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I just want to take a moment to quote this post, and say that the document - marked 'Secret', no less - which Kats obtained and showed us here some years ago, seems somewhat underappreciated. I think it is dynamite. Probably the single most telling piece of official documentation relating to the genesis of these cars I have ever seen. It is, in my opinion, something of a Rosetta Stone... It has it all. Dated 25th June 1969, and with a big 'Hi' stamp (for 'Himitsu'/Secret), it is titled ''270 Kei-sha C/# Dakoku Yōshiki', and it gives us the type designation, purpose, company department destination and actual identity of the first fourteen cars in the project to be given full chassis numbers. First of all, there's no 'Datsun 240Z', 'Fairlady Z', 'Fairlady Z432' etc etc here yet. We know that the project was nicknamed 'Maru Z' (Z in a circle cipher) and was given the internal project number '270 K.K.' ('270 Kaihatsu Kigou'), a glimpse of the terms being used within Nissan just before production. Personally I always wondered where the '240Z' name came from for the Export cars, as it doesn't seem to make much sense ('2400Z' or '2.4Z' might seem odd to us now, but they are certainly more logical) and I am convinced that the '270KK' project code is what actually inspired it. The '240Z' name was a late assignation, after 'Fairlady Z' was rejected for the Export cars. I think the '270' code inspired '240Z' when a name was required at short notice. Secondly, it shows us that - quite logically - 'S30-00001' was the first '270' project chassis to be given a full series identity. 'S30' was the designated series number and the S30-prefixed models of Fairlady Z and Fairlady Z-L were key parts of the family tree. This was how Nissan structured the variants of other models too; a good example would be the C10-series Skyline, where C10 was the series and C10-prefixed models were the building blocks for the structure of other variants in engineering and documentation. Thirdly, and I think this is particularly interesting, the second car to be given a number is described as being an 'HL270' variant. Naturally, with LHD exports being a key part of the whole project, we would expect this to be a North American market type variant. However, that does not seem to be the case. That 'HL270' designation would appear to show it as being a general export LHD variant. So 'HLS30-00001' looks to have been what we might call a 'Euro' LHD type variant. The third car is a 'P270' variant - the 'P' indicating the S20 twin cam engine - and it was given chassis number 'PS30-00001'. Fourth car, first of the 'Ichiji Seishi' cars and destined to be a 'Soko test' car, has an 'HL270U' designation. That 'U' suffix would - according to Nissan's usual habit - indicate a North American market type variant when applied to an 'HLS30' prefixed chassis number. This was 'HLS30-00002'. We then get 'S30-00002', given the designation '270C' (or is that '270L'?). Certainly there's a distinction between this car's designation and the designation of 'S30-00001'. I'm guessing that one is a Z-L (Deluxe) and one is a Z-S (Standard)? That fits with Nissan's modus operandi too. Or does it possibly indicate a factory AirCon car...? Seventh car to be given a number, and the 4th 'Seisan Shisaku' car, is an 'H270U' designated variant. That would mean RHD Export type, and it was 'HS30-00001'. Another 'Soko test' car. So there they are. The first fourteen numbered cars. We are extremely privileged to see a key internal planning document of this type (thank you Kats) and I would say it deserves a thread of its own, and a little more recognition.

And I would like to emphasize this , the difference of the cover lens shape . I made a poor drawings over the pictures, could you get what I am going to say ? The early-style E4126 has significant ridge on the lens which I think it has more correspondence with the bonnet , head light case . When E8726 was introduced, the screw positions were altered and also cover lens shape was changed. E8726 has lost its ridge , became much gentle curves . Not only the cover lens, also trim ring had changed its shape accordingly. Kats

From my reading you should not get any noise with the upper bumper because you trim the bumper to just be shy of touching the actual differential. Not the case if you opt to you use their replacement mount and hang the differential from the top. You will get noise if you go that route. They state that in the product explanation. I’ll buy a stock lower mount. With the upper bumper impeding movement of the differential it should minimize the stress on the OEM mount and this give it a longer life . Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I used the same Rivnut technique when installing headlamp covers on my 1970 Fairlady Z-L based 432-R replica project car. I regard the Aluminium Rivnuts as sacrificial (it is easy to strip the threads) as they can be drilled out and replaced fairly easily. I added a little dab of two pack epoxy adhesive to mitigate any risk of spinning. I've found it hard to find the correct screws. The originals were - I believe - what's known as a 'Raised Head' JIS screw with a chrome finish. They are a countersunk design with a slightly domed head which look so much nicer than the common Philips and Pozi types in stainless. I'm still searching for a good supply as I have three cars with headlamp covers and no spare screws...

