Carl Beck

Sitting on the floor, in cramped spaces... big 1/2" drive electric drill, with a 1" concrete bit. Needing to drill a hole though the wall of the house, to run a new gas line for the gas fireplace starter. Everyone knows that 25+ year old concrete blocks have finally reached their peak strength, and are therefore very hard to drill though. So I rented a BIG DRILL and bought new drill bits. I'm holding that big heavy drill and pushing on it for what seemed like an hour. My arms are getting tired and I'm cussing that dam block. With only a fraction of an inch of progress - I'm thinking that perhaps I should have started with a smaller bit to begin with... So I stand up, straighten myself out - and change the bit to something like 1/2"... Sit back down and start again. (the hole needs to be near the floor so not much room to work) In the mean time a friend had stopped over, and was standing there observing the effort and hard work... He could tell I was getting tired and my arms were getting weak... So he offers to give me a break, while he continues the drilling process. He sits down, and I hand him the drill - - he starts drilling the concrete block... then stops. Holds the drill up, pulls the trigger and looks at the drill bit... then at me... DAM!! #%$*&^#@!! I knew at once.... I was running the drill in reverse the whole time!! He hits the lever, puts the bit to the block - and in about four seconds the hole is though the 8" block. da....... Sometimes it pays to stop and take a serious look at what you are doing..... FIWW, Carl B.

My best picture of my favorite Z... The Metallic Blue 72 that I bought in Dec. of 71. The only car I've never wanted to part with, and the best Sports/GT I've ever owned. (on North Tampa Bay boat launch) FWIW, Carl B. Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA http://ZHome.com

Let us know how well they work... They look a bit large... Carl B.

Hi Frank: Usually that is because the "image size" of your picture - exceeds that allowed for the sight. Check to see that the image is no more than 1024 pixels wide if it's a .jpg formatted image.

These cars are now so old that standard rates for selected jobs really don't apply. (ie. flat rates). Most shops will charge time and materials... so depending on how experienced they are in doing that job, what condition all the bolts/studs/nuts are in, it might take two hours or it might take 12... With most shops charging between $85.00 and $125.00 per hour - -- I'd recommend taking the car to a shop that specializes in older Z's and asking them to look at it - then give you a written estimate. Carl B. .... or you could do it yourself....

Hi Guys: Thanks Will - your answers are right on the mark - sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. I'll add a little more to 26th-Z's comments re the Gold Medallion Award. The ZCCA's Gold Medallion Award is given to Z's judged by Z Knowledgeable Judges, at the Z Car Club Association's Annual Convention. The cars are judged to a known, and documented set of criteria that anyone can get a copy of. Once a Z is awarded the ZCCA's Gold Medallion it is no longer allowed to be entered into ZCCA Judged Car Shows for competition, and rather is put on "DISPLAY" at future shows. (this was intended to prevent three or four cars from winning First Place Trophies in the Stock Class year after year). If you buy a Gold Medallion Z - you have at least some confirmation by knowledgeable judges, that the car is as close to being a #1 Condition car as their judging criteria allow. There are however limits that have to be considered in this case. That being that the ZCCA Judging Criteria do not include judging anything under the car (unless that has been changed????). I'd have to agree with Chris - that right now it is the highest award given out to a Z Car. However in the future, as the Classic Z Cars are invited to ever more and more top level Concours Events around the Country - the prestige of having a Concours Winner from a Nationally Recognized Event may surpass the ZCCA's award. Many of us, myself included, feel that it's time to see DATSUN 240-Z's on display side by side with all other Classic Sports/GT's at the finest Concours Events in the Country .... Ferrari, Porsche, M/B, Shelby Cobra's, Aston Martin etc. From the perspective of Classic Beauty, Performance, and Driving Pleasure - the 240-Z is right up there with the rest. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Chris: Anyone Else?? Looked like a few cars made the first cut... Congratulations Bob !!... Carl B.

The camera must have been in Chet Wittle's Z - he won the ARRC that year. John and Chet were dookeing it out with the RX-7's the entire race. The two RX-7's were so concentrated on taking John out that they let Chet slip though at the end and win. I think John got so tired of the RX-7's running into him - he decided to just take them both out even if he didn't win. The first three photo's below show the damage on John's car - the last photo show's Chet's Z at Tech Inspection after winning the race. FWIW Carl B.

