26th-Z

Welcome to the Low VIN Club. You are going to find that a 1973 model doesn't comapre very well with an early car like yours. I want to comment that Carl and I go around and around about the rubber floor matt thing. I have some rubber matts in 26th, but I also have the window sticker and it clearly states that carpeting is included. 26th came with carpeting. Your example might be interesting to discover what might be Canadian variations to the early HLS30 theme. Do you still have the original alternator and starter? Check out the amperage capacity. I see you are a new member here. Start cruising the archives for discussions about all sorts of parts unique to the early cars. Your link, AZ-240z, is probably the best "show and tell" site going for early stuff. Kats' site. Best of luck with your car! Let's see pictures!

Nutz, Good question, but you need to be a little more descriptive about what you call "undercoating". The underside of your car may have what appears to be a thick, rippled texture to the painted finish. I have noticed this and although I would not refer to it as undercoating, it is a protective painted finish. Undercoating, in most cases as we commonly refer to it, is black. Your '72 did not come from the the factory with black undercoating. It may very well have a "protective painted finish", but it is not what we would refer to as undercoating.

Mine came from a Nissan parts guy friend. I'll bet if you go down to your local dealer and ask the service manager, he'll point you in a good direction. They are vinyl covered foam rubber and have sewn ridges in them at the folds. A quick search of "fender covers" on the internet will get you pages of leads and I will always recommend covering the fenders when you work on the engine. It is just to easy to scratch, dent and stain.

You could prolly go down to Nissan and buy some.

A qualified no. The original upholstery for a '71 model year American import (HLS30) car had metal vents.

That is pretty much the answer, unfortunately. You could try Classic Datsun http://www.classicdatsun.com/ but be wary that certain interior plastic panels apply to certain years if you are looking for correctness.

Looks like everyone loves the new suit of clothes for your queen, C David. Congrats.

All cars - stamped in the firewall in the engine bay, just above the brake master vac. All cars - a plate screwed to the RF strut upright in the engine bay. This ID plate also has the engine serial number.

Carl, I disagree with you and I will thank you to not refer to my opinion as "dribble". In kind, I will try to stay off your case. I too, have read a significant amount of various accounts and documents. I too, have spoken directly with Matsuo-san and Katayama-san. I too, have an example of the car undergoing meticulous reconstruction. And my opinion is "family". I'm sorry you disagree and I think if you buy me a beer, I will feel much better. Alan, you gotta get off his case! Hi Kats! I sent your link to Jim - he is looking for clear glass. Chris

I have a few pieces of old glass with defroster lines and when some friends started asking me to buy my clear pieces, I tried to scrape the defroster lines off with a razor blade. No work! The Yahoo Japan auction has a starting price of about $170 which is about the going rate for clear glass. I have seen it go for up to $300. I guess my encouragement here is "don't give up just because it is in Japan and the seller doesn't want to be bothered with the hassel of international shipping". Stuff is shipped internationally all the time and the fact is that the glass is available. Our cars are old and this is what it is going to take to get the real stuff. And if you think this is an expensive proposition, try getting a windshield!

Yes, arrangements would have to be made. It IS possible and one of the things I have found is that to buy original stuff, one must return to the mother-land.

Notice the picture of the car is not LAL but PTD. There is a lot of confusion surrounding this car as well as the real LAL. I have been following the saga for some time now. $25,000 huh?

The defroster grid cannot be removed from the glass. The glass is etched. Buy a new piece of glass, and if I were you, the correct one. http://page9.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/k34893503

John Frankenheimer essentially filmed the 1966 Grand Prix season to make the movie. Enzo Ferrari endorsed the work (which was unheard of) and many, many of the racing greats participated. Coupled with the social commentary of Formula One at the time, the movie captures the drama of what was really happening in a sport with such a high death rate. One may think some of the stunts would be typical Hollywood, but no: in fact many of the scenes happened just the way they are protrayed. Frankenheimer pioneered the techniques used for filming racing and the movie won three academey awards.

Just watched it twice. Ten thumbs up. The two-disc set comes with all sorts of extras including interviews with the drivers who helped make the movie – Gurney, Moss, Bondurant, Phil Hill drove the camera car, a GT40. Grand Prix is the best racing movie ever made, hands down. The extra segments that come with this release make the deal a must-have for anyone's racing collection.

