Marine240z

@zspert, I have been running the system since May of 2015. The low throaty sound is great and a perfect compliment to the minor mods done to my engine. As you said, very well made and will probably outlast me. Very happy with it. My only gripe is I wish that the tubing diameter was larger. The free flow does help, and the twin pipes are super cool.

Hey EuroDat, any opinion on the Abarth system. I am curious on your mods and results. Thanks, Marine240z

I know this is a old post but ignition systems, plugs and plug wires are never out of vogue when discussing early Z's. I recently converted from the points to the crane PS 91 coil with the xr3000s module. Some minor engine mods were as follows: 030 overbore, dished pistons, stage two cam with racing hardware and lifters from Robello racing ( slightly aggressive), very aggressive port/polish, Kamerai adjustable cam sprocket, trick flow cam degree adjustment, msd plug wires. SU's stay but did add electric fuel pump and Abarth free flow NOS muffler. ( did convert to 5 speed trans ( close ratio) I went to the NGK V power BSPR6EY11 plugs with a 44 gap. Car runs great but my friend who did the engine work says I could go to 46-48. Any comments on the gap recommendation. I am still running the stock distributor sans the points. It does however have brass contacts vs. the stock aluminum. 1972 Z 06/72 mfg date Thanks

I'm in. Will be going up Thursday afternoon. Looking forward to my 1st ZCON. Will be great to see everyone and compare notes. I will be bringing my friend and top metric engine guru Rolly the "Zombie" Alberto. He is famous in the Asian drag and drift car arena. I am lucky enough to have had him tweak my 72 with some of his top secret mods. He has a shop in the Philippines and a client list of who's who in Asia. Travels between U.S. and Philippines with homes in both places. I will be posting everything we did to my 72 in a couple of weeks. It will be a chance for everyone to talk to this very low key legend.

I love the e type as well, a lot of people don't realize that it's dimensions are almost the same as the 240. You gotta love the interior, but Lucas electronics will keep you guessing.... BAT has had some beautiful e types up for bid recently. I quest for one was quickly shut down by the depth of my wallet...

I also talk to the vintage Datsun parts suppliers, both public and private. They tell me that junk yards have told them that the request for Z parts has gone through the roof. Like most of us I have seen the market for "original" parts skyrocket and there are more and more "copy" parts entering the market as well. I myself have been hoarding a few original parts for later use. The small items like clamps, mirrors, and radios etc. are getting harder to find and more expensive. Solid complete early model Z survivors will see bidding wars when they come up for sale. I think 2017 will be the start of Z mania.

read:http://petrolicious.com/why-the-datsun-240z-is-collectable Zed check this out.

Zed, heading home from work, I will post some articles related to this topic this evening.

Sure, I will be happy to include some, but it is self evident to anyone who follows classic car news, especially when Hagerty or Classic Car or one of the magazine blogs publish an article on some obscure vehicle like the AMC Javelin or Chevy Vega citing it's potential collectability . Immediately you will see a surge in the internet search engines for these particular cars which in turns enhances their value in the marketplace. The 240Z has seen a recent up tic mainly to the attention paid to it in regional and nationally recognized car shows and auctions and several positive mentions in publications. Again, this is by design. The early Z is starting to become a recognized collectable in many venues. A lot of savvy collectors will start quietly purchasing them and then start the buzz... Yeah pretty much, by sophisticated buyer, I mean the type collector that purchases based on ROI not necessarily because of some innate desire from his teenage or college days. He is a speculator looking to buy and sell or buy, recondition then sell for a profit. As far a series one, most owner/collector's view the 69-72 the pure Z based primarily on non-emission add on's like we see on the 73 Z. Also, many publications use editorials, or features to bump up the value of particular cars. Most of this is by design, not by chance. The early 69-72 and even the 73 are now in the early stages of this move. Collectors make the market by promoting the value of their investments. To them the collector car is a commodity not a item to buy for personal satisfaction.

Yeah pretty much, by sophisticated buyer, I mean the type collector that purchases based on ROI not necessarily because of some innate desire from his teenage or college days. He is a speculator looking to buy and sell or buy, recondition then sell for a profit. As far a series one, most owner/collector's view the 69-72 the pure Z based primarily on non-emission add on's like we see on the 73 Z, plus the troublesome flat top su's. Also, many publications use editorials, or features to bump up the value of particular cars. Most of this is by design, not by chance. The early 69-72 and even the 73 are now in the early stages of this move. Collectors make the market by promoting the value of their investments. To them the collector car is a commodity not a item to buy for personal satisfaction.

