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.

everyone at hybrid Z would need a new pair of underpants for sure!!

have you seen any worthy kit manufacturers of the GT-40 kit cars?

Yeah, there was a company making what they called the "GTD40" that seemed to be making the most authentic and correct replicas for a while.

I think a company in South Africa is making really excellent ones now. They make a lot of body / chassis components for small UK-based car companies like NOBLE over there. Labour is relatively inexpensive and they have an ultra-modern production facility. Can't remember the name of the company. I'll look into it.

I do remember that a company called SAFIR took over a lot of the tooling and componentry supply for the original GT40, and they continued making them for a good few years.

I'm off to the Goodwood Festival of Speed tomorrow, and one of the attractions is going to be the three GT40's that filled the top three places at the 1966 Le Mans 24 hour race. This year its a celebration of Ford's centenary. I'll try to get some decent photos of them if I can get a clear view!

All the best,

Alan T.

Originally posted by HS30-H

R382;

Hi Alan,

Where were you when this picture was taken? ROFL

You what I like about the 381?? The split rear wing, I think a typical Japanese invention…at that time. I never seen it at the F1??:stupid:

I think we both have our informer at the Nissan HQ:tapemouth

Guus,

You obviously don't believe that these are my photos.

I was there alright, and they are indeed my photos. The R382 close-ups were taken at Nissan's Ginza showroom in May. That's the same place that your pic was taken ( which is a beautiful and professional shot - unlike mine ) but mine were taken on a different day of course.

Strange how some people want to believe that these are not my photos................

Here's a little close-up for you:

Alan T.

and another view;

Alan T.

Thanks for the info Alan. That gives me something to start searching for on the net. I have always loved the GT-40 and I had seen a few cheesy VW chassis and powerplant kit cars, but something really depresses me about driving something that gorgeous, and having only 60HP at 5000 RM under the pedal. THis is potentially the next project after my Z. Hopefully you can get some nice photos!!!

Originally posted by HS30-H

Guus,

You obviously don't believe that these are my photos.

I was there alright, and they are indeed my photos. The R382 close-ups were taken at Nissan's Ginza showroom in May. That's the same place that your pic was taken ( which is a beautiful and professional shot - unlike mine ) but mine were taken on a different day of course.

Strange how some people want to believe that these are not my photos................

Here's a little close-up for you:

Alan T.

Alan,

I think my replay did not come over as it had suppose to be.

No doubt you are often in Japan, no question about that.

I was only kidding because it was funny I had the same car in my documents..and I made a lot of work of my message with all the smilies

Do you mean the yellow car that's in the wide-angle shot of the warehouse interior? This is the photo on the front page of the site. If you mean that one then its a Nissan R92CP ( a Group C car from the early 1990's ).

Thanks Alan, as usual you have more than answered the question! The yellow car R92CP reminds me very much (styling wise) of the Gulf Porche 917s. My interest in these cars was touched off after I read the autobiography of John Wyer, Team Manager/Chief Engineer of the Gulf-sponsored GT-40 an later Porche 917 teams. The book is called "The Certain Sound" and although out of print, I highly recommend it. Wyer disdainfully referred to the Formula One class of car as "fragile sprint cars" or something similar. He contended that the cars he worked with were true racers since they were designed to last more than the few hours required of a F1....

Anyway, enough rambling. Does Nissan have a Lemans history?

Refering to the GT40's comment above, NDSOC went on a club trip the other week up to Roaring 40's here in Melbourne. Full factory tour etc. The guy who makes them just won best GT40 replicas in the world and hardly bothers to advertise because he would just snow himself under with orders! They took one for a blast down the local road and I almost wet my pants with excitement just at the engine noise. One statement the owner made was that if a GT40's lap time from Le Mans (in the 60's) was done today, they would still finish 15th (or something like that).

Awesome, awesome cars.

http://www.roaringforties.com.au/

Hi Gee,

Yes I've seen the NDSOC website and the roaring40s too. During February in Perth there was a Classic sprint event here in Perth and there were three GT40s competing. The day was a hot one, 43 degres C and the cars were having ice poured over their rear-mounted radiator intakes! I've got some pics which I'll post soon.

Hayden.