HS30-H

Great! We must meet up. Have you arranged anything with Len yet? I will PM you. Personally I don't have any problem with non-standard parts on these cars ( my cars have lots too! ), but I think magazines and books that use non-standard cars for illustration of original specifications should be a little more careful. This is one of the reasons why people become confused, and it makes things a lot more difficult to understand for the enthusiast - let alone the layman. I think we need to know the stock 'Factory' specs in order to get the right perspective of the cars, that's all. Ha ha! I know what you mean, but Nissan were in the business of selling cars and this is the way that cars get sold. Many of the people that had their tongues hanging out when they crowded around the 432 on that swish turntable at the 1969 Tokyo Auto Show will have probably ended up buying Cherries, Bluebirds and Sunnies ( if they even bought a new car at all ). The drip-down aspiration from the 'Prestige' models is what helps the bulk sales models to sell. Maybe some of those young guys eventually managed to buy a base-model Fairlady Z ( or even a Z-L - wow! ). You shouldn't 'hate' the 432 just because it naturally found itself somewhere around the top of the pile any more than I should 'love' the base-level S30 for being such an underdog at the bottom of the same pile. Spare a thought for the poor misguided people who still seem to believe that the S30-series was not a 'family' at all......... Ah, I'm glad you feel this way as it corresponds very well with my own impressions. To be brutally frank, the USA & Canada models I drove felt somewhat 'numb' to drive - rather like trying to drink a cup of tea not long after having a local anaesthetic at the Dentist's surgery. They felt a bit dead and sedan-like in a way that my UK market cars and my ZG did not. The 432s on the other hand feel so 'alive' and connected to the road and to me. I felt that the 432 - with close-ratio 'A' type 5-speed, 4.44 ratio LSD, nice spring, anti-roll bar and damper rates and of course that 'afterthought' S20 engine installation - just felt like a really well-balanced package for a standard car. They felt special enough for me to believe that no modifications or upgrades were strictly necessary. Cheers, Alan T.

Kats, Nice thread subject, and great pictures - thank you! Your 432 looks beautiful now that it is finished ( my favourite 432 colour too I think ). Congratulations! I have seen Takeuchi san's car many times at shows, and in magazines / videos etc and no disrespect to him or his car ( of course I love it - especially his tyre choice; very 'correct' ) - but I don't honestly think it is the "best example" of a PZR in Japan because it has so many non-standard parts and modifications on it. In the engine bay alone, you can immediately see the Weber carburettors and red 'Ultra' plug wires are non-standard, and his seats also appear to have been re-covered at some time in the past. I think that there are several more original and 'correct' PZRs in Japan, but their owners are more camera-shy than Takeuchi san. And of course, just about every PZR was unique in it's specification and details anyway. No two cars were exactly the same.......... Kats, I would like to hear your impressions on the differences of the two cars with regard to the driving experience. I think this is a good opportunity for an objective comparison between two almost completely standard factory-spec Z cars, made within a few months of eachother, but of different model types and aimed at completely different markets. As you know, I have driven some 432s ( first time was around Tsukuba circuit - which was very interesting, and on the same day as I drove a Toyota 2000GT - which was a real eye-opener! ) and it was very interesting to compare the driving experiences to my UK-market 240Zs and to my Fairlady 240ZG. But I have also driven some reasonable distances in some USA & Canada market cars here in the UK and in Japan ( one was a 1970-built Canadian market model, and the others were early 1971 and late 1972 USA market models ). The differences were surprising to me even though I was pretty much expecting them. Have you come to a view yet? Cheers, Alan T.

zedevan and toecutter, PM me with your direct e-mail addresses and I'll ping off a full scan of the November 1971 'Sports Option' leaflet for the HS30 model to you both. Might take me a few days to chuck a couple of shovelfulls of coal in the back of the scanner and get it up to steam, but I will eventually get around to it. Alan T.

zedevan, The straight answer to your original question is: 10k x 14 rear and 8j x 14 front. In Japan, you could order a new car ( initially a Fairlady Z432 or Z432-R - but subsequently any of the L-series engined Fairladies too ) and choose some special parts from both the 'normal' dealer options list, and also the 'Sports Option' lists. The above wheels were on the 'Sports Options' lists for S30-series Z models. This is all documented and proveable. But - as Alfadog has pointed out - this will most likely be of little use against the power of an insurance company's lawyers, should you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to call on your 'proof'. Watch out that it doesn't come back and bite you on the arse after you have forgotten about it ( been there, done that........ ). Alan T.

