Sean Dezart

"Did Nissan think it was not important enough to make both LHD and RHD handbrake positions and their appropriate consoles? " Money Alan, just money !

If you are talking about just using the turbo engine (without the turbo), write to Dave Jarmen of DJ Road and Race: david.jarman@bt.com He's building me an engine and I've seen the rolling road print outs of similar spec engines and it's not far from 300 bhp ! Photo (I hope) enclosed !

Thanks for the advice ES. That way, Fred will be able to follow me that much easier ! Still no pussys here ?

You want cats - go check out a Jag club site !

Dry Alan ? Don't change - you entertain me enough on circuits ! Anyway, if you want to wet it down - come over for a Club Zen weekend and help us promote these cars to the French ! I never found the handbrake to "get in my way" in a RHD car and I aint lookin' forward to driving LHD and leaning over to pull a tendon to apply and release the brake ! I for one stand up to be counted and say - the Z was built as it was to be a multi market car (certainly in terms of interior size and equipment levels) ! I agree Alan that it was as much coincidence that there existed other RHD markets. The Japanese domestic cars were not inferior, they were tailor made for their market (eg car tax over 2000cc), windier roads (sporty diff and anti roll bars). Remember that the Japanese are experts at cornering Niche markets ! Finally, the Zs were not designed exclusively for the States. That you guys received lower equipment levels (perhaps in part due to you had the cars at the beginning early evolutive stages) jsut proves that your dometic manufacturers couldn't compete and the european imports were either overpriced or couldn't match the poor (by other market standards) levels of equipment / performance ! You all basically took what was offered and the marketing was so good (hats off to Mr K and also the racing programmes) that it sold !

Jaguars also had this 'umbrella' type of handbrake but there was no specific pedal to operate it - one simply depressed the brake pedal, pulled on the lever and turned it to engage the handbrake ! If there was an effect on the UK car market from the importation of Japanese cars, it might possibly have been the installing of more extras such as a heated rear screen, a heater, a radio and eventually - an electric ariel !

Alan, I just got hit by all the other (RHD) responses and something you said made me react. Here in France, the French manufacturers loads their export cars with extras sometimes never seen on domestic models or, at the least are costly extras. Can't we assume that Nissan did the same with the Z ? Rather than quote the ZL and other models as models made cheaper for the Japanese market (because of the tax cutoffs?), shouldn't we be saying that the export markets got the top of the range domestic model (432 excepted - is that synthetic or mineral oil change?) ? Big mistake not to have at least exported a limited number of Skylines to each country and let the motoring journalists have a go. This dreary Datsun image would have been shortlived ! Fred, if you speak nicely to Steve, he'll sell you his 200 brake 1983 Skyline !

Alan, Your (mass) debates are dry but informative - especially to the owners who've accepted 'that's what I've got - it sold by the thousands so it must be right (even if it does give me a frozen shoulder every time I want to hang a sharp turn) '. Personally, my favourite way of taking a sharp turn was to point the front wheels more or less in the direction desired then squirt the gas - she's such a lovely car to drive and you always know what's happening. I've been out in her in the snow - yes, sacriledge but, dammit, it's such fun and the car will wheel spin in a STRIAGHT line, no fish-tailing ! I want to pose a question though, being a new to LHD zedding, has anyone tried to mount the handbrake on the drivers side - how much work is involved ? No purist thought please, the car is already well past the original concours stage ! Over to you, fifth columnist !

2manyZs, your anecdote on your girlfriends' legs reminds me of a poll I once read: 100 mem were questioned on thier preferences, 22 % said they liked short legs and 33 % long legs - the rest preferred something in between ! I never understood why you staters call it an emergency brake - what are you going to do in an emergency , pull it up and spin off the road ? In all the TV programmes and films, I always see the cars rock forward as the driver sticks it in gear or 'park' where the locking bolts slide across into the transmission / wheels or whatever ! I also am disappointed that I can't cruise comfortably with my arm outa the window. I nearly always drove with the window open to hear the exhaust - even in the rain 'cos with the guttering, rain hardly ever came in ! Another pleasure is that (and it's been a while since I drove a Z) I don't remember a blind spot with the 'A' pillar. In fact I always found the all-round visibility to be excellent, even when driving my RHD in France for example. Alan, you 'agent provocateur' you, there is no right or wrong side, they built it like that and that's that. Someone obviously asked "which side should it be put on ?" And we all know the answer ! But reading the replies, as it is high on the tranny tunnel, and it is less of a struggle to let off the high handbrake when it's closer, maybe that plus the fact that the domestic market drives on the rhd side.... After all, cars made by a native company are usually made to conform to the domestic market first before exports !

Thanks Alan - so these were put on by the French authorities at port entry or perhaps by Nissan under State control ? I'd like to reply privately to your last question but your private message box is full and I can't find your email address sakit..... You can't be in the UK at the moment, or perhaps you sleep less than me ! Cheers

Hi Zedrally, I've done the same and I am very surprised that no-one has OR CAN answer my question. Anyone ? Alan...?

I have a French 240Z. The chassis number stamped on the bulkhead is X HLS 30-132376 X The little plate on the suspension leg under the bonnet also reads X HLS 30-132376 X. The two Xs and 132376 are stamped ! I've never seen these Xs before - were they factory alignment marks for the stamping machine or what ? Was it a left hand drive thing ? My UK 240Z didn't have them It's not stressing me out but I am curious...

