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Obtuse Joke: Legend has it a Canadian model posing on top of the 240z crushed-in the roof when the car was in Canada at an auto show. It was then given to Bob Sharp to race. I found a photo of the car at a Canadian auto show in early 1970 along with what seems to be the car... but I think the horse behind it is to blame.

Looks like the bumper over-rider was removed between NYC and Boston... probably left outside on the street unattended for a few minutes... Same model? Maybe she had something to do with it?

Hi Chris, I'm having very little success tracking down the dates of early New England International Auto shows/ Motor shows or Boston Auto Shows/Motor shows. The current event (New England International Auto Show) is the third week of January so if the slot was held back to 1970 then the photo below would be from Jan 1970? Would you have more details on the time? Thanks!

I agree. The 3 month lead time, the hand throttle, as well as the layers of clothes worn by the reviewer and miserable weather. I would guess it is a damp 50F day so freezing dead of winter in LA lol. When I do the grey scale colour comparison from the April R&T article the car could be red or blue. It seems to tilt a bit more to the blue (especially after considering the statement about not attracting attention while driving the test car and a brightness adjustment) .

Here is another early Z. I can find references reporting that Nissan dropped support for Bondurant in 1970 until 1972 so this exchange probably happened in the first half of 1970 given the early hubcaps on both cars?

I did a quick grey scale comparison of cars in sunlight and hopefully this tool may be helpful in decoding. It makes me think the dealer parking lot photo in post #10 above is Orange.

Merci! Tres Cool! The clear front turn indicators are interesting. That shade of Green seems to be very dark like the NYC Preview photos you shared a while ago.

April 30th1970 Jacksonville Dealer Ad: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I bought a used 1970 240z manufactured in Feb. 1970 HLS30-01360. I purchased it in Charlotte SC in 2007. The records that arrived with the car show it to have entered the USA in Jacksonville, Florida. It was first sold at d*** Smith Motors, Columbia, South Carolina, on July 15th 1970

There is a report from Kats of a 4th car arriving or being noticed at NMC LA on Dec 20, 1969 by the Kaku U team. It is not clear whether it is for further testing or if it is for demonstrations. The photo above with Mr K was in a paper published on Feb 6th so the photo pre-dates Feb. 6th. I think the Road & Track road test car from the April, 1970 issue was photographed much earlier as it still has the hand throttle. It would not have been wise to formally delete this feature in January then hand a car over for test driving with it non-deleted for liability and bad press reasons. What colour was the car at the San Francisco Import Auto Show? The blurb I found states an automatic 240z will be in San Francisco but it could be a typo/error.

Found this so far: The San Francisco Import Car Show opens Nov. 24, 1969 for a six- day run at Civic Auditorium J and Brooks Hall. It will feature many cars never seen before in the Bay Area. Among the 200 automobiles in both auditoriums will be a 1971 Monteverdi from Switzerland. Dodge's new' Colt made in Japan, Peugeot’s 304 Sedan. Alfa Romeo’s Veloce, Ford’s DeTomasso Pantera, Datsun’s 240 Z with automatic transmission, Russia’s Moskvich 412 and England's Bond Bug. Kats has the Kaku U team in SF from Nov 16th to 20th (Thanks Kats!) then departing for Canada on Dec 7th so they could have remained in SF during the show and continued North rather than go back to LA then return North. They would just have to ship some test parts up to SF from LA to make the adjustment.

Hi Chris, Thanks for that nice photo of the LA Show! The car seems to be silver HLS30-00008? The Chicago show had a Gold 240z (below) so the silver car skipped it. I have not been able to find what was at the NYC show on April 4th yet. Maybe the gold one? There was another car at NMC in LA in January 1970 (below): This one was also kicking around LA in early 1970. It had the choke and hand throttle levers so it may be from early Jan as well or could be the same car as above: For the red HLS30-00007 photos, yes they are poor. I captured them from the Nissan film "Drive the Ragged Edge". It seems to be HLS30-00007. It appears ~ 1:03 into the film. For an initial generalization, it seems #6 was in the North East, #7 was in the South and #8 was in the west. I'll dig (pun) into the San Francisco show. I had no luck finding anything online regarding the 1970 New England International Auto show or New England Auto Show or Boston Auto show or Philadelphia Auto Show yet. I'll post back to this thread when I do.

