HS30-H

Michael is correct, the Sapporo guys used a bit of artistic license with their club name and logo. Its extremely cold and snowy up there in the winter, so they have a lot of free time on their hands...... Actually, I met one of the members of this club a couple of years ago. The Mrs and I spend just about every New Year up in Sapporo, and I spotted a white Hakosuka GT-R under wraps next to a restaurant we were eating at. Turned out to be the manager's car. Nice bloke. Hokkaido has quite a few old cars tucked away in winter, and they all start to come out of storage in the spring and summer months. During the months of around April / May to Sept / Oct, Hokkaido has excellent temperate weather and some of the best touring roads in Japan. It really is beautiful up there. Cheers, Alan T.

Tom, Got your PM - thanks. Just sent some scans to the e-mail address provided. Hope they are what you wanted. Mr C, PM received - thanks. Just answered you with another PM. Will scan Silvia illustration and send to you tomorrow. Hope you will like it. Cheers, Alan T.

Tom, Drop me a PM with your direct e-mail address and I'll send some pics and scans of original stickers to you. Cheers, Alan T.

Do you have a particular car in mind? Just for the record, no S30-series Z left the Factory for sale to the general public with a combination of black bonnet and 'ZG' overfenders. The Fairlady Z432R ( PS30-SB ) came with an FRP bonnet ( hood ) that was painted flat black on the outside, and white gel-coat FRP Overfenders were available for this model through the Sports Option lists from late 1969. The Fairlady 240ZG ( HS30-H ) left the Factory with FRP Overfenders that were painted metallic Gunmetal grey.

Gav, Just a heads-up: If you want to use these particular pistons, you will need to consider your Connecting Rod length. The 89mm KAMEARI pistons with the 29mm pin height are designed for use with a 'long' rod. If you use them with the stock L28 crank stroke, then you ideally need to use 139.5mm centre-to-centre length rods. If you use them with the LD28 crank stroke, then you ideally need 138mm centre-to-centre length rods. They are good quality forged pistons with machined cutouts for valve clearance ( they are actually manufactured by JUN for Kameari ) and they retailed at 89,250 Yen per set the last time I looked. I'd want to *at least* put new rings on them if I was going to use them. Cheers, Alan T.

Yeah, like a roof scoop and twin aerials for example.

Hi Christopher, I agree. I do wish that S30-series Z production would be seen as one big project family, with several family members going down the lines at the same time. I think a lot of confusion can be caused when "Production Figures" for one market and one model are published in books, on the net, or - for example - in the Vic Brit catalogue, and people are led into believing that they cover all markets and all models..... Exactly the same in my experience. In fact, they seem to be the same format for all markets and models that were made at the same time - with the "Datsun 240Z" model description used as a 'default' setting. So - for example - my mid-1970 produced Fairlady Z-L has the "Datsun 240Z" Takata seat belt labels too. Notice that they cover the regulations and requirements for three different authorities ( including the Japanese domestic 'JIS' regs ). Good point, and this is why I think its important to cross-ref as many 'dated' components as possible and then apply this data to other 'known' factors, such as engine number, body serial number and specification. I think LHD cars are far easier to pin an accurate ( ish ) production date on than any RHD car, simply because of the amount of available cross-referencing data. Cheers, Alan T.

Sorry Eric, I've been chasing a pair for my project car for a couple of years now. As far as I know they are NLA from Nissan, but I did hear that some had been privately repro'd in Japan a while back. Haven't got to the bottom of that yet. They are the kind of thing that people will have knocking around at the bottom of boxes of spares in Japan. I keep my eyes open at swapmeets and autojumbles over there, but so far no success. I'll let you know if I find a source. Cheers, Alan T.