Hi All, just wanted to solicit a few opinions on what I perceive as a recent trend that has been developing due to the rise of market value of the 1st series Z. I have been noticing that there has been a wider acceptance of the 240Z by both the media and high end collector/investor as a bonafide collector vehicle. I believe that we will see serious sophisticated buyers in larger numbers insert themselves into the Z community, thus driving both recognition and price of the 240Z to a much higher plane. Many of us who watch and participate in the collector market have seen this happen very quickly with other vehicles. Early Datsun sedans/trucks, Porsche 911's 912's, and recently 914's,928's, 944's, Alfa Romeo's, early Volvo, Saab, Jag etc. have all seen prices jump as collectors move to create new markets. History of a vehicle plays a huge role and the 240Z set the standard and turned the sports car community on it's ear. We will see more and more new entrants into the forums which will ultimately improve the overall brand recognition and value of the our cars. It's going to be a fun ride for us all.

I also have a Porsche ( 1987 928 S4) that is the stablemate to my 72 Z. The 928 is my trip/touring car while the Z fulfills my "down and dirty" desire to feel every physical force that accompanies the no frills driving aspects of pure sports cars. No computer assist, no automatic leveling, traction control or completely quiet cockpit...just you, the Z, the sounds and the next demanding road. In it's day, the 70-72 Z ate the basic 911's lunch. Fiat, MG, Triumph, Lancia all played catch up after it's introduction. 150 hp, great design, superb handling and a great cockpit led to their be forced to the back of the bus. The 996 is a great deal for a cheap "initial" buy in to the Porsche fraternity. Like any German engineered car, they need constant inspection and strict maintenance followup. They will cost more to own, you will not recoup your investment, but like the Z they are made to drive, the harder the better. For my money, if you are patient, you can find a solid, well taken care of 1st generation Z but you must look everywhere. Get up an hour early, go through craiglist in other cities and states, set up a automatic search engine, go to other unknown listing sites and you will find your car. I am currently finishing up an 8 month engine refurbish upgrade to my Z. My goal was keeping the stock appearance and just concentrating on engine, trans and suspension enhancements. Rolly the "Zombie" Alberto is masterminding the engine and he is a savant when it comes to squeezing max hp from 4-6 cylinder engines. Rolly is from the Philippines and has two speed shops there that build drift cars for the Asian market. I will post everything here once we are finished in about 3 weeks. The early Z's are so simple to work on, so simple to up grade that its makes much better sense to buy one if you can't afford both. Good luck keep us posted.

Man, the decision to sell one of my cars is not something I am looking forward too. My son will have his choice when he is ready. I think he will probably take the 928 which will not hurt my feelings.

Yes the cockpits have gotten much tighter in the fighters. However, the support aircraft, C 5's, C 130, P- 5, helo's etc. are a little more forgiving as to size requirements. There is always the private flight training school route as well.

No actually it's a shot my son sent me the day after Pres. elect Trump had won.. I was a Harrier driver in the Marines ( started out in the A-4 Skyhawk, that was a sports car!) My son is currently in flight school for the USAF in Pensacola, Fla. That is a T-1 trainer. He graduated last week and will be moving into the T-6 Monday. Check the reflection in the visor.

So true, especially the low mileage " barn finds"... Dennis, nice 914-6. Is the engine original to the car? Those baby's have sure gone up in price, ten years ago they were give away's. I was lucky that when in college my fraternity brother's let me use their cars on dates, 71 240Z, 72 914, a TR 7, and Lotus Europa. I drove a 1972 Celica GT, funny no American muscle in the frat.

Will do Kats, looking at your goecities website is great motivation!. Looking at the list of cars you own under your avatar makes me jealous. ha ha

I also have a Porsche ( 1987 928 S4) that is the stablemate to my 72 Z. The 928 is my trip/touring car while the Z fulfills my "down and dirty" desire to feel every physical force that accompanies the no frills driving aspects of pure sports cars. No computer assist, no automatic leveling, traction control or completely quiet cockpit...just you, the Z, the sounds and the next demanding road. In it's day, the 70-72 Z ate the basic 911's lunch. Fiat, MG, Triumph, Lancia all played catch up after it's introduction. 150 hp, great design, superb handling and a great cockpit led to their being forced to the back of the bus. The 996 is a great deal for a cheap "initial" buy in to the Porsche fraternity. Like any German engineered car, they need constant inspection and strict maintenance followup. They will cost more to own, you will not recoup your investment, but like the Z they are made to drive, the harder the better. For my money, if you are patient, you can find a solid, well taken care of 1st generation Z but you must look everywhere. Get up an hour early, go through craiglist in other cities and states, set up a automatic search engine, go to other unknown listing sites and you will find your car. I am currently finishing up an 8 month engine refurbish upgrade to my Z. My goal was keeping the stock appearance and just concentrating on engine, trans and suspension enhancements. Rolly the "Zombie" Alberto is masterminding the engine and he is a savant when it comes to squeezing max hp from 4-6 cylinder engines. Rolly is from the Philippines and has two speed shops there that build drift cars for the Asian market. I will post everything here once we are finished in about 3 weeks. The early Z's are so simple to work on, so simple to up grade that its makes much better sense to buy one if you can't afford both. Good luck keep us posted.