Any of the Factory Works Pro Rally 240-Z's($100K +) Any of the Fairlady Z 432's ($75K to $125K) Any of the Bob Sharp Championship Z's ($150K+) Any of the BRE Z's Brad Frissells' C-Production Championship Z(asking $275K -sold but not known what the final price was). Mr. K's personal Z I personally offered Mr. Mason $125K for the BRE #3 Z - He laughs and said; "we're having too much fun with it, and it would take a lot more than that to own it". In the Pure Stock realm: Several first generation Z's have sold for between $35K and $40K already, and I'd expect to see that become common in the next couple years. As we see the Pinnacle Examples selling for above $45K. Very low mileage, purely original examples, or professionally restored and in perfect condition, already changing hands in the $35K to $40K range. 69 Production Year examples 70 Model Year examples 71 Late Model Year examples 72 Model Year examples 78 Black Pearls FWIW, Carl B.

If you can't make up your mind as to what you want - then think future resale value... OEM Metallic Silver, Red, Lime Green, Persimmon....Resell the fastest and bring the most money... Of course if you change the original color - do a COMPLETE color change (inside/outside and under the hood).. FWIW, Carl B. you never know what the future will bring - but that doesn't mean you shouldn't prepare for it...

Come on guys.... that original Metallic Brown in 72 with the buckskin interior was beautiful. Equipped with Appliance Wire Mags, and bright yellow accents and pin-striping it was a knock-out!! Granted it didn't look too good 30+ years later.. all faded and weathered... Super rare color too... FWIW, Carl I was waiting for a Metallic Brown Z for 72 -but then I saw the Metallic Blue with the white interior...

The GM or ZX alternator will regulate itself to replace whatever current is being drawn from the starting battery, by whatever accessories you are using, at any given time. So the stock wiring should be fine in terms of powering the stock accessories. As I recall - the fusible link in the 240-Z is 90Amp. So as long as the total amperage drawn by all accessories at any given time is less than 90Amp - I wouldn't see a need to "upgrade" the stock wiring harness. It would however be sensible to add circuits independent of the OEM wiring harness - such as relaying the driving lights, huge amplifiers, and indeed adding the headlight relays etc. Additionally, a wire directly from the Alternator to the Starting Battery, so that the entire charging load isn't delivered through the stock wiring would make sense. Since both the GM and ZX alternators are internally regulated - you would be disconnecting the OEM external voltage regulator - so you would want to use one of Dave's plug in resistors.... to cap off the old voltage regulator. As I recall the ZX alternator is 65 Amp - where the OEM 240-Z alternator was 35/45 Amp... The ZX alternator is a direct bolt in, but you have to modify the lower alternator bracket to use the GM type. (you might also have to swap the V-Belt drive pulley). FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Andy: That statement might be a little too broad. There are Z's worth far more than $45K today. I'd expect to see a few pure stock first generation Z's hitting that mark in the near future as well. FWIW, Carl B.

What "this" are you talking about? The question ask was: "What makes a 73 z be worth this much money?" My answer was pretty specific to that question. FWIW, Carl B.

"going for $45,000"... NOT What you see is someone "offering to sell" his Z for $45,000. You will also note that there are NO Takers... A 73 Datsun 240-Z with less than 1K miles, perfectly preserved in the same condition it came off the Showroom Floor - - might bring $45K today. It would have to be 100% perfect.... FWIW, Carl B.

There are only four nuts that hold the seat studs and thus the seats to the seat mounting points in the floor - which holds the entire seat to the floor. All you have to do is take the four nuts off - along with any of the plastic spacers under the floor mounting points - off and lift the entire seat out... Once the seat is out of the car - it's easy to take the side braces that hold the seat back and seat bottom together.

Here is the best looking convertable Z I have seen to date. It was at the Motorsports Auto Show in 2001. I'm not sure why, but it looks about four inches wider than the average 240-Z.... FWIW, Carl B.