Kats, What about the E4100 type? Post #95 here:

One more thing, We used to , We were thinking E8726 is the early one . Due to its screw positions, it was very common to have crack on the lens at the front edge . Like you showed us , the location of the front edge is somewhat difficult to fit without certain gap . Then if the screw tightened more than needed , it cracks the lens . Then we thought, that is why Nissan changed screw positions not to have a crack over there. The E4126 seemed developed one . Today we know that story can’t be applied because we know the part number tells us which one is early. So what was the reason for changing the screw positions when Fairlady 240Z-L introduced? This is my guess, E4126 was likely having moisture entering into the cover lens when it was in the rain or snow . That caused loss of intensity of the head light beam . Then engineers might put a screw at the front edge of the cover lens . What do you think about it? Kats

Dennis, Ivan from Vintage Dashed responded to my message. He said he’s going to email you. Let me know if he doesn’t for some reason. Want to make sure I gave the correct email address. He said you can call him directly at: 510-779-8153

the epoxy trick is a good one that I should have considered. RE screws. I can't say for certain whether my screw bags hadn't been swapped out at some point-- or perhaps even that these covers are simply decent replicas in an original boxes, as opposed to genuine Nissan. Thankfully, they look good enough for my current need. I also could not find chrome oval machine screws that were as broad as the ones I had. I've included a picture of the screw that was in the bag, as well as the longer stainless screw I used. Perhaps you can add your thoughts. As Murphy's Law would have it, I found an Astro 1441 Metric rivet kit this AM which I purchased, a mere 5 days after giving up on finding one, and installing SAE rivets. I think the SAE rivets have a slightly larger diameter, so I wont have to consider tempting fate by attempting a re-install of the metric rivets in place of what I have now. Edit: just for kicks, I examined a screw from another set I had, and it looks to be genuine, when compared to the other hardware I have. It's the only one that has a pointed leading edge. Unfortunately, I only have this single screw.

I personally would be leery mounting any bracket on a half-century old plastic console. Perhaps one of these goose neck mounts that plugs into the cigarette lighter?

I posted several pictures on Hybridz back in 2020 (Polyvance dash repair - Interior - HybridZ) Also, check out the Polyvance web site - they have a video of a 280Z dash repair. This was the outcome:

Have a look here... https://belmetric.com/screws/oval-phillips-machine/

My point being that E4100 would - normally - precede E4126, right? I think it is easy for us to get slightly lost within terms such as 'early' and 'late', even if they are useful terms. 'Early' doesn't necessarily mean earliest or first, for example. I have to admit that I'm still not convinced that a 'three screw' design ever existed in full production, and the E4100 type certainly seems to have been a four screw design as shown from the hardware count.

Oh, and make double dog sure you get all that grinding grit cleaned up before it gets inside your engine.

Glad you got the pump off without damaging anything other than the pump. Good work with the grinder. 220. 221.... Whatever it takes. So about the Melling pumps: The M90 is for the manual trans cars without a turbo. The M152 is for the manual trans turbo cars and it has the same pressure limit as the M90, but it pumps higher volume.* The M111 is for the AUTO turbo cars. It has not only higher volume, but higher pressure limit at the top end. Even though my car is non-turbo, I'm running the M152 in my car. Works great in my tired engine with worn old clearances everywhere. * They achieve the higher volume by using longer rotor gears in the M152. About 20% longer maybe? I've got pics if someone really wants to see it.

Hi , I was going to put this when I saw your fine work . Long time ago , I was not sure about screw hole positions. But many people have showed many examples , now I think we have fully decided about it. The positions in your cover is the early-style, 63900-E4126 (R.H.) / 63901-E4126 (L.H.) . This is proven by the parts catalog . Those numbers were first ones shown in the catalog. And we can see the picture of them in the DATSUN COMPETITION parts catalog with those numbers. And like you showed us , we are seeing it that E4126 has the “positions “ which is regarded as “early-style “ with the original parts box . Kats

Probably, and all for a two second pan by of a parked car. No expense spared in the movie industry. If I had squinted I would have missed it.

