HS30-H

:polite cough:

Here are images of the three Works SCCN team-entered cars from the '73 Fuji 1000Km race: The No.8 car is the TAKAHASHI/TOHIRA 240ZR and the No.10 car is the SUZUKI/TOSHIMORI 'experimental' test car. The No.10 was repaired and, as I mentioned above, managed to finish the race and place third in the 'R' class. It was a tough race.

It's the works SCCN team Nissan Fairlady 240ZR, shared by SCCN works team drivers Masahiro HASEMI and Kazuyoshi HOSHINO in the 1973 Fuji 1000km race, held on 29th July. Nissan's SCCN works team had entered three cars in the race; two 240ZRs and an 'experimental' modified 240Z (testing new parts for long-distance racing), all in the 'R' class. The two 240ZRs were running bored-up, crossflow headed LY24s on ECGI injection and the other car was running an FIA 'Safari' non-crossflow head, also on ECGI injection. The race was badly affected by typhoon conditions, with HASEMI and HOSHINO crashing out after contact with another car after only 24 laps. The sister 240ZR, shared by Kunimitsu TAKAHASHI and Kenji TOHIRA, crashed out on the 57th lap, but the third SCCN 'experimental' car, shared by Seiichi SUZUKI and Yasunori TOSHIMORI, finished 7th overall and third in the 'R' class.

A far as I can tell there's no offset in the hold-down pressing, so the top of the T-handle sits in the same position whether the hold-down pressing is high side up or high side down.

Great photos Mike, and I think they bring up an interesting question regarding the orientation of the hold-down. Which way is 'UP'? Many, many times I see the hold-down facing DOWN. That is, with the pressed-out shape of the hold-down facing down and IN the spare wheel rather than facing UP and sticking out of the spare wheel. The T-handle can be used either way, but the (correct?) orientation of the octopus dot-grip side of the rubber would seem to suggest that it is intended to grip the spare wheel. If the dot-grip is facing fresh air then what function is it performing? Nissan themselves seem to have been confused by this. I see both orientations in various factory documentation. For example: ...which I think is the correct orientation. The temptation is to fit the pressed-out shape of the hold-down into the centre of the spare wheel, and it seems to make sense, but I think it was not actually designed to work that way. I believe they dropped the rubber cover for the T-handle quite soon into production.

There's more than one set of factory spring rates for the '240', let alone anything else. '240' doesn't mean just one thing... As Jason has pointed out, it would be interesting to see some of the budget end of the market damper units put on a shock dyno. You almost never see any discussion of bump/rebound ratings, knee-points and etc in relation to them. The suspicion is that they are generically-valved with little real attention paid to final application. At least some of them were originally aimed at models with semi-trailing arm rear suspension.

The retainer has (had) a rubber ring around it, smooth on the upper side and dot-gripped (octopus-like) on the underneath. The T-handle should have a rubber cover on it too, but they rarely survive...

We are going round in circles now. The grip on your steering wheel is simply deteriorated, that's all. I don't think it's a question of quality. I've seen Izumi steering wheels where the grip has pretty much turned to mush and dust with the ravages of time, UV, humidity, sweat and biological attack. They can have a hard life...

Izumi made (real) wood, composite wood, 'leather-look' Urethane and (real) leather-rimmed steering wheels. Yours is - like the one on my KPGC10 - the moulded Urethane 'leather look' type, with stitch detail.

Judging by your photos, there's nothing 'missing' from your steering wheel. The covering with the moulded-in faux stitching is the original 'leather look' surface finish. I have an Izumi with a similar faux leather finish (it has become sun-bleached and faded) on my KPGC10. Not a very good photo, but you can see the moulded-in stitch detail:

Yes, but this is the opposite to that. Any Italian-made steering wheel - and especially a Nardi - imported into Japan in the 1970/80s would be considered premium product. Slapping a 'Japan' sticker on it would not increase value or desirability in Japan, quite apart from it not representing true country of origin. I think the 'Japan' sticker is a true reflection of origin, added to comply with laws in the country of sale.

I think the wheel in question was made by Izumi, the same manufacturer as the stock steering wheels in many Nissans, including the S30-series Zs. Izumi manufactured their own line of steering wheels to sell as aftermarket accessories. As well as the wood composite wheels used on the early Zs, they made real Leather and Leather-look steering wheels. The Leather-look versions featured moulded-in stitch details to make them look more like hand sewn leather. Izumi used this method on the Nissan Sports Option 'Datsun Compe' steering wheels. OP, I think your wheel is the one on the right here:

I can't think of any reason for someone (presumably in Japan...) to put a 'Japan' sticker on an Italian steering wheel, let alone a Nardi.

I think you're being a bit too harsh here. All's fair in love, war and car sales. It's difficult to get a gauge on what something's worth without blowing its cover and alerting the wider market to it. He was walking a tightrope there.

