Hi all,

Some of you may know that I was in Japan last week, and attended a couple of events while I was there.

The most exciting of these ( for my part ) was being allowed to see Nissan's large store of more than 400 old cars at their now-closed production facility in Zama, near Yokohama.

Its always been frustrating to know that almost all the other Japanese car manufacturers have their own museums in Japan, but that Nissan were lagging behind and had no concrete plans to put a proper museum together, despite using references to the company history and 'DNA' of their product whilst advertising and selling new cars. This was especially frustrating in the knowledge that Nissan have for many years held a vast store of old pre-production, show, concept, landmark models and old race cars.

I have been trying to get to see these cars ( and one or two of them in particular ) for roughly the last 14 years - even while I lived in Japan in fact - but Nissan does not open the doors of this store to the general public and it is pretty much an 'invitation only' situation.

As part Nissan's "70-year anniversary celebrations", May 2003 has been marked by some special events in Japan. Some of Nissan's collection of old race cars were put on display at the company HQ in Ginza, Tokyo. These looked fantastic, and drew large crowds of office workers from nearby buildings at lunchtime ( making it hard to get a clear photo opportunity! ). There was also a small display to mark the retirement of Factory race driver Kazuyoshi Hoshino, and a series of films in a temporary theatre setup.

Throughout May, Nissan have also been inviting selected Nissan-related car clubs to view the contents of the storage warehouse at Zama. My chance to see the contents finally came when CLUB S30 were invited to visit on the morning of Sunday 18th May, and as a member I was finally allowed access to this holy shrine of Nissan history.

There had to be a catch, and sure enough here it was. Basically, only two hours max for the visit and no electrics in the building ( natural light only - as the electric is currently disconnected to the warehouse while redevelopment takes place! ). This made taking photos very difficult indeed, as only gaps in the clouds made enough light flood through the skylights - and the gaps were few and far between. This was going to be a big test for my little Nikon digital, its small flash and its limited battery power.

To be honest, I could have spent the whole two hours on just ONE car ( guess which one that was? ) but the place was chock FULL of interesting stuff and I tried to take in as much as possible. There's no knowing when I'll be allowed back.................

The good news is that I finally heard official confirmation of a rumour that had been circulating amongst interested parties; Nissan are currently putting plans together for a PROPER heritage museum - so we will be able to have a place to make a pilgrimage to after all. More news on this as and when it comes...........

For those that share an interest in this kind of thing, please take a look at a few pics that I've posted in the Members Gallery section. There are a mixture of pics from the Ginza, Tokyo HQ exhibition and the inside of the storage warehouse at Zama.

Link to my gallery:

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=2116&thumb=1

If anyone has any specific questions, I'd be pleased to answer them if I can ( just post questions on this thread ).

Hope that you enjoy them.

All the best,

Alan T.

One could spend a week in there...

Thanks for taking the time to take pictures to share with us Alan - they're very much appreciated!!!

What about the mechanics of these cars? Are they ever turned over, or are they just sitting there seizing up?

I ask this because when I went to the Ferrari museum in Italy, the F50 there had cob webs in the engine bay... a sad sight.

Hi Alfa,

Well, Nissan contracts a team especially dedicated to looking after this collection. They make sure that the cars are looked after, and some of them do actually get put on display in showrooms and other special events.

Some of the race cars have been demonstrated ( quite enthusiastically! ) at events such as the Nismo Festival, and statically at other shows.

The 1973 Safari Rally-winning Z that you see in the photos is something of a special case though. The car is currently missing a few engine details parts and electrical ancillaries which have been removed over the years. A very few items have also gone AWOL ( souvenir hunters have had a bit of a go at it ). However, to restore the car would be like repainting the Mona Lisa. Its current state almost moved me to tears - but for the reason that it was SO evocative of the event that it won and the gruelling nature of that race. The 1973 Safari was a really rough and wet one, and the brown stuff you see over most of the car is dried mud and dust from Kenya. There were even dried splashes of mud all over the headlining of the car. When I looked inside one of the Navigator's map pockets, I saw a handful of boiled sweets and a small squeezy bottle of Optone eyewash.

When the car finished the rally, it was shipped back to Japan and went on display at various car shows and showrooms. After a while it was put into storage, and no real attempt to 'beautify' it was made. I think this is admirable, as the condition of the car ( along with that of many of the other rally cars in the collection ) speaks volumes about the task it performed. A little like seeing one of the capsules of the NASA Space programme after its return to earth.............

