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Hi Dave: Looking back at everything I have - it would appear that 1. The Parts Catalogs show 08/73 as the "From" date for the rear anti-sway bar, and "Up-To" of 07/73 as the rear bar being "optional". 2. It looks like the Nissan rear anti-sway bar always ran around the front of the diff. You had to drill your own holes in the floor to install the mounts. 3. The rear anti-sway bar that runs around the rear of the diff. along with it's mounting brackets was offered by BRE in 1970. I couldn't find any pictures of the BSR bar... so far I don't know what Bob Sharp sold... So at this point it looks like the mounting hardware you have was a BRE product.. FWIW, Carl B.

The Z is a world class sports car. A sports GT. Always has been. Still is. It has an incredible history - world wide. A great deal of that history is the "American story". My special greetings to Kats from whom I always enjoy hearing! I like to think that the line between what we "believe" is a grey shadow of a line and most around this web site talk about the American version simply for ease of discussion purposes. It is easy to loose sight of the big picture as most of us have only the local cars to deal with. Local issues. Local questions. However, one cannot escape the big picture if we are to discuss the peculiarities of our local cars. It is true that Nissan was seeking to expand its market to significant export around the time of the Z conception, however when one considers just exactly how the North American export cars were configured, the whole idea that the Z was intended soley for American consumption blows off the wings of a kite. In this thread, "Series" can have a deeper meaning when all the elements of design and marketing thought are taken into consideration. We don't have any clear records to point to. We have a lot of evidence to present in our particular point of view. We even prioritise our evidence to strengthen our case. So be it. We see all sorts of build peculiarities for all sorts of reasons and it is a gas to sit around and discuss them. Clear glass, hatch vents, chassis reinforcement, sway bar mounts etc. all come with a stronger meaning when consideration is given to the whole group - the whole "family". S30, S30-S, PS30, HS30, and HLS30. Personally, I just can't get over why we didn't get the ZL, the 432, or the ZG. Cry'n shame.

Thank you Kats. Your kind words of support are very much appreciated. I too learned to refer to my cars as "S44", "S45", "S46" etc etc and I have to say that it makes a lot more sense to look at the build date rather than the somewhat abstract terminology of "Model Year" and "Title" etc when the point of the discussion is the specification of the car as it left the factory. When you look at all the available sources of information ( TSBs, sales brochures, parts lists and workshop manuals, as well as the extremely informative Nissan 'Service Shuho' documents issued in Japan ) it is fairly easy to see that a fair few of the rolling amendments / updates / improvements that were applied to the cars where phased in when convenient or prudent for the factory, rather than with thought to "Model Year" or any "Series". We can also see anomalous cars that are what we could call 'in-betweenies' - with details that don't tie-in with our pigeonholing. I believe that looking at the whole picture, rather than just one market or one model, can be educational for all of us. I don't see what is so controversial about that? Yes, it is indeed. But when I read quotes like that I sometimes wonder whether people forget that these cars were designed, engineered and built in Japan. Now, when you read that I can't be 100% sure that you think about this in the same way that I do. In my opinion, the Japanese story encompasses ALL of the stories. It is a Japanese product. Fred, I'd like nothing better. I consider that an open invitation, and it would be GREAT fun if it were in Japan. Two Mohammeds going to the mountain, so to speak :classic: Cheers, Alan T.

What I do remember about the 240z, as well as other Datsun advertising here is the US, it that the price of the car was always something that was stressed in the ads. If the ZL, the 432, or the ZG had been built for the North American Market, it probably wouldn't have fit into those parameters.

Stephen, Would you really have expected a ZL, 432 or ZG to have been at the same price as a 240Z? If the cars were in the same direct price ratio here as in Japan, I know they would have sold a bunch of them too-though at the expense for selling a 240Z in many if not most cases. How many people in 1970-1973 knew there were Gnose kits available? Of those how many paid to get one-certianly if more people had been given the choice, more of the kits(cars) would have been sold even with a higher price than the 240Z. Expectiing to buy a ZL, ZG, or 432 at the same price as a 240Z even in Japan would not have been any more realistic then than it would be now. Look how many sales of other cars were lost when the 240Z hit town, I can't imagine a buying Etype customer or two wouldn't have spent money on a Gnose, head light cover equiped Datsun that was still massively cheeper than an Etype, but with somewhat similar styling. That doesn't even get into performance differences. I know of at least one member who might have an opinion on that... Will

October 15, 2004 was the day I started the tear down and complete frame up restoration of a 260Z I bought of ebay on a whim for $900.00. Most of the build process is in my gallery...but I had to post these special. It was great to get it out and experience the results of 2 + Years of work, frustration, sweat, disappointments, planning, changes and $XX,XXX.XX. It was an awesome feeling to say the least. She is tight and wanting to go. Still some odds and ends to finish like the grill, hookup the sound system, work out some electrical bugs...but that is to be expected. I am definitely a big "old" kid with a brand new Christmas toy. Her she is. Her she is October 15th 2004.... Yuk :sick: Her she is December 16th 2006...... My Big Christmas Toy. Tonight when I go to sleep I will have visions of 260Z's speeding in my head.