26th-Z

I can't remember what I had on my mind when I wrote HR, Alan. Thanks for the edit. What is an S30S? I just received one of those fancy blue parts books - this one "revised 1 December 1973" - USA and Canada Parts Catalog. In the introductory chapter it says without explanation: C/# HLS30-00013 from Oct. 69 C/# HLS30-21001 from Jan. 71 C/# HLS30-46001 from Sep. 71 C/# HLS30-120001 from Jul. 72 The VIN digits changed BEFORE the 260Z! Further: C/# RLS30-000001 from Aug. 73 C/# GRLS30-000001 from Oct. 73 If you view the beginnig of a car from the time the commitment was made, ie. the time the chassis was assembled and stamped, I would have to agree with you, Alan. Pretty much, the commitment was made to build the car when the chassis was built and stamped. No matter what equipment was placed, the technical bulletins would establish that time line.

The simple "HLS30" doesn't give you the whole story. The automatic transmssion car would have actually been HLS30A or more specifically HLS30AU for a USA car with automatic transmission. So many more standard transmission cars were made than automatic transmissions that the VIN number difference makes perfect sense. When they built the automatics, stronger bolts were needed and they just changed them on all cars at that point. The service bulletins give us a great reference in time and I know guys who collect them. I just don't have access to that information right now. What appears to be happening as I get more into this thread, is the idea that the actual VIN number can tell us a lot when compared to the service bulletin. Actually, my VIN number is HLS30U-00026 athough the only place it appears is in the sales documentation. HLS30 was stamped on the chassis before it was ever determined if it was going to be an HLS30U, or HLS30UN. The proper designation letters following the S30 appear to be "silent" and I propose that the determination of what the car was to be was made on the assembly line. Am I correct? All chassis were stamped "HL" or "HR" or "H" and the final determination of transmission type or destination was made later. What is the letter designation for the L20 engine? Lets say an automatic transmission car was going to California. An HLS30 was set on the assembly line and fitted with all the proper equipment as it moved down the line. Finally, when the OK sticker was slapped on it's arse, the car breathed life as HLS30AUV. Actual birth.

Yes I mean Mr. K's car! What else c o u l d you call it? I guess "American marketing version" was too polite. It irks my craw to see that car on posters, billboards, television all across America. For goodness sake, there's pictures of it on eBay right now! Pictures of it clad with naked women...For sale! Why didn't they just give him a real one? Wire wheels :stupid: As far as North American cars are concerned, the letter designations before the S30 are: H for the L24 and L28E engine (G added), L for left-hand drive, and R (RLS30 with a G added for 2+2 versions) for the L26 engine. After the S30 letter designations are: A and F indicating automatic and five-speed transmissions, U for Federal USA cars, UV for California (sun protection), and UN for Canada cars. GHLS30AUV would be a 280Z 2+2 automatic for California registration. The VIN changed from five digits to six digits with the introduction of the RLS30 to the best of my knowledge. Now back to that yellow thing....

I'm with you mtdripo, could have made more money as a bar tender. Count me in as highly educated, never grew up, don't intend to, and doing what I was trained for.

Same car - same dealer.

Your pictures are very helpful, Alan, for understanding how that all goes together on the chassis. Thanks. The car I pointed to a couple of threads ago seemed to have the FRP headlight extensions and I was wondering about the rest of the panels. The ducting is a good illustration of how Nissan / Datsun were attempting to control the air flow at the front of the car and reduce lift amongst other issues. Of course aerodynamics have come a long way, but this is characteristic design thought of that period. Why is the American marketing version of the ZG painted yellow? You know, the ZG on all the Datsun posters and advertisements you see around. Remember the video of the kid chasing his baseball? The ZG is painted bright yellow. Trivia Enjoy the ride.

Thanks Z kid. That was very helpful. Nice web page

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6187&item=2479364353&rd=1

I'm curious about the first advertisement. That's the first time I have seen construction particulars about the ZG nose. Am I correct in assuming that's a real HS30H?