Well that wasn't so bad... I took my trusty angle grinder and sliced the housing at the point of the stuck bolt, and it popped right off. Thanks for all the info and advice gents. The tips you gave me really did help even if I didn't take the exact approach recommended. The best part was learning how ubiquitous these oil pups are so I can easily get a replacement.

Yes. You can use brass plugs to plug those extra holes for a cleaner look and less chance of the hose cracking and pulling in air.

Kind of a stab in the dark but the Mulholland springs I put on my 240 back in the day were yellow.

...And the BaT comments on this one are pure gold! "“There is a crack on the driver’s side front fiberglass fender” That is the only one. All other crack was used up during the construction process""

If "Macho Man" Randy Savage came back as a car, this would be it.

WT...! I wasn't sure if this should go here, or in the Zeds only a mother could love thread, but I picked here. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1974-datsun-260z-54/

Thanks Gavin , great info ! “What I noticed with HS30's (In Australia anyway) is that the 72 model year is by far the rarest model (compared to 70,71 and 73). I am guessing this is because Nissan ramped up production of Fairlady 240Z and Fairlady 240ZGs around this time period and perhaps made less HS30's for Australia, NZ, PNG, South Africa, UK, Hong Kong etc..” This is new and making sense to me . Looking at this figure , Fairlady 240Z series were approximately 1200 cars in 1972. Kats

Final initial thoughts: I've heard before that it's best to install these covers with the chrome surround in mind, which is the method that I attempted first. In the end: other than to make sure the chrome piece basically fit and aligned with the cover, I did not find it all that useful to fit everything while trying to hold the metal surround in position, in addition to holding the cover. Since the metal is flexible, I figured that I could more easily massage the chrome to fit around the cover, vs letting it dictate where the cover would be installed. Perhaps I got lucky this time- others may have alternate tips and tricks to share. The end result is, IMHO, a superior and easier-to-implement solution to the "3-hole" mounting tab that Nissan provided. As as I said before, no one will ever know, because I'm not telling anyone!

Another side trick which might not be all that helpful to everyone is to have more than one set of headlight covers to choose from prior to installing. I'm fortunate to have a few sets which I've collected over the years, and although they appear to be largely identical, I found that I could get one of the left-side covers to fit more easily than the others, so that's the one i ended up using. After speaking to my mechanic about this, he corroborated that he had the same experience. I'll just hope that the remaining covers will fit well on whichever future cars I hope to use them on!

Hi Kats, The data I have is all from user submitted data or from cars I've managed to uncover chassis no.s for, usually from for sale listings or from licence plate reverse look up's. So it's patchy at best. But here is what I can tell you. HS30-01501 was on TradeMe.co.nz in NZ recently for sale (May 2020), according to the then owner, it sold new in Queensland Australia. Photo of how it looks now. HS30 01501 I've tried to determine what is the highest HS30 prefix car before reaching #2000 and the highest recorded number I have is: HS30 01973, I don't have photos of that car, but the next highest car is: HS30 01945 and I do have photos of that car. This car is also Australian delivered. The compliance date (date they arrived and were certified in Australia) seems to be consistently around Dec 1971. HS30 01945 What I've found is that towards the end of the chassis range, cars were sold in NZ and the UK. For example: HS30-01838 HS30-01839 HS30-01843 All appear to have been in NZ. HS30-01914 was sold in the UK. I think your guesstimate of 300+ cars is probably fair. What I noticed with HS30's (In Australia anyway) is that the 72 model year is by far the rarest model (compared to 70,71 and 73). I am guessing this is because Nissan ramped up production of Fairlady 240Z and Fairlady 240ZGs around this time period and perhaps made less HS30's for Australia, NZ, PNG, South Africa, UK, Hong Kong etc.. I do try and collect HS30 data outside of Australia, but getting VIN #s from Japanese cars is always a challenge as @HS30-H has informed me of strict privacy laws (I actually think this is a good thing) and to be fair I think the bulk export HS30s did arrive in Australia out of all RHD export markets and so that's where I've found most of the data. As you know I also own HS30 10552 which is a "72" model, but the date stamps on the seat brackets indicate Dec 71 manufacture date.

And there she goes to a new home, I'll still get to see it few times each summer which is good but I don't mind telling you I shed a little tear as she left.