Leave the seat alone - fixing it won't add any value to the actual final selling price. If you want to sell that car - you need to get it up on a lift and take clear pictures of the floorboards, frame rails and the area under the battery tray (on the inner-fender). You also need to show clear pictures of the rear deck lid lower lip, as well as the threshold area that the deck lid closes down on. You need detailed pictures of the engine bay there as well. These are the common rust area's and any serious buyer will want to see clear pictures of them before they come to look at the car. Even with a non-matching engine - IF (big I , big F) the body is sold with very little rust - your asking price is reasonable and it should sell fairly quickly. The pictures you have just don't encourage buyers..... FWIW, Carl B.

"it is worth what an individual is willing to pay"... NOT I'm willing to pay ten bucks - but that doesn't mean that the car is worth ten bucks. It is worth what a buyer is willing and able to pay, and a seller is willing to accept. If this seller believes that the car is worth $40K - he'll have it for a long long time, or until his belief is changed. I'd guess he will have a very hard time finding anyone willing and able to pay more than $20K. The buyer of the 77 with 52K miles - most likely made a good purchase and the seller moved the car easily. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Gus (everyone): I can't remember any convention that has had a larger turn-out of Z's for a show & shin, nor judged show. So far, none of the pictures relay the scope of all the garages at Daytona, filled with cars (3 cars per bay!) ... plus the cars that were there, that didn't have room inside. Must have had 200+ Z's there being cleaned/polished and then shown on Tuesday. Hats off to the members of the Florida Z Association, that worked so hard to pull this off. Vicki and I were only able to make it for Monday's Show & Shin, then Tuesday's show. We brought the BRE BAJA Z for display only, and were made quite welcome by everyone involved. Special thanks to Chris (26th Z) for picking us up at the track and hauling us down to the Hilton to take care of the paperwork needed to get into the track. I'm sure glad I didn't have to maneuver the truck/trailer with the Z - in the tight quarters of downtown Daytona Beach, not to mention trying to get into and out of the Hilton's entrance. Of course, for the people attending the convention, who are not there to conduct ZCCA business, the convention is all about the Z's and the people that bring them. Seeing old friends and meeting new one's. Sorry we couldn't stay longer... we had so little time to spend with each person... Great Job.... please tell everyone involved we said THANKS!! Carl Carl Beck Clearwater, FL http://ZHome.com

If your car was made in Dec. of 1971 - it is a 1972 Model Year. Therefore it would have No Vents on the rear deck lid, and it would have had the Round Z or "Vented Z" emblems on the side. Check your Date Of Manufacture - - did you really mean December of 1970? Or publish the VIN from your car. FWIW, Carl B.

Hi Jeff: That's neat - I loved the entire concept of the Lightning...but the last Ford I bought was the 91 Thunderbird SC....still have it and it has 9K miles on it. Put about 100K on my 89 SC however before selling it... Your right - he's a neat guy.... Lots of interesting stories, but that's for another thread... regards, Carl B.

Yes, how true ...well I guess I was hoping that I'd be mistaken for being Bob Bondurant (he is to my Right in the picture)...but looking at the picture he is on the Left and I am on the right... he's always pumping me for driving tips... ... later, Carl

The first picture is how I see myself (1972 in my Z)... and the second picture is me on the left... with the ravages of time showing (some 35 years later) ... and how others see me today... yea gad... Carl B.

Hi Gus: We can make it over Monday around noon - but have to leave after the Car Show Tuesday. My wife has to be back to work Wednesday (to keep me in a style to which I have become accustom;-). Originally, I was supposed to be in California that week - so she didn't arrange her schedule for anything other than work. She was able to do some last minute rescheduling and clear out Monday and Tuesday.. so we could at least bring the Z for the show.. Could we park the truck and trailer in the Public Parking Lot at the Raceway, (outside the track) - then just take the Z downtown to register etc? I might be the only person worried about this - but I can't be the only person trailer'ing a car. I'm wondering if everyone else realizes they can't get a truck/trailer into the track, to drop off the trailer/car before going downtown for paperwork.. Might be good to have some solution worked out before everyone arrives. thanks, Carl