The ring on the rear side of the hub. An ink mark made with a rubber stamp.

I have been sent to the boxes! Woe is me. Steering wheel - 10/69. Never really noticed the factory mark on it before.

More great information. Great discussion. Thanks for the pictures, kats.

There is some discussion crossover between this thread and the "round knob - square knob" thread about the hand throttle. It appears as though we can "date" cars buy the parts they do or don't have and dated service bulletins. Kats, do you have a complete set of bulletins from the first year? Although I have heard of the change to the crankshaft, I have never seen a complete description like your photo. Also to reminisce for a moment, I recall discussions about the BRE 240Z raced in SCCA competition to the C-Production National Championship. BRE had horrible difficulties with broken crankshafts initially, and when they finally got the car to last (and win), everyone thought they were "cheating" with some special "roller bearing" crankshaft. It was all in the harmonics and balance of the new design. The bulletins kats posted tie dates to VIN numbers and engine numbers. Proabably the most definitive connection we have established so far. Kats, Hosomi san sends greetings and has glowing remarks about your car. Chris

That converts to $16,000 and it appears as though the car was originally GP White. Nice ride.

kats, Hitachi mark on the antenna trim !!!! Too much !!!! I love it !!!!

No, they all had air pumps (agreed) and all that garbage. I believe the fuel mixtures, timing advance, and ignitions were adjusted to different settings if memory serves me correctly. Fewer hydrocarbons to tarnish all that silicone in the valley, evidently. A few cars were imported without the fuel vapor recovery system and mine is an example. The gas tank does not have the fittings for all the hoses. I am not going to restore the emissions hardware to my car. I just can't force myself to do it. Please forgive me, it's an issue I have with my addiction to sports cars. Instead, I have the proper Datsun parts to replicate the non-emission engine.

California has tougher emmissions standards, Andrew.

Thanks kats. :classic:

I'll have to do some research, but to the best of my knowledge, the vinyl is glued directly to the rear bulkhead behind the tool boxes and seats. I have a piece of black - used. Do you want it?

I have no production figures for the ZG, Ben. But I can confirm 420 examples of the Z 432 from my literature. 299 were built in 1970 and interstingly, although not listed as available, 23 examples of the Z 432 were produced in 1972 and 1973. My source is Brian Long. I'm surprised Alan T. hasn't come in on this. He has a beautiful car in the unique maroon color. Alan?

Nissan Datsun announced changes in their lineup in October 1971. The 2.4 liter engine was introduced to the home market, but the most significant change was dropping the Z 432 model and introducing the ZG model - designation HS30H. ZGs were produced through September 1973. The combination of the S20 engine with the Z chassis was not particularly good for road use and Nissan wanted to homologate a number of items for racing purposes. The G stands for "Grand". The ZG nose added 190mm to the overall length of the car and the rivit attached overfenders added 60mm in width. Top speed was classified as 128 mph - 3 mph faster than the standard Z model. It came with the L24 engine - 150bhp, 5 speed transmission and 3.9:1 final drive. A three speed automatic was also available. You could get the car in any color you wanted as long as it was red, white or maroon. The maroon color is exclusive to the ZG. As far as I know, the ZG was intended for the Japanese home market and was not exported. I may get corrected on this one, but all the examples outside Japan were privately imported from Japan. With that short introduction, I'll stand aside and let the resident experts respond. :classic:

I might also butt into this conversation with the idea of the liability involved in producing a wheel - should it ever break. Casting a replica or set of replicas might be a fun project and the wheels would make a great addition to anyone's dream garage as a conversation piece. I would imagine a set could be used for display purposes and rolling a car around at a show without much concern for safety. They would need to structurally withstand mounting and inflating a tire. In terms of expense for the real thing, I might suggest comparing them with the current pricing of a performance wheel such as a BBS. Unless I was restoring an authentic car, I think I would gasp! My 2 cents - Thanks