kats

Thanks Blue !

Thanks Alan , Blue. Last week I took my blue 240Z for a drive to Tokyo , to have its seats refreshed by the craftsman Mr. Sudo . As I told it here before , the blue seats were restored by him in 2003 . This time I want the seats look just like new again with replacing worn out pieces . Mr. Sudo is going to replace vinyl pices only where worn out , this is my request . He gave me the extra vinyl when he did the blue seats , but the vinyl is not enough for making a set of whole seats . Also I don’t think they need to be replaced whole thing as they are almost perfect in most of part . The seats were finished in later “ slim seat back “ style , I have been dreaming about having early “ fat seat back “ style in this blue vinyl. This time Mr. Sudo is modifying them to fat seat back style using minimal amount of the vinyl, I am really excited about it , I can’t wait to see it when he completes the re-upholstery. Here are some pictures in progress. I will be able to show you the seats done in the end of this April. Kats

Thanks Blue , nice findings. I might be curious if the car used in the service manual would be HLS30-00013 . A lot earlier car could be used for the manual , couldn’t it be ? Kats

Hi Gavin , the motor was bought by a used car shop which is located near my house . I visited and saw a mechanic was trying to install the engine into a Fairlady Z (L20 model ) . Kats

This is what I saw on Yahoo auction some years ago , this engine is definitely pulled out from the car , PS30-00061. It is mounted on the big frame as if it was displayed in a museum . This was cheaper than that of current prices . Kats

Already 2 200 000 JPY ! No way , I am out . I now realized its engine and transmission, and R192 diff as a set were the ones which pulled and sold on Yahoo some years ago , they were very good condition. I wondered where was the body , but here it is ! Kats

Hi , a 1969 PS30-00061 is now on sale at here , https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/w303997991 No engine , no transmission, but a registered paper comes with this car . If the price stayed lower , I would have thought to bid . 880000 JPY currently and not meeting a reserve . Kats

Alan , thanks for telling me the point , the compression ratio is the matter . I think the spare head will definitely need to be shaved 0.5 or 1.0 mm , as I don’t want the head to have any things that make it higher compression ratio , I need to think about a thicker head gasket ? Or enlarged combustion chamber ? The Z432-R racing manual is saying “ the compression ratio will be 10.1 to 10.3 when using a racing pistons. You will have little more extra power if you make the compression ratio exceeding 11.0 . However , with regarding fuel , 100 octane currently used , it is safe for the engine keeping the ratio within 11.5 “ BTW , STD piston’s ratio is 9.5 with a STD 1.2 mm head gasket. And , I am worried about the valves may hit the high intrusion crown pistons . And I have read about an article which says titanium is expanding when heated , so does the conn rod have to have bigger gap for the bearings as well as bushing on top ? Kats

I am waiting for getting a set of racing cam “8L “ and adjustable cam sprockets which were also used in racing cars from my friend . I won’t be able to come by titanium valves , special springs etc , so looks like I am done , I am satisfied at this moment. I just hope my spare engine project going well , I don’t race , I will be happy if the engine is just running. I set the goal , build the spare S20 engine like someone who race but not enough money to buy complete set of racing parts . I will tell you later my feelings when I run the engine. Partial racing parts installed ! Kats

A set of parts , and Z432-R racing manual. It is said that STD pistons are casting made , on the other hand racing pistons are forging made . Even this page doesn’t mention about titanium conn rods , it is the sign of “ titanium conn rods are specifically made for factory racing “ isn’t it ? Kats

Hi , I have got a set of high compression pistons and , titanium conn rods . They are meant to be used in a racing car ( GTR or Z432-R), factory team or private racer . I try not to expect too much , but I think these parts in front of me are real period correct parts which related to either Nissan Murayama , Oppama , Omori racing factory. From early 1969 to mid 1972 , those factories were very busy every day for developing racing S20 engines . Engineers and craftsman tried so hard making new cams , pistons , etc , testing them , and installing them in racing cars .Even heads as well as blocks , almost each race has new parts . Some parts were the same which were sold as sports option in a catalog , but many of them were not listed in a catalog , factory or some private racer only . This titanium Conn rod is the one , not on a catalog but used in racing. This piston is the same , looks slightly different from others . Alan , could you authenticate these parts ? And please tell us more about racing back in those old days. The titanium conn rod is 474 gram , the std conn rod is 710 gram , I have heard titanium is lighter than steel , it is about 2/3 . So , looks like I have got a correct one ! Kats

Hi Mike , we will meet soon , I have been to Fuji Speedway last week to see a racing Z432 for some laps for setting and testing . Here is an old picture of PS30-00013 at Fuji Speedway back of the paddock might be shoot in late 1969 or early 1970 , and a picture of my Z432 in 2019 ! And a movie . Kats

