LHD 240Z in 1969 TOKYO auto show

[Alfadog]

Well excuse me Alfadog. :tapemouth Kats, every Z owner in the US except Alfadog.

I don't want to ruin Kats' thread, but just so everyone knows: 1. I do not live in the US, 2. I do not own a Z, and 3. I definitely do not think Goertz designed the S30! That's why I said in my post that I agreed with Kats on every point. I just thought it was a pretty broad statement to say "everyone in the US" believes the same thing. Hell, there are still magazine articles being written saying the S30 was really German-designed :stupid:. That is all!

[240260280]

 

 

Hi Kats,

For completeness, it seems the blue 240z was only on display for an early portion of the Tokyo Motor Show. It was eventually replaced in the beautiful banked racing display by a 432-R.  I am not sure at what point the switch happened.

As you allude to, in other posts in the thread, few in Japan would be interested in a LHD apart from curiosity, so using a RHD 432-R in the first place would make more business and regional sense (and keep the racing crowd happy). As well, it would be a much better fit with the racing theme of the banked display (as the other 3 cars were all race cars [including white circles with numbers]).

Why the 240z was there in the first place begs the question: Were the 240z's further along in completed form in the factories and the 432-R needed last minute badges/items thus its delayed appearance? Was the 240z just a stop-gap "filler" until a 432-R was show worthy?

Further to this theory: The licence plates on the three Z cars at the show are different. Both the 432 and 432-R  have the same font and character size yet the 240z plate shares the same "Fairlady Z" top line but with a much smaller and thinner font "(EXPORT MODEL )".  Could this 2nd line text be simply a last minute rework for the blue "filler car"? The small text "(EXPORT MODEL )" is also skewed to the left  with a blank space after the "L" where as the other 2nd lines are centred nicely.

In the end, it is ironic that the L24 seems to have been unintentionally placed in the race display as its L24 engine went on to become the favoured racing engine in the 432-R shell (and later in the 240zg).

 

3 RHD Racers and 1 LHD Anomaly in the Banked Racing Display Early in the Show.

Blue 240z on the Banked Racing Display Early in the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show
(Note the wooden ladder slats in front of/and behind the yellow R382. These are used for workers to access the various areas and place garnishes such as the laurel wreath. These garnishes are not in place in most photos with the Blue car).
Eventually an engine also appears in the display.

 

432-R on Banked Racing Display (Replacing the Blue 240z)

Orange 432-R with Black Hood and No Wind Shield Chrome (in right of photo)

 

 

 

Last Minute 240z Plate with Odd Tiny 2nd Line Font and Spacing

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 19, 2017 by 240260280

[HS30-H]

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[HS30-H]

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[Mike]

18 minutes ago, HS30-H said:

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[HS30-H]

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Edited January 20, 2017 by HS30-H

[HS30-H]

Quote

For completeness, it seems the blue 240z was only on display for an early portion of the Tokyo Motor Show. It was eventually replaced in the beautiful banked racing display by a 432-R.  I am not sure at what point the switch happened.

As you allude to, in other posts in the thread, few in Japan would be interested in a LHD apart from curiosity, so using a RHD 432-R in the first place would make more business and regional sense (and keep the racing crowd happy). As well, it would be a much better fit with the racing theme of the banked display (as the other 3 cars were all race cars [including white circles with numbers]).

Why the 240z was there in the first place begs the question: Were the 240z's further along in completed form in the factories and the 432-R needed last minute badges/items thus its delayed appearance? Was the 240z just a stop-gap "filler" until a 432-R was show worthy?

I think you should be careful of reading too much into what you see. A 432 was displayed on the central rotating platform of the Nissan display (it was - in effect - the 'star' of the Nissan show stand) but there was a 432-R, very likely the same one that was moved onto the banked wall display, on display elsewhere on the large Nissan stand area. There was a Fairlady Z-L as well as a brace of other Nissan models on display too. Looking at photos of the show stand it is clear that they were moving cars around on the stand area through the 14 days of the show. Additionally, some of the photos we see published were from the press preview opening before the doors were opened to the general public, and some of the displays are not yet complete.

Quote

Further to this theory: The licence plates on the three Z cars at the show are different. Both the 432 and 432-R  have the same font and character size yet the 240z plate shares the same "Fairlady Z" top line but with a much smaller and thinner font "(EXPORT MODEL )".  Could this 2nd line text be simply a last minute rework for the blue "filler car"? The small text "(EXPORT MODEL )" is also skewed to the left  with a blank space after the "L" where as the other 2nd lines are centred nicely.

In the end, it is ironic that the L24 seems to have been unintentionally placed in the race display as its L24 engine went on to become the favoured racing engine in the 432-R shell (and later in the 240zg).

I feel you still don't seem to be grasping what was actually happening there. The LR24 was the favoured racing engine for the HS30/HLS30 and the GR8C/GR8S was the favoured race engine for the PS30-SB. The first factory race and rally prepped versions of the HS30/HLS30 used what was essentially a 432-R bodyshell with an HS30/HLS30 chassis number. You might try an experiment tonight when you go to bed: Move your pillow and sleep 180 degrees from where you normally do, and see if you can have a dream where "the favoured race bodyshell for the LR24 engine was the PZR type". If it doesn't work on the first night, keep trying...      

Displayed "unintentionally"? Why would you describe it as unintentional? It may be rather incongruous in that race display context, but my feeling is that the car was placed there - indeed, was on display at all - most definitely with intent. Arch intent, perhaps. It's my personal belief (no more than that at this point) that we are glimpsing some evidence of the politicking and tug-o-war that was going on between Nissan Japan and Nissan Motors USA regarding the world debut of the new S30-series Z models and the pointedly-labelled 'Fairlady Z Export Model' Datsun 240Z in particular. I believe Yutaka Katayama did not want to have his thunder stolen by the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show display, and worked hard to arrange the press shows at the Pierre Hotel in New York and in Los Angeles in some reaction to that. Katayama simply didn't have a suitable large scale public Auto show in the USA to coincide with the dates of the Tokyo Motor Show, and I can't imagine him enjoying the fact that the new S30-series Z would go on display in Japan before he'd had a chance to show one in his market. There might also be a clue in the way that the 'Kaku U' North American Testing trip could be seen as turning into just as much a demonstration/ promotion tour for dealers as proper 'testing' (which was - in any case - being carried out in Japan).

We know there was some late wrangling over the emblems/badging of that 'Fairlady Z Export Model', and that the 'Datsun' and '240Z' emblems were very late being finalised and productionised. Yet here was a 'Datsun 240Z' badged car - looking for all the world like the finished article - on display to the world in Tokyo whilst the car(s) that NMC USA had at its disposal for press and promotion were clearly unfinished and unbadged. Messages being sent? Some needling going on? I would not be surprised. Don't forget that on 18th October 1969 there was a Press Show at Nissan's Ginza, Tokyo HQ where all the models - including a PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R and an HLS30 'Datsun 240Z' were on display, so Katayama had already been trumped by the time the the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show opened its doors to what would be over 1.5 million visitors...