Just Bought a 1970 240Z, But Titled as a 1971

[lonetreesteve]

I just bought my first Series I from out-of-state (West Virginia) that is HLS30-07184 and is titled as a 1971. The build date is 07/70, making it a 1970 model. The car has not yet arrived to my home here in Colorado yet and I'm concerned about this issue. I don't know if it's a clerical error that happened many years ago and it just carried on for years. I asked the previous owner to take pictures of the VIN locations on the firewall, the data plates and the dash and they all checked out and were authentic with no signs of tampering in any way.  I also had the previous owner take a picture of the original matching-numbers engine's serial number and it matched what was on the engine bay data plate.  Has anyone else had this happen to them or know of anyone that went through this before?   

Edited June 3, 2019 by lonetreesteve
Added Picture

[Mike]

Congrats on the new (almost) arrival!  From what I can tell, the VIN #HLS30-007184 looks to be a series 1 car.  But, notes on the VIN search shows that some cars even down to 03xxx were titled as 1971's as well.

http://zhome.com/History/DesignChanges.htm

[240260280]

The s/n aligns with 07/70 so it is an earlier Z. Usually they sold as hot cakes so it probably landed in Aug/Sept and was sold instantly; however,it could have landed later and been registered later in the autumn. A clerk at the DMV may have entered it as a 1971 model year as the next-year-cars are sold in the fall.

 

7184 falls between the two 07 cars below:

[CanTechZ]

I believe that title date has more to do with delivery date than build date.  My car is #6521, also a 7/70.  My warranty book shows a delivery date of Aug. 28/70 and is registered as a 1970.  If yours had a delivery date into Sep. '70 or later, it may explain why it was registered as a '71.  Either way it is a first year S30.  For ref. here is the ID page from my warranty book.

 

[26th-Z]

I go through it every day, Steve.  Both of my 1969 builds are titled as 1970 model years.  My sympathies.

[lonetreesteve]

Thanks so much for the great information guys, I really appreciate it!  

[Mark Maras]

My original Z is #08750. Series 1. Registered as a 71

[lonetreesteve]

Hi Mark, 

So your Series I #8750 would have been built in 8/70, correct?  Which was still technically a 1970 model car just like mine. As the other members previously mentioned in this thread, the 1971 registration had more to do with the date of  delivery and not the build date.

 

[duffymahoney]

Mine is a series 1.  1/71 build.  HLS30-20212

[Mark Maras]

1 hour ago, lonetreesteve said:

Hi Mark, 

So your Series I #8750 would have been built in 8/70, correct?  Which was still technically a 1970 model car just like mine. As the other members previously mentioned in this thread, the 1971 registration had more to do with the date of  delivery and not the build date.

 

 If my memory is still working, that's the month. Definitely a Series 1. Dug out some old paperwork on "Hiro". April 1st, 1972. (I forgot it was April fools day.) I do remember driving by Gran Prix Motors in my 69 SS 396 Chevelle and seeing my soon to be stunning yellow Z. It was a spur of the moment decision. A short drive later and I deposited $15.00 with Joe Black to hold it until I got back from the bank with the sum of $3695.00. 

[w3wilkes]

3 hours ago, Mark Maras said:

I do remember driving by Gran Prix Motors in my 69 SS 396 Chevelle and seeing my soon to be stunning yellow Z.

And what happened to the Chevelle? Was it a stick? Also a very sweet ride!

[Mark Maras]

 Ah, The Chevelle. It came with the Muncy (rock crusher) 4 speed. There were many things I liked about that car but in 1973 the gas crunch dropped the value of low mileage cars. I sold it in 74 for $800.00. Saw an identical one sell for $67,000 on Barrett-Jackson a few years ago. That said, after buying the Z, I was done with the Chevelle. I fell in love with sports cars at an early age. Thanks to the book "The Red Car", my insatiable mechanical curiosity, my sister's 58 MGA (which I used to hotwire and drive at the age of 15), it was only a matter of time before I ended up with a sports car.