The UK was one of the biggest markets for the 240RS, and a lot of them were sold by Bill Blydenstein and Tony Pond. They ran the Team Nissan Europe rally programme for the cars, and had some success in the British Championship ( they won the title in 1984 & 1985 ). Most of them seem to have either succumbed to their rally injuries, or gone back to Japan. There's a small but fanatical following for them over there ( as you can see from the websites ) but there are still a fair few in private hands here in the UK. I've seen an absolute cracker of a car participating in Reinhard Klein's 'Slowly Sideways' events which I think belongs to a UK resident. They were ugly brutes, and I remember reading a description of them as being "..more agricultural machine than proper rally car..." which was probably a bit harsh! I had an original sales catalogue for the 240RS, but I gave it to a Japanese enthusiast. I've got a copy of the 'Competition Tune UP Manual' on CD if anyone needs any details.

I certainly think it would be wise to consider getting the other stuff ( besides the recent damage ) repaired and painted at the same time. However, watch out for your insurance company getting a sniff of you incorporating some of this into 'their' responsibilities. The insurance assessors are pretty hot on the concept of "betterment" when it comes to old cars. Don't get fooled by those production figures you see on the websites and in the Vic Brit catalogue - they don't include 'our' Japanese domestic market cars at all....... In almost all the cases I have seen, they apply to USA / North American market cars. I've written this many times before, but its worth stating once again in this case: Remember that there were body serial number sequences for all the different VIN prefixes. So, for example's sake, lets take the theoretical existence of a "Number30" body serial number. This could be: *S30-00030 ( would be a Fairlady Z or Z-L ) *PS30-00030 ( would be a Fairlady Z432 or Z432R ) *HLS30-00030 ( Export market LHD "240Z" - but not only USA market ) *HS30-00030 ( could be a bewildering amount of specs, including Japanese domestic market Fairlady 240Z, Fairlady 240Z-L and Fairlady 240ZG, or Export market RHD "240Z" aimed at Australian, NZ or UK markets ) Carry on into RS30, RLS30, GS30, GRS30, GRLS30, S31 etc etc etc and you get the idea - its very complicated! If you have a four-digit body serial number that starts with 6 ( I'm not counting the zeroes in front ) then your S30 could well have been made in 1971 - but I'd like to cross-ref a lot of other evidence before homing in on a likely build date. Of course, one of the easiest things to check are the labels attached to your seatbelts. They usually have a manufacturing date on them which is a rough guide to the age of the car ( but not foolproof ). Cheers, Alan T.

daddz, That dash-mounted VIN number will be non-Factory, and probably ( as you will have guessed ) intended to smooth the car's passage to a US title on import. Japanese home market cars never had a VIN number plate in this position. That widescreen sticker will possibly be the remnants of the Shakken sticker ( although it would have expected it to be red on a silver background ) and you guessed right about the Empirical date system ( add 25 ). I bet the sticker in the rear glass is the white circle on read oblong gasoline-type sticker? Suggestions other than the obvious? If you are considering buying it, then remember that some of the hardest stuff to track down and replace on such a car will be items of soft trim and emblems. Switchgear can also be a devil ( especially if its a high spec car with all the bells and whistles ). Better in the long run to buy a complete and relatively unmolested and uncompromised spinster than to try to resto a divorced G.I. Bride.................

They were indeed painted black ( pretty much flat black ) and by the same guy, with the same brush and pot of paint, as other areas of the car. Notably the metal behind some of the plastic trim gaps, and the front of the rad support panel. Mr Ishikawa ( who was left-handed ) worked alternate weeks to Mr Imura ( who was right-handed ). Do you have left-handed or right-handed brush strokes?

Clarification: Not JUST the 432s, but ALL the Japanese home market models had a round pillar emblem with the 'Z' mark in the centre. This emblem is often mistaken for a 'vent' type emblem, when in fact it is solid, and mounts on the two small holes in the quarter panel. Home market cars switched over to the same 'vent' style emblem at the same time as the Export cars. Pic of earliest home market pillar emblem for reference ( notice its round, solid, and not vented ):