WingZr0, Replying to your posts is starting to feel like following Typhoid Mary around, armed only with a can of DDT.......... :eek: Generally speaking, Nissan genuine parts only get put into their boxes and labelled up when they are sent out from the warehouse to the dealers that have ordered them. Any NOS stuff you see in the OLD red/white/blue boxes and the slightly younger white background boxes that are obviously not all that fresh would have been sent out of the warehouse some time ago. The parts that you get in fresh, new boxes are not necessarily parts that have been recently manufactured. Nissan would most likely prefer NOT to have stuff sitting around in individual boxes for years on end. Your phantom green 'Z' emblem was likely made some time ago ( especially as it is a Mazak version ), but boxed and labelled more recently. This theory about it possibly being some kind of factory 'mistake' or something else ( running out of white paint??!! ) is a red herring. Think about it for a minute; Why would a part that was NOT finished to 'normal' specs get put into stock and sent out later with a label that said it was something that it isn't? This is not a manufacturing defect that was missed at Quality Control - as the person who painted it at the manufacturing stage would have known that it was not a standard colour. Presumably there would also be more green 'Z' emblems knocking around somewhere too - so show me another. If this WAS a special emblem ( and I'm telling you that it wasn't! ) then why was this one boxed with a label denoting the normal early white 'Z' emblem? Ordering an emblem would become a lottery, wouldn't it? How does that scenario make any sense? Perhaps there are more of these green 'Z' emblems in a dark back room at Nissan, along with that mother lode of two-knob stopwatch clocks and oscillators that you have been talking about for a while now. :classic:

Carl, A couple of points to keep in mind re the above: Firstly, many of the UK-based owners are primarily interested in 'proving' ( ha! ) that their cars were built on or before a certain date for one main reason, and it is related to money. We have a fixed cut-off date for a 'Historic Vehicle' licensing tax over here that falls around the middle of first-generation Z production, and 'proving' that a certain car was built ( not just registered ) before the cut-off date can help to save the owner a fair amount in tax every year, and can slightly increase the value of the car if it should come to market. Some people have managed to get cars made after the cut-off date exempted, and there are also some poor souls who would probably be eligible to qualify for the exemption but have not been able to 'prove' it ( often due to complications arising from late initial registration when the car was new ). The emphasis is somewhat less on the 'carchaeological' aspect of Z production history than anything else. SO, please bear that in mind when viewing what data I post on the UK-based forums, and in what context it is being discussed......... The other point to take into account is that I am usually trying to make some sense from the data of several sources that does not actually add up as an accountant would like. Its all a bit woolly to say the very least. You have a distinct advantage as far as the USA/Canada market versions are concerned as the data was treated somewhat differently and is certainly better recorded at the receiving end ( although I always wonder just how many of the European-market HLS30s get counted-in or counted-out with the USA/Canada numbers ). One thing I think we can count on ( and I think this has confused some people over the years ) is that there were NOT two body-number sequences running on the 'HS30' prefix at the same time. EG - there could not have been an 'HS30-00240' in Japan and also an 'HS30-00240' in UK/Australia. I have never come across a duplicated body serial number on the same prefix, and I don't know anyone who has. If two with the same number cropped up I'd suspect skullduggery before any other theory, but I suspect there could well be the possibility of a factory stamping mistake being the exception that proved the rule. So, the point is that we should be able to get a rough idea of quantities produced just by looking at what we have left. There are nice big gaps in serial number sequences though....... Forget about the 'HS30' body serial number sequences in the quotes that you put in your above post for a moment, and let's talk in very general ball-park numbers about what we think we should be finding: Quoted figures from various sources ( presumably all originating from Nissan Japan and/or their local offices & distributors/franchises in the territories ) show us that - *AUSTRALIA & UK market 'HS30' totals should be around 5000 units. *JAPAN domestic 'HS30' total should be around 5000 units. *USA/CANADA 'HLS30' total should be around 147,000 units ( note that I suspect this does not cover European-market 'HLS30' units -? ). I have a note of a TOTAL production figure of 'HS30' & 'HLS30' prefixed units that originated from a Japanese source ( unsubstantiated I'm afraid ) of 157,382 - but I have no idea if that is as accurate as it seems to think it is (!). However, if you add up the above three figures it comes to around 157,000 too - which seems likely to be more than just a coincidence ( ? ). What do you think? In any case, as far as I can see, Japanese domestic market 'HS30' prefixed units appear to be around 5000 units or so, as do the combined totals of the UK & Australian major territories. Japan only got the L24-engined version for a comparitively short period of course. A brief word on the Japanese-market 'HS30' body serial number sequence runs you quoted above: I'm not sure how to treat them with regard to individual cases. However, my 1972 240ZG certainly falls into the range of the quoted numbers, and my old ( early/mid ) 1971 UK-market 240Z falls outside them ( it was in the nine-hundreds ) - which seems to match up with what they purport to show. The numbers come from a Japanese government administered agency of the period, and were ( supposedly ) submitted by Nissan Japan themselves. They look to me like they ought to be accurate - although they don't add up to over 5000 like they should ( other combined yearly totals for Japan-market 'HS30' units come to 5023 ) but then they are linked to units REGISTERED FOR ROAD USE in Japan during the years concerned ( rather than units PRODUCED ) and therefore would not take into account personal exports or cars that were produced but remained unregistered for road use. I think that is an important distinction. I reckon anyone who is brave enough to put their head over the parapet on this subject is very likely to get it shot off............. :paranoid: :classic: Alan T.