Independent from Long Beach, California Friday, October 31, 1969 DATSUN PREVIEWS 240Z On display today, Oct. 31 through Nov. 9 at the L.A. Auto Show is Datsun's 240Z Sports. Available at dealers showrooms about March, the new personal car offers a six-cylinder overhead cam 150 hp engine, disc brakes, three doors and a top speed of 125 mph. Highlighting the 1970 line of Datsun cars from Japan is the new Datsun 240Z Sports which was specifically designed for the American market and the larger sized American, according to Mr. Y. Katayama, president of Nissan Motor Corp., U.S.A. Powered by a new 2.4 liter (146 cubic inch) single overhead cam six-cylinder engine, the 240Z's 150 hp engine will produce, a top speed of 125 mph. It has fully independent suspension on all four wheels, an all-steel body of unit construction (for rattle free shell) and front wheel disc brakes. The spacious interior is designed with safety, comfort and convenience in mind. Full quick reading instrumentation, including oil pressure, water temperature, fuel, and ammeter gauges, are recessed in the completely padded and formed dash. A large- faced speedometer with a trip meter and tachometer are positioned directly in front of the driver. A flow-through, draft- free fresh air system combined with an aerodynamic shape changes the air inside in a matter of seconds . . . quietly. Vinyl covered deep cushioned bucket seats with built-in head rests are adjustable horizontally and vertically for both driver and passenger, with an adjustable reclining angle of up to 10 degrees. An all synchromesh four-speed . .transmission, radial tires, radio, clock, steering lock device, collapsible steering wheel, three anchor seat belts, backup lights and cigarette lighter are standard equipment. A Borg Warner automatic transmission will be made in the U.S. for Datsun as an optional extra. Air conditioning also is available. Price of the new personal sports car is just under $3,500. The car can be seen for the first time in the U.S. by the public at the Los Angeles International Auto Show which starts today at the Pan Pacific Auditorium.

Thunderdome Disco, Montreal 1987 while at Concordia I saw this for the first time. I think it may be a Montreal tradition.

Yup. Not sure how VAT works. May be able to claw back on exit if vacationing. SS 6-1 Header € 590 SS 6-1 Collector € 50 SS Resonator and middle section € 160 SS Exhaust € 185 There seems to be a different SS collector for stock Manifold connection € 120

A book by Brian Long and Yutaka Katayama and a well researched 240z web site called Zhome.com confirm the story about the roof damage. I'm still researching the possibility it may have been damaged at the National Motor Show or Canadian International Auto Show (typically held in February and follows the Le salon International de l’Auto de Montréal) however, I have yet to find any data. The last date I have of the NMS is in 1967 at the Automobile Building of the Canadian National Exhibition Grounds and then there is a hole until the CIAS started in 1974 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. It seems that the Montreal show was the only one in Eastern Canada when the 240z would have been debuted. Some idea of what went on from the 1969 show (a year prior to the Z debut in the 1970 show):

From the ad...auto transmission planned early:

[NEW Update: Bob Sharp confirmed this is the show in Canada where HLS30-00006 had its roof crushed by a model. Refer to post #57]. HLS30-00006 Green It is reported to have had the roof crushed-in by a model at a Canadian auto show then given to Bob Sharp. It seems the show may have been Le salon International de l’Auto de Montréal Jan 15-25 1970. Here are some photos and documents from the show. Enjoy! btw I think the horse did it.

http://escapesclassicos.interescape.com/catalogo/detalhes_produto_classicos.php?cod=DATSUN+240Z(MOTOR+L24)

Plumber's solder.

FYI: http://www.hotrod.com/articles/spark-plugs-tips/

5's run hotter and will burn off deposits more so than 6's. They will look a little cleaner.... that's all the increased temperature will do. If you have oil getting into the cylinder then hotter is better to reduce fouling. Hotter plugs may cause pre-ignition if the conditions are right so you have to be careful of how hot you select. It is generally better to go with the colder plug on engines that are in good order..... but there is very little difference between 5 & 6 to worry about.

Hi Kats, On the first page there are two interesting photos that you posted. Can you share more about the cars and activities? The coloured photo seems to show a 510 with a RHD and LHD S30. The LHD seems to have unusual mirrors? Typical LHD rear view mirror on door and two fender/wing mirrors. Do you know when and where the photo was taken and why the extra mirrors? FYI: Here is another early LHD running in Japan in ~1969 but w/o the extra mirrors? What are the LHD race start tests for and when were they done? (One has hub caps, spoiler and antenna, the other is less endowed). Thanks and best wishes in 2017!

Hi Carl, It would be great to see more pictures of HLS30-00006 (Green) at the NYC International Preview at the Pierre Hotel. HLS30-00007 (Red) at ARRC Daytona Nov. '69 seems to have no badges on the hatch as per what Mr. K said It has the B Pillar badges, front hood badge, and the front fender badges in the video. HLS30-00008 (Silver) seems to have correct badges in all photos I have seen. (btw 7 & 8 seem to have white stripes on tires but not 6)

Here is a very early Red 240z at the Nov 26, 1969 ARRC in Daytona. It is most likely HLS30-00007. BIG THANKS TO KATS! FOR THE FOLLOWING: Only 3 HLS30 240z's were on the Nissan books as exported into NA in 1969. These may be the 3 show cars that were manufactured in Oct 1969 and brought into the USA in Oct. 1969. They were: HLS30-00006 (Green) HLS30-00007 (Red) HLS30-00008 (Silver) Two test cars manufactured in Sept 1969 were temporarily imported into North America from Oct 10 to Dec 29 1969. They were: HLS30-00004 (Silver Manual) HLS30-00005 (Silver Automatic) 240z at '69 ARRC. From video: "Drive the Ragged Edge" 1969 ARRC Races. (Click here to watch the commercial). (note: no OK sticker in quarter window) Same 240z at '69 ARRC. From Datsun.org (Jack Scoville's winning car with mechanic Vern Colvin). 1969 ARRC program cover and 1969 Datsun advertisement proclaiming ARRC '69 win. HLS30-00007.mp4 http://www.classiczcars.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=80519