My clollection

[geezer]

Very nice Kats! Thanks once again for sharing your very impressive collection with us. Also, thanks for everyone elses contributions. All very interesting.

Good eye Dan! That is typical of the type of mistake that would have been made on a car used for demonstration/training purposes. It could have been dis-assembled and re-assembled many times by people who were on a learning curve themselves.

[AZ-240z]

Chris, Mike, Ron

Thanks for the pics. All pictures that you both have so graciously provided to compensate for my lack of computer skills seems to result in a toss-up. It would appear that either orientation of the servo diaphram assy would be correct from this information, yes?

Thanks,

Dan

Edited June 27, 2010 by AZ-240z

[geezer]

Dan - I don't want to deviate off course too far but thought it noteworthy to mention that in service manual P/N 99999-20015 there are at least 3 pictures showing a forward orientation as well as an illustration. I included a pic of an SU assembly I have stored also. It is the other way, but that means nothing after all these years. I guess the jury is still out but I would go with the original Nissan documentation, so you have proof yours is correct.

[AZ-240z]

Ron, I do find it curious that all of the Nissan documentation shows the orientation of the hose attachment facing to the front of the car, except the brochure picture mike attached to #24 above. I do agree that installing it as shown by Nissan manuals would be sufficient proof of correctness. Thanks for your thoughts and anyone else who would like to chime in. !!!!!!!!!!!Chris?

My apologies to all if I have strayed too far in my inquiry from the original thread topic

Dan.

[Carl Beck]

Hi Guys:

I believe that Kats showed us pictures of both types - along with part numbers - in a discussion several years ago. He may still have the pictures on his Web Site somewhere.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[HS30-H]

Carl,

I'd like to query some of the above.

OK, I'll try to simplify this a little for you in an effort to elicit a response:

*Where did the words "International Preview of the Datsun 240Z" come from? Are they quoted from the NY Times article, are they quoted from a Nissan ( or NMC USA ) document, or are they simply yours?

*Did any press coverage from these New York and Los Angeles hotel 'trunk shows' use a photo of the car which was actually taken at the hotel?

*The dates of these New York and Los Angeles one-day events seem to have been timed ( almost ) to correspond with the events going on in Japan, but they seem rather ad hoc in comparison. There's obviously a back-story here, but it is being ignored. You don't have any thoughts on that?

Anybody care to comment? Nature abhors a vacuum.

Alan T.

[Carl Beck]

OK, I'll try to simplify this a little for you in an effort to elicit a response:

Hi Alan:

I am sorry - too many other things going on around here - and I lost track. I had actually started a response... and got distracted.. It's hurricane season here, I have a daughter we just got off to Rome so was working the digital communication pathways for her Mother to keep in touch... etc etc...

*Where did the words "International Preview of the Datsun 240Z" come from? Are they quoted from the NY Times article, are they quoted from a Nissan ( or NMC USA ) document, or are they simply yours?

According to Mr. Dunn, that is what Nissan contracted with his firm to produce. They had it printed on the invitations sent to the media types. So that is thus what the event was called in some of the newspaper reports.

Interesting to note that "Nissan Motor Co. Ltd." was credited with showing and producing the car. No question that people here knew Nissan was the producer of DATSUN cars/trucks.

*Did any press coverage from these New York and Los Angeles hotel 'trunk shows' use a photo of the car which was actually taken at the hotel?

Not that I have found so far. That however is not at all uncommon for the time. The Press Release Kits provided by Nissan and prepared by the Public Relations Companies Nissan hires - contain high quality photographs showing the car in its best views - so that the newspapers don't have to send their own Photographers, nor wait for film processing and printing. All this costs the papers money - so the Public Relations Companies provide photo's with the hope that the newspapers will use them and thus provide the free Publicity. Not to mention UPI, AP and Rutgers wire services in New York putting it on the news wires. In which case it would have been flashed around the world.

Publicity is what all the New Model Introductions and Car Show's are all about.. The amount of Free Advertising they get reaching millions of people - has to exceed the costs of the events.

*The dates of these New York and Los Angeles one-day events seem to have been timed ( almost ) to correspond with the events going on in Japan, but they seem rather ad hoc in comparison. There's obviously a back-story here, but it is being ignored. You don't have any thoughts on that? .

Personally I believe - - There is little doubt that the timing of these events was completely thought-out by Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. top management, so that the most Publicity would be generated in the markets they wanted to reach.

If you look back though the major US Automotive Magazines say between 1960 and 1968 {which we have done when researching our friend Mr. Goertz}, you find that most of the coverage of International Automobile Shows, outside the US - went to Europe at the time {and Goertz was one of the people often interviewed, or who made comments on the new models for the Magazines located in NY or Detroit} . It is hard to find any coverage at all of the Tokyo Motor Shows prior to 1970. The Automotive Magazines did cover single new models from Japan that were going on sale here.. but usually they were Road Tests done months after the model went on sale. {of course all that changed after the introduction of the 240Z}.

Nissan must have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their International Preview of the Datsun 240Z. {indeed in todays money that would be more like hundreds of thousands of dollars}. Air lifting cars, chartering private airliners for Press people, renting conference/display space in the most exclusive/expensive hotels, developing and distributing Press Release Kits and bringing Director level personnel from Japan. With the Dollar/Yen exchange rate at the time - it must have cost them 20x the cost of display at Tokyo.