The Tachometer on page 73 of Nostalgic Hero Vol.84 is the 432 / 432-R version for use with the S20 engine ( part no. 24855-E4200 ). You can see a close-up pic of one in my Gallery. Nothing mysterious about it. The 11,000 rpm Tachometer you spotted on Yahoo Japan auctions was a re-calibrated 'normal' version - as used in most L-series engined cars - and had a re-painted and then screen-printed face. There's a small one-man shop in Japan that produces these, with a long turnaround time.

None of the Nissans were 'Datsuns'...... All S30/S31/S130/Z31/Z32/Z33 'Z' cars were/are Nissans.

. That scenario made me chuckle. "Gadzooks, no more white paint in the pot! Maybe some of this here metalflake green will do? Sure, nobody will care about that - especially as these are just genuine Nissan spare parts that are not attached to a car. Maybe the unsuspecting buyer might get lucky and find the green goes well against that 920 Safari Gold......" Well, you can believe what you want. You can even believe your eBay seller if you want. Over and out...........

All of those "Datsuns" were Nissans, Carl.

ta240, Don't take this personally ( no insult intended ) but your above-linked page is a PERFECT example of how people can be misled. Right at the top of the page, in big bold letters, it says "FACTORY RESTORED NISSAN 240Z'S". No two ways about it - that's just plain old misleading in my book. Is that a quotation from another source, or did you write it yourself? Like I say, don't take it personally though. Alan T.

68305-E4100 is the part number for the standard white 'Z' Fairlady Z side emblem. If there had been a green 'Z' version, then it would have been given a different part number to differentiate between it and the white version. But since there was no green version, this was obviously not necessary. Somebody has been at your emblem with a pot of Testors and a fine brush, I should think.......... And the eBay vendor might well be convinced that this emblem is made from "aluminum", but it is actually made of 'Mazak' or 'Pot Metal'. Those wheel centres in your pictures are sitting 180 degrees inverted, by the way. The shorter horizontal on the letter 'Z' should be on top.