So, in answer to your question - yes they are looked after, but thankfully very few of them have been 'restored' and lost their period patina.

Alan T.

Originally posted by HS30-H

This made taking photos very difficult indeed, as only gaps in the clouds made enough light flood through the skylights - and the gaps were few and far between. This was going to be a big test for my little Nikon digital, its small flash and its limited battery power.

Thanks so much for sharing these. It must have been quite a thrill for you.

The photos came out quite well considering the lighting. For what it's worth, sometimes digital cameras do a better job without the flash. Compare the following two pictures (taken at a location perhaps you're familiar with) - the first with flash and the second without:

http://server7.aps-soft.com/Williams/London3/Detail-IMG_2343-JPG.html

http://server7.aps-soft.com/Williams/London3/Detail-IMG_2344-JPG.html

Thanks for the tip, Mike.

I'm certainly no pro photographer. Actually, I would always prefer to take photos without the flash wherever possible, or just to use it to 'fill' flash - and indeed many of the photos I took were without flash. However, with the flash turned off camera shake becomes quite a big factor with such low light. I could have done with a tripod and a remote cord.

I have a 'proper' camera too ( a Nikon F4 with various lenses and the SB26 flash ) which I KNOW I would have been better off with - but lugging that thing all the way to Japan and back is a big hassle when you don't know you'll definitely get the opportunity to use it.

I really want to go back and have another go at it when they have the electrics hooked up again! There was a MASSIVE difference between when the sun was flooding in through the skylights and when it was obscured by clouds, and most of the photos I posted were from the brighter periods.

Changing settings on the little Nikon digital is not all that easy when you are in a hurry, I must say.

Alan T.

PS - was that the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden?

Originally posted by HS30-H

PS - was that the London Transport Museum in Covent Garden?

I actually used to use only Nikon SLRs back when I was doing serious professional photography (mostly weddings). However, the best equipment around won't help you when it's too big and bulky with lenses and such that you leave it at home. I now prefer my Canon digital which is small enough to take anywhere.

Yes, that was the London Transport Museum. You can go up a few levels on the URLs I posted and see lots of holiday snapshots. Several of the trips were in London where we visited places where you probably never bother to go. The next time I'm in London I'd love to see your little personal car museum.

Alan, It's all fantastic, I haven't had a chance to go thru' the gallery but did you see the 73 2+2 with the G-nose there?

Alan, I took the liberty of putting your story on our front page because I'm too excited about this. I also added a link to your gallery from your original post.

FYI: You can create your own ALBUMS in your own gallery pages. When you open the gallery, click on Album Admin in the upper left menu. This will enable you to create special albums just for trips like this and also make it easier to find specific pictures.

If you take a look at my gallery, I have set up a few albums just for my '71 240z project.

http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=4&thumb=1

Anyway, thanks for taking the pictures and sharing them with us. When I get a month off, I'm coming over to drive your car before we head over to take some more picts!

Awesome pictures! Thanks for sharing!:classic:

Originally posted by MikeW

For what it's worth, sometimes digital cameras do a better job without the flash. Compare the following two pictures (taken at a location perhaps you're familiar with) - the first with flash and the second without:

I agree. However, I also found that it's nice to set the camera on manual mode (no flash) so you can adjust things like shutter speed, backlighting (emulated), and so-on. While you are making the adjustments, turn on the preview screen so you can see what the camera is seeing. This will no doubt eat batteries, but, it will give you the best pictures.

The problem with the flash (as shown on those two sample picts) is the limitation due to a small camera. Most small cameras have tiny flash emitters. You can see in the sample that the light just doesn't reach far enough. Flashes like that are only good for close-up shots.

Most cameras have manual adjustment properties so you can tweak the pictures a bit more to your liking. I suggest that you get to know your camera's 'manual' mode a bit better for next time. And bring a few spare batteries.

Eventhough I wasn't there to see those awesome cars, I still got so excited when I was looking at the pictures of them. I saw that there was a picture of the Pitwork R34. It is funny because I just bought a Digiq Pitwork R34 and I had no clue that the car was a real race car. How about the Xanavi R34? HAhahaha... Once again, those were great pics.

-Ben

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Zhe Z man ! You went to heaven :classic: :classic:

and back :( :(

Congatulations, Fred

Alan, you are my hero....

Great pictures, thanks for taking the time out to share them with us all.

I REALLY love them and appreciate them, as I am sure all of us here do.

Cuong Nguyen