HS30-H

I believe that, after their merger, Nissan had use of the ex-Prince research facilities at Ogikubo, which was linked to Tokyo Daigaku's Aerospace department? I also remember reading that Prince, and subsequently Nissan, had sponsored students in Tōdai's Aerospace department around that period via a bursary scheme. Nissan took over Prince's satellite-launching rocket program, I think? Here are a few stills from one section of the Maru Z Keikaku Suishin Iinkai films. I had believed that this impressive array of research equipment was either part of the full-size Nissan wind tunnel that came on stream in 1969, or was part of the facilities at Ogikubo. We can see both full-size (silver pre-production car?) and scale model research taking place. Maybe the filming even took place at both locations?

I totally get why they would have been going with the 'Blunt' nose name for the more aero-efficient 240ZG front end, following on from NASA's use of the term and their pioneering research which they would have been referencing (yes, I think 'Blant' is just a typical Katakana-linked mistake) but I think it is counter-intuitive. I'm kind of glad that they went with 'Grand' (I have often seen it spelled as 'Grande' in period Nissan documentation) as I think it is an apt descriptor.

Quick question, Kats. Was the thesis connected to the University of Tokyo's department of Aerodynamics and Aeronautics?

Great data Kats. Thank you for posting. About the 'Blunt Nose' vs 'Grande Nose' story: I think there was always a little bit of confusion mixed up with the 'Blunt' nose naming, possibly not helped by Japanese vs English language meanings. 'Blunt' vs 'sharp'. What's the opposite of 'Blunt'? 'Sharp', right? In aero terms, we might easily think that something 'Blunt' does not cut through the air very well. That's how I think of the stock Z front end. It has a big open mouth which resists passing through the air. On the other hand, the 240ZG's front end reduced that big open mouth and channeled air over, under and around it. It cuts through the air more efficiently. So is the 240ZG's nose sharp, or blunt? Confusing, isn't it?! In the end I think it was a good decision not to use the term 'Blunt Nose', even if I can understand the NASA_derived thinking. But still, the term DID make it into some of Nissan's factory documentation:

That sounds rather ominous...

Some holes are too big for No Nonsense foam, so when you fit a complete impact-bumper type rear panel on your 1970 production-dated model you'll just have to put up with some nonsense like this:

These cans are quite large, so you should have enough to do BOTH sides:

More tea, Vicar? After you've welded on those used rear quarters, Frankenstein style. you might find a few unsightly gaps need filling. We have just the product you need! No Nonsense expanding foam fills the space lacking in your integrity as well as in your car...

But if, by some twist of cruel fate, you end up needing to hide some of these small errors of judgement, you can rely on the wonders of modern polyester fillers to get you out of the hole (so to speak...). The same guy who did your welding is pretty good at this sort of stuff. He's pretty handy with the spray gun too. It'll be all but undetectable. Trust me.

Car needs a replacement rear quarter? Well, make sure you follow the old maxim; Measure Once And Cut Twice... Or was it the other way around...? Anyway, make sure to do the same on both sides.

Rubber-bonded Harmonic Dampers get old, the bonding can perish and - worst case scenario - the outer ring makes a bid for freedom. No problem! Just break out the white Tipp-Ex correction fluid and paint some new timing marks on what's left. What can possibly go wrong?!

To follow up on this, here's the above-pictured cooler as it survives today. 50 year gap between photos:

There's a nice - circular, historical - link between the Castrol brand and 'our' cars too, as they were big sponsors on some of the Works rally team cars in period:

Cuba Libre!

Indeed! Great detective work, Kats. I don't know if it is of interest, but the old UK concessionaires 'Datsun UK' recommended Glasurit (German) brand paints for repairs back in the early 1970s. They quoted mix formulas for #903 Blue Metallic in both their 20 and 21 Line paint systems. I would imagine that they must have been quite a close match to the original Nissan paints at the time?

Yes, there were dedicated mount points in the radiator sore support panels. Top mounts required brackets between the (captive nut) mounts and the cooler and bottom mounts bolted straight through the core support. The top mounts have a certain amount of 'spring' built into them, which is most likely designed to give some vibration damping effect? Here's the cooler on my 432-R replica project car:

Nice parts Kats! I'm not sure which is the best way to count the cores? Do you count the sections (cores?) or the joints? I would suggest the sections are the actual cores? I can't remember how many sections are on the two 432-R coolers I've got, but I'll count them. I also have a Works 240Z rally cooler and I count 19 sections (cores?). Here it is in period, still attached to the (heavily crashed) car that it came from, one of the 1973 Monte Carlo Rallye cars, built in 1972:

Also, Nissan very kindly supplied us with orientation clues on the lens itself. If the lamp unit is mounted correctly, the arrow will point to the front of the car and the 'RH' or 'LH' script will be legible and not upside down. RH and LH of these cars is as viewed from the driver's seat. Simple.

It's a later mis-transcription of 'Rim'. 1970 C-187 Japanese market factory parts manual gives: 26182-E4100 RIM-side flasher lamp.

There's a public distribution restriction on it.

PM me your e-mail address and I'll see if I can send a PDF file to you.

Don't take it too literally. 'Blue' passivated Zinc isn't really blue. It's just a handy identifier for the slightly blue-grey hue of what is otherwise known as 'Clear' passivated Zinc. The 'Clear' passivate gives a slightly cold bluish tone to what would otherwise be a very silvery and bright natural Zinc in its un-passivated state.

The main point I was making was with regard to Cadmium. People still talk about 'Cad' plating, but there were no Cadmium-plated parts on these cars. The majority of the 'clear/'blue'/'yellow'/'gold' finish plated parts are Zinc.

22710-N4400 is part of the catalytic converter operating system on later production NAPS (Nissan Anti Pollution System-equipped) Japanese market models:

I'd be interested to hear what process/chemicals the company which re-plated your parts used to put a passivate coating on your zinc-plated parts. If it isn't Hexavalent Chromium, what is it? I think it's just old habits/assumptions dying hard. Yes, Cadmium plating used to be common on auto/moto parts (British motorcycles used to be covered in the stuff), but Nissan - along with most of the other Japanese manufacturers - found alternatives from the 1960s, largely prompted by national health scandals involving Cadmium being leaked into water supplies. There were instances of several other poisons being leaked long term, such as that which caused the Minamata Disease scandal (Methyl Mercury). Really horrible.