders. Which he did. He said he liked the Mercedes Benz OHC and chain driven valve train - so he used that. Because of the rushed development, and shortened evaluation cycles, the L20 suffered from several problems. Some problems were found during endurance bench testing, others showed up later on road testing and as customers put more miles on them and made complaints. The L20 obtained high power of 115ps by using SU twin pots, in order to compete with the Prince six cylinder engines that already existed. However here were problems with engine component parts suffering premature failures. The output adjustment of two carburetors was difficult and the idle speed was so high it resulted in increased fuel costs. Customers complained about this. Larger oil consumption was another problem due to bad valve guides, valve stem oil seals and oil rings. The engine was improved one year later to solve some of these problems - maintenance was improved and they used a single down-draft carburetor, but max power was reduced to 105ps. The improved L20A was the result of engine development having been turned over to the Small Engine Development team, after they developed the L16 for the Datsun 510. The L16 benefited from a complete development cycle, so the L20A used the improvements from the L16 and added two cylinders to that. All these problems resulted in the L20 being a short lived engine, and they were known to the people within Nissan. I can’t see them planing on using an engine that was going out of production. I can see them planing on using the new L20A as it was based on the successful L16 and in development within the Small Engine Group at the time. Executive management wanted to use the new Price S20 and Mr. K knew the L24 was coming. Mr. K was responsible for getting the L16 designed and put into production for the 510 for America. Nostalgic Hero, Vol. 102, April 2004 http://zhome.com/DatsunLSeries/L20NH2004April.htm English translation: http://zhome.com/DatsunLSeries/L20NH2004AprilTrans.htm

Hi Kats: Mr. Hara was also part of the team that brought the first Datsun’s to America in 1958, to see if Datsun’s could be sold here. It was a four member team. Nobe Wakatsuki (Marubeni Trading Co.) and 3 Nissan Engineers: Teiichi Hara (Senior Member of the group) Kuniyuki Tanabe (a disciple of Gorham) Shin Maki If you haven’t read it - David Halberstam’s “THE RECKONING” is a great book about Nissan/Ford. One Chapter “The Victory” (racing with a VW) is devoted to the team that brought Datsun to the USA in 1958. Mr. Hara is one of the people that advised Mr. K to take the assignment in America, to do a market survey in 1960. When ask in 1996 who designed the Z Car - Mr. K responded as shown here: http://www.zhome.com/MrKLetterToBill.jpg FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Kats:I think #2 and #3 are correct. No question that Executives in Japan wanted the S20 for the Sports Car in Japan as Mr. Uemura reports. Mr. Matsuo however tells us that as well in his Z Car Story, only Mr Matsuo reports that Mr. K wanted the L24 for America - so Mr. Matsuo ask what 2.0 liter engine would be used for Japan, and was told to use the S20. So before the Z left the styling studio - it was designed to hold both 6cylinder engines. Then is was up to the Vehicle Development Dept. to figure out how and get it done. Mr. Matsuo writes: = = Quote = = "A Prototype Based On 'Plan A' From 1967, work began in earnest producing full-sized clays based on the Plan A proposal. One of the key Z styling features evolved during this period, namely the "sugar scoop" headlights. The SAE regulations stated they should be 60cm from the ground, but plastic covers were not allowed in America at the time. However, we offered the latter item as an option in Japan. The final clay we produced was very close to the ultimate shape of the Z. Although the body was still a touch narrow, the roofline a little too high, the bonnet much too low to accept the six-cylinder L24 engine, and there remained a lot of detailing to do around the windows and tail-end, I was basically happy with the result By coincidence, at the time of its completion, Mr Katayama was back in Japan to see the 5I0 before It was launched. During his visit, he asked to see the next generation sports car, so we lined up the various clays (including the early ones depicting convertibles), and his eyes went ~- straight to the last one we had built. He said this was just what he needed in America. With Mr Katayama's support, the project finally started to progress and the engineering department became involved. Eventually, by the early Autumn of 1967, we had produced a glassfiber prototype. It was allocated the 'Z' designation (an appellation that would stay with the car throughout its production life). However, when the technical staff arrived to discuss the project, we found a number of problems. Mr Katayama had requested the 2.4 liter L24 power-plant, while the Japanese market had exorbitant taxes on vehicles over 2,000cc. Nissan had just taken over the Prince concern, and we were told to use their two-liter S20 twin-cam unit (this eventually became the famous Z432 model, incidentally). These powerful engines would require a stronger transmission. and the automatic version of the L24-equipped model required a much wider transmission tunnel: this in turn led to a reduction in interior space, so the only solution left open to us was to increase the width of the body. At the same time, the bonnet height had to be altered to accommodate the engines, and the roofline was adjusted to suit. = = end quote = = Mr Uemura tells us that indeed the Z Car was styled first - then the engineering was done - the opposite of the normal vehicle development process. So both the L24 and the S20 for Japan were Executive Management decisions. Mr. K was part of Nissan’s Executive Management team - indeed he was President of Nissan Motor Co. in USA. The English language version is easy to get - just order it on-line. http://www.lulu.com/shop/hitoshi-uemura/datsun-240z-engineering-development/paperback/product-22879948.html FWIW, Carl B.

