HS30-H

Yes, December 1969 production-dating QC stamps, and the top number will usually signify the day of the month. Many Japanese companies used a similar QC dating system in that period. In the case of the door catch mechanisms on these cars, they were usually made for Nissan by OHI SEISAKUSHO Co. Ltd. in Yokohama.

PRC

I don't think it's a secret... I was just pointing out that he doesn't physically make them himself. Hence his business will be subject to the slings and arrows that the last few years have brought us all, and - in particular - China's current (re)surge in Covid-19 cases and their rather draconian measures to contain it will have consequences. For example Shanghai, a city of 25 million+ people, has been in lockdown for the past month. This when many other countries and territories have been opening up. There's a domino effect for businesses manufacturing in PRC so communication, manufacturing, shipping (in particular) and distribution will all be negatively affected.

They are made in China.

Banter is one thing, but the data I'm talking about is being presented as historical fact by somebody who clearly understands that it is nothing of the sort.

Another comment on a BaT auction which attempts to re-write history. Why do this? First of all, what is the point in decanting out the '240Z' variants from a timeline which includes the other S30-series Z/'270 Keisha' variants? Is this not - once again - an attempt to make the '240Z' (whatever that is...) some kind of KING? "Regular production chassis serial numbers"? The cars in question were 'Kojo Shisaku' and 'Seisan Shisaku' examples (by definition Prototypes rather than regular production cars), and we have discussed them at length on this forum in the past after Kats showed us the confidential factory documents which listed them. Out of those first fourteen 'Kojo Shisaku'(factory prototype) and 'Seisan Shisaku' (production prototype) cars - the first fourteen cars to be given a unique chassis prefix and body serial number combination - just three of them were 'HL270U' HLS30-prefixed cars. One was an 'H270U' HS30-prefixed car, Four were 'P270' PS30-prefixed and six were '270' S30-prefixed. So what is all this "#1, #2 and #3" stuff? It is nonsense, isn't it? Why is the history of these cars so consistently misreported and misrepresented by people who should (and do) know better?

The car has been dormant for many years according to the description, so not surprising really. Looks like a car with great potential. Hope it finds a worthy new owner.

I am imagining Tamura san agreeing with you. 'Sharp', like freshly-ironed creases in fabric.

I particularly enjoyed this shot from HLS30-03386 on BAT. The almost vertical handbrake/e-brake lever. It takes some effort - maybe even a double-jointed elbow - to get that there, not to mention some sleepy rear brake mechanisms...

Most commonly seen on taxis, as I recall....!

I'm a month short of 22 years. If I had committed pre-meditated murder I would have been out on parole after 15 years...

I just spent some time looking at close-ups from the Holiday Auto magazine photos you showed (thanks!) and comparing them with the other photos of the car I have collected over the years. And now I think you are right. I finally only see THREE screws. I am surprised... Maybe I just kept seeing four because I was expecting to see four? It seems I was seeing reflections in the chrome? But I cannot imagine - having fitted, traded and sold several sets of these covers over the years - that three screws would ever be adequate, because of the shape of the covers. I would not expect them to cinch down close to the headlamp housing, or to seal properly. The car on the show stand looked wonderful of course, but it probably had a lot of fettling and finessing when it came to the lamp cover fit? Thanks Kats. Every day a school day.

I'm convinced I can see four.

That's a good question, Ian. I'm familiar with some of the project codes for the early to mid 60s period (such as the B680X) but I don't know much about the later ones and I wonder if there was some kind of re-arrangement or restructuring after the Nissan and Prince merger? I would imagine some kind of change being necessary, so I wonder if new project code systems were included in anything of that nature? Something to look into for sure.

Very rare document. Fantastic!

Judging on past performance, if it *did* get added to Zhome.com it would probably have a heavy amount of spin added to it - whether intentional or unintentional - to support a natural bias that is at once both unscientific and unscholarly. But the real tragedy of Zhome.com is that it amounts to 'Friendly Fire'. I still don't really understand why the concept of the S30-series Z 'family' of variants - at concept, then through design, engineering and production, and all of them influencing each other in one way or another - is so controversial, let alone abhorrent? This is not some kind of 'woke' re-writing of history, it is documented and demonstrable fact from the very top. But then, this is the mindset: ...and those quotes are all from discussions on this very forum, classiczcars.com Turtles. Turtles all the way down...

Second resistor was sited up on the firewall, kind of hiding behind the washer bottle. If your car is missing it then I presume it was part of the switch to aftermarket CDI system over the factory (Mitsubishi) igniter unit? Here's a scan of the same section of the schematic from the 1969 factory manual, which should be more appropriate for your early 1970 car. Pin #1 on the CDI Igniter is different:

In the S30-series, basically everywhere except North America. However, North America got a version of that transmission for a short period in the SR311/SRL311 Roadster. That's why the Roadster specialists are usually a good source for spare parts.

