26th-Z

This doesn't surprise me. When I first began the process of restoring 26th, I spent a huge amount of time and money buying the parts I would need. (The whole scheme backfired on me when the economy took a dump in 2008) Back then, buying, say a correct windshield for a 1969 build, was no more of a problem than finding the correct Nissan part number and ordering it. What I found was a very (did I say very? Yes, I said very) confusing part to build date correlation and I think that is where some of the misinformation we see from a reputable vendor like Black Dragon comes from. The old part numbering system was apparently revised a number of times and the updates include missing build months and incorrect serial number ranges to name but two confusing gaffs.

The data Blue posted has a VIN error. Up until July 1972 (I think) the serial number was 5 digits, not 6. The six digit serial number began with HLS30-120000 I believe.

Greetings from Florida. Look forward to your videos!

"He needs to be eating his own dog food". Can anybody catch the serial number of the Vintage Z at time 5:33? Same old 'factory' blunder about the Vintage Z. Disappointing. I would need to know the VIN to be sure, but in all probability that car was restored by PierreZ in California. None of the Vintage Zs were restored by Nissan Motor Co. at a factory facility. And Matsuo san is saying the same things he was saying in 2004 however this is the first I have heard of him test driving the prototypes at night. I need to look at the Music Air Graffitti video again.

I should chime in and explain some things - based on some of the comments I'm reading. Actually there were options however as Carl points out, none of them made it to the North American market as "advertised sales" options or accessories. Not until the 1972 model year when published North American sales literature described what we might commonly refer to as the the AMCO aftermarket accessories. The Datsun 240Z Sports came in several configurations; one of which was the HLS30U exported to North America. The standard S30-S did not come with a clock or radio. They were optional in Japan. The S30 had them as standard equipment. The S30-S had rubber floor mats as well. That is why the very early HLS30s have them. Carpeting for the very early cars was added in the United States. The S30-S did not come with the hatch glass defogger option either. Early HLS30s have clear glass and no console switch. The brochure page you are looking at was prepared and distributed in North America prior to the arrival of the first cars. It is evidence (I believe) of the original confugurations of manufacture planned for the North American market. The same sort of issues apply to the picture of the engine configuration and technical data. This information reveals what was obviously an anticipated manufacture configuration but not the final.

Nope! Stock buckles were painted satin black and the center part is textured black.

Merry Christmas, Kats! I love Fairlady girls!

Arne, I'll get Vulcan with you for a moment. If we accept your original premis that we humans are neither rational nor logical then nothing would be appropriate for all, would it? And I have little objection to your emotion and prejudice observations. In this case, I thought some of the prejudiced comments were just going a little to far, the sort of prejudice that I'm growing very tired of hearing. I didn't appreciate the "ignorant" comment after responding to what I recognize as hypocrasy. Enough said. I have no need to start a stink; nothing vesting in Mike's graphic and no need to carry that flag either! (pun intended) Live long and prosper.

Cuban, Those are exactly what you want for your build date 10/70 Z. There are two versions of this design; one with fewer, widely spaced teeth and the valve stem hole centered in a spoke, and one with close teeth spacing with the valve stem hole centered between the spokes. The fewer, widely spaced teeth design is very early and did not provide a very tight fit to the wheel. They had a tendency to fall off. The revised design with increased, closely spaced teeth hold the wheel better. The valve stem hole isn't in any relation to the 'D'. If you don't like that they are "upside down", take the 'Ds' off and rotate them.

Ok, let me try to my finger wrapped around this, Glenn. You hold deep emotion over this subject matter yet you own and drive how many Japanese cars? This is what prompted my 'harsh' response. Sorry. I'm not of Asian descent; German. As a matter of fact, I can't think of any nation, flag, symbol, emblem, representative graphic which does not hold a dark moment in history including the United States of America. I suggest, from one human being to another, that holding a deep emotion (grudge) isn't good for our souls; that we would do far better (collectively) if we would forgive and move on embracing our future. Justice was served. The event of our emotions is over. I won't argue that we should forget our past, rather forgive our past, learn from it, and not let it cloud our thoughts about what we enjoy and can contribute to our collective society. Peace.

