Do the automatic consoles differ from the manual?

In the case of the early series I cars, yes. But only in that the hole for the shifter has been cut and extended towards the rear a little, to allow the gear indicator plate to sit flat. I still don't know what I'm going to do about that when I swap in the early 4 speed I have sitting on the floor in the garage. Don't know if I can make the outer shift boot cover the difference or not. Might have to replace the console - even though my original one is in one piece and restorable.

The second one , the one in the yellow box along side the blue one is for a 77 or 78 either Z

The second one , the one in the yellow box along side the blue one is for a 77 or 78 either Z

The one you're referring to is probably for a 75-76 280z (US). It is exactly the same as my '75 280 except mine appears to be a 260z factory leftover because it has a longitudenal slot beside the ashtray that would be for the choke lever. My '78 280 came with a factory padded console cover that covered the rear tray area and the console had two slots on the top right surface to accept the hinge's mounting plates and the one pictured doesn't appear to have these slots. My '78 console cover's catch was located on the left or front (It's been a long time since I've seen it) and opened to the right.

Kind of hard to pin it down but it's definiltely not a 77-78. There are three consoles the second picture could be. 8/73-7-75, 8/75-7/76 (standard) or 8/75-7/76 (automatic). 77-78 are the only ones that came with a lid although a lot of the earlier ones were fitted with dealer add on or aftermarket lids.

Well if that is the case then my brand new 78 ( back in Dec 77) had a console from an earlier model..who knows..the one on the right is like what I have so that would be out of a 77 or 78 unless Datsun pulled a fast one , who knows.

I think that my you misunderstood my post. That console shows no lid. Did your 77 not have a lid? My 78 does and so does my friends 77. The dates and descriptions I posted came straight from the Z Car microfiche.

Oh ok. yep mine both had lids, somewhat padded , of course not leather, but it or they both have lids.