daddz

Dan, A friend of mine has a car that is so very close to yours. 240ztt's 240Z has the serial number HLS30-20425 (six units apart from yours!) and it is also a '71 240Z in its original color #901. As for my 08/70 the engine block number is L24-011821 with a valve cover that reads: Nissan 2400 OHC and the chassis number is HLS30-08323. I can't recall the thread but, the seat belts are 07/70 for both passenger side and driver's side and both lap belt and shoulder belt. One of these days I will have to crawl under the dash and get the pedal set numbers as well. BTW, mine is a paint code #901 yet the emissions decal states that it meets 1971 specs.

Mark, Contact the folowing: John Harris at Passport Nissan in Marlow Heights , Maryland at 301-423-6930. They can still be had and the price is approximately $230.00 each. I almost forgot, when you get them be sure to coat the insides with POR-15 or something of that nature to protect against rock chips getting past the fender liner.

Good Lord! It scares to type this because it may take a lifetime to "finish" these: '71 240Z HLS3008323 08/70 --Just lucked into this one and as such it may have to get bumped ahead of some of the later cars in the fleet. This car would have to be classified as stock since some of the "consumables" haven't been consumed (i.e. original dist. cap, etc..) '77 280Z HLS30366531 12/76 --Thanks to 240ztt for finding this car at the entrance to his office complex. This car would also have to be classified as stock. This car doesn't need anything however, in the interest of recondtioning it will have alot of new Nissan parts installed over the next few years. Most interesting thing about this car was finding the invoice from February of 1977 in the owner's manual. '78 280Z HLS30437667 11/77-- This is my avatar car and is in need of everything. It has just had its floors and floor supports (Zedd Findings parts) welded in. I bought this one from the original owner 4 years ago and even though in '95 it had $8,000.00 worth of paint and bodywork completed it has managed to have rust chase it down again. This would definitely not be stock thanks to the wheels and modified suspension etc... '78 280Z HLS30448652 02/78--This is the car that was rescued froma junkyard almost seven years ago and it would also be considered modified thanks to suspension mods and '82 280ZX motor swap. The engine bay has now been sanded and repainted and looks nothing like the pics in my gallery. '78 280Z HLS30456240 04/78--This is what is affectionatley called the "DD" car having been purchased from Datsun Dynamics two years ago. This car would definitely not be considered stock. It has only a paint job and some minor interior work needed to be complete (for now). '81 280ZX 04/81--This car is stock except for its wheels. It will need a few rust spots to be tended to in the next year or two. This car had $17,000.00 lavished on it by owner number three (I am #5 and #2 & #4 are the same person). The records go back to June 4,1981 when it was purchased new at San Diego Datsun. This is a starnge base model 280ZX as it has no power steering, manual windows, European side moldings and rear window wiper delete. It has an older style radio (like the '79/'80) and also doesn't have cruise control nor the 10 function check. '86 300ZX 01/23/86 production date--This car is definitely not stock thanks to the suspension mods and wheels. This being a hardtop 300ZX and one year sepcific bodywork, I have lavished more attention on it than necessary. The list of parts replaced is way too long and continues to grow like bacteria. Good advice for anyone considering purchasing a Z31: don't! The factory parts are becoming difficult to come by and the engine bay is not user friendly. '03 350Z 11/14/02 production date-- This car is defnitiely bone stock and will continue to remain so for many years thanks to the one year only color: Brickyard Red (AX8). The fact that I ordered this as a base model makes it somewhat hard to find as most people wanted a "loaded" 350Z. Currently this one sits in the garage in Florida enjoying its "mothball" status at 23,000 miles since 01/03/03 delivery. (And this is just the Z cars)

MikeW, Thanks for offering to create the database. I have also had trouble submitting information to the Zhome website.

JB, I would agree with the other responses here. That 240Z is way overpriced for what you would be getting in return for your $6500.00. I have learned the hard way...don't be afraid to travel and if that is not an option ask others here that might live close to a prospect and I think you'll find a few members here are more than willing to go and check out a Z for you. Unfortunately since I live in the rust belt like yourself Z cars that have been driven in these areas tend to have alot of rust. Another point is not to be in a big hurry as I have made that mistake as well and lived to regret it later.

I hope you guys are ready here it comes and this is from memory.... Previously owned Z's (some of the parts are still with us in the current fleet..) HLS30426919 09/77 silver HLS30427175 09/77 yellow HLS30431775 10/77 orange HLS30453861 04/78 orange HLS30? '78 pearl white # is at home (originally bronze) HLS30? '76 black but, originally dark brown, POS, # is at home HLS30374001 01/77 blue HLS30299394 01/76 bronze HLS30469662 06/78 (last month of production) originally silver but, maroon when I bought it. Current stock: HLS3008323 08/70 (newest to me but, oldest Z I have) silver HLS30366531 12/76 #611 (Vicky..this is pretty close to yours?) HLS30437661 11/77 #611 (avatar car) ***I found HLS30437667 in Washington state a few years back and it was the same color #611. HLS30448652 02/78 #611 (junkyard car) HLS30456240 04/78 #611 (DD car) HLS30375108 02/77 #611 (my father's car which I owned first) Can you say ridiculous?