Rather than risk having to write halfway into next week, its probably better in this particular instance to concentrate on the car in question. First of all, we know its either a Fairlady Z ( 'S30-S' model ) or Fairlady Z-L ( 'S30' model ) as the VIN prefix stamped into the firewall has been reported as being "S30". I'd be interested to know the rest of the stamping ( the body serial number ) but can well understand if you prefer that this is not publicised. Pinning down whether it started life as either a Z or Z-L is fairly easy if you cross-reference the trim and equipment levels on the car - but remember that both the Z and Z-L used the same 'S30' VIN prefix stamping ( use the SEARCH function for reference, as we have covered this subject on here many times in the past ). Ordinarily when I have come across cars that are reputed to be non UK-market RHD cars, the first thing I do is look at the VIN. Since we know this is an 'S30' VIN it immediately identifies it as as Japanese domestic market model; the 'S30' VIN prefix cars were not sold for official Export markets. Don't forget that it could well also have been an 'HS30' VIN prefix, as Japan got the L24-engined models from late 1971 - which many people do not seem to understand. Second thing I would look at would be the seat brackets welded to the floor. The Japanese market cars had 'extra' L-shaped front brackets that enabled the seat runners to be mounted in TWO positions ( which explains that extra pair of holes in the rear brackets on Export cars ). These brackets are nice, easily accessible clues to the original market of the car. As for other details relating to exact ( or at least approximate ) build date of the car, you will need to start looking for the inspection 'ken' marks, and cryptic manufacturer marks on individual components. These are everywhere and nowhere! Try looking at the rear of components such as the ashtray, speedo, tacho, rear lamps, seats, etc etc. For an S30-series Z, you might spot numbers that relate to the Japanese year system ( based on the incumbent Emperor's reign ), and since Emperor Hirohito ( Emperor 'Showa' ) ascended the throne in 1925, you will see numbers such as 44 ( 1969 ), 45 ( 1970 ) and 46 ( 1971 ) along with a month and day. Also, as a little bit of fun, take a look under the dash at the pressed card base of the glovebox. The Factory-applied chalk scribblings under here can be very amusing ( most UK-market cars I have seen have "ENG" chalked underneath ). See what yours says..... What's different between an S30 and UK-market 'Export' HS30 of the same build period? LOTS! Once you start getting into it, you'll see literally hundreds of tiny detail differences. Major stuff is instrumentation and wiring; if you are lucky you will still have your original main and engine bay harnesses, which were tagged with their part numbers and a date of manufacture too. Looking at this kind of detail will help to discern whether the replacement bodyshell story stands up to scrutiny ( I'm very sceptical about this one ) as a replacement loom is very unlikely. It would be much easier to go through all the differences with the car in front of us, and armed with a couple of the Japanese market parts manuals. Maybe I'll see you at a show or event somewhere at some point in the future? It would be fun to go through it together. I'm still concerned about the build date though. Are you sure you have this pinned down with the proper level of certainty? I still think you could be a few months out....... Cheers, Alan T.

Hi Richie, Please try to avoid any question of replacing the roof panel on your car. I had this done on my very first Z using a new roof panel from Nissan ( the original roof had been butchered for a sunroof ) and it is a BIG job that needs to be carried out with the utmost of care and skill. Removal of the headlining and header trim on the damaged side of the roof will allow a skilled panel beater to access the area that needs to be worked on. I can see from the pics that it is eminently fixable. I had very similar damage ( caused by collapsing scaffolding ) on a Porsche 356 repaired with excellent results. Totally invisible. Just choose your body shop well, and don't disturb that roof panel! Regarding the identity of the car, I would bet all my furniture on it not being a 'replacement' bodyshell. It will of course have been a 'private' import ( we call them 'grey' imports now ) rather than an official Datsun UK import, and 95% of these in the UK were connected to American armed forces personnel bringing their personally-purchased cars over from Japan with them when they were moved from Japan to the UK ( RHD market to RHD market ). Many of these cars were sold off privately in the UK before the personnel were sent back to the USA. My 1970 Fairlady Z-L based project car is one of these. I'm interested that you feel you have identified the date of manufacture from a list published on the net. Where is this? I have never seen a VIN number list on the net that covered the home market cars with any accuracy. Indeed, some of the most widely used internet lists are total rubbish when it comes to non-USA market cars. Comparing your 'S30' prefixed VIN to the numbers on these lists is not going to get you anywhere. "Converting" to UK-spec is easier if you are starting out with a Fairlady Z-L; just about all the components are already in place except for the L24 engine. I presume this is what has been done in your case. However, you may not realise just how many differences there are between your car and a typical UK-market car of the same period. Its very interesting to compare the differences and details. I wonder how far you have looked into this? If I were you I would much rather trust a fully cross-referenced study of parts manufacturing dates ( hidden all over your car ) than any web-based list. Cheers, Alan T.

