1973 240K Coupe

[sennavsprost]

You are aware that that is also known as the Ken and Mary Skyline in Japan and is one of the most popular classics from Japan. There is a Ken & Mary GTR version with S20 engine (twin cam 2.0L straight 6) They have an extensive racing history and sell for very high prices, however the KGC110 is not as desireable as the KPGC110. Good Luck with the car, here are a couple images.

[Alfadog]

Gee sorry guys next time I'll get one of the earlier Skylines for ya Now one of those KPGs would be REALLY nice. Did they ever make a 2 door non-GTR version?

btw anyone in Australia know where I can get some parts for this car?

[Ben]

The long-wheelbase coupe & the 4-door were Australian delivered, so parts should be available through your local dealer.

I'd expect that they would share parts with the 610 & 260/280C.

[HS30-H]

Alfadog, congratulations on your new acquisition.

Nissan never raced the C110 series Skylines ( although a mock-up of a race car was made for publicity purposes - see nixcar's previous post ). They pulled the plug on the race programme at the time of what they called the "Oil Shock" in Japan; the worldwide petrol crisis......................

The KPGC110 Skyline GT-R is the rarest of all the early GT-R Skylines; the factory only made a couple of hundred of them ( much less than the four-door PGC10 - the "original" GT-R - and the two-door KPGC10 ).

The C10-series GT-R used to be one of the most sought-after and pricey Japanese "classics" - but the KPGC10 GT-R "Ken & Mary" is now coming into its own due to its rarity. I've seen minters advertised at more than 8,000,000 Yen recently ( and heard first-hand reports of excellent cars actually changing hands at 6,000,000 and more ). That's much more than even the best KPGC10's.

Sadly, they are rather less well catered for in regard to spares than the C10 series cars. This has to be mainly down to their lower numbers, and the fact that for many years the 110 was seen as a bit of a "Bosozoku" chariot. In the late Seventies to mid Eighties period the C110 series two-doors were one of the Japanese street-race gangs cars of choice. They did terrible things to them ( really silly chop-ups and sci-fi "aero" parts ) - not pretty and not very clever!

It has to be pointed out that the C110 series cars suffered a reputation in Japan for being of lower quality than the C10 series in relation to their fit and finish. The trim and brightwork were always said to be of noticeably lower quality than previous models. Mind you, I think that was probably true for almost all car manufacturers at that time.

Zedrally - in answer to your question, the basic model series of the car was the "C110" Skyline.

Gav240z - that "original" GT-R was the four-door "PGC10" and two-door "KPGC10". That's the previous model to the one that Alfadog has just got. That Prince Grand Prix car ( actually a Sports racer ) was the Prince R380, which used the GR8 engine. The S20 twin-cam was developed from the GR8 engine, and the Factory always linked the original GT-R and the 432 with the R380 Sports Racer. Interestingly, the ORIGINAL chassis / body of the Prince R380 was a Brabham sports racing car that Prince bought in. They installed the GR8 engine and went Toyota chasing with it. They subsequently made their own versions of the chassis / body / monocoque. The R380 / R380-ll / R381 / R382 & R383 were a very interesting and successful series of race cars, and little known outside Japan.

Turning this car into a GT or GT-R replica might be a double-edged sword; surely the car would warrant preservation if its pretty good. And isn't the rear quarter of the GT and GT-R a different panel completely? Maybe a subtle lowering job and "period" set of wheels would be enough to make it look pretty darn good.

By the way, the S54-series Prince Skyline was ( I think ) the first Skyline to have the round tail-lights. They were divided into three rather like the ones on the MK1 Ford Cortina. Prince used the S54 tail-lights on the R380 Sports racer - hence making a link with the road car that they could exploit in their advertising. The much bigger round tail-lamps of the C110-series were also heavily featured in their advertising, and came to be known as one of the trade-marks of the Skyline range ( right up to the R34 ).

Lachlan, have you still got your Z? I hope this is an addition to your stable rather than a substitute!

Alan T.

[Gav240z]

Alan Once again I'm blown away by your library of knowledge. You'll have to forgive my model code muck ups I've only just got into learning about these older Datsuns/Prince cars. I read an article that tickled my fancy in a magazine. It had the normal 2 door GT version which had been turned into a replica car of the GTR. It featured a modified L28 made into a 300HP weapon.

