Mike B

Alan has also previously recommended "DATSUN Z - Fairlady to 280Z" by Brian Long - VELOCE ( ISBN 1-901295-02-8 ). Per Alan, "Most of the English-language books on the history / design etc of the S30-series Z contain mistakes and factual errors ( but Brian Long's book is better than most in this respect ), not least of these being the perpetuation of the shocking lie about who really designed the S30-series Z." Unfortunately, for those of us that don't read Japanese, it appears that much of the most accurate reference material is not readily available to us. -Mike

I think it is just the first 46 that are signed by both (and possibly one with a higher number :classic:). Hmmm... must be something special about that number 46... -Mike

Welcome Paul. My 72 240z came from Alaska, but not as far north as you are. It was near Kenai. -Mike

Here is another dash with Kanji writting on the steering wheel column support. This one is from an ebay ad that says it came out of a 71, but the hazard switch sticker indent makes me think it is from a 72. -Mike

I ordered one last night too. Gayle Brock mentioned that these reproductions were made from Ron's original, so thanks for helping to make these available to all of us Ron! -Mike

So Carl, I take it that the gold car on ebay that was the original subject of this thread is a #2 car then? This car has about 50,000 miles, so I assume some work was done to replate the engine compartment pieces, etc. It looks like it has the replacement Nissan exhaust system that is painted black. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300244511260&rd=1 After it didn't sell in the first listing the seller relisted it with a lower BIN of $29,500 and dropped the starting price to $27,000 with a reserve above that. One bid so far, but the reserve is not met yet. I am guessing that it will sell this time. -Mike

I saw an ad for the Datsun Heritage Museum in the Summer 08 issue of Nissan Sport I received yesterday. It lists the website as wwwDHMuseum.com, but there doesn't seem to be anything Datsun related on that site. This thread has a link to the correct site in earlier posts (www.datsunheritagemuseum.com). The ad shows a couple of books signed by Mr. K that are available for donations of $50 or more. I tried calling the phone number listed to see if the books were still available, but I just got an answering machine that didn't mention anything about the museum, so I'm not sure if the phone number listed is correct or not. It looks like you also get your name on the museum wall now as part of the $300 or more sweater donation. I still think some kind of floor tile with your name on it for maybe $100 or less would be good and get more people to participate. -Mike

Here is another relevant thread that discusses values and Carl's comments in post #24 are what I was referring to with my milage comments earlier. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29281&highlight=carl+collector+mileage -Mike

Here is another very similar thread from a couple of months ago where we discussed the topic of $30,000 Z's. It helps give some more perspective to this topic. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29692&highlight=condition+carl -Mike

Arne, you bring up good points and many of the things that you mentioned are what I was thinking about when considering the price: what VZ cars sold for both new and over the last several years, what low VIN cars have sold for, and what both our red cars cost us when we bought them and what they are worth now. Granted I don't have the insight into all of the private sales that someone like Carl does, so my only perspective is what I have seen or spent myself. If I were going to spend $35K on a Z I would spend it on a VZ car or a very nice and original low VIN car, not a late 1970 with 50K miles. I think the history of the VZ cars and the fact that there are less than 40 of them make them more valuable and I think low VIN cars (the lower the better) that are very original with all the unique parts will increase in value at a quicker rate over time. I agree that you probably can't completely restore a car to the condition this one is in for any less, but that doesn't necessarily mean that if you did you could sell it for that. I think Carl has also made the point that a car with 50K miles is in a bit of a no mans land - not low enough mileage for a "true Collector" and too low to be a driver for many. However, I know that the person that owns this car now is a high end collector, so I guess the mileage thing doesn't not always apply. My red 72 also has 49K miles, and is as pristine in many ways, but it has a couple of flaws that need to be fixed. Like yours it has had an exterior respray done on it, so I would say that this car is more valuable than ours, but how much of a premium do you put on original exterior paint? I paid quite a bit less than $35k to buy #32 recently and that car also has a couple of flaws that need to be fixed and it has had an exterior repaint. It has about 79K miles, but it is still in excellent condition and very original with almost all the unique early parts. Given the choice between the two I would much rather have #32, but that's just my preference. -Mike

Here is a link to a previous thread about the car. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31195&highlight=ebay The starting bid was $29k and I'm surprised there is a reserve on it beyond that point. Its a very nice car, but I guess I am in the minority that thinks $30K for a late 1970 with 50K miles is kind of high, even though it is in very good condition. -Mike

