26th-Z

I didn't realize you were into this sort of car, Eric. I hardly find anyone who knows what they are!

Firewall VIN rules. You seem to have a November 1970 build. The dash has probably been changed. Check around for other dated parts and see what you come up with. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16870&highlight=manufacture+dates

Derek, Looking at the IZCC registry, I would say you have an April build date. There is no data-base that I am aware of. The engine is not original, however the carbs could be. I'll bet the hatch has been replaced with a later one. Sounds like it. The early vented hatches came with vertical defroster lines after serial number HLS30-01452. This means that your car has no provision for interior ventilation. Not a huge issue - the vented hatches notoriously leak exhaust fumes. I wouldn't cut holes in the hatch. Just back-paint the hatch black undrneath the vent grills or leave the body shaved as it is. Shaved bodies are quite popular these days.

Yea. Was that a 'buy-it-now' for $350? Damned good price.

I don't know what's on AM where you live, but the only thing to listen to down here is Rush Lindbau and cha-cha music from Cuba. I don't think I'm going to be doing too much cranking on the tunes. But you know how it is. I'll show up at a car show some day and somebody will say; "that's not original"! There's enough of that forcasted for Her Majesty! The original AM radio units on a 1970 build would have only one speaker on the left side mounted next to the antenna. While we are talking about it, though. Datsun offered an optional Hitachi 8-track / radio unit. I believe they were standard to the Fairlady ZL model and optional to the S30-S, HS30, and PS30. Remember the thread we were talking about all the options? Then, I got into a conversation the other day about Clarion being the original intention for the radio units - not Hitachi. I don't think, however, that Clarion units made it to production. CW-

The cover on eBay is brand spanking new. No backing plate though.

Yep, Enrique. Your'e backwards. The early style Hitachi AM only had auto seek tuning and the antenna switch to the right side of the radio. The later Hitachi AM/FM had the horizontal switch above the tuning knob. I have a picture of the wrong radio for Derek's car, but no good pictures of the correct one. I guess I better stop my restoration work and take some pictures! When I bought 26th, she had an FM radio and I later updated her to FM / Cassette. Getting into the restoration thing, I paid dearly for an A+ AM radio and felt really foolish. Finding one in working condition that is only going to light up one 6" speaker so that you can listen to static is going to seem pretty dumb, IMO. I see them on eBay from time to time.

Derek, The archives on this site are full of conversations about dash caps and restorations. A cap is easily the cheapest way to go and depending on how well you install it, will look just fine for a regular driver. A new correct dash for your car is unobtanium and if you are lucky enough to find a good used one, it is going to put the bash on a grand. Your dash can be restored with new foam and vinyl and I recommend "Dashboard Restorations". The texture in the vinyl is not exactly correct, but I doubt anyone is ever going to spot it out. Restoration runs around $800 with the shipping and everything. Chris

Hey Derek, What is your build date? April? You may want to register your car with Beck's site www.zhome.com He keeps track of the classics. What are your plans for the car? Chris

Well your'e in luck because the ZCCA international convention is coming to Dallas May29-June2,2006. The Z Club of Texas and Cowtown Z Club are hosting and you don't want to miss this extravaganza. If you can't find Z guys in Texas, your'e not looking. Contact the clubs and join one of them.

Here. I found a better picture and drew some arrows to point out the differences. The backing plate on the left is from 26th. The backing plate on the right is from a '71, I think. It has an additional vent tube connection and a clip to hold the vent hose. Interestingly, both backing plates were stamped out from the same die. One has a hole drilled and a clip welded on to areas that are clearly marked with indentations "targets" in the metal. My opinion would be that if your build date is before 7/70, your backing plate would be like mine on the left. After 7/70 would be like the one on the right. I'll tell you who is the real pro at this is Carl Beck. He could tell you better when the change happened.

No. The backing plates are different between '70s and '72s if you are looking for accuracy. The '72s have an additional vent from the carburetors which is lacking from the '70 style. We were just kicking around the early carburetor conversation. These eBay examples have the drain plugs in the front of the float bowls. They are the later four screw style. Air cleaner boxes for the early cars, like this eBay example, had no flapper valve and pre-heat hose connection. What troubles me though, is that there is no inner pipe on the backing plate for the crankcase ventilation hose on this one. It looks like the wing nuts are the wrong ones also. I will also add that I have three different non-snorkle air cleaners. All have slight differences that you would only notice when taken apart. From the outside, they are all sisters. Check out section 11 of the parts fiche.