The Nazi swastika is the symbol of a political party whereas the Hinomaru is the symbol of a nation. The Nazi swastika is banned in Germany unlike the Hinomaru which is not in Japan. In fact the Hinomaru forms the basis of the current Japanese flag, ratified in 1999, and is in common use today. Like the ancient swastika symbol, the Japanese symbol representing the rising sun dates back to the 700s. Wouldn't you agree that your issue is a perfect illustration of how ignorant people can be, spitz17? Hinomaru was used extensively during the art revolution in Japan during the 1920's which significantly influenced Western art at the time. The Rising Sun design certainly represents national pride to the Japanese people, but it also has roots to our Datsuns. These logos date back to the thirties. Also, the red ball Datsun logo is an obvious derivation of the Hinomaru and it could be well argued that the current Nissan logo is a progression. Mike, your graphic is inwardly leading, focusing, unique, and quite imaginative for such a recognizable image. I particularly enjoy the t-shirt design which incorporates the image down the side of the shirt body.

That's the Suzuka 1000km race in 1970 with drivers Nishino and Fujita. Wasn't this picture posted previously?

Logged in to comment just about this topic. Absolutely brilliant design, Mike. GREAT logo! I noticed the headlight shape right away. You guys with all your WWII and "can't change anything" attitudes; "GET OVER IT"! I can think of two web sites in the last nine years that have failed because they DIDN'T change, grow, evolve, keep up with the times. Popular web sites. Run by one of the most popular guys in this group (Z-Car people). I fully support what you're tryingto do, Mike. Keep up the good work!

Thanks DatsunDoc. That's the kind of info we're looking for! I was thinking the GP was Joe Hauser, national champion in 1976, 1981, and 1982.

Not only is that a real Dino, it's the 246 GTS Dino that won the Cannonball Baker Sea to Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash in 1975. 35 hours 53 minutes, New York to LA with Jack May and Rick Cline. The GT40s are replicars; CAV and / or Superformance. I would imagine the Porsche is a Beck Spyder replicar. The Gremlin is a real one. Looks like a real nice turn-out. Always a great collection of cars...very valuable cars!

You make an interesting observation, Alan. Although the title of the thread suggests pictures exclusively, it would be nice to know a little about what we are looking at. For instance, "Datsundoc" posted a couple of "early Bob Sharp" photos a few posts up. Early? How 'early'? One of the pictures is of a G-Production SPL311-1600. Does anyone know when the SPL311-1600 raced in class GP? How about the other picture, an SPL311-2000 in C-Production? C-Production? Does anyone know why (and when) that car raced in C-Production? And...is that really Bob Sharp in the GP 1600? Is it not Joe Hauser? Yes, a little explanation could make this thread far more interesting.

Looks like I missed a good one. My loss. Had $BMW issues last week. I wasn't going anywhere Saturday.

Ohhh...nothing shameless about the plug really. I was just surfing through the site and the initial question made me smile. "!Dude!" You're about five or six years behind the curve! The days of junking for early Z parts are long gone. Junking for early, early parts that I would find valuable exist only in memory now. But I DO have some good junking stories! Jim Frederick and I came back from the national convention in Long Beach in 2004 with a great cache of parts. Can you imagine what the airlines would think of 2 suitcases full of car parts today!?! I recall junking with Jim in upstate New York at the Syrcuse convention. Not much luck, but the event that afternoon would challenge a Three Stooges movie. Saw a really robust, intact early 911 but little else that interested me. Then, I struck gold at the San Antonio convention in 2009. MikeB and I had a salvage fest, gourging ourselves on an early '70. I came home with original vented hat brake rotors. Junking today is rarely any luck for anything in my corner of the Z world. Best of luck, though. Just the gentle act of loitering in a salvage yard is always good for the soul.