John Coffey, I liked your viewpoint and thought I would throw my thoughts into this. I have vested interest and I keep my ear to the market of early cars. I casually watch eBay and the stuff that occasionally pops up - mostly by staying tuned into this site. The first issue I would mention is the award system and car judging standards of the ZCCA. We might argue how comparible the various systems of judging are, but a "gold" system DOES exist in America for judging Zs and top honors are for the few. Yes, there are a lot of Zs out there and we watch them trade all the time. I think the volume of trading has risen in the last two or three years - thus the reported value (which is an average) is lower. Because more cars are trading, the range of value is wider and the junk is outpacing the gems. I have seen several early Zs trade in high twenties / low thirties. A year ago, we watched some fine Vintage Zs trade. What we have not seen publicly, private sales, come to me occasionally also. I have heard of a car trading in Japan for over six figures. I am also aware of other "special models" trading close to the six figure mark. I don't think these cars are computed in the averages. I'm not the most connected, but I hear about and see private collections all the time. There are guys out there collecting gems - large collections of gems; enough for me to comment that the really pristine cars are being found and bought at a very interesting rate. It reminds me of the guy in Atlanta who bought up all the Shelby AC Cobras years ago. The next thing you know, the price of Cobras went through the roof. I firmly believe this is happening right now in the Z market. Yes, the cars are Japanese...and your point? I truely believe that by the time I finish my $40,000 restoration, my Z will be worth $40,000. Like, next year. I truely believe there are guys out there, as you say, who are at the point of being able to buy a toy...or two...or "hey! these are cheap - I'll by four". I'm watching guys younger than me doing it right now. Hell, I have two! My conclusion is that the junk is going down in value and the gems are going up way high, way fast.

Cleveland in 2008

The first cars were sold in Japan, moonpup, not exported. America probably got the first exports, and do keep in mind there was guy here named Katayama who was somewhat influencial, because America was a sales target - no doubt. I think it is pretty well documented that Matsuo san took this into account and dimensioned the chassis to accomodate tall people. But with the issue surrounding clear hatch glass; there seems no doubt that it was a cost consideration that configured the first American exports with the glass that came standard in the S30-S. Of course, the PS30-SB didn't have defrosters. I guess we could consider clear glass a performance part? Nope, no nich for defrosters.

What I have learned over the past three years or so is that the original HLS30 was a specific model of the S30 family and we Americans didn't really miss much of the amenities at first. But as you know, the Z became more loaded as time went on. There are two distinct models of the Japanese Fairlady Z that can be compared to the HLS30 Datsun 240Z, but it was really an individual on its own. I suspect cost had a lot to do with what came to America at first, and I believe this because I believe the Japanese had no idea how popular the car would become. Certainly Nissan intended to export their cars to increase their sales and certainly they viewed the American market with high anticipation, but I do not believe they were all that confident and thus I do not believe the marque was designed specifically for the American market. If you bought a fully loaded Fairlady ZL in Japan at the time, you got headlight covers, an 8-track tape deck, passenger foot rest, and all sorts of things we never even saw as options. The bone stock Fairlady Z S30-S came with a blanking plate for the radio, clear hatch glass, rubber floor mats and so on. The export HLS30 was sort of a mixture between the S30-S and the ZL. Of course, it was a Datsun 240Z instead of a Nissan. 'D' hubcaps came to America. Wheel covers in Japan are different. So you see, the American export HLS30 was quite different at first, and as Nissan began to see the increadible demand, they responded with more amenities as well as improvements. I'll brag about my early examples by saying that they are the lightest and fastest of the Zs until the 280ZX turbo. However, they leaked exhaust gas back into the cabin the worst, little parts originally made of plastic broke and lets not even talk about the geometry of the rear axels! When I rebuilt the engine for 26th last fall, the machinest laughed and said he couldn't understand how my "vibrator" stayed together as long as it did. Its fun for me to talk about the low vin cars. I hope you guys with your "new" low vin toys enjoy them. They are distinct, quite different, and a lot of fun to talk about. Chris

Ah, the lovely nuances of the early Zs! If the car came with clear glass, the interior headliner molding for the overhead light did not have a little nich for the defroster wire. The blanking plug in the console for the switch is identical, although smaller, to the blanking plug for the parking lights. I don't know what you are describing, Arne. Picture? The very first switches for the defroster glass were black and not lighted. Clear glass is not all that difficult to find in Japan because only the ZL model came with defroster glass. Its all a fun game, yea?

Unless you come across someone making them (and I will eventually) they are unobtanium. You are going to have to really dig to find them and the last set I saw for sale went to Carl Beck for $200 - fact. I would write to Beck and tell him you are looking for them. Welcome to the low vin club!

Welcome to the low vin club! I am looking for one of those console plugs.

Dashboard Restorations did a dash for me and I am very satisfied. I think they are a sponsor of this site. We did a group deal a couple of years ago. I don't think I heard any complaints. Have them fit the gauges and vents for you. The cost of shipping is in the size of the box, not the weight.

Why is it so important to paint the car "the way the factory did it"? Yes, the engines and transmissions were installed as a sub frame unit including the suspension from underneath the car.

Junk yards, eBay, or a "parts wanted" message here will be your best results. Try http://zbarn.com/ http://www.datsunzparts.com/start.htm http://www.cybersanford.net/default.asp