Chris, Don't worry about it! (hijack thread since it's directly related) It's a shame that alot of good parts went to the trash bin. texasz, This is the 240Z that I hinted at awhile back when I noticed your production date and serial number. We have to compare notes or at least compare pictures since they are so close. As a side note I spent about 20oz. of Castrol Super Clean and about 5 hours today cleaning the 240Z. All of the door jambs and hatch cavities as well as the engine bay were cleaned carefully so as not to damage any stickers. Also, I scrubbed the wheel wells and the floor boards under the car and all was silver paint! I'll have to jack it up and get some better pictures of it.

Mark, I would second that opinion! What a demanding task that would be given the many continents and years that the cars span. As time goes by it will only become more difficult as records and memories are allowed to fade. Brian Long seems to do fairly well with his books on classic Japanese motorcars although, I have found a few instances of mislabeling pictures in his books.

This car was dropped off at Datsun Dynamics about 2.5 years ago by the original owner. She stated that she bought it while finishing college. In any case she wanted to find out how much it would cost to rehabilitate the car (I am not sure of her intentions so I wouldn't say restore). I first remember seeing the car in February of 2003 upon one of our regular visits out to Datsun Dynamics. Unfortunately, the owner suffered a divorce and the car still remained throughout the summer of 2004. Last fall I was told that the husband was going to take the car and have it 'restored' at another shop. As it turns out I was in Florida when the call came and I recieved both good and bad news: Datsun Dynamics was closing its doors and this car had to go or be crushed! Thanks to some of the best friends around the car was rescued sans title. Once the car was safe and secure I began to pour over the car looking for clues as to where it might have spent the last 35 years. This is probably my favorite part of the classic car hobby and I was surprised by the box in the back. In the box was a collection of old factory Datsun parts which included: 2 old Datsun oil filters still unopened in the original factory packaging 1 Datsun condenser 2 fan belts (one of which was used and put back in the sleeve) 1 factory Datsun speedomoeter cable still in its plastic. The next thing that cought my attention is the car's production date: 08/70. This was assembled as a '70 but, since it probably didn't get stateside until October of '70 it was sold as a '71 as evidenced by its emissions sticker under the hood. Even though it has the early style 'Nissan 2400 OHC' valve cover it is most likely titled as a '71. In addition, the Commonwealth of Virginia requires that two stickers be placed in the windshield signifying that 1) the car has passed its annual safety inspection--the sticker on this car expired in November 1979!! 2) the property taxes have been paid and this sticker expired in April of 1980! Given the recent information regarding Mark Felt as 'Deep Throat' during Watergate I was especially interested to see a Watergate complex parking sticker since that is supposed to be the site where the parking garage meetings took place. Just the other night I was trying to decipher a metal 'dog tag' of sorts under the hood affixed to the inner fender well indicating where the car was shipped to an overseas address which coincides with the additional fog light attached to the rear bumper for European roads when I found a receipt for drycleaning in German! It still even has its original Koito headlights! Hopefully, the owner will be happy to discuss the prospect of seeing the car refurbished and back on the road again. Enjoy the pics...

I have owned a few examples of the '77 280Z as well as the '78 280Z. I have owned as early as a 09/77 280Z and it was equipped with a flat floor although as Rob states it was elevated by a series of aluminum spacers to accomodate the bulky "space saver" spare tire. Most of my '77 280Z's were early in the production run (12/76, 01/77 and 02/77) and all three of those cars have the raised rear deck example. Since both model years used the same "space saver" spare tire I would tend to believe Carl's statement regarding the crash standards. FWIW, I once stumbled across a website which listed the weights for the early '75/'76 280Z bumper assemblies compared to the '77/'78 bumper assemblies and the '77/'78 280Z bumpers were a few pounds lighter given less material due to the design of the bumper blade itself as well as the rubber endpieces which contradicts the crash standard suggestion. It may have been Nissan's way of keeping the car fresh in the marketplace while the S130 was being prepared for production? Notice the hood vents and different wheel covers for the '77 model year.

texasz, It looks like we might need to compare notes in the near future as I have just inherited a 240Z with the a similar production date to yours: 08/70 HLS30-08323 (108 units apart!) and I was surprised when I lifted the hood to see a 1971 emissions sticker. I will post pics in a few days.

Mark, Very nice looking '71 240Z! With that low mileage it should hold up well for many years to come! I was mentioning your color combination to 'Dtsnlvrs' and he was very keen on it. Along with '240ztt' you guys will have alot to talk about. 240ztt's car is a 01/71 (HLS3020425) and has only covered about 60k miles from new and 'Dtsnlvrs' is a 11/70 and there alot of interesting oddities about these transition cars. I haven't been posting much as I am parting out the '82 280ZX hardtop and simultaneously prepping the other '78 '611' HLS30448652 (02/78) for yet another engine swap! Before the '82's engine goes into the '78 I have to refinish sections of the engine bay as the surface rust began to rear its ugly head. As strange as it may sound at the local PepBoys a Ford burgandy closely matches the '611' much better than the burgandy identified as Nissan burgandy. Keep in touch as you make progresson the 240Z!