I don't think the Z seats ever got the credit they really deserved for their styling.  Maybe not so excellent from a functional or comfort perspective, but really great to look at and perfectly in tune with the exterior styling.  

2 hours ago, Namerow said:

I don't think the Z seats ever got the credit they really deserved for their styling.  Maybe not so excellent from a functional or comfort perspective, but really great to look at and perfectly in tune with the exterior styling.  

Thanks Namerow , 

I thought S30’s seat back was inspired by Porsche 911 , but when S30 was development in progress ( like 1968 to 1969 ) 911 has old fashioned seat back . 

I believe Mr. Matsuo and his team said the seat back which was integrated with the head rest was the new , never seen in other production cars .  Is it true ? So far I think yes .

Kats

On 4/30/2019 at 2:28 PM, Gav240z said:

Hey Kats, let me know if you have any old blue seat material you don't need afterwards? I would like it for HS30 01415 ?

Hi Gavin , here are the pieces which were replaced by new vinyl pieces. Do you really need them ? I don’t think they are usable though. But let me know if you need , I will send them to you .

As you can see my blue trims are not matched with each other , each trim has each aging sign and stain . I wish I could have a complete set of new trims including seats ! My blue looks like green ,especially the overhead trim and the center tunnel, and the side dog leg panels.

And a comparison of fat and slim seat back , you can see the difference in the width of the side piece . Plastic panels looks light blue , very different from the other trims .

BTW , my blue car doesn’t have a access panel for replacing bulbs. 

Kats

Edited May 13, 20195 yr by kats

On 5/5/2019 at 1:23 AM, kats said:

Thanks Namerow , 

I thought S30’s seat back was inspired by Porsche 911 , but when S30 was development in progress ( like 1968 to 1969 ) 911 has old fashioned seat back . 

I believe Mr. Matsuo and his team said the seat back which was integrated with the head rest was the new , never seen in other production cars .  Is it true ? So far I think yes .

Kats

Mr Matsuo is a genius!  Thinking so far ahead of the world.

On 5/5/2019 at 5:23 AM, kats said:

I thought S30’s seat back was inspired by Porsche 911 , but when S30 was development in progress ( like 1968 to 1969 ) 911 has old fashioned seat back . 

I believe Mr. Matsuo and his team said the seat back which was integrated with the head rest was the new , never seen in other production cars .  Is it true ? So far I think yes .

1968 VW Type 3 models had 'high back' seats. I owned several VW Type 3s in the past and I had both low back and high back seat versions. As far as I remember, the switch to high back seats was due to safety legislation (rear-end impact/whiplash) and perhaps VW were one of the earliest adopters?

 

Thanks Alan , that is very helpful to understand what was gong on to the seat designing  at that time . 

A legislation effect, I got it . So was it like Japanese and German manufacturing’s adherents habit which were sometimes seen in industrial world ? Prepare and finish well before the cut off date of regulations applied.

Lamborghini Miura , and Ferrari Datona didn’t have the high back seats in the same era , did they ? The legislation was not mandatory? Or just recommended item , not necessarily had a high back seat ,  a head rest was a must item ? 

How about other Nissan cars in 1969 ?

Blue , Mr . Chiba is the interior designer of S30 .  Approximately in early 1968 , dashboard and seat and other things had its design finished . He said in this book ‘ I disappointed a little bit about the finish of the production dashboard, the cray model which I designed had much sharper edges around meter foods.  I was told by the manufacturer ‘ you can not have the edge here and there , and there ‘  I felt the technology of vacuum forming at that time was limited compared to today’s level ‘ 

This book ‘ Motor Fan ‘ 20th Oct 2002 is very fun to look at .

Kats

5 hours ago, kats said:

Hi Gavin , here are the pieces which were replaced by new vinyl pieces. Do you really need them ? I don’t think they are usable though. But let me know if you need , I will send them to you .

Thanks Kats, but I don't think those particular sections will help me out. The damaged areas on mine are the base and sides but not those particular pieces.

5 hours ago, kats said:

BTW , my blue car doesn’t have a access panel for replacing bulbs. 

Is that an early car feature/difference Kats? I've never seen that on a 240z myself. 

Kats I'm so glad the dashboard turned out the way it did, the early S30Z dash is a timeless design and still looks fantastic today. I'm yet to see a more exciting instrument cluster in a car ever! My FD RX-7 is close, but I still love the trio of center gauges and think they really add to the sporty feel and the deep tach/speed-o-meter binnacles are the best look in front of the driver. Ergonomically it may not be the best by today's standards but aesthetically I still love it.

I see aftermarket accessories for the FD RX-7 to give the 3 gauges to the left of the driver.

Even my Stagea 260RS has the trio of gauges in the middle. So I really think it's a timeless look emulated by many all these years later.

FWIW, I hate the way it was replicated in the 350z (Z33) / 370z (Z34), it doesn't look cohesive with the dash, like the early cars did.

 

These rooftop pictures of  prototypes in 1968 certainly had high-back seats and a refined interior.  The black wheel in the targa and the the centre console are different.

 

 

Copy cats in 69:

Edited May 14, 20195 yr by 240260280

Targa would have been fun!

20 hours ago, Gav240z said:

Is that an early car feature/difference Kats? I've never seen that on a 240z myself. 

 

Yes.

Gavin , your FD has a set of gages on top of the dashboard, cool !

I will show you my Nissan SUV has a additional gages too .

Blue , you did find the pictures, thanks posting them again . You see the ‘ Z flag ‘ on the targa bar .

Kats