In all my experience in all my years of fooling with SUs, the engine electronics is 75% of the problem. The rest of it is timing and carburetor adjustment. Make sure your electrics are in top performance meaning brand new. The service life is far gone for original equipment. Make note that original spark plug wires were dated. If you a set of dated wires, keep them. If the old black distributor cap has copper contacts, keep it. My suggestion would be to replace all the electrics, set the timing and valve clearance before I looked at the carbs. Now, they may have some varnish build-up and I'll go along with the suggestion of getting a book or video before you take them apart and clean them. I'll bet they look better than this!

Let's dump this thread and go over the other one.

Well, your'e doing good! A friend of mine just bought one of those Nikons. I switched to a Canon system when I had to get something with auto-focus. Now, I'm kind of locked in. Have my eyes on a Canon 20D and I need to make the jump to digital.

Thanks! Very, very nice pictures. What camera and setup are you using, jmark? I'm still using my Canon A2E with a 75-300mm IS zoom.

Here are a few more shots that may be of help. The fender metal covers the joint between the floor and the rocker just below the door post. Inside of the rocker at the end where the seat belt mount is. "...thus, the body sealing is secured."

Her Majesty the 26th has had her doglegs lifted twice, but please don't leak this to the tabloids. She now relys on the royal house of TABCO for her replacement panels. http://www.rustrepair.com/repair_panels/onlinecat.htm?r=ru&p=sm-datsun The reason that area takes it so hard is because the seams of the various panel shapes EScanlon is talking about are not sealed properly. As he points out, several panel shapes come togeather in this area. They are spot welded and the seams are filled with sealer. The old sealer dries and cracks. And to make this a real slap-in-the-face, the juncture gets wet just at the thought of enjoying the ride! Good luck! Find yourself a good metal surgeon and weld yourself back to clean rockers. And now that you are going to paint your car, take the time to clean out the seams and seal them back up. I have been using 3M 08300 Ultra Pro Sealant. CW-

Couple of comments and a pictures. I got the same sort of education a few years ago when I discovered the uniqueness between the model years of the S30. It has been my experience to understand that aftermarket parts for the S30 are as proliferant as the VW bug. I would say that the blue coil springs are MSA lowering springs and I say that just because they are painted blue - no other reason. I could be wrong. The welded sway bar end links are the same - probably aftermarket - and anybody's guess as to where they came from - Interpart? No reason to doubt their performance ability. It is just hard to say what specification they are.

This post hits a particular fond chord with me because one of my first posts here concerned a 'JDM' part. Looking back, I didn't have the slightest idea what I was talking about and, wow, have I learned a lot since. So lets talk about 'JDM' for a moment. Japanese Domestic Market is an American term, I think. The Japanese don't refer to thier own market area that way. They look at our market area as 'Export' yet we don't refer to our cars as the export version. However, this is really the way it is. At least I believe that our 240Z (HLS30) was an export version of a Japanese car. Pardon those who disagree. When we say we are dealing in JDM parts, we are actually talking about parts that came on the cars that we didn't get in America. We got the "AEM" (American Export Market) parts and it turns out that the Japanese crave our look like we crave theirs. Another term we use is 'Euro' and this represents another market identification - one that still confuses me. I don't see slang for parts peculiar to South America, Australia, England, etc. I think I want to summarize by saying that 'JDM' is a slang term and I think the point should be considered. The '240Z' was sold all over the world. Nowhere did it sell like it sold in America. The vast majority of the S30 type came to America and came as one version of all that was available from Datsun at the time. We find the 'JDM' and 'Euro' stuff unique because we didn't get that stuff and rare because that stuff wasn't made in the volume we think of here in America. Study the different versions of the S30 and you will find a a fascinating array of parts and options. A lot of this is discussed here on this site. Search the archives. Finally, Sundowner mentioned HLS30-H's gallery and I want to explain why Alfadog laughed. HLS30-H (I'm assuming who you are talking about) is actually HS30-H. L means left-hand drive and HS30-H does not have an L. There is significant meaning to his ID and as you begin to look at what cars went to what markets around the world, you will see the significance. Thanks. I'll get off my soapbox and welcome you new guys, your questions, and enthusiasm. And, yes, JDM parts are expensive. :classic:

Here are fender mirrors on eBay. "Buy-it-now" priced, but "get-it-over-with" availability. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NIB-Datsun-Fender-Mirrors-JDM-S30-110-210-510-240Z_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ42611QQitemZ4585482306QQrdZ1

This is the best site I know of for an explanation. http://www.ztherapy.com/

I like Nostalgic Hero, Sundowner. I have been doing the same sort of thing - collecting JDM parts for a 'look' to my car. It's not easy. It's expensive. And it takes a lot of time. You are not simply going to go out to a Japanese junk yard and find things. All the best of luck and have fun!

I have the micro-fiche printed out in a notebook and I also have one of these.

Very nice, Scott. Welcome to the club! Looks like you are going to have fun.