I for one do not apologise for taking anybody to task on this point, and I will be surprised if one of "Nissan's media flacks" as you call them ( surely you mean hacks? ) actually wrote the dreaded couplet "Factory-restored" in any of their press releases or advertising brochures. If you have any evidence, then I'd be interested to see it. I've mentioned before when discussing this subject that I have actually met and conversed with people who were convinced that these cars were sent back to Japan to be restored in the factory that originally made them. Amazing. One of these people was a motoring journalist himself, and continued spawning the mistake through his own misunderstanding. It appears that the root cause of the misunderstanding was not directly from NMC USA or the advertising company that they employed ( Chiat/Day Advertising North America I believe ) but from people outside the 'Vintage Z Program' who were not thinking about what they were writing and saying. We have now reached the stage, more than ten years after the events in question, where certain people are engaged in trying to justify the mistake and make it - in some way - more true ( just look at post #22 on this thread ). What a farce. That's a perfect example of the way this rolling stone gathers its moss, isn't it? I don't see how Kott could have justified the use of the terms "factory refurbished" and "Factory Resurrected" in the same paragraph as he wrote "factory-authorized", and the terms arguably contradict eachother anyway. The layman and casual enthusiast would easily be misled by such language, and it seems to me that NMC USA and the advertising / publicity company they employed consciously avoided trying to do that ,whilst making an effort to bring home the point that this was an official NMC USA project that had the blessing and support of Nissan Japan. I have some sympathy for NMC USA and the people behind the project, as well as their advertisers and publicity people. I can imagine they had a somewhat delicate situation on their hands to describe and explain this project properly, considering that the original cars were designed, engineered and made in Japan. I also think it might be enlightening for some of the people that write on this subject if they were to try and put themselves in the position of the people that actually designed, engineered and produced these cars in the first place ( yes - in Japan ) and tried to imagine this project being viewed from that perspective. Especially when the word "Factory" is thrown around so lightly. Chris Wenzel's excellent report on the 'Vintage Z Restoration Program' contains the following quote, which he repeated in this very thread ( post #18 ): "Two articles written about the Vintage Zs describe them as "factory" restored insinuating to the uninformed reader that the cars were returned to the original Japanese factory for restoration." And that's it in a nutshell. I personally believe that the people involved in this project were at pains to avoid that very insinuation, whilst being faced with the problem of getting across the point that this was indeed a project that had the blessing of the company that originally built the cars ( with all that is implied by that ). As usual, it is the people on the outside that blur the lines between fact and fiction.......... Alan T.

If the negotiations by the Z Police psychiatrists fail, they'll send in their crack squad................ .....The F Team! :eek:

The Z Police are closing in.......... :eek:

Oh dear. The alarm has been triggered..........:paranoid:

Oops! I misread that. Thanks for putting me straight ( that had me scratching my head for a little while.......... ). I wouldn't worry about getting the Service Shuho booklets at this point if I were you. They were sent out to Nissan dealers in Japan when new models were introduced or updated, and contain snippets of useful and interesting information - but they are all in Japanese and deciphering them might not be all that much of a fun prospect for you. They are also pretty expensive collectables. It is the 'H' in the prefix of your VIN / body serial number combination that denotes the L28E engine on this model ( letter H in the prefix usually stood for the higher engine capacity versions across the models ) and since injection was standard on the S130-series Z range ( letter 'E' after the engine type denotes that ) it just means that your engine is the 'L28E' - which might help you when you are ordering parts for it. I think the most useful thing for you at this point will be a copy of the Japanese market Parts List for the S130-series Z. If you can send me a PM with your name and postal address I will send you a CD version by Air Mail. Alan T.

Actually, its quite a few rungs up the ladder from the true 'basic' model ( the S130-S 'Fairlady Z' with the L20E ) and as an L28E engined model - and a '2by2' at that - it would have been pretty expensive when it was new, and would have fallen into a higher taxation bracket too - so the original owner wasn't all that frugal. Japan never got the option of a Turbocharged L28 on the S130-series, so it was up at the top end of the price range for that year's production models and just one step down from the 'T-bar' roof versions. I don't know why it has both wind-up windows and electric window switches though? I'm certainly no expert on these models - but I can't imagine a car leaving the factory like that? Is it possible that it has been given the door panels from another car at some point in the past? I don't have the Nissan 'Service Shuho' booklets for the S130-series range, so I'm afraid I can't decipher the meaning of the '0-12' and 'P7560' numbers with any accuracy - but they relate to the taxation classes and safety legislation that applied to that particular model type. I think you are pretty close to your answer now anyway, and only close scrutiny of the car itself is going to get you closer to knowing whether it is actually a 'Z-L' or a 'Z-T'. You're going to need a Japanese market S130-series parts manual to enable you to cross-reference part numbers for your car if you are going to be ordering them from the USA suppliers. Alan T.