I would date 'S30-09435' as being around February/March/April 1972 production date. Looks like a good honest car to me. Hard to tell from the photos whether it is an S30-S Fairlady Z 'Standard' model or an S30 Fairlady Z-L 'Deluxe' model, although the non-trimmed 'Standard' bumpers might be a clue. It is also wearing the 'Deluxe' hubcaps so perhaps it is an example of a Standard model with a few extra option boxes ticked, or later Deluxe additions? If it has a 4-speed transmission it's probably a Standard model. This car might well be of interest to United Kingdom-based buyers. I will spread the word. There's also a Facebook group for USA-based Fairlady Z owners which would I am sure be interested in it. GLWS!

(my bold) If you'd really prefer LHD, I can't see you valuing the RHD properly, let alone the seller. Maybe it's not the car for you? Some RHD-specific and Japanese market-specific parts are far harder to source than the equivalent LHD parts, and if you were to find that too annoying then maybe your heart would not be in the car? My ha'penny worth: On a global scale, and comparing like-for-like in condition and level of modification/originality, a 1972 Fairlady Z or Z-L is going to be something like 20% to 30% more valuable than a 1972 HLS30U Datsun 240Z. A 1972 Fairlady 240Z or Fairlady 240Z-L maybe 30% plus, and a genuine 1972 Fairlady 240ZG maybe 60% to 70% up on the HLS30U. If the cars were in Japan, even more so. I own a few of these cars, have been watching the global market for 30+ years and I think I have a pretty good handle on what's what at the moment. I have seen USA-based marque and model 'gurus' and 'experts' talking down the Japanese market models for many years, but mostly they are talking out of their hats and know next to nothing about the cars themselves, let alone the global market situation. Having said that, it's a case-by-case situation. Less than ideal location and somewhat under-the-radar selling will not help the car to achieve its maximum potential. Put it in front of the right people in the right place, get a few facts straightened out and it could do well. This could be to your advantage. If you play your cards right you could buy the car for much less than it would achieve elsewhere on another day. If you can effectively 'snipe' it, you could probably move it on for more than you end up paying for it if you found it hard to live with. If you have any Fairlady Z-specific questions (specs, equipment, originality etc etc) I would be happy to try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Good point. I have a vague memory that you can switch them around 180 degrees on the mount. The driver's side has the little card pockets, of course.

Black no problem, but Beige/Butterscotch? I don't ever recall seeing a proper UK market 240Z with an interior colourway other than black. They would have been hugely in the minority in-period, and just about nonexistent now...

If you're truly interested, you might have some reading-up to do. The L20 six was the first of Nissan's L-series engines, dating back to late 1964. The updated L20A six (given that 'A' suffix to differentiate it from the L20B four that was then being planned) was fitted to several Nissan models including the Japanese market S30-series Z from 1969 through 1978. Japan got the option of L24-engined Zs from late 1971 through to the end of 1973, and the S20 24 valve twin cam six from 1969 through 1973, but the L20A and superseding L20AE were the staple Japanese market engines for the S30/S31 models. L20A/L20AE bore and stroke was 78mm x 69.7mm.

Not at all, actually. The L20 six was the first *real* engine that the S30-series Z project was conceived with. It existed way before the L24, so nobody 'made it smaller'...

I think that vinyl roof needs stronger adhesive...

Personally I'd go for The Real Thing when it comes to brake parts, and fit genuine Sumitomo MK63 pads. However, there's an OEM Ford fitment that uses a similarly shaped pad to the solid rotor MK63, and they will work with a little modification. I don't know what your local market part number will be, but there's a Ferodo-branded DS2500 compound reference part number of FCP167H. Maybe you can cross-reference?

'S30-01036' - as an early 1970-build 'S30' model 'Fairlady Z-L', would have been fitted with an L20A engine, FS5C71-A 5-speed overdrive transmission and 3.9:1 ratio R180 differential. The remaining - splined - back half of the propshaft seen in the photos appears to be correct for the original 2-piece, sliding spline-jointed propshaft with flanged U/Js at both ends that would have been factory spec for this car:

I'd say that your ad needs more detail description on the Fairlady Z-L (and more detail photos) to be more effective. You'll attract an awful lot of time-wasters and dreamers unless you give them a reality check, and the kind of people who might well take it on as a realistic project will be needing more to go on too. The situation regarding (possibly important to certain buyers....) key missing parts is not ideal. I'm sure you realise that, but if there's anything that can be done about it I'd be trying to settle the issue before sale if I were you. In the previous thread, I asked whether the original firewall-engraved chassis number was present and correct. The answer will be one of several key points for what I would class as 'serious' potential buyers.

(inextricably) Related thread: