Vintage Z pictures

[black gold man]

I have been looking at pics from 1970 auto shows to find 240z.

And i came across this maybe someone could tell the story.

1970 Chicago Auto Show

http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=150552

Edited March 26, 2011 by black gold man

[Mike B]

This really belongs in another thread, since it isn't a "vintage racing picture". Maybe an admin can move this and the prior post to a new thread?

Anyway, here is a picture of the front of the car posted in another thread on that same site (v8buick.com). It looks like the Chicago Auto show was held Feb 21 - March 1, 1970. Carl Beck thought there may have been a Safari Gold 240z at the NY auto show in Oct 1969 http://forums.ctzcc.com/viewtopic.php?t=4577&sid=57e741b4514cde6bf3f938fe006077ff. Maybe it was "lucky #13"?

-Mike

[Arne]

Maybe an admin can move this and the prior post to a new thread?

Ask, and ye shall receive.

[black gold man]

I was thinking it looks like # 13

#13

1970 Chicago Auto Show

[Mike B]

I was thinking it looks like # 13

Yeah, but it also looks like (HLS30) #16, #42, and every other Safari Gold early series 1 left hand drive 240Z that was made... HLS30-00009 through HLS30-00012 (and maybe some other lower VINs) are also unaccounted for too.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

Thanks Arne!

-Mike

[ChrisZ]

Mike, what's so lucky about #13 ?

[Carl Beck]

Anyway, here is a picture of the front of the car posted in another thread on that same site (v8buick.com). It looks like the Chicago Auto show was held Feb 21 - March 1, 1970.

By March of 1970 the first couple thousand Datsun 240Z's had arrived in the U.S. I bought HLS30 01777 March 14, 1970. The East and West Coast States seemed to get most of them - and most people in the Mid-Western States had no idea what the car was when they first saw one on the roads.

Carl Beck thought there may have been a Safari Gold 240z at the NY auto show in Oct 1969. Maybe it was "lucky #13"?

Actually - the man that made the arrangements for the International Preview held in N.Y. in Oct - thought he remembered the car that was there being Gold. As I recall when I talked to Bob Sharp he said the car at the New York Auto Show, held later was Green.

"Lucky 13" - Lucky to have survived the past 41 years. Lucky that someone that knew its significance grabbed it and preserved it.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[26th-Z]

I was just going to say but Carl stated it correctly; the New York Auto Show is in the spring, April. The October 1969 thing was not the New York Auto Show.

Cool pictures from Chicago!

[Mike B]

By March of 1970 the first couple thousand Datsun 240Z's had arrived in the U.S. I bought HLS30 01777 March 14, 1970. The East and West Coast States seemed to get most of them - and most people in the Mid-Western States had no idea what the car was when they first saw one on the roads.

Carl, how could there be thousands of 240Z's in the US by March 1970? According to the official production numbers that Kats' obtained there were a total of 1,553 export S30s produced by Jan 1970, 2,061 by Feb 1970, and 2,745 by March 1970. I would think it would take several weeks to a month or more to ship them to the US and have them delivered to dealers. I also thought the production changes that severely slowed the Dec 1969 production kept most of the cars that had already been built prior to that from being shipped right away. The few 1969 production cars that I have seen records of were sold in April or May. Chris' HLS30-00026 was sold on 4/29/70. My HLS30-00210 was sold on 5/11/70, and so was HLS30-00196. HLS30-00415 was sold on 4/1/70. Of course other cars were delivered before them, but I doubt there would have been thousands in the US by March (some of the export cars went to Canada and other countries too I assume).

Since the Chicago Auto Show started on Feb 21, 1970 I would think the car would have been build no later than January, so it must have been one of the first 1,553 export models.

Actually - the man that made the arrangements for the International Preview held in N.Y. in Oct - thought he remembered the car that was there being Gold. As I recall when I talked to Bob Sharp he said the car at the New York Auto Show, held later was Green.