One of the unique things about the American export 240Z or HLS30U and UA concerns what the dealers added to the cars to increase their profit margin. In some cases, such as A/C, one might argue that the dealer installed items suited a market demand that was not provided by Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. In all cases, all dealers did not install the same items on all the cars so the arguement of "as sold" isn't really valid. The only non factory item 26th was delivered with was carpeting, surprising as that may sound to some of you. By all looks, 27th was delivered the same, but I don't know 27th's history as well as I know 26th's. Until the 1972 model year, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. did not officially offer optional equipment in the North American market however Nissan Motors in North America, or Datsun, did repackage and sell optional equipment under the Datsun brand. Quite a bit of it was manufactured by AMCO. I have a small collection of those items including a clip-on vanity mirror for the visor. There are plenty of car clubs that have far more strict rules concerning originality than the ZCCA. I would suggest that all you guys complaining about dealer installed equipment just want the rules changed to suit your own situation and that isn't fair across the board. I have had plenty of arguements with people about this. It isn't a fair way to judge the historical correctness of the car as all things are not equal across the board to everyone. The comparison to pre-war cars at Pebble Beach isn't valid either. Those cars are judged on beauty. Purely subjective. Corvettes (Bloomington) on the other hand are subjected to a meticulous inspection involving lifting, touching all all sorts of assultive assessment - read the rules for the National Corvette Restore's Society. Hell, you think you Z guys have it difficult! I would like to suggest that if any of you really want a trophy, got down to the trophy dealer in your town and have one made. Award yourself top honors and don't forget to mention that you recieved the secret handshake recognition!

I assume you are talking about the ZCCA 'stock class' as you mention the Gold Medallion award which is exclusve to the Z Car Club Association awarded at the annual convention. The judging manual and rules can be viewed through the downlaod tab of the ZCCA web site; ZCCA.org. They have been revised in 2012 which I had no involvement, however I was actively involved in the comprehensive 2009 revision / update for which the rules for judging the stock class remain the same. A) STOCK CLASS Vehicles exhibited must be configured exactly as shipped from factory for all S30 and S130 models (240Z – 280ZX) as special noted. Factory optional ordering packages and options will be allowed for later models (280Z – 370Z) as special noted. Cars with dealer installed options, including Nissan supported optional parts, such as wheels, floor mats, body and bumper moldings / trim, etc. can enter this class with a minimum five point deduction for each case. Any dealer preparation shall be limited to removal of protective shipping coatings / coverings and installation of components shipped with the car in protective coverings. Air-conditioning must be factory installed. Replacement of consumable items will be allowed however they must be Nissan replacement parts for the application to the specific model. Consumable items shall be: battery, oil filter, fan belts and ignition wires. Other consumable items limited to tires, cooling system hoses, vacuum system hoses, fuel system hoses, and exhaust system may be allowed at the discretion of the Chief Judge of the car show however they must be Nissan replacement parts for the application to the specific model. The Chief Judge will announce this at the judge’s meeting. So...it wouldn't necessarily be "correct" to use an original size and not an original brand such as Bridgestone or Toyo. I know plenty of people who have collected what I might call show tires specifically for that purpose. The thought being that the point loss for wear or age of an original tire would be less than the automatic 5 point loss for an "aftermarket" brand even though it is the correct size. Then, there's the "cover your arse" statement at the end which includes tires for situations just like this one. Probably what it would boil down to is what the competition is like for the stock classes (all of them competing equally for the Gold Medallion) being judged at the particular convention. A savy competitor would size up the competiton and ask for a ruling at the judges meeting. For instance, if all the cars in the stock classes (elligable for the GM) were running replacement tires the issue would defer to a "correct" size but if one competitor ran "as delivered from the factory" tires, the issue should be brought to the attention of the judges and you can bet that the guy who has gone to all the effort to find as new condition original tires is going to have a loud voice! On the other hand; so you get dinked 5 points for your brand new looking replacement tires. If the rest of your car judges full points, you still qualify for the GM.

Motorman, add the reinforcing plate to the oil pan! Great job - kudos to everyone. Great project / great thread!

Rear deck photos of HLS30U-00026. Three holes in the rear bulkhead. That's about as 'series one' as one can get!

Although not claiming to be an expert, is there some reason why you can't have the SS bumpers chromed? That would seem to be the best of both worlds.

Unless I'm missing something (quite possible) the original A/C units worked with freon which I understand is going to be illegal at the end of this year. I would say that if you want A/C in your Z, buy a new kit and install it. But, of course, I would also ask why you would want A/C in a sports car? Isn't that defeating the purpose of the car to begin with? Never could figure that one out...

I think Vintage Motorsport just did a write-up about Trevor's career. There was no mention about any involvement with the 240Z, just the 510. But back to the original question; I was looking at this thread with interest as I don't recognize the struts from my various competiton parts catalogs of the early 1970s period. Alan correctly points out that competition parts developed by Nissan Motors were marketed and sold through the Datsun Competition Department of Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A. I also have some early BRE / Interpart catalogs and I don't see them in there either.