I need info please '71 240z

[steve-o]

HI everyone,

I have to start by saying I know very little about Z cars.

I need some help and guidance from the experts please.

Sorry if this is a long post, but I have alot of questions.

This is my story: My Grandfather bought this car from their neighbor in about '76, it was parked in '84 (in the garage) due to my grandfather having a back problem. Car's too low for him to get in and out of. He died 6 months ago, and my Grandmother want's to sell it. Sounds too good to be true?

Every car collectors dream come true.

Here's the questions:::::

The car is dated 11/70 and vin #HLS30-14946

Does this mean that the car is really the 14,946th car of production? What does the HLS stand for?

I've seen posts about HS30, but not HLS.

The car is an automatic. Is this more or less valuable? The car has 75,796 original miles. Everything on the car seems to be original, except the wheels, which are mags, and have a cap that screws on with 4 screws. In the center of the cap is P/S. Any ideas of what they are?

The steering wheel appears to be an EMPI wheel, but I could't find any EMPI logos. It has a fairly large padded horn button, and the typical EMPI red colored wood finish, and 3 black spokes.

Are EMPI parts desirable by Z fans, as much as they are by VW fans? The car was originally bought here in Riverside, CA, and has the original license plate frame, keys, and owners manual. My grandmother says she has a rear window vent thing brand new some where in the garage.

The car was painted once,(original color) don't know when. It's Metallic brown.

The engine is dirty. Where is the engine #?

My grandmother says it was never changed, but how do I know for sure? The only thing wrong se says is that some smog failed and my grandfather took it off. The hose going to the heater core hs been bypassed also. Other than that, it looks complete, and was running good when they parked it.

It has A/C, or did they all?

Sorry if this seems random, but like I said I have alot of questions. Biggest questions is::

What is a car like this worth these days?

I have pictures, if anyone would like to see them.

Are there any other things I should look for?

Thanks to you all, I hope to find the car a good home.

[24OZ]

Hi and welcome.

*The L in HS30 means its a left hand drive model.

*Yes the numbers after that refer to the 14946th car of the prod line.

*Autos are less desirable but as your car is a low no. I dont think it matters too much.

*The wheels you refer to sound as if they could have been a dealer option

* The steering wheel sounds original, not sure what EMPI is.

* The engine no. is located on the right hand side of the cylinder block

* Some had A/C, some didnt, it was an optional extra

Its value is determined by how much rust it has. Sure someone can give you a ball park figure after seeing the pics. You can get an idea if you go to ebay.com and look for a similar year in a similar condiiton.

Good luck with your great find.

[CoastGuardZ]

Wow sounds like a great oppurtunity to refinish a piece of automotive history!

Are you a VW fan? I'm sorry! JKROFL

Like the title says I'm not an expert but...

from what I understand...

...She is 14,946 car produced

...The L stands for left hand drive

...hey it's a sports car 4spd desireable but the autos were strong!

...P/S= panasport? are they similar to 8 spoke Empi's? If so they are probabl Panasports.

...I think the steeing wheel is stock

...Empi's are big on European cars, the Z is Japanese... personally I love Empi products, but not any that I know of for Z's.

...rear window vent? Louvers possibly? I dig 'em, others don't.

...engine #'s??????

...I'd love to scoop it up from ya, but I'm 2500+ miles away.

...Sounds like you could shoot for $3000 plus.

Good luck.

P.S. I'm also a VW fan. How can you not love a cherry Oval or Split!!! or a slammed '65 with 5spoke empis and a luggage rack, or...

[2ManyZs]

According to HS30-H's research, the VIN number does not necessarily mean it was the 14,946th produced as they sometimes missed numbers and did not adhere to a strict policy of numbering them is sequence. It is a late Series 1 car so that does make it a bit more desirable to a collector. The automatic may even make it a bit more desirable form a collectors point of view as they did not import a large number of cars that year in total, and the automatics would have been a rather small number compared to later models. You can check on www.zhome.com for the production numbers for the 71 model year to see how many automatics were produced and imported.

The engine number will also be on the fender tag on the passengers side strut tower. Check this with the number you find on the block to see if the engine is original.

A pic would be great if possible. It would be a lot easier to identify your wheels if possible and also get a good idea of the general condition of the car since it has sat for a long period of time.

I also have an 11/70 build date on mine, seems to be a lot of Novemeber cars still in existence.:classic:

[halz]

Have a look at the "00091 for sale" post. Alan mentions that there are several chassis types: S30, PS30, HS30 and HLS30. ah of these were numbered sequentially. The car you are considering is the 14946th HLS30-car not the 14946th Datsun 240Z.

[Rob]

It seems like every second house in America has an old 240Z in its garage!

First derk, then ZmeFly, and now steve-o all find nice original Zs that seem to have been forgotten about for years, all in the last fortnight!

I'm jealous!

Can anybody in Australia report a find like this?

[halz]

USA ~60,000 240Z imported

Aus ~3000 240Z imported.

It makes things hard for us to say the least... even harder when our U.S cousins can pick up the paper and scan thru the list of 240zs for sale each week! We're lucky to see a new car for sale in a month... and that's in the whole country

[St.stephen]

Not to wizz in anyone's cheerios, however I have to throw a hissy!!!!!

God I hate living in Jersey for this reason. Everyone seems to come across a Z car in a garage that is always a cream puff on the west coast. Meanwhile, I look at 100 hours worth of welding on every Z car I have owned to make structurally drivable.

Congrats on your find though! Early model auto's are rather rare in a collectors sense and I'm sure the damb thing is a solid cream puff.

grrrrrrrrrrrr...sorry to vent

[zorro]

Sorry Rob,

I know how you feel, it took me 9 years to finally find a 240Z here that I thought was worth doing up. Those that have em keep em America gets all the luck.........

[Rob]

Yeah but at least you can drive/bus/take a plane/whatever to buy a West Coast cream puff (mmm sounds like a dessert), and drive it/trailer it home.

An Aussie would have to fly over to see the car, get it shipped back to Oz, fix the shipping damage, replace the bits knocked off by the wharfies, convert it to right hand drive, convince the Australian Authorities that it's safe for Australian roads and change the tail lights. My Father has gone through the above exercise for two Camaros and it's a real pain!

Americans are still Z-spoilt! (West Coast more than the East Coast by the sounds of it)

[HS30-H]

Hi Steve-o,

Sounds like you have inherited something really nice there.

Thanks to halz for pointing out that the VIN / Chassis Numbers are each a unique series to their prefixes ( seems like some of the previously posted replies did not understand that ). Therefore, steve-o, this car would be the 14946th "HLS30" assigned a number on the production line - but certainly not the 14946th S30-series Z made. You must not forget all the other variants on the basic S30-series chassis type.

Just to decode what that prefix basically means:

*S30 = the factory's code for the basic model type of the "First" Z

*H = fitted with the L24 engine

*L = left hand drive

Put these all together and you get "HLS30" which is stamped onto the bulkhead ( along with the actual number of the body - 14946 in your case, which means the 14946th "HLS30" as mentioned above ) as well as on the chassis tag ( attached to the inner wing or "fender" on the sparkplug side of the engine ). As you have the USA / North American export version of the HLS30 ( as opposed to the European LHD model ) you will also see this number in other locations on the car, such as on the dash near the window and on the door shut panel.

2ManyZ's perhaps slightly overstates my previously posted points about the factory "missing" a few chassis numbers; it was probably only a small number ( in the scheme of things ) and mainly traceable on the RHD type chassis numbers. To all intents and purposes, its probably OK to call this car the 14,946th "HLS30" produced - but don't forget that caveat; there were other number series sequences too.

In the USA, its common to hear a car like this described by its "Model Year" ( in your case, they might call it a 1971 Model Year ). To me, that's a local habit for one particular market and I think it causes confusion. To the rest of the world ( and especially Japan ) what counts is the date that the car came off the production line, and I personally think this is the only thing that counts. I don't care when it ARRIVED in the country it was sold in, and I don't care what the DEALER described it as when he sold it ( especially as they will always try to make out that a car is younger than it really is! ). Its the day that it came off the line and got inspected that counts for me. That's why to me, and to many others, your car was born in late 1970.

The engine number is on the engine block, on a raised pad just below the spark plugs - just by the head / block joint, and at the firewall / bulkhead end. It will probably match up with the number on the chassis plate, as these engines were very durable.

I can understand you thinking that the steering wheel might be an Empi - they look similar in some ways. However, what you describe sounds like the stock wheel and is not rare ( although the very early models had no cut-outs on the spokes - which are rarer ).

Without seeing a picture it would be hard to comment on the wheels, but I know some cars in the USA ended up with dealer-installed Empi 8-spokes ( which were, somewhat ironically, manufactured for Empi in Japan ). That P/S logo sounds different though, so they might well be Panasports. I ought to let the American experts comment on that..............

I know a little about Empi because I used to have a lot of VW's ( 55, 56 & 57 Type 1, 66 Type 2, 62 and 69 Type 3 ) so I can understand what you might be thinking about rare parts on this Z. However, its unlikely to have any really rare / valuable accessory parts on it. The only stuff that's really collectable or rare are the genuine factory Sports Option or competition parts, and there are certainly not that many of them out there "undiscovered".

As an Automatic version, you might find people telling you that its worth less than a Manual transmission version. You might also find that the colour will not be that popular ( although it would certainly be rarer than a red or silver one ). The bottom line is the CONDITION of the body, and this will be the main factor in deciding the price that you can get. You are also situated in what seems to be the easiest area of the world to find an early Z in good condition - so you might find that the local market value is slightly less than it would be elsewhere. As you may have noticed from previous posts, there are many of us out here in cyberspace that would jump on this car if it were more local to us! Unfortunately, the distance and cost involved in obtaining a Californian Z can mean that it is not a viable proposition to buy.

Good luck with the car and make sure it goes to a good home ( why not keep it!? ).

Alan T.

[2ManyZs]

I guess I should have re-checked my typing, it didn't come out quite the way I had intended.