HS30-H

This is a very good point. 'Concours' competition is not really my bag ( although I enjoy the show ) but I've displayed some of my cars in various shows over the years and have often found that people who would otherwise be called 'experts' in the automotive field - including some very respected journalists - haven't got the faintest clue when it comes to most old Japanese cars. And when it comes to the Japanese cars that many Japanese enthusiasts would rank towards the top of the pile, the non-Japanese often have never even heard of them. I showed my 1971 KPGC10 Skyline GT-R at the Goodwood Revival Meeting ( on Nissan's stand ) for two years running, and it was a fascinating experience. I think you could safely say that the Goodwood Revival can be ranked as one of the best events in the old car world, and it is attended by many of the world's experts and arch enthusiasts. And yet very very few of the people looking at the car had any idea what it was they were looking at. There were - of course - a very small minority who knew what it was and were most enthusiastic about it, but many of those people also said that they'd never actually seen one in the metal before. Most of their experience of the KPGC10 had been from the internet, and/or from magazines. That's understandable when you consider that there are so few of them outside Japan. It was interesting to converse with some of the people who had never even heard of the KPGC10 before. Many of them had no idea that Nissan's 'GT-R' emblem dates back to 1969, and had a rich racing heritage and a comparatively blue bloodline. Some of them dismissed it out of hand, and some of them insisted ( as is so often the case with old Japanese cars ) in trying to find any design detail or engineering that they could point to as a "copy" of something else. It was almost as though they wanted to explain it away, and therefore not have to deal with it. For some car enthusiasts, to start looking into the old Japanese car world is to take a peep into the abyss. The more you look into it, the more bottomless it starts to look. It's all a little frightening for them, and therefore it's better for them to keep a lid on it. xs10shl, I don't know how any of your cars could be properly judged in a USA-based concours event? What concours judge is going to know more than you about a KPGC10, KPGC110 or PS30? Even if you entered your PS30 into an S30 series-only class at a Z specialist event, who is going to know enough about that specific model to pick out what's 'factory correct' and what isn't? That may well be your impression, but I'd question what it is exactly that you class as "success"? If we are talking about now-classic cars, it's more likely that sales in terms of overall volume were achieved in the Japanese market. Japan was always the biggest single market for Japanese cars during the period that applies. If you judge "success" in terms of styling, engineering and dynamic excellence, then it's arguable that the very best that Japan had to offer - the kind of car that many concours competitions are populated with - were either exported in very limited volume, or not exported at all. That's certainly the case with the cars that are most sought after these days, and those that are changing hands for the greatest amounts of money....

And here's an original set of works KS Rally wheels in use today ( OK, two days ago ) at the Press Preview day for the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed:

I did. OK maybe I didn't exactly pay $5k as I bought them some time ago now, but the point's the same; I'd do it again. They are special. They are also immensely strong. I had mine X-rayed, crack tested and re-chromated. Maybe you think the owner should be crack tested, but I say it's OK if you don't understand: You can enjoy your car without spending this kind of money in just the way that a collectable vintage wristwatch will tell the same time as a Casio G-Shock. Nothing wrong with a a G-Shock... Remember these are wheels made for rallying. They were fitted to cars that won the E.A. Safari Rally twice ( 1971 and 1973 ) and as long as you make sure that they are in good condition - it's a case-by-case thing - they are fine. They are still being used on historic rally cars today, so they are still a practical proposition. They are not actually all that expensive if you compare them like-for-like with other rare automotive collectibles, as 26th-Z pointed out. If you think they are expensive for what they are, then you'll choke all the more on the thought of a $3.5k steering wheel ( I kid you not! )... Here's my little bit of madness:

It's hard to beat the pedigree of the Kobe Seiko manufactured Nissan works 'Rally' wheels in terms of relevance to the S30-series Z. Designed by Nissan staff expressly for competition use, manufactured by a company with a long history in magnesium wheel manufacture ( they were making them during the Pacific War period for Japanese imperial army and navy aircraft ) and quite likely the very first competition wheel used in anger by an S30-series Z. I have a main undercarriage wheel from a Ki-43 Nakajima 'Hayabusa' in my collection, and it's fascinating to think that this piece of war materiel was manufactured by the same company which cast and machined the wheels on my 432R replica project car some 30 years later. The KS 'Rally' wheels were never sold to the general public. If you own a set, then you own something that was almost certainly used in period by Nissan's works rally team on a works rally Z. You own a piece of Z competition history. Well done Filipe. Well done buyer. I know they are going to a good home. Cheers, Alan T.

