HS30-H

Some more of issue 118:

Hmmm, problems attaching images in bulk. Try this:

Lachlan, The KPGC10's arrival in the UK ( and the story surrounding it ) was one of the original reasons for the guys from Nostalgic Hero coming over to the UK this time. As you know, the car got a dedicated feature in issue no.113 ( with Mount Asama as the backdrop ) and it was discussed at the time that they would do a follow-up article with Dr Shimizu handing the car over to me after it arrived in the UK. At least five or six years ago I had introduced Kevin's ex-Works car to the previous editor of the mag, and we discussed Nos Hero getting a 'scoop' feature on the car when it had completed its restoration. Kevin's resto took years longer than first expected, and this was half forgotten about. However, with the Nos Hero guys thinking about coming over anyway for the KPGC10 it was good timing to kill more than two birds with one stone and the whole thing took on a new dimension. They became very excited about the chance to scoop Kevin's car at a very interesting point in its restoration ( body finished, but engine still in pieces ) and also be allowed to look at a couple of other ex-Works cars too. My good friend Matsui san ( who rebuilt the KPGC10 ) coordinated the Japanese side of the arrangements from the very beginning, and I coordinated the UK side. Unfortunately, at the last minute Dr Shimizu was forced to cancel his trip due to work commitments, so the KPGC10 hand-over coverage was put on the backburner and more pages were given over to Kevin and Gary's cars - which certainly deserve them. The whole shebang ended up at sixteen pages, which is quite unusually large. We also covered Gary's ex-Works Nissan 240RS ( chassis no.1 no less ) for Nos Hero's sister magazine for what they call 'neo historics'. They did put a little box into the article showing Matsui san with the KPGC10 in London, and a few comments on its arrival. Its a real pity that Dr Shimizu could not make it. It would have been nice to tie up the loose ends on that. They had planned a fairly cheesy 'KPGC10 in London' article with some famous landmarks in the background, so I might have to do that myself at some point in the future..... I didn't really want them to make too much fuss over the ZG, as I had been switching wheels and tyres around in something of a panic in the days preceding their visit and had actually ended up with two of the wheels from the KPGC10 ( wearing their big new Avon ZZR tyres ) on the back of the ZG - which are much too big! - and the rear wheels of the ZG on the front of the GT-R just so it would wheel around properly without tyres touching the overfenders ( it needs the ride height reset to suit the new road-legal tyres after switching over from modern slicks ). The ZG consequently looks a bit silly with the wrong rear wheels and tyres on it for the photos. I didn't even really get a chance to clean and polish it. My own fault. Here are some scans of issue no.118:

Hi Miles and Lachlan, Yes, I admit it. It is me. Although I must say that they must have done some kind of Photoshop jiggerypokery to make me as ugly as I look in that photo. That's certainly not the handsome, fit, intelligent-looking adonis with a full head of hair and his own teeth that I see in the bathroom mirror every morning. They got my age wrong two issues running too ( I'm 44 not 41! ) so now people will be thinking I've been telling little white lies about my age too. :nervous: Actually, the four page coverage in issue no.119 is a kind of over-run from issue no.118 - which was the main course, if you like. Issue no.118 was Sixteen pages of UK-based feature, covering two genuine ex-Works 240Z rally cars ( Kevin's and Gary's ), plus Kevin's current MSA British Championship historic rally car, and my 432R replica project, my Fairlady 240ZG and the KPGC10 that Dr Shimizu has given to me. The guys from Nostalgic Hero spent three nights in London and then flew back to Japan, so it was quite a punishing schedule really. We were blessed with some fairly nice weather luckily. I must say I think the article on the ex-Works cars in issue no.118 is very impressive, and I'm really pleased that it all worked out so well. I might need to make some scans and put them up here for those that can't usually get hold of the mag. Might fill in the surrounding story of how it all came about too. Lachlan, I didn't see your original post about 118 ( I'm slacking ) - otherwise I would have replied to it. Sorry. Cheers, Alan T.

