History Channel

[Alfadog]

I love Z's and all, but my Albert is definitely no Prince

Oh well, I guess I'll have to go and find another generous doorman so I can have 2

[2ManyZs]

I've got the video and posted a review on it here a while back.

It is fairly obvious it concentrates on US models, but then, it was filmed in the US so what can you expect? I'd say a UK film crew would do the same, concentrating on the UK cars and not the rest of the worlds....

Yes, it does leave a lot to be desired as far as the history of the car, but, you have to think they were trying to cram the history of Nissan into an hour long program and cover the years from 1945 to the early 70's and even 80's....

It's not as good as a book, but what movie is ever as good as the book? And it isn't like there are that many others to compete with it either...:disappoin

I've watched a lot of the Automobiles series of shows on the History Channel, and they are all pretty much the same, so at least they didn't short change the Z anymore than any other car they have spotlighted in a show.

[26ounce]

I posted my thoughts on the show on an earlier thread. Basically I was not a big fan of it, as Alfadog mentioned there were way too many interviews with Z fans who didn't have that much to say apart from, "aint it cool". It is also very dsimissive of the Nissan company, implying a number of times that they were verging on incompetent.

If you want to see a good car documentary watch the similar History Channel show on the Corvette. That rocked!

[HS30-H]

Originally posted by 2ManyZs

It is fairly obvious it concentrates on US models, but then, it was filmed in the US so what can you expect? I'd say a UK film crew would do the same, concentrating on the UK cars and not the rest of the worlds....

( Major snips by Alan ).

Yes, it does leave a lot to be desired as far as the history of the car, but, you have to think they were trying to cram the history of Nissan into an hour long program and cover the years from 1945 to the early 70's and even 80's....

I don't think I was so surprised at it being concentrated on the US market models ( the production team was American after all ) and I'm sure a UK production team would have the same local-market bias, as indeed would an Australian or Japanese team. That's a fair point.

No - the main thing was that the script was almost read out of a book, and that the cars 'featured' were not stock examples. Not a stock skinny wheel or hubcap in sight. Lots of owners who had personalised their cars ( OK - I'm just as guilty, but I'd be tempted

to put the skinnies back on if it was going on film.......and I don't have any body mods ).

The simple fact that this documentary has been made will almost certainly preclude a more accurate and definitive version being made. There just won't be the commercial need for it. Nobody's going to commission a rival now. Same with the books on the subject. Publishers like to fill gaps, and there are no perceived gaps for a definitive early Z book now.

I think that's it. We are stuck with what's already out there. Anything else is going to be in the class of vanity publishing.

I'd have rather seen it done well or not at all.

Alan T.

[Bambikiller240]

Originally posted by HS30-H

I recommend the "Prince Albert" piercing for that particular piece of hardware.

Please don't ask me to explain further:cross-eye

Alan T.

( ps - where I come from, only both ears will do for a bloke. One is definitely a no-no. Goes back to Pirate days and all that. )

"Holey Schmoley" Alan!! That'll certainly make a bloke walk funny for a while.

You definitely surprised me with that retort! Thanks for the chuckle!

Carl

[Gav240z]

Gav, I think writing something like that is dangerous. Nobody is implying that Albrecht Goertz was anything to do with the Nazis, and in fact I believe he left Germany precisely because he was not.

ALan your absolutely right I should have thought about it a bit more, I apologize to anyone who took offence.

I understand that your gripe is over his claim to fame for the S30 Series design. I have read previous posts regarding this.

I think that's it. We are stuck with what's already out there. Anything else is going to be in the class of vanity publishing.

I know we keep bugging you but maybe this is your chance to publish something to set the record straight or at least give your view to the S30 Story. You've certainly enlightened me in regard to the cars history.

The guy who sold my Z to me insisted on the fact that it was really a "German Design" by Goertz... I tried to set it straight but it was obvious he wasn't going to listen to a 17 year old.

Don't I understand this, The guy who owns the wreckers for Z parts has even said that the Z was designed by Goertz how do I correct someone who's been working with Z's for longer than I've been into them? Admittedly he told me that some people make it their life quest to learn all they can about the Z. He is obviously not one of those.

By the way ALan as much as I admire originality I can't stand the skinny tyres that came on nearly every S30 Z. I love Fat Deep Dish wheels. Even if it was for a TV show I reakon i'd have my shiney chrome wheels over my Dull Datsun hubcaps but I still see your point :classic: .

[TKR514]

Looking forward to seeing it Saturday.

My only thought when I bought my Z in the 70's was that not the the Z was great, but that everything else was a piece of crap. The Corvett was bloated and heavy,

The British cars always "needs work",

The Porsche was fast but parts would eat you alive

The Mustangs were a joke in the mid-70's.

Itallian cars cost beyond reason.

That's the only reason I bought a Z (and still have it). It was reasonably priced, fun, and reliable. The same formula will make any new car sell. The same thing happened for the early Mustang and sold more of them in 2 years that ALL the Z's combined... nothing great, just well done.

