Heritage Certificate

[rdefabri]

All:

I am guessing this is not the case, but I was wondering if Nissan has a service that provides a production trace of your Z car?

I have a Jag E-Type, and this is a really cool service that Jaguar provides that shows the original dealer, owner, production dates, etc. I know Porsche does something similar.

If Nissan does not (and I am pretty sure they don't), does anyone have ideas about how to suggest it to them?

[26th-Z]

It is my understanding the Nissan's production records were destroyed. I do not know of any way to trace production information.

[rdefabri]

26th-Z,

Thanks, I suspected as much. Curious -- did Nissan destroy the records intentionally, or was this accidental.

Boy, what a mistake if it was intentional. They would have certainly overlooked what has become one of the most influential automobiles in history.

[Fun_in_my_z]

I think the warehouse burned. But im not sure where i read that.

[Arne]

Actually, the English are a bit odd in that birth search thing. Granted, it's cool. I had one for my old MGB.

[ChrisA]

I guess I got lucky, I'm the second owner and I have the bill of sale to the original owner from the Datsun Dealer in Omaha. It was Dean Rawson Datsun if I remember correctly. Been a long time since I looked through that paper work.

I do remember that the original owner of my Z traded in a 455 Firebird for it. I'm guessing the price of fuel in 73 was a factor in his decision. Ahh to pay that price for fuel today!

FWIW,

Chris

[rdefabri]

Yeah, I was surprised they did it (but I am new to the Jag thing). I know that Porsche is very proud of their heritage and they offer this kind of thing.

Interestingly, I am a big Ferrari fan and will likely own one in the near future -- they are not as "heritage" oriented as you might expect. It's only recently that they document provenance, and that's generally reserved to racing cars only.

I would love to know the back history of my Z. I know I am at least the 3rd owner, though I'd bet there's more than that.

Does the IZCC have any resources to help trace heritage?

[26th-Z]

Zowwie, it took me a long time to find the reference. After reading the chapter, I am at a loss for an easy explanation. Read "Z-Car, Revival of A Legend" by Yutaka Katayama and Seiichi Takarabe, 2005, Diasuke Koujiya, Publisher. In the prologue, under the chapter "Nissan's Taboo", Takarabe discusses the 20 year struggle between Ishihara and Shioji - management and union - when the success of the Z became the taboo of Nissan. The convoluted explanation is not something I think a capitalist Westerner would understand completely but there was a time at Nissan that the Z was seen as a disgrace and memory of it was literally wiped clean from the record books. The tooling was destroyed, the dies, everything. Takarabe makes a case that the Datsun name was eliminated as part of this "corporate climate". It has only been recently, under new corporate direction, that the Z has become the revived automobile that it is.

The warehouse burned down? Bill, stop smoking dope and get a job!

[rdefabri]

OUCH!!!

No wonder Mr. K was so upset that Ghosn was moving the factory to Tennessee. NISSAN, WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WIT' YOU???!!!

There is a website on the history of Datsun/Nissan that covers some of this, but I did not think it said they destroyed records.

Kind of odd, since they sold the Z in it's same basic form for 10+ years.

[26th-Z]

I hear quite a bit about this subject. I can't rationalize it. "Ugly as it is, this sort of thing happens in the business world. It is common for the winning side to erase the achievements of the opposing side within a company". But this is Takarabe talking about what happened to Katayama and mentions the destruction of Z records and tooling only in support of his point. He says that in 1975, Datsun became the number one import brand (America) surpassing Volkswagen. He goes on; "Nissan kept Katayama's achievement as a secret never to be divulged".

So, most people I talk to subscribe to the idea that the "records" are long gone. I DO hear some talk of warehouses and lost records, but as far as I know, and what I read, there's not much hope.

Chris

[Zedrally]

If my memory serves me right, Kats had a thread going about the 1st 500 zeds, in which he was given some official documents from "someone" in the know. Perhaps all is not lost, just mearly not on hand!

MOM

[rdefabri]

That would help a few Z owners for sure!

I know this sounds crazy, but is this possible to recreate? I mean, obviously I could go back to my previous owner, or even his local DMV, and find some data. But is there some resource?

I guess it's wishful thinking, given the total amount of Z's that were made. However, I noticed on our VIN # thread, Carl Beck recognized some Z's that were purchased from IZCC owners. That's kind of a start, right?

Where have you gone Mr. K?!!!!!