Enrique, Be careful about that 'U' suffix and what it denotes, as it can be misleading. Most importantly, note that it does not stand for 'USA'....... The plain ( no suffix ) 'HLS30' was the "European" market version of the '240Z' according to Nissan factory documentation - although it has to be said that the term "European" covered quite a lot of different territories and I know for sure that some of these differed slightly in spec as sold by the dealers....... Also note that the 'HS30-U' was an RHD Export '240Z' according to the same Nissan factory documentation. Nissan's factory workshop manual for the UK market '260Z' model shows that the letter U suffix obviously changed meaning at some point when applied to the different models. The manual says that the letter 'U' now meant "RHD". Confusing, isn't it? Zedrally, I think it was me that made the suggestion of a 'sticky' - but I was referring to the VIN suffixes and prefixes ( model variation ) subject rather than Will's original thread subject. I'd be happy to have a go at compiling the list of model variants that Enrique requested, but I'd prefer to stick to the RHD versions. Somebody else would have to take responsibility for the LHD versions in case I don't have all the necessary data on them. Any LHD volunteers out there? Will, Great thread subject! ( sorry to have diverted it somewhat ) and I think it certainly could do with being made more permanent, and probably should have its own web page......... Sounds like it has the potential to be your great Unfinished ( unfinishable! ) Symphony....... :-) Alan T.

Jeremy, By far the best film footage of Nissan's works Zs on the East African Safari Rally were Nissan's own promotional films. They were made for the Japanese market ( Japanese language captions / titles and commentary ) and were shown in cinemas, dealerships and to clubs soon after the events were held. Nissan licensed M3 ENTERTAINMENT of Japan to produce DVD compilations of the '68, '69. '70 and '71, '72 & '73 films last year. They are available as a two DVD box set or single DVDs with three films on each. The '68, '69 & '70 films concentrate on the 510 Bluebirds whilst the '71, '72 & '73 films have the 240Z content. *MRBF-1038 = 68/69/70 ( total 51 minutes ) NTSC2 @ 4,725 Yen *MRBF-1039 = 71/72/73 ( total 58 minutes ) NTSC2 @ 4,725 Yen *MMSD-0020 = 2 dvd box set @ 9,450 Yen I bought mine in Japan, but you might be able to find an importer that will obtain them for you. Good luck, Alan T.

Happy New Year to you too, Christopher I didn't realise that I was apt to "jump down your case", and if that is the perception then I apologise. I'm certainly not singling you out for special treatment. I'm usually only trying to get things right for the benefit of us all and the doubtful posterity of the 'search' function, all the time with the Sword Of Damacles hanging over my head for daring to suggest that the S30-series Z cars are a family of cars with equal rights in terms of concept and design, rather than one 'supreme' deity and a bunch of "irrelevant" runts. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? As I'm sure you realise, I didn't open up the can of worms of the U/UN/UV and their Auto suffix combinations as pertaining to Canadian and Californian versions of the '240Z' because it is just that; a can of worms. I think the 'U' suffix covers them all for the sake of discussion until we want to start getting more specific, no? I don't really consider myself a specialist on the LHD Export models, and I'm sure there are people here better armed to explain the differences between the 'Ontario' market version of the 'HLS30 UN' and all the other UNs, for example. I saw a thread here the other day where a prospective purchaser was asking about the differences between the 'USA' market version(s) and Canadian versions(s) of the '240Z'. He got a few replies, but none answered the basic question. I felt sorry for him, as I know the answers should be readily available, but I didn't feel 100% confident that I would be the right person the attempt to address them...... To be honest, I'd expect to see more explanation and exploration of the suffixes on sites such as ours and - for example - zhome.com, but very few people seem to be au fait with them. Unlike the oft-used and abused "Series" designations, these prefixes and suffixes are FACTORY terms ( and therefore should mean something a little more concrete ) that would help us to understand what Nissan made - and even why they made them in some cases. Maybe we need to get our heads together and make a 'sticky'? The Japanese home market variants are particularly difficult to list up concisely, and they represent something of a moving target to boot. They have the most complicated variant listings, and buyers also had the possibility of choosing options and deletes that complicated matters still further. So - for example - Mr Suzuki could walk into a Nissan showroom in Sapporo in October 1971 and order an 'HS30 D', but decide to go with the 4-speed option instead of the standard 5-speed of that model, delete the radio and clock, but add a heated front screen as part of a 'cold weather pack' ( something not listed on the official printed options lists - but nonetheless available in certain areas of Japan ) and studded snow tyres. Trying to decipher Mr Suzuki's car 35 years later would prove rather difficult without having Mr Suzuki present to explain his choices to us. Here are a couple of charts to help illustrate the points I'm trying to make ( Enrique, I hope this helps to start answering your post without actually getting too far into it, as I think the subject demands its own thread or 'sticky' really ). Remember that this is just a snapshot of what was available in one market at one point in time ( October 1971 ). Note too that they do not even list ALL of the possible variants ( PS30-SB 'Z432-R' is not listed, for example ) and the subject of low / high compression variants and optional equipment is barely touched on. Note too the 'nickname' terms given to the major variants ( 'PZ', 'PZR', 'ZS', 'HZ' etc etc ) and used internally by Nissan on factory documentation, parts lists etc which might further confuse and confound until you start to get used to them. Will, I'm sorry if all this has diverted the original intentions of your thread somewhat, but I think the point needed to be addressed. Even if you end up sticking to the different 'HLS30-U' sub-variants for the 'Parts Variations' topic discussion, I think it is a good idea for us all to bear in mind the wider connotations of the term '240Z'. Alan T.