No no no guys ! Colt was to Mitsubishi what Datsun was to Nissan ! The Colt Starion alledgedly got its name from an executive who mispelt what he had mishread ! Stallion / Starion ! And if you want piccies, you'll have to look at the JAE website (somewhere) - http://www.japcarclub.com/jae/forums/

Careful Alfadog I'm 38 and I am aware that younger people and most think that Datsun sold 'jap-crap' but Austin and Fiat did the same, used the mass produced parts to subsidise the sportscar development and they all rusted like ours. The difference was that Datsun developed a modern car, fully equiped al followed it up with a planned, supported and very successful race program where it counted - the biggest car market in the world - the USA. And the name change wasn't announced very loudly ! I always take pleasure in saying I have an old Datsun - I don't even say 240Z and just pull out a photo when they start sassing me ! Hey Coastie, do you remember the Colt Stallion - oh the Japanese with their 'R's and 'L' s !

Hi Rolf Yes it is worrying that the only vehicle to still carry the Datsun name is a pick-up ! Still in Thailand last year I saw a Nissan badged coach which was in a sad state so maybe nothing to lose - the Nissan name is fairly boring now unless you only look at Skylines and the 350Z which we don't see at all here in France ! I got the fender protectors - thanks. Haven't yet got the car to fit 'em onto - that's coming in July !

Hey 260Z - I'm not going to challenge your translation but I seriously doubt that Son was changed to Sun in order to use the 'rising sun' image. Alan could perhaps confirm this but that image was the facist emblem of the military controlled government at the time and could be compared with the German swastika ! The image was supposed to reflect the Japans nations' blossoming new empire - a new dawn ! Incidentally, I like the threads I have read recently speculating that Nissan would use the Datsun name for their competition dept/sportscars.

Hi Katz and a happy new year to you ! Datsun was well though of, even if people didn't like their domestic industries suffering from the imports but then again, no-one put a gun to peoples heads in order to sell them - they sold themselves. However, the point I'm getting to is that not everyone is clear as to what happened to Datsun - check out this wegb page which states that Datsun was bought by Nissan ! I haven't worked out what the site is yet but it is disappointing mis-information from Japan fans !

Hi intense04, Thanks for the advice but check out their quote !

HI jeff and thanks for the reply Indeed the temp sender was sending incorrect info. He had replaced the old (faulty) sender with another he had recovered from another similar car. The 'new' one was adjustable and was adjusted to low. Under advice he has re-adjusted it, run a couple of test drives, fine tuned the adjustment and volia ! Thanks again Sean

Most of the true Datsun lovers were more concerned that the Nissan being brought here were becoming less the simple, affordable, quality cars that we were used to and that they were becoming something that followed along with what everyone else was doing at the time. by 2manyzs ! The situation in France (if people allow me to speak on their behalf) is that thier is no image left at all. No interesting cars, just Primeras, Altinos, Micras, and of course the 4x4s ! A very bland line up which they try to groups together with the new front air intake/descending bonnet. I hope with all the world that Nissan and in particuler Europe push to have something that people will appreciate even if it is out of most peoples buget. Of course, better still if they brought out a new fairlady roadster, cheaper and less powerful than the 350Z. Honda, Toyota, Subaru, Mitsubishi all produce AND MARKET thier sports cars here ! I hope Renaults' sporting success gives them the confidence to try the same thing. Datsuns were well known here and in the main very appreciated even though ownership went against the grain of De Gaulle inspired national pride. Alan, do you remember the image and bigotry we fought against in the early '90s until the Skyline arrived and was road tested ?

Probably just likes winning...!

Hi Nate, Things here are cold, damned cold at 1.6 degrees and a biting north wind but at least it's not raining like in the south ! Yeah, Datsun by Nissan, makes you wonder why they wanted to change the name - it couldn't have been shame over the Datsun name or they wouldn't have mentioned it. Supports Katz' theory of the Nissan name being unknown ! Certainly since Datsun became Nissan, the image has moved upmarket. Don't you think that the Skyline suffered the same problem as the 510 ? Unknown and therefore unappreciated despite some phenominal racing successes. Also the same fate as the Z (in the UK) when dominating other cars surprisingly, the competition claims it isn't possible witout cheating or the rules are changed as per Bathurst in Aussieland !

Gee Katz, you have opened a bag of tricks here and so interesting. It's been too long since I drove my RHD 240 and I'm still waiting for my 'new' LHD but I know I prefer to pull towards third gear rather than push it away. How many other cars have the indicator stalk on the left hand side of the steering wheel - it always provoked questions from people when they poked thier noses through the window at shows ? Also, doesn't one year of 280ZX manufacture have an emblem on the rear hatch saying Datsun by Nissan ? I have never seen a 510 and they are not appreciated in Europe 'cos they're not known. I agree with all the other comments that the Datsun name was tarnished by a (economically obliged) abundance of the smaller and overall less interesting cars imported. But even that could have been pushed into the background by a supported race program and all the technology was there in Japan and the States. Whose idea was it to franchise the sales of Datsuns in the UK ? What a disaster, Datsun UK has a lot to answer for, all the records destroyed, new parts skipped when the franchise was ended... In a way, I like being (correction LOVE being) in the minority who support these cars. Someone said today to me, I'm surprised that you like these cars if they are so difficult to find in good condition ! I replied that's why ! Sure, here Toyotas are more well known but even the GT with LSD is a death-trap in the wet, S800s are there too but we've got the real cars and they're rarer than all that British crap and Italian show-off stuff. Rarer too than Porches and Ferraris even if some people ask if it is a Ford Capri - I turn away in disgust !