Country of origin was always Japan...

Don't think the Australian market cars had the evaporation tanks... North American market only, as far as I'm aware.

The 'M.A.G.' / Mill Accessory Group wheels are a classic case of re-branded Dunlop designed / Dunlop manufactured wheels. The Mill Accessory Group company was actually a merger of several other aftermarket car accessory suppliers, one of which was Paddy Hopkirk.

The front and rear spoilers were part of the 'Euro' ( and UK ) specification from the factory. There might have been the odd exception, or some 'parallel import' cars that did not match the factory spec 100%, but exceptions are just that - exceptions. There were certainly some minor differences between 'Euro' specs. The 'Entreposto' imported Portuguese 240Zs were a notable example. On the car in your original picture, the mudflaps, the extra lamps on the front, the mudflaps, the gear knob and floor mats all appear to be non-factory parts, and were probably local dealer supplied / installed.

I'm pretty sure the 'Moto-Lita' wheels were just a licensed re-branding of the Dunlop D4. At that time, Dunlop were making ( as in casting / forging ) a lot of wheels for other companies in the UK. It's quite possible that the 'Moto-Lita' wheels ( 'Moto-Lita' was actually more famous as a steering wheel manufacturer ) were just Dunlop D4s with different centre caps. Here are some links to info about Dunlop alloy wheels from a couple of marque specialist sites: http://www.sporting-reliants.com/wheel_guide.htm http://www.imps4ever.info/tech/wheels/index.html

It might be a good idea to take a couple or three shims of different thicknesses to 'stack' as necessary. There might be some variation on steel wheel clearance, depending on what wheel you take. Don't forget to take some stock - open-ended - M12 x 1.25 wheel nuts too. The closed end ( Watanabe? ) wheel nuts might not work with a steel wheel. Good luck with the journey home! Cheers, Alan T.

Jogged my own memory, and dug out the JAF/FIA homologation papers for the KPGC10. Nissan went to the trouble of homologating the spacers for race use. There were actually three thicknesses available: 2mm, 5mm & 10mm. As you might be able to see from the photo on the homologation papers, they even went to the trouble of stamping the Nissan 'hamburger' into each piece to denote authenticity. Centre bore was 77mm to clear the hub. Are you going to be using stock steel wheels on the car ( occasionally? ), or is this more about carrying a spare wheel that will fit over the calipers? Forum won't allow me to upload images at the moment ( ??? ), so here's the page on Imageshack:

Eric, I have vented type MK63s on the front of my KPGC10, and I think you might find that a slim spacer is needed if you want to bolt a stock steel wheel over them. Most alloy wheels - even 14" diameter - will fit over them. They have to be wheels with a really thick rim, or a very weird offset, to foul the calipers. Nissan made a special alloy shim spacer for just this purpose, and listed it in the Sports Options parts lists for the PGC10 and KPGC10. Part number was SPACER WHEEL 40209-A0220. It was just a very simple shim spacer, about 3mm thick, that slipped over the wheel studs on the hub and was sandwiched between the wheel and the hub. The kind of thing you can still pick up from a wheel specialist today.

As far as I am aware, the Nissan Shatai production data only differentiates between 'Domestic' and 'Export'. Therefore it does not differentiate between how many HS30s and HLS30s were made in any particular month, or indeed exactly how many of those HLS30s were North American market models. Ha ha. I see what you did there..... Would be nice of you to quote your source on zhome.com. Or is that part of that latest 'update'? By the way, they were production records, not schedules. Results, not predictions.

"Not entirely exact". I like that. Reminds me of Evelyn Waugh's character Mr Salter replying to Lord Copper. "So Salter, Yokohama is the capital of Japan - yes?". "Up to a point, Lord Copper...". You don't think they have a purpose, or you just don't know? Thing is, they've been talking about this in Japan for years now. It's not an American thing, it's not a European thing. It's most definitely not a British thing ( nimwits over here taunt GT-R owners about their "Datsun". It's seen as a pejorative ). It's about "emerging markets". Now that they've remembered that they were Nissan all along, they are diving into the dressing-up chest and popping up as 'Infiniti' and 'Datsun' to cater for different sectors. It's just going to lead to more confusion if it's not handled properly. It's already looking a little muddled...