Thank you! That's very kind. However, that's pretty much the same type of fastener I have found local to me. They are not quite the same as the chromed JIS items, which have a far narrower 'cross', and that delightful JIS dot on the crown. There is at least one supplier in Japan with very good replicas of the OEM screws, but they are expensive. I was hoping to find an inexpensive local supply, but so far no luck.

I just want to take a moment to quote this post, and say that the document - marked 'Secret', no less - which Kats obtained and showed us here some years ago, seems somewhat underappreciated. I think it is dynamite. Probably the single most telling piece of official documentation relating to the genesis of these cars I have ever seen. It is, in my opinion, something of a Rosetta Stone... It has it all. Dated 25th June 1969, and with a big 'Hi' stamp (for 'Himitsu'/Secret), it is titled ''270 Kei-sha C/# Dakoku Yōshiki', and it gives us the type designation, purpose, company department destination and actual identity of the first fourteen cars in the project to be given full chassis numbers. First of all, there's no 'Datsun 240Z', 'Fairlady Z', 'Fairlady Z432' etc etc here yet. We know that the project was nicknamed 'Maru Z' (Z in a circle cipher) and was given the internal project number '270 K.K.' ('270 Kaihatsu Kigou'), a glimpse of the terms being used within Nissan just before production. Personally I always wondered where the '240Z' name came from for the Export cars, as it doesn't seem to make much sense ('2400Z' or '2.4Z' might seem odd to us now, but they are certainly more logical) and I am convinced that the '270KK' project code is what actually inspired it. The '240Z' name was a late assignation, after 'Fairlady Z' was rejected for the Export cars. I think the '270' code inspired '240Z' when a name was required at short notice. Secondly, it shows us that - quite logically - 'S30-00001' was the first '270' project chassis to be given a full series identity. 'S30' was the designated series number and the S30-prefixed models of Fairlady Z and Fairlady Z-L were key parts of the family tree. This was how Nissan structured the variants of other models too; a good example would be the C10-series Skyline, where C10 was the series and C10-prefixed models were the building blocks for the structure of other variants in engineering and documentation. Thirdly, and I think this is particularly interesting, the second car to be given a number is described as being an 'HL270' variant. Naturally, with LHD exports being a key part of the whole project, we would expect this to be a North American market type variant. However, that does not seem to be the case. That 'HL270' designation would appear to show it as being a general export LHD variant. So 'HLS30-00001' looks to have been what we might call a 'Euro' LHD type variant. The third car is a 'P270' variant - the 'P' indicating the S20 twin cam engine - and it was given chassis number 'PS30-00001'. Fourth car, first of the 'Ichiji Seishi' cars and destined to be a 'Soko test' car, has an 'HL270U' designation. That 'U' suffix would - according to Nissan's usual habit - indicate a North American market type variant when applied to an 'HLS30' prefixed chassis number. This was 'HLS30-00002'. We then get 'S30-00002', given the designation '270C' (or is that '270L'?). Certainly there's a distinction between this car's designation and the designation of 'S30-00001'. I'm guessing that one is a Z-L (Deluxe) and one is a Z-S (Standard)? That fits with Nissan's modus operandi too. Or does it possibly indicate a factory AirCon car...? Seventh car to be given a number, and the 4th 'Seisan Shisaku' car, is an 'H270U' designated variant. That would mean RHD Export type, and it was 'HS30-00001'. Another 'Soko test' car. So there they are. The first fourteen numbered cars. We are extremely privileged to see a key internal planning document of this type (thank you Kats) and I would say it deserves a thread of its own, and a little more recognition.

I used the same Rivnut technique when installing headlamp covers on my 1970 Fairlady Z-L based 432-R replica project car. I regard the Aluminium Rivnuts as sacrificial (it is easy to strip the threads) as they can be drilled out and replaced fairly easily. I added a little dab of two pack epoxy adhesive to mitigate any risk of spinning. I've found it hard to find the correct screws. The originals were - I believe - what's known as a 'Raised Head' JIS screw with a chrome finish. They are a countersunk design with a slightly domed head which look so much nicer than the common Philips and Pozi types in stainless. I'm still searching for a good supply as I have three cars with headlamp covers and no spare screws...

My point being that E4100 would - normally - precede E4126, right? I think it is easy for us to get slightly lost within terms such as 'early' and 'late', even if they are useful terms. 'Early' doesn't necessarily mean earliest or first, for example. I have to admit that I'm still not convinced that a 'three screw' design ever existed in full production, and the E4100 type certainly seems to have been a four screw design as shown from the hardware count.

Kats, What about the E4100 type? Post #95 here:

If you scroll back up a few posts, you will see that Kats posted photos of some relevant pages from Nissan's 'Service Shuho' booklets, which described all the models available in Japan when published as well as major and minor changes and updates. The H-prefixed Japanese markets are included, and they were sold from the last quarter of 1971 through to the end of 1973 in Japan. HS30-S Fairlady 240Z HS30-D Fairlady 240Z-L HS30-H Fairlady 240ZG