[aRCH-Z]

Correct me if I'm wrong.. but isn't the Z family the highest sellings sports car of all time?

I think this may be the same program you're all talking about that was on The History Channel here in Australia a fair while back.. I've got it on video.. was great, not as good as I expected (had high expectations i think!) but was still great to see.. Lots of it was the history of Datsun and about Mr Katayama.. which was great to see too! But my friends that i forced to watch this show didn't find the first half so interesting

definitely worth hunting down if you're a Zed head tho

[MikeW]

I just saw it and was pleasantly surprised after this discussion prepared me for the worst. I was expecting to see a bunch more on Goertz. Fortunately it was a small clip that really didn't give him much credit other than state the fact that Nissan brought him on temporarily in the early 60's.

As others have pointed out there was quite a bit of footage of the same street cars driving. I did find the racing portions interesting as I've never seen video of those cars, only photographs.

Mr. K was featured prominently and it was interesting to hear him speak on the subject. I had never realized that the Datsun name was chosen for America because Nissan thought the export program might be a failure and didn't want to hurt the Nissan name. After seeing some of their early US market cars it's not

a surprise.

I do wish they had gone into more technical detail with engine and interior shots. Most of the interior views were simply pulled from television ads of the time.

The copyright date was 1996 so the ending was understandably sad as people discussed an uncertain future for the car.

[daddz]

Another great video regarding the Z series is from Japan. It was filmed in conjunction with the Fairlady ZG club in Japan. The first hour or so seeks to tell the story of the Fairlady Z and has some great action footage and in car footage without any stupid music dubbing. The driving sequence must take up about ten to fifteen minutes of tape in one section and the wonderful noises coming from the cockpit as the driver downshifts from third into second with the tachometer already registering about 4500rpms before the downshift is truly amazing! It also shows an L series inline 6 being assembled which is memorable as the mechanic slips the piston rings by hand while holding the piston assembly in his lap. The second hour of the tape concerns itself with telling the story of the old Skylines and again with great in car footage as well. In one sequence there are two older drivers that obviously raced these cars when new as a bit of a rivalry is detected once they are underway on the racetrack.

The question becomes: how to get a hold of more copies of this tape? Hopefully someone on this message board will have some insight....

[HS30-H]

daddz,

I think you are talking about two different productions that have been copied and put together on one tape.

The first one sounds like one of the BARCHETTA ART OFFICE videos from around 1993-94. If its the one with seven Fairlady ZGs then it is no.38 in their 'Historic Car Series'.

Barchetta Art Office was affiliated to a magazine production company, and these videos were produced as a sort of 'video magazine'. The participants were members of several clubs, and there is no single "ZG" club in Japan. These tapes were never really meant to be anything too serious, and they are pretty light on history, but overall a good taster.

The Skyline part would not be from the same original tape, and I'm wondering if its the Victor Entertainment 'Skyline GT-R zenbo' tape that features ex Works Skyline ( and Z ) drivers Masahiro Hasemi and Kunimitsu Takahashi having an on-track battle at Fuji Speedway in a pair of Ishizaka-prepared KPGC10's ( one Silver and one Black ). Does that ring a bell?

You can still find some of these videos in Japanese bookshops, and used ones appear on the web auctions.

I'm sure a lot of people are going to be asking you for a copy now............:bandit:

Alan T.

[daddz]

Absoloument!

Yes. The two were indeed copied onto one tape as it turns out (after checking the video library upon arriving home this evening).

The drivers are in fact Masahiro Hasemi (ex F1 driver?) and Kunimitsu Takahashi (some say a Japanese John Surtees due to the start on two wheels I imagine?) and yes the track is Fuji Speedway which I understand was purchased by Toyota! Damn! It wouldn't be so bad if they would produce a follow up to the wonderful Toyota 2000GT instead of those "fake" sportscars (I know I'll be flamed for thisLOL ).

It's interesting that I remembered that tape as I had lent it to my mechanic friend (actually an old Nissan Master Technician from '75 to '92) and had been neglecting to get that copy (sorry Joe) back to its rightful owner for better than a year now:(

It was while I was reading a write-up from the classiczregister.org website last evening that I remembered that tape. I believe that article was written by....Alan T (thanks for the window into that seldom experienced world) and the part about the 432R sparked the old brain cells. It's a shame really that all Z car enthusiasts don't have immediate access to that footage; especially this time of year when the cars are brought out of winter hibernation to be enjoyed by all. It's almost as good as getting in that old Z and imagining that one is behind the wheel of a right hand drive competition prepared car and easing out of the paddock onto the... you fill in the blank as to which racetrack an so on.

Thanks Alan for the clarification with regard to that bastardized tape which brings so much joy and so much pain to my neighbors:D

(thanks Joe for bringing that tape back from Japan)