Fairlady Z - Date of manufacture

[scotta]

I have just purchased my first Z. - S30-100698. 

I think it is a 1973 model however but would welcome some guidance. 

JDM version, 5 speed, 2.0l. Believed to have come from Japan by an ex-serviceman.  

Edited March 24, 2018 by scotta
wording

[HS30-H]

On 3/24/2018 at 10:13 PM, scotta said:

I have just purchased my first Z. - S30-100698. 

I think it is a 1973 model however but would welcome some guidance. 

JDM version, 5 speed, 2.0l. Believed to have come from Japan by an ex-serviceman. 

'S30-100698' would indeed be 1973 production year. Towards the latter half of 1973, too.

Plenty of parts on the car will have date codes that you can cross-reference to give you a pretty good idea of the build month, if that's what you are after. We have covered the topic many times in the past on the forum, so there's an abundance of interesting data mining to be done. If you struggle, just ask. Good luck!

 

[240260280]

Join the Z Car Club of New England too.  Great group!

http://zccne.org/

[scotta]

On 26/03/2018 at 10:37 AM, HS30-H said:

'S30-100698' would indeed be 1973 production year. Towards the latter half of 1973, too. ...

Are the serial numbers sequential across all models? So depending on assembly line it might run something like'

S30-1000698, HLS30-1000699, HLS30-1000700, S30-1000701, etc....

 

[siteunseen]

Look at zhome.com. They have a car registry by vin you can get pretty close with.

[HS30-H]

2 hours ago, scotta said:

Are the serial numbers sequential across all models? So depending on assembly line it might run something like'

S30-1000698, HLS30-1000699, HLS30-1000700, S30-1000701, etc....

No, each prefix ('S30'/'PS30'/'HS30'/'HLS30'/'RS30'/'RLS30' etc etc) had it's own serial number sequence, so - theoretically - you could line up 'S30-00023', 'PS30-00023', 'HS30-00023' and 'HLS30-00023' and the "#23" of each other prefix type alongside each other at a virtual car show.

The body serial number sequences ran at different production rates for each prefix and with gaps where deemed useful or necessary, so it's best not to think of them as linear and/or directly comparable with each other. 

[HS30-H]

2 hours ago, siteunseen said:

Look at zhome.com. They have a car registry by vin you can get pretty close with.

I'd urge great caution on the Fairlady Z-specific data posted on zhome.com, as it contains a significant number of errors, rogue data and plain miscomprehensions.

For example, the "Fairlady Z Owners Register" appears to contain data submitted by owners which is clearly incorrect, but remains uncorrected. So you get - for example -  a 'GS30' prefixed 2/2 model clearly built in 1974 (directly identifiable from its body serial number) being called a "1971 model year" car, an 'S30' prefixed model clearly built in the latter half of 1975 (directly identifiable from its body serial number) being called a "1978 model year" car and a 'GS31' prefixed 2/2 model clearly built in 1977 (...body serial number again) being called a "1976 model year" car. It's a mess.

The truth is that we have far more accurate and comprehensive - peer-group curated and edited - hard data and ephemera regarding the Japanese market models right here on the classiczcars forum.      

[scotta]

Just to complete and correct the information here.

I did further research and found the car is a 1972 version. The Member Kats San provided the following information.

 

[HS30-H]

52 minutes ago, scotta said:

Just to complete and correct the information here.

 

Apologies for misleading you. I have the same data as supplied to you by Kats, but - I can only guess - must have made a mistake when noting your chassis number.

Glad you have the correct information to hand now.

[240260280]

Good man!