It is hard to find any good 14" tires today - - however a Goodrich Radial T/A in 195/70R14 would be fine with me. HOWEVER - a) There seems to be ONLY 1 for sale... and you might never find 3 more to match b) with any tires on line - you need to ask/verify that the Date Of Manufacture on that tire is current (within the past 12months). You don't want to pay retail for tire that has been sitting in a warehouse for the past 5 years. Carl B.

Hemmings Article SCARAB - - https://www.hemmings.com/blog/2019/08/16/scarab-reunion-creator-brian-morrow-reunited-with-the-first-scarab-a-car-he-sold-to-save-his-company/?refer=news&utm_source=edaily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2019-08-16 Carl B.

The original, or one of the reproductions Brad had produced?

OK - now you have to tell us how this all came about. How does one accumulate all that? - that's the question I have ever time I watch "American Pickers". I know how I wound up with a bunch of NOS parts - every time I needed a part for a 240Z, I'd order 2 or 3 because the cost of shipping was usually more than the cost of the part. So I'd order 2 or 3 so I wouldn't have to pay the shipping costs again later.

Great - I'll look forward to reading your book - will certainly provide feed back. thanks, Carl B.

DONE - thanks for making these available to us.. Carl B.

If you got a second round of judging in the Stock Class - at a National Convention - that says quit a lot. Great Job!! Carl B.

15x7’s Wow.. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a set in that size. I have seen some 15’s, but they were for TR-6 and about 4.5” wide. Of course there are reproductions in aluminum now in 15”. I sure wish they had done the repro’s in 14”. I have a set of 14x7’s on one Z, so I know what your talking about - polishing them constantly - and don’t drive it that much. Nuvite NuShine Metal Polish is your Friend !!! https://nuvitechemical.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/nushine.pdf I

I think that the reason I still have the receipt - is that I still have the original Warranty Cards for each wheel. (just in case - LoL)

@Randalla .......Me too - ? thanks, Carl B.

That is great - something new at ZCON - and I'm sure everyone enjoyed seeing them. So how many were there? How much is the Book?

Great looking Z - great looking wheels - my Original's are still on my Z. About $42.00 each with shipping...

Hi SpeedRoo: Here’s another story and I’m sticking to it - The first time I heard of a Vintage 240ZR was in a discussion with our old pal Ron Johnson (Nissan Competition Parts Dept.) and Charlie Dever, the President of Group Z in California. Ron said that orders came down from the top to build a Vintage Z for Keith Crain (Automotive News etc). Ron said that Mr. Crain wanted Eibach Springs to lower the car a little, 2.5” free flow exhaust and a BRE Spook ie a Vintage 240Z-R (more or less tongue-in-cheek referencing the decal package on the 280ZX-R). That was around 1998… Fast forward to 2009 - I met Mr. Crain at the Amelia Island Concours here in Florida, and recalled Ron mentioning Mr. Crain having specified and bought one of the Vintage Z’s. Mr Crain said that he was a huge fan of Mr. K as well as a lover of Classic Cars. Indeed he had owned and driven several Z’s over the years and indeed had requested a Vintage Z with the modifications Ron had talked about. Mr. Crain owns HLS30 29247, the 17th VZ finished in Nov. 1997. Mr. Crain’s Vintage Z was featured being parked in front of Nissan’s HQ in California, in a video shot by Nissan as well. So I guess behind all urban legends there may be a few grains of truth.. FWIW, Carl B.

Bought my BRE Car Cover for $39.95 (in 1972). Washed/dried countless times.. The caption says 37 years ago - but now it is 47 years old and a bit faded. Carl B.

If you are searching for replacement parts - using the date of manufacture is a great starting point. Regular Model Change Over: (sold in the USA as Model Years) 1. 10 / 1969 to 02 / 1971 VIN’s Starting at HLS30 00013 (1969/1970/1971 Model Years) 16 months. 2. 02 /1971 into 09 /1971 VIN’s Starting at HLS30 21001(1971 Model Year) 8 months. 3. 09 /1971 into 08 / 1972 VIN’s Starting at HLS30 46001(1972 Model Year) 12 months 4 09 /1972 into 08 / 1973 VIN’s Starting at HLS30 120001 (1973 Model Year) 12 months. Production of the 1973 Datsun 240Z started in the 9th month of 1972. FWIW, Carl B.

Correct - the "lip" on the radiator core support is one of the items first tried by the Nissan Field Service teams working with the Local Datsun Dealership mechanics. The idea block air flow over the top of the radiator and core support - to force more of it through the radiator. Yes they had a rubber seal that mated to the hood. The one’s installed at the Dealerships were bolted on or screwed on - on later 73’s they were spot welded on at the factory as standard equipment. As far as I can see the factory started adding them around 12/72 or 01/73. Carl B.

V-3 Kit: 17020-N3325 Electric Fuel Pump (Jidoosha Kiki) 17020-N3326 Electric Fuel Pump (Mitsuba) FWIW, Carl B.

Great Pictures, beautiful Z and some new Posters to hang on the garage wall. (make them give you some high resolution digits copies..).