JDM airconditioning details

[hls30.com]

Here is one I don't think we have covered before. In my long term memory I remeber seeing a JDM ac unit in a 240Z. The evaporator unit was actually behind and between the seats, giving the driver and the passenger a frozen elbow. The compressor went where the air pump is on our version-which were the reasons all US a/cs were aftermarket.

Does anyone happen to have a picture of the unit, its' controls? I am looking for drawings or photographs, a copy or scan of the Japanese FSM or Owners Manual with those details is exactly what I am hunting for-Kats, 26th, Carl, Mike, anyone, anyone, anyone at all? Verbal translation is not important to me, just the images!

Will

[26th-Z]

Sorry Will. No help from me. I am just as curious.

[GatorJ]

As I am restoring a 1970 Fairlady Z, I'm also interested in this. I have collected a great deal of Japanese sales brochures, manuals and literature for my car and have found no reference to this setup.

[hls30.com]

I found a right hand drive manual on ebay Australia, but no response from the seller on whether or not it has the info I am looking for(RHD but not JDM).

I am going to bid on it http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4503565415&fromMakeTrack=true anyway for the club.

Will

[HS30-H]

In my long term memory I remeber seeing a JDM ac unit in a 240Z. The evaporator unit was actually behind and between the seats, giving the driver and the passenger a frozen elbow.

What you are describing does not sound like the OEM unit fitted to the Japanese home market cars as an option. The location of the evap unit sounds like an aftermarket device.

Here are some pics from the Japanese market Factory parts lists. This is the unit fitted to most of the home market cars when it was chosen as an option:

[HS30-H]

I don't think you will find any detailed illustrations of the Factory aircon units in the RHD Export parts lists. I have a few of the "R Drive" books and folders, and they only seem to mention that certain parts exist without going into full details. As far as I know, the Factory aircon unit was not fitted to very many RHD export market cars.

Here's a photo of one of the earliest schematics of the Factory aircon for the S30-series Z cars, published in the first Nissan "Service Shuho" booklet dated November 1969:

[hls30.com]

HS30-H,

Thanks for the info and the scans!

The shop owner said he remembers looking at the owners manual, and that it showed the controls and the evaporator as described(evap-between the shock towers), and suggested that getting a hold of a JDM owners manual would be the best way of verifying what was used there.

The car in question was bought by a Captian in the Army, supposably picked up from the factory, and imported at the end of his tour. The car was a JDM model-I remember every label was in Japanese-pretty cool to look at.

Thanks again for your input!

Will

[HS30-H]

HS30-H,

The shop owner said he remembers looking at the owners manual, and that it showed the controls and the evaporator as described(evap-between the shock towers), and suggested that getting a hold of a JDM owners manual would be the best way of verifying what was used there.

Maybe he remembers looking at the manual for the aftermarket aircon system? I have FSMs that cover ALL the Japanese home-market S30 Z models, and there are none with evap units between the shock towers.

The car in question was bought by a Captian in the Army, supposably picked up from the factory, and imported at the end of his tour. The car was a JDM model-I remember every label was in Japanese-pretty cool to look at. Will

Sorry to be even more pessimistic, but these 'G.I. Bride' cars quite often have a lot of misinformation and 'whispering grass' type anecdotes attached to them ( I know, I've got one of these cars myself ). As an American forces serviceman, he would much more likely have picked it up from the foreign language and Diplomatic sales office in Ginza ( Nissan's Tokyo HQ ) rather than the Factory itself - which had no facilities for such a personal collection.

I still think it sounds like a Japanese aftermarket unit.

[hls30.com]

One note, after thinking and talking about it further, the evaporator unit was actually fitted between the end of the console and ahead of the tool bins-not really between the shock towers, but in the rear of the car.

I won't say it couldn't have been aftermarket, But I will say if it was, the company that made it went to a great deal of trouble to hide that.

Will

PS, I agree about the artistic license nature of owner/importer claims.