Hi Jim , yes the can which he has in the video is the clear coat . We used to have black coat which was common for the dealer service men when they work for periodically maintenance required by the regulation. I have heard it was an additional service, they sprayed black all over the chassis without asking customers!! They don’t do it without customers request nowadays . I was asked by the service man , he said it is good for the car , no more black , it is clear coat. I said OK let’s do it . Kats

Thanks Gavin ,you said just I wanted to say . I really feel big companies are sometimes stressful for both , customers and employees . Yes very slow , even to answer just one question ... I really love both , a lot of trophies were brought by L-series engines from overseas (of cource in Japan too ) , and by S20 engines in Japan. I am so proud of myself being a S30 nut. Kats

Hi Locke , I checked some parts catalog, what I found is E88 started from September 1971. This was when S30 series had got a new center console, new hub caps , etc . I haven’t seen cars around mid 1971 in person, so I can’t say the catalog is correct until I see some examples. As a side note , E31 and E88 were meant to be “ low octan / regular gasoline “ . E30 was meant to be “ high octane/ premium gasoline “ , and this was never used for Datsun 240Z and Fairlady 240Z series . Kats

When the car was under restoration, a few things were not correct like a water pump ( for GTR ) , an engine block ( must be silver ) and an oil filter was for non- cooler type . I had changed them as you know , and the parts which shown I attached pictures are going to be on my spare S20 . And some of you may remember Mr. Takei , a chief engineer of developing Europe S30 team . He drove through Europe with his freshly rolled out Euro 240Z after finished his work , that was in April to September 1971 . After he returned, he reported to Dr . Nakagawa like this , “ Japanese automotive technology is far behind from which Europe has , I think 15 years behind “ Then Dr. Nakagawa said to him “ you go to Europe again and learn from them “ The picture was taken Luxembourg. courtesy Nostalgic Hero extra edition No. 564 Kats

Thanks Alan for the pictures of super rare heads , it is a little bit scary for me to seeing "knife edged " triming as I think there are not much meat left around it. Looks like my Z432 has a hand finished port for each , pictures from March 2007 at the shop . Kats

Alan, thank you for the comment , I am so glad that you like this topic and also you have experiences that talking with one of the engineers. When I see you next time , I am really looking forward to hearing anything of Nakagawa-san from you. I think to understand Nissan , I need to know Prince . In late 1960's Nissan merged Prince , Skyline and S20 (and some cars and engines ) came from Prince , and Prince engineers were allowed to take care of those work . They (people and cars ) were different from that of Nissan in many ways . Mr. Sakurai (far right of the picture whitch Alan posted) spoke many many interesting things in the past in the magazines , he always said " Prince was a small company , we were all happy to build cars and engines. We were able to discuss , work , even some times we quarrelled , but everything was valuable . From Boss to young men , we had good communication each other. " Thanks Blue too ! Kats

I would like to share this , Dr. Nakagawa , a former executive of Prince motor company . He was joined Nakajima aircraft company and was an engineer of engines for fighter aircraft during WW2 , he refreshed “Sakae” engine for Zero fighter, also he was a chief engineer of designing “ Homare “ engine for Shiden- Kai . After the war , he made cars and engines with a lot of engineers who used to make military aircraft and engines at Prince motor company. Dr. Nakagawa had always highly admired engineers and craftsman who were never credited to the public , he said they were so genius. He said he designed with confidence, but sometimes he was corrected by craftsman of casting “need to change here and there ..” Dr . Nakagawa said in his book , “ No matter how the design is perfect, we can’t have it without craftsman who make it real . “ I can see why S20 engine is different from others , this engine was born from and given aircraft spirits by those engineers. S20 has a lot of bolts to secure its head and block , well taking care of for oil and water running even under the stressful G force effect. Kats

I would like to show this , my NOS S20 head compared to my used spare one. I found the used spare one had had the hand work in the past , you can see the surface is trimmed , and grinded smoothly . NOS one looked completely different. As I have heard this used one came from 432-R , so I guess previous owner had put some work into this engine . However, it is a subtle work ! This pictures showing an Exhaust port , intake port looked almost same for both . Kats

So cool in Z’s cockpit ! I can’t believe Lotus Esprit had the console , most of the owner scratched his head ! Kats

Hi grannyknot , I think this bracket is bolted with the room mirror onto the roof where the welded nuts located. I still want to know how the rear end is attached to the roof . Kats

It is so cool !! Kats

Thanks Roo and Blue , it was also available in UK ! RM 710 is the top model , the most expensive one . The one on eBay UK is so clean , still expensive ! Kats

This is it ! Thanks Blue . Panasonic is National, like Datsun by Nissan . Do you often see these on eBay ? So cool , thanks posting the picture. Kats