Japanese market S130-series full model lineup: *S130S = Fairlady Z ( 1978~83 ) *S130 = Fairlady Z-L ( 1978~83 ) *S130J = Fairlady Z-T ( 1978~83 ) *GS130 = Fairlady Z-L 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *GS130J = Fairlady Z-T 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *GS130S = Fairlady Z 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *HS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L ( 1978~81 ) *HS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T ( 1978~83 ) *HGS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2 ( 1978~81 ) *HGS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *KHS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z ( T-bar roof ) ( 1978~83 ) *KHGS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1978~83 ) *KS130J = Fairlady Z ( T-bar roof ) ( 1980~83 ) *KGS130J = Fairlady Z 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1980~83 ) *S130ST = Fairlady Z Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *S130T = Fairlady Z-L Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *S130JTB = Fairlady Z-T Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130T = Fairlady Z-L 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130JTB = Fairlady Z-T 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130ST = Fairlady Z 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *KS130JTB = Fairlady Z Turbo ( T-bar roof ) ( 1982~83 ) *KGS130JTB = Fairlady Z Turbo 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1982~83 ) NuttyforNissan, I'd wager that you have either a 'Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2' or a 'Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2'. It might very well be 1978 production year too judging by its relatively low body serial number. I don't think you will see the letter 'J' suffix of the 'Z-T' model stamped on the actual car, and certainly not on the VIN / body serial number combination stamped onto the bodyshell. The difference between the 'Z-L' and the 'Z-T' was purely in trim and accessories, and there's the added complication that the original Japanese buyer might have chosen some factory options and upgrades when he ordered the car from the dealer. You might be able to pin it down by examining the details and clues on the car itself - and if the original factory engine bay tag is still present it might hold a couple of clues. Have you got electric door glass and remote control exterior mirrors? Alan T.

NOT TRUE. . Carl, Nissan's suppliers ( and there were many ) didn't all use Cadmium before the 'Yellow Chromate' ( 'gold passivate' ), and quite a number of them actually did use Zinc. People who are familiar with original Nissan parts for models other than the S30-series Z could tell you that some suppliers even used both from time to time, depending both on what they were making and when they were making it. This should not really be all that much of a surprise to us when we take into account the circumstances and the period in question. So to make the sweeping generalisation that all of it was Cadmium is not really a good idea. Just don't try to pin me down and make me tell you which is which on any particular car, as I have absolutely no idea! Alan T.

Unfortunately, the above articles illustrate some of the bad research and plain mistakes ( not to mention fanciful thinking ) about some of the cars concerned. Take the first two paragraphs from the "History" page linked above. Quote: "HS30LW -00023 or 00026 - Started life as a light weight, "factory works" rally car. Assigned to Shekhar Meta and Dave Doughty for the 1972 East Africa Safari Rally. The team finished 10th Overall that year, and took third in class. Below is the rest of the story about this historic Z Car. After the 72 EAS Rally, HS30LW 00023 was shipped back to Datsun UK under whoes auspices it had been initially prepared for competition at Old Working Garage. After receipt from Africa by Datsun UK, was stored .... " Sorry, but to be blunt - this is complete garbage! Note: *There's no such chassis number prefix as "HS30LW" ( where the hell did that come from???!! ). *The car pictured between those two paragraphs ( 'Big Sam' version 2 ) is a different car altogether! *Nissan's 'Works' 240Z & 260Z rally cars were assigned standard 'HS30', 'HLS30', 'RS30' and 'RLS30' chassis number prefixes and standard production sequence body serial numbers. *'Big Sam' ( version 1 ) was based on 'HS30-00025', which Rauno Aaltonen had driven on the 1970 RAC Rally ( its competition debut ). *Neither 'HS30-00023' nor 'HS30-00026' ( presuming that's what these 'HS30LW' cars are supposed to be ) competed in any East African Safari Rally - let alone the 1972 event. Neither did 'HS30-00025' for that matter. None of them were ever 'practice', 'chase', 'recce' or 'high speed tender' cars for the Safari either. *The name of ( one of ) Shekhar Mehta's navigators was Mike Doughty - not "Dave". *Old Woking Service Station here in the UK never actually built the Works rally cars, so to say that any Works cars ".....had been initially prepared for competition....." there is well wide of the mark. As far as the Safari was concerned, Nissan built batches of cars in Japan for the event and shipped them direct to Africa in the majority of cases. One of the exceptions being the '73 Safari winning car, which had already competed in the 1972 RAC Rally before being used on the Safari. Old Woking Service Station was an important part of the Works rally car jigsaw, but to make it sound as though they built the cars themselves from scratch is nonsense, and just illustrates the low level of understanding about what was going on. *The current bodyshell of 'Big Sam' ( I call this 'version 2' ) is another ex-Works rally 240Z body ( 'HS30-00025' was destroyed in an accident ) of a later vintage, and was originally LHD. This bodyshell also did not compete or take part in the East African Safari Rally, but the main part of its Works rally career is known. The fact that it started life as an LHD car should be a big clue as to what it's initial event was intended to be - but people seem to prefer to believe the big 'Safari' myth even though the evidence shows that it is completely untrue. 'Big Sam' is an interesting car ( actually two cars ) with a fascinating history surrounding it, but the vast majority of magazine articles, book chapters and anecdotes about it contain myths, poor research and silly speculation - not to mention the odd plain lie. Even some of the characters that are part of the story don't get it right...........