Welcome to the site Richie, Sorry to hear about the damage to your car. I think you'll find that a replacement roof panel is not necessary, and that a good body man will be able to sort out that damage with a minimum of filler. I know its "another topic entirely" - but I'm interested in this quote: How can the car be a '240Z' if it has an 'S30' VIN prefix? Its either a Fairlady Z or Fairlady Z-L, and if it has an L24 engine now then its certainly not the engine that it left the factory with. I doubt very much that its "full UK-spec". Sounds like another 'G.I. Bride' to me. Cheers, Alan T.

I wouldn't characterise that as the main reason its done..... I know more than one race car that uses the L20 crank ( or even just the stroke of the L20 with a custom-made crank ) and its often done to create a very revvy race engine that still conforms to race regulations in certain series. I don't think there are many combinations of Nissan L-series parts that have not been tried over the years. Nothing much new under the sun as far as the L-series in concerned.... :classic:

Gents, PMC.S = "Prince Motor Club. Sports". See this thread: PMC.S acronym means......... Cheers, Alan T.

Owner Kevin Bristow is one of my best mates. The car was in a bit of a state when he got it - but it was 99% complete and the 'real thing'....... Kevin has done the most amazing job to resurrect the car. Its not quite finished yet, but the work he has done to date is spot-on. He is a true inspiration. I fully expect this car to take a trip back to Japan at some point - to meet up with its surviving relatives and ( hopefully ) a little guest spot in Nissan's proposed new Yokohama HQ museum floor. Fingers crossed. Cheers, Alan T.

The problem is that e-mail notifications of responses / questions don't seem to be working lately. I haven't had any for a few weeks, it seems. This makes it hard to keep up, and means I may miss the discussion / question. I'm my own worst enemy for posting so many pics I know, and without the e-mail notifications its almost impossible to keep up and be polite.

Mike, 'TKS 33 SA 8075' is not one of the three cars still owned by Nissan that are stored at Zama. I only have a few 'period' shots of the car, and I presume that it would have gone back to Japan at some point ( presumably after the 'Dulux International' event that you reported its participation in? ) for a refurb / new identity or recycling into another shell. You're making an '8075' replica, or a 'Works' look replica in general? Cheers, Alan T.

Hi Phil, It doesn't really feel as though I have made much progress on the car. Most of the work I did on it over the Summer months was with it sitting up on high jackstands with me laying underneath scraping, brushing and wire-wheeling off the underbody. Its done now, but it feels like it took forever. I've had a few hiccups with lost components between my sandblaster and powdercoater ( each blaming the other ) and frankly probably spent too many weekends driving the R32 instead of in the garage. Now Winter is here and the garage is a cold, dark and uninviting prospect.... Yes, Fourways did all the interior, engine bay and exterior paint on the body. Its 920 'Safari Brown' ( 'Gold' in Export markets ) and therefore not the correct colour for a Factory PZR - which is a 'deliberate mistake' on my part. I brought my specially-fabricated front crossmember back from Japan as checked-in baggage this time ( the S20 engine mounting 'towers' are quite different to those of the L-series engines ). It looked quite suspicious going through the X-Ray machine at the airport, especially with the 432R-type engine bay wiring loom that was packaged with it. The security inspectors ran it through a few extra times at different angles and looked at it quizzically, but gladly didn't ask me to unwrap it. I guess they get to see all sorts...... Cheers, Alan T.