Rear Glass w/no defroster??

[26th-Z]

Ah, the lovely nuances of the early Zs!

If the car came with clear glass, the interior headliner molding for the overhead light did not have a little nich for the defroster wire. The blanking plug in the console for the switch is identical, although smaller, to the blanking plug for the parking lights. I don't know what you are describing, Arne. Picture? The very first switches for the defroster glass were black and not lighted. Clear glass is not all that difficult to find in Japan because only the ZL model came with defroster glass. Its all a fun game, yea?

[26th-Z]

I find this kind of ironic. People who bought the earliest cars probably felt cheated. They were missing amenities and features that appeared as standard equipment a short time later.

What I have learned over the past three years or so is that the original HLS30 was a specific model of the S30 family and we Americans didn't really miss much of the amenities at first. But as you know, the Z became more loaded as time went on. There are two distinct models of the Japanese Fairlady Z that can be compared to the HLS30 Datsun 240Z, but it was really an individual on its own. I suspect cost had a lot to do with what came to America at first, and I believe this because I believe the Japanese had no idea how popular the car would become. Certainly Nissan intended to export their cars to increase their sales and certainly they viewed the American market with high anticipation, but I do not believe they were all that confident and thus I do not believe the marque was designed specifically for the American market. If you bought a fully loaded Fairlady ZL in Japan at the time, you got headlight covers, an 8-track tape deck, passenger foot rest, and all sorts of things we never even saw as options. The bone stock Fairlady Z S30-S came with a blanking plate for the radio, clear hatch glass, rubber floor mats and so on. The export HLS30 was sort of a mixture between the S30-S and the ZL. Of course, it was a Datsun 240Z instead of a Nissan. 'D' hubcaps came to America. Wheel covers in Japan are different.

So you see, the American export HLS30 was quite different at first, and as Nissan began to see the increadible demand, they responded with more amenities as well as improvements. I'll brag about my early examples by saying that they are the lightest and fastest of the Zs until the 280ZX turbo. However, they leaked exhaust gas back into the cabin the worst, little parts originally made of plastic broke and lets not even talk about the geometry of the rear axels! When I rebuilt the engine for 26th last fall, the machinest laughed and said he couldn't understand how my "vibrator" stayed together as long as it did.

Its fun for me to talk about the low vin cars. I hope you guys with your "new" low vin toys enjoy them. They are distinct, quite different, and a lot of fun to talk about.

Chris

[moonpup]

Originally posted by: 26th-Z

Certainly Nissan intended to export their cars to increase their sales and certainly they viewed the American market with high anticipation, but I do not believe they were all that confident and thus I do not believe the marque was designed specifically for the American market.

Why then were the cars first exported to the U.S. (as opposed to Europe or elsewhere) with cabins that could easily accommodate individuals 6 ft. tall, while the home market needed and got foot rests?

[koreavet]

If the car came with clear glass, the interior headliner molding for the overhead light did not have a little nich for the defroster wire.

Chris,

So does 26th & 27th have the "nichs" for the defroster wires?

Anyone else?

Jim

[26th-Z]

The first cars were sold in Japan, moonpup, not exported. America probably got the first exports, and do keep in mind there was guy here named Katayama who was somewhat influencial, because America was a sales target - no doubt. I think it is pretty well documented that Matsuo san took this into account and dimensioned the chassis to accomodate tall people. But with the issue surrounding clear hatch glass; there seems no doubt that it was a cost consideration that configured the first American exports with the glass that came standard in the S30-S. Of course, the PS30-SB didn't have defrosters. I guess we could consider clear glass a performance part?

Nope, no nich for defrosters.

[moonpup]

Originally posted by: 26th-Z

The first cars were sold in Japan, moonpup, not exported.

Originally posted by: moonpup

Why then were the cars first exported to the U.S. (as opposed to Europe or elsewhere)

So as not to confuse anyone.

[Arne]

The bone stock Fairlady Z S30-S came with a blanking plate for the radio, clear hatch glass, rubber floor mats and so on.

Reminds me (as many things about the late '60's Japanese cars do) of a typical English car. Why would the heater be optional in England, of all places?

[HS30-H]

I'll brag about my early examples by saying that they are the lightest and fastest of the Zs until the 280ZX turbo.

A big "Amen" to everything you said, except this. Your cars were neither the lightest or fastest of the Z range.

Why then were the cars first exported to the U.S. (as opposed to Europe or elsewhere) with cabins that could easily accommodate individuals 6 ft. tall, while the home market needed and got foot rests?

"Needed and got"? Who said they "needed" them?

The footrest was actually a sports-oriented optional item, and not fitted to *every* Japanese market Z as you seem to think it was. I'll leave the question of why it might have been called a 'sports' option to your imagination......　

And have you ever seen the seat mounts on a Japanese-market bodyshell? They might help to answer some questions for you ( even if some of them are questions you might never have thought to ask ). This enduring "designed for the USA market" thing is misleading.

The S30-series Z was just ONE of the Japanese cars designed and manufactured in that era that were beginning to accommodate a potentially taller customer base ( in Japan as well as elsewhere ). This was not an Export market-only phenomenon; the Japanese were getting taller too. Just look at the ergonomics of some other models like the C10 Skyline range for comparison.

Alan T.

[moonpup]

Originally posted by: HS30-H

"Needed and got"? Who said they "needed" them.

Well apparently the U.S. market didn't, as they weren't an easily accessable option for us, right?

Originally posted by: HS30-H

And have you ever seen the seat mounts on a Japanese-market bodyshell? They might help to answer some questions for you ( even if some of them are questions you might never have thought to ask ). This enduring "designed for the USA market" thing is misleading.

Hey, thanks for reminding me about the seat mounts. (Oh and yes, I was aware of the differences.)

Originally posted by: HS30-H

Alfadog and That Ozzy Guy, you might be interested to know that the Japanese "Home" market S30-series Z cars had extra seat mount brackets - so that the seat runners could be unbolted and moved several cm forward of the "normal" position. If you look at the seat mount brackets in the floor area of a non Japanese market Z, you will see that the REAR bracket has TWO holes in it ( am I right? ) - however, the forward bracket only has one hole position. This means that the Japanese market had the option of having the seat mounted forward of its usual export position.

Hummm...Another accommodation for the home market?

[240znz]

HS30-00352 has no rear defroster and a black plastic plug on the centre console. There is no wiring loom to the would be switch nor to the location where the wires would meet the defroster nor any slots in the overhead plastic thingy.

Car will be garaged all its life, so no need for the defroster now. Worst case is that I'll leave the car idling with the hand throttle and the heater pouring out to defrost the thing. Just gotta love that hand throttle.

[aarc240]

Just to confuse the issue, HS30 011692 doesn't have the rear heater, the notches in the plastic trim, the console switch OR the provision in the wiring harness.

Then again, the rear glass is also only 4mm thick with rubber to match.

HS30-H might be able to shed some light since it also has the 'optional' seat mounting bolt holes.

[Zedrally]

HS30 103305 also didn't come with heated rear glass!