Toecutter, The picture you attached was not taken by Nick Howell, and none of the cars pictured ( including the wreck ) had proper factory-style metal rimmed headlamp covers. I think you are mistaking the white pinstriping around the headlamp area for the chrome / stainless rims? The two cars had the American-style aftermarket flush-fitting tinted covers. I honestly don't know why people get so excited about cars like the 'Samuri' in the first post. That car would have essentially been little more than a standard UK-market car with a jazzy paintjob, a bit of pinstriping, some signwriting and a bit of 'tuning'. That 'tuning' - more often than not - consisted of cut-down standard springs, a ported cylinder head, triple carbs and an aftermarket exhaust system. The earliest cars even used a standard camshaft. People are talking about it like it is some long-lost race warrior that needs to be saved for posterity. There were some properly prepared and tuned 'Samuri' conversions, but they were in the minority overall. This one looks like it has been further adulterated later in life with a crap wing and a sunroof that does not fit. Nice. The race cars built by 'Samuri Conversion' were a different kettle of fish, and the car(s) that we know as 'Big Sam' ( that name has been used on two different bodyshells ) were even more special. The first 'Big Sam' was converted from an ex-Works rally car ( so it already had a very special bodyshell ) by privateer racer Rob Grant, who entered it in many GT races throughout Europe - apparently without managing to get the attention of the media. Grant is one of the pioneers of privateer Z racing, and is something of an unsung hero. Many of the modifications on what became the first 'Big Sam' were carried out by Grant and his team, and he usually gets almost no recognition for this in the 'Samuri' or 'Big Sam' stories. The 'Samuri' converted road cars benefitted from the kudos and reflected glory of the race cars, but in reality they often consisted of a few tweaks and some fairly basic tuning and showed that - above all - the cars offered a very good base to work on. Its a shame that whenever you see a piece of writing on these cars it always has so many mistakes in it. There's an article on the subject of 'Samuri Conversions' in the latest issue of Motor Sport magazine here in the UK ( a publication with a long history and a high reputation ) and it is choc-full of mistakes and bad research, and will simply serve to reinforce old myths and previous mistakes. Very sad.

Interesting that you were told this came from a "Z 432", as the single knob clock was never used by the Factory on that model ( they all got the proper oscillator-run two knob 'Stop Watch Clock' ). In fact, the plug shown on the single knob clock in your photos would not match up with the dash wiring loom on a 432 ( different plug ). Strange, isn't it? I highly doubt that you will come up with any secret stash of two knob Stop Watch clocks and oscillators in Japan. They already change hands for pretty serious money in Japan and there is a finite supply of them, unlike the single knob clocks - which are more plentiful and MILES cheaper. Alan T.

Carl, Am I missing something here? I don't see anything particularly earth-shattering in Mr Brock's quote. I thought the story around the car ( despite the vendor's hyperbole ) was pretty much understood and documented anyway? What made me cringe in the original auction description was the vendor's insistence on comparing the car to one of BRE's race cars - which surely anybody who knows anything about proper race cars would see through in an instant. BRE-linked it might have been, but comparing this jazzed-up standard road car to a fully race-prepped BRE team car is just ridiculous. By the way, the David Muramoto quote on Brock ".....As one who convinced corporate marketing of the value in offering a Red/White/Blue "BRE" edition back in the day....." adds to the dis-information on the subject in my opinion. Brock clearly didn't manage to convince Nissan USA's corporate marketing dept, or this car would have been one of many - would it not? Alan T.

By the way, that looks to me like a SPIRIT GARAGE twin-pipe stainless system, just like the one on my Fairlady 240ZG.