The interior of the car grabbed me I love the layout and look. The front of the cars look beautiful and I believe the car was nicknamed "Hakosuka" which directly translated means something like Box skyline. I read that it was build to outperform the european cars and sent them home with their tales between there legs.

The R380 is a machine that I feel looks amazing. I couldn't imagine how much fun it would be to drive it. Kinda reminds me of the Ford GT40 but sexier. Did they ever race them outside Japan?

The more I read about these old cars the more I realise just how under rated some of them were.

Here's a link to some pictures I manged to come across tonight.

http://datsun31.hp.infoseek.co.jp/PHOTO2002_4.html

Enjoy.

[Alfadog]

Alan - the rear quarter panel is completely different? From the pics I've seen it looks the same! (Dont worry I dont think I'll be trying ot make a replica anyway, I'm just interested!)

At the moment I have my 240Z as well, which is great as I could just about start my own museum! I'm not sure if I'll be keeping him (240z) for long though... it's expensive to register 2 cars!

[HS30-H]

Whoa! Hold up Alfadog - don't quote me on that! I just might be confused as to what model variant of C110 Skyline you have got hold of...............

I think there were at least a couple of different bodyshapes on the two-door C110. I believe that there was a GT and a GT-X model ( both had the L-series sixes ) as well as the GT-R. Maybe it was the wheelbase that was different or something like that. I just remember ( faintly - as I'm "old enough to be your father" and the old brain cells are going ) seeing the different models on the road in Japan and being confused / interested at that time. Suffice to say, the C110 is not my strong subject!

I can't believe you're the proud owner of both the "240K" and your Z. You lucky sod. What kind of pocket money are you being given?!

Gav, don't talk up my "library of knowledge" for God's sake! I know a few bits and pieces about what interests me, but the rest is all a mystery to me...........

Glad you share my enthusiasm for the Prince and Nissan "R" series sports racers. I have yet to see one of these mentioned in any depth in any of the English language mags / books. As far as I know they DID in fact take them for a few races abroad ( guess where? - Australia would you believe, as well as south America ). How do you like that? With the Brabham connection, it all ties in very nicely with Australia. Maybe you might be able to find out a bit about them racing over there.

I must dig out some photos of them and start a thread about them. It would be nice for people to see what other exotica Nissan and Prince were putting together around that time.

Alan T.

[Ben]

It is my understanding that Australia only got the 240K (C110) in the long-wheelbase. As opposed to the C110 GT-R which was the short wheelbase.

I have often thought about trying to get hold of a 110 GT-R, but prices are just too prohibitive. There is a workshop here in Adelaide that would like to enter one in the Classic Adelaide Rally, but I thing the purchase cost is holding them back too.

What I'd really like is a KPGC10, but with a cost of Y7m for a good one, it's over $100,000 AUD....

[nixcars]

How much shorter are the GTR's, I thought they had the same floor pan.

Were they a 2 seater or 4 seater.

Looking at the pics I can't see a difference.

My owners manual lists a

2610mm (102.8) wheelbase,

4460mm (157.6) length,

1625mm (64.0) width,

1395mm (54.5) height,

This is for both hardtop & sedan models.

Does anyone have the specs on the GTR.

Thanx in advance.

[Alfadog]

Alan

Mine is the same model as "nixcars", a GL model.

I'm not being given any pocket money that's why I'm thinking of sel... no I wont say that here, I dont want to be HD&Q!

If you still are confused (I know I am! All those P's and Q's do that to you...) dont stress, I'll post some pictures up shortly.

It's amazing what one less carbouretor, a different head and an auto gearbox can do to a car AH in fact that might be something you could enlighten me on Alan. What are the differences between the L24 in the 240Z and the L24 in the 240K?

cya !

lachlan

[Ben]

Comparing http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=26586 and http://www.rockyauto.co.jp/topics/s189.htm it looks like the wheelbase is the same but the body is longer.

Let me know what you guys think.

[Ben]

I'd say it'd have the smaller valves, full 'pollution' cam & dished pistons. A CR of ~8.3:1 & the smallest Hitachi downdraft they could find.... Along with an exhaust smaller than a Mini's.

The Aussie 240K does not conjur up images of a performance car

The diff is a 3.54:1 R180 (further hurting performance from the asthmatic L24) and the brakes are pretty average too. The sale of that particular model/specification in Australia didn't earn Nissan too many prizes. The GT-R could have been another story....