HS30-H

I don't want to spoil the fun too early, but the English language version of Uemura san's book doesn't include any such anecdote and Katayama's 'influence' on any aspect of development is put firmly back in its box. I'm temped to say "none of the above" in answer to Kats' question. One of the tricky aspects to Uemura san's book is that it pops back and forth between specifications and development points for planning and prototyping and it all starts to get a bit jumbled up. S20 (G8B) engine is specified after initial decision to use the L20 six cylinder engine ('L20A' updated variant didn't exist at that time...) so it cannot really be #3. Styling designers were styling designers, so they might well have wanted more power but it wasn't in their remit to specify it, so it cannot be #1. Uemura san says that L16 (4-cyl) and L20 (6-cyl) were the two initial engine choices - simultaneously - and the L16 was dropped because production was planned to take place alongside the Roadsters at the Hiratsuka plant. So the answer could be that both four and six cylinder engines were part of the plan from the beginning (true 'beginning' being a sightly nebulous point...) and that there was no "four to six" engine metamorphosis. It was four AND six, then just six. Three types of six...

I would say that @Mike B will be a great resource for references on this particular car. Hopefully he'll be watching.

I would expect the material of the Z-S rubber mats to be the same as those the very first Export cars, but of course the shape would be different in RHD vs LHD configurations with the details for the pedal areas also differing. Rib pattern area is port-to-starboard rather than fore-to-aft. I think the photo on question might show an extra foot mat over the original full-length mat? Here's the passenger side Z-S floor mat in my 432-R replica for comparison:

It's the 'Seibi' sticker. Maintenance/check precautions. Annoying Nanny State stuff which used to be known as common sense... If the printed writing is still legible its a good pointer to a little-used car I'd say. Enthusiastic cleaning rubbed them bare.

The 'S30-S' model came from the factory with rubber mats (visible forward of the seat in that photo) rather than carpets, but I presume it is something attached to/around the forward seat bracket. Looks like a piece of foam or something to my eye, but hard to tell. I don't think it's anything worth worrying about...

Forward seat-mount brackets, as fitted to the Japanese market cars:

Judging by the bumpers (no rubber trim) I'd say it is likely to be an S30-S model 'Z-S' / 'Z-Std' / 'Standard' Fairlady Z rather than a Deluxe. The S30-S model had a 4-speed transmission as stock equipment, but the 5-speed O/D trans was an extra cost showroom option. Should be pretty easy to pin down the original model type. It looks to be in great unmessed-with 'survivor' condition and should be pretty easy to sell. Why not try to sell it here on classiczcars.com? Is it my imagination (can't see it all that clearly) or has the original bonnet/hood 'Z' emblem been replaced with a 'Datsun' emblem from an Export market car?

The 'carpet discussion' developed in the comments section of the Bring-a-Trailer auction for the car which is the topic of this thread: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1970-datsun-240z-43/ You'll need to scroll through the comments to see the 'carpet discussion' develop, but if you really want to go in-depth I recommend you search our own forum here for far better reference material.

The original paint/non-original paint thing started to get silly, and the pushing for a paint thickness meter examination started to look like bullying from at least two people who have an interest in prices going up. Surely if anyone wants to verify the paint they should go and see the car in person and make their own decision, and that would be their advantage over others in the auction format? I'm still not sure how these BaT auctions can be classified? I've always considered auctions as a format akin to a game of poker, where serious buyers don't want to show their hand until the last moment and the 'game' was to get something for less than you think it is truly worth. Instead, BaT seem to foster the idea of getting the price up no matter what, and some of the people making comments on the live auction are actively showing their hand ("I'm out", "I'm intending to win this"). I find it truly bizarre.

Someone's watching...

Here's another - hair edited - version in current use by Nissan Japan which shows more floor detail. Maybe a bit less airbrushing on this one?

Watch out for those acronyms, Kats. 'STD' might be 'Standard', but it's also 'Sexually Transmitted Disease'...! Nice YMO cover! I worked with them some years ago.

That's stuff I learned about right here, courtesy yourself and Mike B. Thank you.

I just wanted to say "Thanks Mr K!" *Mr Soichi Kawazoe.

Cranes!

I believe it is at the Pierre, Kats. You noted the difference in the flooring (Beverley Hilton Hotel carpet is quite distinctive in your colour photo) but something does not look 'right' in the B/W photos to me. I feel like they have been airbrushed/re-touched. I think editors would prefer a plain backdrop. The version in the Nissan 10-year report book looks especially as though it was edited to me. Floor area under the car and around the lady on the left looks especially suspicious to me, whilst I see more floor detail - and even some flash bounce? - on the short hair-edited version. I get the feeling that the Pierre Hotel event was not ideal for press photography...

What did you think about the carpet discussion? One of the latest came-out-of-nowhere bulk dealers states that he has seen no variation on '69 through '73(?) carpets (says they were all the same), which I find pretty remarkable seeing as the very first type of carpeting in North American market cars was manufactured by a third party in the USA until the factory started fitting them a little later on. Identical? One of his customers is backing him up, of course. It's like a Punch and Judy show.

Kats, You will see two different versions of the 240Z USA debut 'unveiling' photo. The version in the Nissan 10-year report volumes is different than another version, as one has been 'edited' and the other has not. I have seen Nissan using both versions. They are clearly both exactly the same photo, but in the edited version the lady on the right has had her long hair airbrushed out to make it look shorter. My wife (and I believe her...) says that she thinks the 'long hair' version looks "wrong" for a classic Kimono-wearer in 1969. The lady on the left looks far more correct, with her hair up.

What a great shot. I've never forgotten the first time I walked through a full size bamboo grove in Japan. That noise in the wind. Extraordinary! I like your 'Kari' plate too.

If you're a connoisseur of factory-style 'Overfenders' mounted on the wrong side of the car and - in any case - far too low, you'll love this.

Here's a gathering of 1960s/70s American sports cars: I think there's a Corvette behind one of those pillars...

I have one of the 'Radio Delete' trays too, and have sometimes heard them called a 'Sunglasses Tray' in Japan. It seems to work as well for that purpose as any other:

I think it is natural for people to have a bias toward their local market variants, and in pre-internet days not so many people got to see other market variants - so they didn't even consider them. What I do not understand are people who tell us not to look, or that a particular market/model is not worthy of attention. It is bizarre. Every variant has its own significance and the more contemporary variants you look at, the more you learn about them and your own market variant. There is always something to be learned. I own variants from three different markets; Japan, UK and North American, and two different models from one of those markets (Japan). Each one informs not just about itself, but also teaches us something about the others. I find it fascinating to compare them, and I'm still learning something new every time. I contend that you cannot understand each model/variant fully without looking at its production line and showroom siblings. It's a pipe dream, but I'd like to have an S30-series Z event where we managed to corral at least one of every variant/sub-variant and market model, and every different production spec and showed them all together in one space with full access. No velvet ropes around the cars and no cars locked. I think it would be both interesting and informative. Just a pipe dream though...

Hi Kats, Nice set! They look to be in good condition. I believe they are the 'old' type 44PHH-2, as fitted also to the U20-engined SRs. Nissan Sports supplied them in sets of three as a Sports/Race Option for the S20 engine, and Nissan's Works team used them on the first versions of their LR24 race engines (as tested by Kobayashi san for Car Graphic back in 1970). Did the previous owner put some reproduction A15 type stickers on them? Terashima san has a set on his PZR:

Do you want me to cut-and-paste my reply from the other parallel thread you started? All of this is doing nothing good for the filing in the forum archives.