Ok, I stand corrected then. I was referring to the "International Preview of the Datsun 240Z - at the Pierre Hotel in New York, 22 Oct. 1969." that you posted about being a gold car on the CTZCC thread I linked to.

I don't think the gold car at the Chicago Auto Show is HLS30-00013, but I guess nobody knows for sure.

-Mike

[26th-Z]

Yes, I was surprised to read that HLS30-01777 was sold in March. Does March 14th mean you ordered it Carl? Or did you take delivery? Where did you buy it from?

[HS30-H]

Some more questions for you, Carl:

Actually - the man that made the arrangements for the International Preview held in N.Y. in Oct - thought he remembered the car that was there being Gold.

Given the grand title attached to this event, it's a little surprising that so little seems to be known about what was on display at the Pierre Hotel. Seems that the memory of one man is one of the only references to such a basic detail as the colour of the car on display....

And about that "International Preview" title - can I ask where it comes from? Was this written on any official document of the time ( like the invitations to the event, or any MNC USA press release associated with it ), or is it in fact a title that you have decided to give it?

Your zhome page reporting all this claims that "hundreds of reporters and guests" visited the Pierre Hotel event, and yet I don't recall having seen a single photograph of the car on display or a single report in the contemporary Japanese press. Very little in the English speaking automotive press, too ( almost nothing in fact ). That's quite surprising considering the rather grand title associated with it, isn't it?

I'm also puzzled to see that you report the car "..... had been flown in from Tokyo arriving the week before and after clearing U.S. Customs it finally arrived at the Hotel the 16 of Oct., just in time to get it set up on display in the Pierre Hotel's Grand Ballroom." So it arrived at the hotel one full week before the doors opened? That must have been quite some display if it took them a full week to build the show around it, and it had arrived "just in time". Something not quite adding up there, I think.

I notice that your zhome page completely ignores that Nissan held a 'Press Preview' event at its Ginza, Tokyo HQ on October 18th. Present was an Export model 'Datsun 240Z', as well as examples of Fairlady Z, Fairlady Z-L, Fairlady Z432 and Fairlady Z432-R models. If there was any "International Preview" of the 240Z then this event surely deserves the title?

I've mentioned this before ( and have good reason to believe it ) but I'll mention it again: I believe the Pierre Hotel event was another example of Katayama reacting to events and schedules in Japan and trying to trump them. I don't think it is any coincidence that the Ginza Press Preview was held on the 18th October, and that the doors of the Tokyo Motor Show would open on 24th October. Katayama organised the Pierre Hotel event rather more on the fly than your claim for it to have been planned "months in advance" would have us believe. If it had been planned months in advance then why did they need to airfreight the car in at extra cost?

The plain fact is that Katayama didn't have a major US show in which to debut the car in the US market until the following calendar year ( the NY Auto Show was in early 1970 ), and needed to do something about it in reaction to the date of the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show. It's the tail trying to wag the dog again.

Alan T.

[26th-Z]

I believe the key to this conversation rests with the study of the North American Testing Program conducted between October and December 1969. Kats has compiled a ton of information and videos about this event and a search through the archives will confirm what I am about to say.

Yes, it is very peculiar that so little information exists about the New York "International Preview". What has been very well documented is that by mid-October 1969, two HLS30 test cars had been delivered for testing purposes, the cars were silver, and the Japanese testing team was lead by Eiji Osawa and Hitoshi Uemura. It is possible that one of those cars may have been flown to New York but there is no evidence of it. What evidence does exist is that the cars were shown in a Los Angeles show early November. Attached is an article from AutoWeek / Competition Press dated mid-November. Take a close look at the pictures. That car is one of the test cars.

I have heard all sorts of "information" about the preview in New York without any evidence or description about the event. And it has been incorrectly described as the New York Auto Show for way too long. We have all sorts of information about the test program, conducted at the same time, but no publicity documentation. Am I wrong, or is this "international preview in New York" just a bunch of gab and gossip? Carl, you have an original invitation, don't you?