Enough of this nonsense, please. Nissan didn't - couldn't - 'merge' with Datsun. 'Datsun' was merely a badge, an emblem, on Nissan products. I still see people writing that "Datsun did.." this, that "Datsun made.." that. It was always Nissan that did, Nissan that made. 'Datsun' was a flag of convenience for all the time that made any difference. The 'Nissan' name, used on war materiel all too fresh in the minds of some, was seen as the potential post-war embarrassment. But if anything, it was the inconsistent use of the 'Datsun' brand and the confusion caused after the decision to ( partially... ) drop it that caused the embarrassment. And now people still don't understand. The decision to bring the 'Datsun' brand back for some export markets is for entirely different reasons than it was used in export markets in the first place. There's no direct connection. It would have made more sense to use the correct Nissan branding from the beginning, or - once the decision had been made to use the 'Datsun' branding for exports ( and - confusingly - just some domestic models ) - to stick with it. In my opinion both a mistake to use it in the first place, and to drop it. And now - let's see how it pans out - a lot of confusion and time spent explaining - now that it's coming back for it's slight return. One has to wonder whether the people planning all this could successfully arrange a wizz-up in a brewery...

The wheels on the car in the magazine feature are aftermarket. They are British-made Dunlop alloy wheels, the same as those fitted as standard equipment on Reliant Scimitars of the period. There are lots of small detail non standard modifications to that particular car, but the front and rear spoilers were standard equipment. I've got some original European market brochures. I'll have to scan some of them for you.

Sadly it's not the super-rare option 48400-E4100 leather steering wheel ( not to be confused with the Sports Option 'Datsun Compe', which had a 'leather look' moulded urethane rim ). It's just the stock wood composite wheel with a loose leather cover stitched around it. Horn push 'Z' is the correct blue-painted version - correct for this model. The wheel should be less dish ( ie flatter ) than the Export steering wheels. Steering wheel re-trim probably done by the same outfit which recovered the door panels? Mid January to early February 1971 build date I reckon. Quite a nice car. Many of the mods could still be reversed.

Missing from those results is the no.15 car of Kunimitsu TAKAHASHI and Kenji TOHIRA - a Nissan 'works' 240ZG ( 240ZR ), running in Group 5 - which came in 4th Overall. BGM: I've mentioned to you before that you really need to quote your sources, otherwise it looks like you put the cine film up on YouTube, and you wrote the text underneath it.

That would be 'HLS30-03547' I think..... Tricky things these numbers...

Welcome Mr H, and thanks for your book. That would be HLS30-003547 I think. I'm available for proofreading duties if you publish again.... ;-)

It's a bit of a stretch to link the 'Rebuilding Act' directly to 'our' cars, and it certainly wasn't Yutaka Katayama's job to "come up with the funding" for any of our cars either. It was his job to sell them.

Rick, Let's not forget 'The 8th That Came Before The 7th': http://vintageaeroplanewriter.blogspot.com/2009/12/remember-8th-that-came-before-7th.html

Probably, but they wouldn't be replated like the pieces in the above photos. They'll be either 'as-is' used ( original plating dead ), or NOS. Are you sure you really need them? Postage is not cheap.... Travis, I have sent you a total price inc. Global Priority postage. I will only post with a tracked service, and never 'surface' / economy mail. Cheers, Alan T.

Travis, I have picked out a hood / bonnet latch 3pc set for you. Please see the attached photos. I have not picked out a cable, mount bracket and pull handle because I believe you can use locally-sourced LHD items to save you money. Cheers, Alan T.

Travis, I tried to reply to your PM, and this is the autoreply I got: "74FAIRLADYZ has chosen not to receive private messages or may not be allowed to receive private messages. Therefore you may not send your message to him/her." My message was that the only RHD-specific parts you need are the male and female parts of the latch ( the female part bolts to the step bracket on the firewall, and the male part bolts to the bonnet / hood. For 1974 the inner & outer cable, bracket and pull handle are common between RHD & LHD, so you could save money by sourcing them more locally. I have spare male & female latch sections, and will collect them from my storage place tomorrow. I can give you a price inc. postage then, but in the meantime please adjust your Preferences so that you can receivd PMs on this forum. Cheers, Alan T.