Philosophical discusion on build dates

[mdbrandy]

Originally posted by 26th-Z

Andrew, count me in on the fabrication deal. Let me know if I can do anything to help. I was talking to Mike McGinnis from Banzai Motorworks the other day. He said it will take a strong willed person to restore a car to such standards when most of the show judges are not aware of such peculiarities.

Hey, Andrew, if you go on a production binge, I'd take a set as well. Who cares about judges - these are our cars!

[Zedrally]

Originally posted by kats

Hi Zedrally,

Please see the VIN..

kats

Thanks Kats,

Further proof that all you read in books, should not be taken as gospel.

Still leaves another interesting question. Why the gap in numbers?

Logic would dictate that when you issue an updated specification it would follow from the next serial number, not skip a thousand or so [memory].

Any ideas why this discrepency has occurred?

MOM

[Zedrally]

Originally posted by HS30-H

UNLESS two "HS30" RHD Export models were made before October 1969 - in which case Seisan Shisaku #14 & #15 would be HLS30-00002 & HLS30-000003......

Alan T.

These two HS30 RHD could well be 003 & 004.

[Bleach]

I saw HLS30-00013

It is up in BC, Canada. I have a picture at home of the VIN number. it is in all original condition and very nice.

I have a JDM Fairlady Z S30-00931

I got it with a 5-speed but it seems to have the deluxe bumper trim. Only rubber floormats and I don't have the original wheels.

[daddz]

Greetings everyone, I have arrived late to this discussion and I fear that I may not add anything constructive to the discussion.

In any case from the perspective of a late S30 owner (really late as in 280Z late) some of the same customs, protocols appear to have survived dare I say up to the 350Z.

For example, most of my experience with Z cars has proven that there was a delay from "production stamp" to retail delivery date of a minimum of two months which would allow for shipment from Japan.

Case #1: my '77 280Z carries a door jamb tag of 12/76 HLS30366531 and the bill of sale is dated Feb.8,1977. It was sold by Jack Hare, Inc. in Milton, Florida and its POE was Jacksonville, Fl. The price was $8082.50.

(BTW, 26th Z my invoice looks suspiciously the same as yours and it may have been bought from the same printing co. if you look at the bottom it reads: FORM SA-3501 (6-68) The Reynolds & Reynolds Co. Celina, Ohio; it is the same shade of yellow/gold)

Case # 2: my '81 280ZX carries a door jamb tag of 04/81 and it was sold on June 4,1981 in San Diego, Ca. by San Diego Datsun.

Case # 3: my '86 300ZX hardtop was produced on Jan. 23, 1986 at Hiratsuka Plant and thus carries a door jamb tag of 01/86. The car was sold on May 14, 1986 at Team Nissan in Marietta,Ga. Its POE was listed as Jacksonville,Fl.

Case #4: my '78 280Z HLS30437667 carries a door jamb tag of 11/77 and it was sold in late Jan. '78 just outside of New York City near West Point Military Academy (the original owner was a junior when he took delivery).

Case #5: my 350Z was ordered on Sept. 12,2002 and it was ordered by the dealership (Nationwide Nissan in Timonium, Md.) on October 5,2002. The build date was Nov. 14,2002 and I took delivery on Jan.3,2003. The car was built at Oppama, Japan and its POE was Norfolk, Va.

Throughout the years I have been lucky enough to own cars at the beginning or end of the same month and I have marvelled at how close and how far apart the chassis' can be.

At one point I owned the following '78 280Z's and they were:

HLS30426919 09/77

HLS30427175 10/77

HLS30431775 10/77**notice how this compares with another of my '78's above.

I almost bought HLS30437661 (six units apart from my ***667 and both were paint code 611! That car ened up in Seattle, Wa. and yet the ***667 ended up in N.Y.

Maybe a bunch of Wine Red Metallic cars were stamped at the same time? Alan, kats, 26thZ???

In contrast how about the two '77's my father and I own:

HLS30375108 02/77 paint code 611, sloped rear floor.

HLS30366531 12/76 paint code 611, another sloper rear floor.

my father's old '77:

HLS30374001 02/77 sky blue, yet another sloped rear floor.

Back when my father bought his '78 280Z they used to have Z's shipped to Baltimore in addition to other ports along the East Coast. It is curious how the correlation between the door jamb tag and a scant two months later one could be in possession of a new Z. Thanks to the many posts I will now have to check the seat belts, the backs of the steering wheels, not to mention Alan's brake pedal project from a few months ago.

I tend to believe that the car becomes its own entity when the engine/trans. is installed in the chassis. Now if only we could correlate the engine block numbers or at least determine what block numbers fell into which range of chassis'? For us later S30 owners we have wrangled with the early vs. late '77 280Z sloping rear floor vs. flat rear floor for years.

[abas]

Originally posted by mdbrandy

Hey, Andrew, if you go on a production binge, I'd take a set as well. Who cares about judges - these are our cars!

originally posted by 26th-z

Andrew, count me in on the fabrication deal. Let me know if I can do anything to help.

Chris/Mark

I'll let you know how things progress. If I manage to make a passable set of seat protectors I see no problem in making more:classic:

[240260280]

 

On 2004-05-26 at 8:18 AM, kats said:

Hi 26th-Z and all of you,

I apologize that I made a big mistake.I have seen TWO different licences.NOT 3,I am sorry for this.

 

Kats,

You may be correct in seeing 3 different numbers.

My guess is that the test team could legally driver around the USA in '69 with the DLR 2177 California dealer plates but in order to drive the car across the border into Canada, they needed a more permanent plate thus the requirement to formally register and licence the vehicle in California.  The two cars probably have different plate numbers in the Canadian pictures.

[Bonzi Lon]

Very interesting on that plate.  I have a postcard (printed 3-68) showing the new 510 with the very same plate.

 

Bonzi Lon

[240260280]

I think it is/(maybe was) a California thing where the number on the licence is unique to each dealer and many cars on the road with the same plate number is manageable.

[Mark Maras]

31 minutes ago, 240260280 said:

I think it is/(maybe was) a California thing where the number on the licence is unique to each dealer and many cars on the road with the same plate number is manageable.

 It was a Washington thing back then. Dealers had a pile of plates for temporary use.

[240260280]

Kats,

It looks like the plates for the two cars were later changed from Dealer 2177 to:

D60 ACJ

D61 ACJ

Edited February 7, 2017 by 240260280