Kats, that's some serious Z porn there. I am in the last stages of a complete refurbish of my 72 and will be posting the entire process soon. It has been a labor of love and I am fortunate to have the assistance of Rolly the " Zombie" Alberto personally assisting my endeavor. Rolly is one of the foremost authorities on 4-6 cylinder engines and has built and raced some of the best cars while in the Philippines. He builds drifters and can get every available HP out of his engines. He is in Houston now and watching him work is like watching Rembrandt paint. Can't wait to post the result for the Z community. Lon

Very nice. What upgrades have you done to it. Also how about some engine bay shots and a little ownership history. I also like the early RX 7's too. Lon

Hi all, I am currently upgrading my engine. Port/polish, bore 83.75, stage 2 cam, racing springs, lifters, lash pads, kameri sprocket etc. My pistons rings are 4mm x 2mm x 2mm. I ordered the Perfect Circle ring kit that was available for the Silvolite pistons. The rings when I measured them were 4 x 1.5mm x 1.5mm. According to the tech from P. C. this 0.5 mm variance was a designed to accommodate additional expansion properties and is not an issue. Anyone familiar or have any idea if this is correct. Or should I opt for a ring that is 2mm. Thanks Lon

NVZEE I will start a separate thread for the A/C. Just finished the Crane upgrade and here is the info and some picks. Also I will dyno the results next week to see how much extra h.p was gained. 1. make sure that your SU's are tuned prior to the installation. You will need to fine tune and balance them again afterwards. 2. use copper plugs only as they handle the voltage better. The iridium's cannot be gapped as wide and the tips are prone to get damaged. 3. I ended up with a .49 gap vs the .35. and using the Gunson Color tune and vacuum balance achieved perfect results. Any less gap and you will not get optimum burn and pwr. 4. Advance should be set at around 12-15. I was running at 20 and needed to remove the distributor and reset it so that I could get to the 12-15. Installation was pretty straight forward and took me and my assistant about two hours. It could be done sooner but I am kinda anal and double check everything. Gapping the plugs took the most time because I used the color tune initially running rich with the normal gap and kept increasing gap it until the color tune showed a perfect blue. Once all plugs were gapped we then fine tuned the carbs which just needed a little adjustment as the idle increased about 200 rpms. a. Back side wiring from the ps 91 coil to the distributor. Picks: B. My assistant Rollie. An expert on all things import. One of the best. .C The Crane xr 3000. D. A look at the optical sensor placement. You can advance and retard timing using the bottom adjustment screw. There is another adjustment screw the raises and lowers it. Very important that you have perfect clearance from the bottom of the rotor and from the plastic optical plate that is in the next pic. E. another shot of the distributor. F. Installed location. The car really hits the 5000 rpm range effortlessly. The choke was not needed at all this morning and startup was almost instantaneous. Any questions let me know.

I ended up ordering the Crane xr 3000 coupled with the ps 91 coil. I should have everything installed on Tuesday the 9th and will report back after a few days of trial runs. I think a big problem with the Pertronix is the low grade thin wiring. The gauge is probably 12-14 and way too thin. Poor manufacturing also contributes. Since I recently did a front to back mechanical resto, a more robust ignition system was warranted in order to get the most out of my upgrades. Block/crank removed, 030 overbore, polished reground balanced crank, e -88 head shaved slightly, port polish, stage one rebuild, silvolite double dish pistons. Carbs removed and rebuilt by Z therapy, transmission/clutch completely rebuilt, supplemented new fuel pump with backup electric pump. Naturally the engine wiring harness and all rubber refreshed. I also went through the dealer installed A/C system and completely upgraded it which included a new high efficiency compressor, custom hoses & hand built evaporator which is much more efficient. I also remove the stock exhaust and installed a NOS ABARTH system that was designed and sold in 1974 specifically for the 70-73 Z. These were marketed by Fisher and made in Europe for racing apps. Although it is almost 40 years old the condition was perfect and I had it shipped in one piece. It was a straight fit no mods required. see pic The undercarriage was also restored with period correct components. Since the Z is truly rust free that was not a problem. My Z is completely stock as far as interior/exterior and with the exception of the block and head, the electrical upgrades can all be retrofitted back to the original state in about 45 min. I will update my album with the new crane additions later this week.