Back in the day so to speak - Newspapers love to be First With The NEWS... Reporters like getting the most current stories, and getting face time with top executives from the Auto Industry. Personal interviews result in something to "report". So from a Publicity perspective - introducing the Datsun 240Z first in the US resulted in the most media coverage and most Publicity in North America.

Indeed - Don Shannon covered the Tokyo Motor Show for the L.A. Times. Japanese cars were popular in California at that time - if not in the entire US... His lead-in line for Oct. 24th was "Few Surprises Seen at Tokyo Motor Show". In the body of the article, Don did mention the new Fairlady, but felt that it's $1,850,000.00 {$5,100.00 USD} price tag would be too high to sell well in Japan. Given the price - I'd guess he was talking about the Z432.

FWIW,

Carl B.

Edited June 29, 2010 by Carl Beck

[doradox]

Anybody care to comment? Nature abhors a vacuum.

Alan T.

I'll comment.

Your very Earth centric view is clearly wrong as you would see if you looked out beyond the atmosphere of this tiny speck you call home. It is much more truthful to state that nature loves a vacuum as virtually the entire known universe is filled exactly with...nothing. At least as much as you can say that something is filled with nothing, which in itself seems a little odd. Not at all unlike this comment.

Steve

[kats]

Thank you everyone,

I thank you all and thank you for each of your inputs,I am enjoying reading and seeing every little details.

Mr Camouflage, I had never seen that press kit before you showed us,

what a great collection!

Every time I see an early 240Z with D cap, I fall in love again.For me that is the

best looking Z I have ever seen.

Kats

[HS30-H]

Hi Alan:

I am sorry - too many other things going on around here - and I lost track. I had actually started a response... and got distracted.. It's hurricane season here, I have a daughter we just got off to Rome ...

Sorry to catch you at a busy time, Carl. And Rome is crazy at this time of year. She's going to see crowds....

According to Mr. Dunn, that is what Nissan contracted with his firm to produce. They had it printed on the invitations sent to the media types. So that is thus what the event was called in some of the newspaper reports.

I'd love to see one of those invites. So it was 'official' ( at least according to the PR firm ), but still inaccurate. You take my point? This was not The International Preview, was it? If anything, this was the USA / North American Press Preview.

As mentioned before, the whole at-launch S30-series range ( including an LHD Export market Datsun 240Z ) had been seen at Nissan's 'Press Preview' event in Japan on 18th October, and then - open to the general public remember - at the Tokyo Motor Show from 24th October. Both were international events by their very nature.

I understand the use of Press Packs etc ( even own a few souvenirs of these myself ) but my point was that the considerable effort in putting on these one day New York and Los Angeles events seems to have generated relatively little bang for its buck. Certainly little to justify its claim as being the 'International Preview'. As far as I can tell - and I have a lot of Japanese literature from the period - it seems not to have been mentioned in the Japanese press, where you might expect it to have generated some interest ( had they known about it in advance..... ). In contrast they covered just about every major auto show in the world, in considerable depth, at the time.

Personally I believe - - There is little doubt that the timing of these events was completely thought-out by Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. top management, so that the most Publicity would be generated in the markets they wanted to reach.

It seems to me to have been more to do with NMC USA than NMC Japan - although it would of course have needed a certain amount of blessing from NMC Japan. I don't think we are hearing the full back-story here. That "out of respect for Detroit" quote doesn't seem to bear much scrutiny either. It'd be worth digging a little deeper to find out whether Katayama thought the timing of the Tokyo show was stealing his thunder, and the NY and LA hotel events were at least partly in response to this, considering the poor timing of the major North American market shows.

Nissan must have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their International Preview of the Datsun 240Z......

........ With the Dollar/Yen exchange rate at the time - it must have cost them 20x the cost of display at Tokyo.

That can't be correct. Nissan's stand at the '69 Tokyo Motor Show was huge ( you've seen the pictures, right? ), the event lasting many days, and with 1.5 million visitors through the doors. No comparison.

Indeed - Don Shannon covered the Tokyo Motor Show for the L.A. Times. Japanese cars were popular in California at that time - if not in the entire US... His lead-in line for Oct. 24th was "Few Surprises Seen at Tokyo Motor Show".

Quite extraordinary. Makes me think of a surfer not realising that he had a tidal wave coming up behind him, or the recording industry guys who turned down The Beatles. Did he not notice the ( 'Fairlady Z Export Model' ) LHD Datsun 240Z on the Nissan stand? Maybe he spent a little too long in the Bar?

I'm convinced that there's more to all this than we currently know.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[kats]

Thank you Alan,

I always love to here from you.

You tell me not only Z but also old days of Japan

when I was born like my father.

You are not Japanese but you know more than me.

Please keep it going.

Hi Carl,

Thank you and hope you and your family is doing well.

I visited The Pierre hotel and took a photo in the ballroom

4years ago.I closed my eyes and imagined how much people were excited

for the new Datsun sports car.It was a great show I think.

I did not know The Beverly willshear was the place for introducing

Datsun 240Z , my honey moon was the hotel, Jul 4th 1995.

Sorry for off track but I well come every one any kind of speaking and any picture.

kats

[kats]

Hi Mike ,

I am wondering too, the engine serial number looks painted white,

very interesting.

I am not for sure other Nissan cars have L24 before the S30,

but maybe S30 is the first one as a production model.

So L24-107 is interesting considering early 240Zs having #2000 more.

Hi Dan ,

I did not know the difference,your eyes are 20/20 still I think !

kats