Will, Can I suggest that any such list makes it quite clear as to which '240Z' it includes? You don't appear to have mentioned this. Maybe it would be best to stick to the USA/Canada market 'HLS30U' versions ( making it quite clear what market version it applies to ), unless you want to include parts and specs relevant to European market 'HLS30' models - let alone RHD Export market and Japanese domestic market '240Z' models............... especially if the data might form part of the reference material to aid a 'judge' in assessing any particular car. It would be a shame if a non-USA/Canada market car was judged as 'incorrect' in spec because data pertaining to a different market was being used to judge it. Just a thought. Alan T.

Carl, So were you born in the USA or Germany? Just wanted to get it straightened out in my mind, as I remember you claiming - on this forum - to have been "German". I think the original quote was something along the lines of ".........being German myself.........". If only the Z cars that left Japan can be referred to as "from Japan" then maybe you'd better stick to being an "American" rather than "German"? Silly semantics is a tough subject to grasp once you start getting into it, don't you think? Frohe Weihnachten! Alan T.

They are all from Japan, 'GS30-003009' is a 'Fairlady Z 2/2' or 'Fairlady Z-L 2/2' ( close scrutiny of specification needed to discern between the two ) and it was built in the 1974 calendar year. It is more likely to be the higher-spec 'Z-L' version simply because so few customers in Japan chose to buy base-spec 2/2 versions......... Alan T.

Hi Gary ( how are you?), Could have been an 'E30' head if it was an early L20A engine. Later L20 engines had several different heads, and 'Y70' castings were common - sometimes seen in Australia I hear. Occasionally these crop up around the world, and cause a little headscratching amongst those not so familiar with the smaller capacity Nissan L6 engines. Cheers, Alan T.

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.

L20A / L20E crank stroke = 69.7mm L24 crank stroke = 73.7mm So putting an L20A or E crank into an L24 block effectively de-strokes it. You'll need longer con rods, and/or custom pistons ( with a different pin height to stock ). This conversion can create a nice revvy and responsive engine when all other factors are maximised, but it might not actually be what you are looking for?

Arne, That's not my impression overall. I don't mean just on this thread in particular ( and to give you your due - you yourself have been very specific on this thread ) but overall the implication is that one model is the only one that counts when discussing matters historical. Especially when one of the main people involved in defining the "Series" terms on this very thread also comes out elsewhere with quotes like these: Do you see what I mean? To me, that is a very warped perspective. In my opinion, looking at all contemporary models as a family will help us to understand some of these rolling detail changes / updates / improvements a little better. As an example, I'd say that this is certainly borne out by the questions over the 'clear' hatch glass on this thread - where the fact that both heated and non-heated glass versions were being sold alongside eachother in other markets can help to reveal one of the reasons why the earliest USA market cars came with non-heated hatch glass. If you were looking at JUST the USA market cars empirically, you would come to the ( wrong ) conclusion that the factory did not make heated rear glass until after several hundred cars had been produced - wouldn't you? In fact, the heated rear glass existed - but there was a decision made not to fit them to the first HLS30U models which was soon reversed. Chris, To be frank, I think there are only a very few people that are willing to take the wider 'S30 family' view. It seems that it is much easier for people to believe that one market model was the single consideration of the designers and engineers, and that all other market models were forced to follow. We know from talking to the people involved that this is certainly not the case, do we not? It appears to be anathema to some people. Look at our fellow member 'moonpup' for example. Alan T.