Well it made sense to me at the time. Especially if you read the last sentence before the chart "Here are the conversions I found for one US dollar." I was showing the conversions used and answering the question above my post of "What was $4325 Canadian in US dollars?" So in 1969 $1.00 US converts to $1.0770 Canadian, and $4325 Canadian equates to $4015.78 US. Sorry if that hurt anyones brain or if they were lead to believe you could buy a 240z in Canada for $1ROFL -Mike

Maybe not, but they were using "Groove with it" in 1970 (at least in Canada). This is the early Canadian promotional poster/brochure I posted about in this thread. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29550&highlight=canada+poster I agree though, I would have liked to have seen mention of the Datsun name in this type of vintage advertising. -Mike

I got this set of Nissan advertising posters on eBay recently. They were the same shots used on the billboards mentioned in this thread. Since no one else had posted pics of the 300ZX and 350Z cars and slogans I thought I'd post this picture. Very cool that your car was the one used for the 240Z ad Zulaytr. -Mike

Good question. The dash on #32 didn't have any writting on the part that the steering column mounts to, but it did have the number 58 written in red on the right bottom support area. However, I have two other spare early dashes and they both have what appears to be Kanji writting in the steering column support area like yours. The picture with the black marker writting is from a 3/71 car. Its interesting how they apparently made a mistake and crossed it out and then rewrote something again. The picture with the red marker writing is from a 10/70 car. Maybe Kats or someone can help translate. -Mike

I had removed a couple of dashes from parts cars before, and that went pretty quickly so I thought putting it back in wouldn't be much more difficult, and its not. The most time consuming part for me was cleaning and swapping out the guages and harnesses. From Chester and Herod. See this thread for more info. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29317&highlight=carpet Its actually pretty easy once you know what to do and only basic tools are needed. There is a good thread you can search for on this site with instructions and tips that are a good supplement to the FSM. You should move to Seattle then. Lots of opportunities to work in the garage when its raining outside and cool.

Here are some pictures of #32 with the dash out. I decided to swap it out about 8pm the night before leaving for the Canby show. It took me about 8 hours to take the old one out, clean up and swap the guages and harnesses, and reinstall everything. I used blue painters masking tape to label the wires that weren't obvious to me. I wish I would have taken another picture after I wiped off all the dust. -Mike

I looked around at the same places as you Carl with no luck, so I just went with the free trial issue that TBaxter mentioned above. -Mike

This looks to be a nice blue series 1 with the blue interior. Originally from San Diego, and now in Edmonton. http://edmonton.kijiji.ca/c-cars-vehicles-classic-cars-71-DATSUN-240Z-W0QQAdIdZ59379214 -Mike

Arne and Stephen are correct again as usual. They are 14 x 7 with a 4" backspace. Overall they look to be in pretty good shape and should clean up nicely. Some pitting, but it doesn't seem to be very deep. A couple of minor dings on the rims, but no major rash. Someone tried to paint the fronts of two of them black at some point, but they obviously weren't prepped properly. The guy was a little strange, so I don't have much information on their history except they supposedly came off a 510 and he kept them stored inside during the several years he had them. He wanted to put them on a roadster but never got around to it. Sounds like that wouldn't have worked anyway. The guy also had a 1967 410 SSS left hand drive from Canada that he claimed was VIN #00008. I wanted to see the plate to verify that but he said the car was locked and didn't offer to go get the keys to open the engine compartment. By that point I was ready to leave anyway. It did have the SSS emblems on it at least. -Mike

Yeah, I took a look at that post before I called the guy. They sound like they are in good shape, but I won't know for sure until I see them tomorrow. I'll post some pics after I get them. -Mike

I'll have to see after I get them. I am hoping they are still in good shape and not deeply pitted or anything. I know they will require alot more upkeep than aluminum wheels, but I like the look so much I couldn't pass them up and they are definately not a wheel you see every day. -Mike

Yep, I got them and he then removed the listing. I am going to pick them up tomorrow. -Mike

I don't think radiator shrouds were standard on any US 240Zs, but they could be purchased separately through the dealer. Not sure if they were standard equipment on later S30s in the US or not. -Mike

I've got a spare one for a 240z I could loan you Will. I'm out of town now though, so it would be about a week before I could sent it to you. -Mike