Mike B

Here are some that I did last summer when I restored two gas tanks. I used POR15 and was able to reuse the original strap backing material after I cleaned and degreased it, then painted it with SEM trim black. I think I used "automotive goop" to adhere the material back to the straps. Note that there was a slight difference in the earliest straps and backing material from later ones. The set at the top is from a 11/69 production car and the set on the bottom is from a 5/72. -Mike

Yes, I also asked the seller a question about it through ebay during the auction. For some reason he didn't post that Q&A though. -Mike

Sold at the opening bid of $19k http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110538406567&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT. I wonder who bought it? Seems like a nice car, but I thought the seller should have disclosed in the ad that it was originally green. Also, this Q&A response made me wonder just how many of the unique early parts are still there: Q: Beautiful car. Do you have any history/documentation on the car or any pictures prior to the work being undertaken? Clearly it was done to a high level. Did the body require extensive work? Any issues outstanding that require attention? Any additional performance enhancements? Any other non-stock mods beyond the polishing of the carbs/valve cover etc? I'm not a stickler for originality per se, but would want to know in advance if there were variations. Thanks a lot, dw May-30-10 A: The history of the car is it was a complete basket case,missing many parts. I bought a 71 rust-free tub and a wrecked 70. I needed seats,dash and a ton of parts I bought on Ebay. Over two years later and a ton of money it's done. I have a complete album of pictures taken during construction. Any specific questions you have, give me a call. Thanks Attaching ebay ad photos for future reference. -Mike

Rebello? http://www.rebelloracing.com/

Those are the non-reclining mechanism that came on the 70 and 71 model years (at least for the North American market). They only tilt back slightly (10 degrees I believe). However, it looks like they have been repainted silver, instead of the original satin black finish. Your 1972 would have the fully reclining mechanisms, so yes, they are different. I agree that the old upholstery on the seats was not original either. -Mike

Sounds like someone needs to buy the club parts CD. You will probably save the cost of it on your first parts order instead of buying from the ebay resellers. -Mike

It looks like your expectations have been addressed. The ebay pictures show center caps on the wheels now, so feel free to bid . -Mike

Looks like HLS30-00094 is listed on ebay now. Starting price is $19k with no reserve, so $9k less than it was advertised for on Craigslist previously. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Datsun-Z-Series-Datsun-240Z-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem19bc9a3aa7QQitemZ110538406567QQptZUSQ5fCarsQ5fTrucks -Mike

They are Vector wheels, made by American Racing Equipment. -Mike

Looks great John! I've definitely become more of a fan of 920 Safari Gold after seeing your car and a couple of others recently. -Mike

Are you just kidding and I don't get the joke, or do you really not know how to tell the difference between the post date and join date? Either way, I'm not sure why you bring this thread back again three weeks after the last post. -Mike

Hey Jim, I'm pulling the engine out of one of my 1969 production cars (HLS30-00210) to get it ready for paint and body work and found the same down pipe you have (with the Z medallion welded on). I don't think its stock, but yours is the only other one I have seen. -Mike

Ron, You could try to sell just the bell housing as part of a type A 5 speed conversion part like this ebay seller http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110533446324&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT. I am thinking he will not get the $175 starting bid he is asking for it . The bell housing is the easiest part to get, it is the other parts required for the conversion that would be near impossible to find. -Mike

Well, I would rather keep this one limited to just the earliest parts. If people want to leverage it to make another spreadsheet to track other common parts that would be fine, but I think the size of it would get to be be huge. The point of this was just to try to consolidate the various early parts into one thread that we can add to over time and could be used for someone considering buying or restoring a low VIN car. -Mike

I could, but most of these wouldn't have different part numbers than later variations of the parts and I doubt any of them would be available new these days. If people think it is worthwhile though I will add it. -Mike

Looks like it defaulted to read-only after I made it. After looking at the options to make it public, read/write etc., it seems the best option may be to use a password, so I set it up to use "datsun" (no quotation marks or caps) as the password. Hopefully that will let people on this site use it, but keep away someone who just comes across it and wants to mess with it. Let me know how that works. -Mike

Here is my attempt to compile a list of the earliest 240Z parts (used on the HLS30 model) and which cars came with them http://www.editgrid.com/user/mike_b/Early_240z_%28HLS30%29_parts. Use the password "datsun" (no quotes or caps) to view or edit. I used the same online spreadsheet that Mike W used for the VIN registry. Right now it is open for public viewing and editing. I have a backup copy saved and will back it up frequently if other people decide to add to it. If I start having the same problem with the data being corrupted (as on the VIN registry) I will lock the spreadsheet down and I'll update it for other people. There are two worksheets. The first is a summary parts listing that also shows what is the highest known VIN for each part. The second is a worksheet that details which cars have which original early parts. I decided to just use an "X" and add cell comments as needed. If you have added early parts from other cars or reproduction parts, please don't list them as the intent is to get a better idea of how late certain parts were used. Hopefully this will help others with early cars that want to restore their cars to as close to stock as possible. I plan to add photos of each of the early parts to this thread over time to help clarify what the differences are. -Mike

Dogma is not on the site much any more, so he may not even see your post. His profile says the last time he was here was on 10/21/09. I haven't had a gas tank boiled, but I had a radiator done and I think it was about $100 and a gas tank would probably be similar. -Mike

I am working on an online spreadsheet that we can revise as needed, similar to the registry spreadsheet started by Mike W. I will post it in a new thread when I am done. Send me a PM for now if you have something you want me to include. -Mike

Yes, of course we are interested Kats! I think that most of use are interested in all of the S30 variants. I am glad that PS30-00011 still exists! Maybe we will get to see pictures of it some day. That is a good question Kats. As your data has shown (and Chris' Datsun 240Z Sports production video confirms), many of the earliest cars were right hand drive. It is possible that the first #11 was PS30 or S30. From what Carl indicated in this old post, the first HS30 that was sold to the public was #4 and that was supposedly produced in Jan 1970 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showpost.php?p=45367&postcount=15. Not sure if that is accurate or not. It also makes me wonder if Nissan really needed to test and keep the first 15 or so of each of the different S30 variants. Maybe the testing was similar enough that they could use the knowledge gained from one test model prototype and apply it across other variants. That way they won't need to test and keep as many of some variants. -Mike

Yes, my HLS30-00032 and HLS30-00210 both have the long vertical plate on the back of the door. I was also wondering if the the Fairlady ZL got the spring and the base Fairlady Z did not? Originally the HLS30U model that we received in North America had some of the base features like the like the Fairlady Z (such as rubber mats, clear glass, and no rear defroster) but they were quickly upgraded soon after production began. It is a small thing, but I wonder if this was the case with the gas door spring? Either that or the springs were just not available yet the at start of production, but the doors had been designed to use one and were added to production once they were available. -Mike

Hi Kats, I think the extra plate we are referring to is the one on the hinge that covers the spring on the later doors (see the red circle on attached picture). The early doors don't have this, but the later doors do. It looks like both the early and late doors have the long vertical plate on the back of the door that you pointed out. Take a look at the early green door I attached in post #13 above. Does your Z432 have the early style also? -Mike

Did it have the welded on plate to hold it in place, or was it just the spring with no plate? -Mike

It is a little odd that the early doors appear able to install a spring. Maybe the springs weren't ready for the first couple months of production? Chris (26th Z) confirmed last night that none of Jim Frederick's low VIN cars have them either. Until I see a low VIN car that has one I am skeptical that they were there to begin with and they all just happened to fall out. -Mike

Or you could save even more and buy it from www.nissanparts.cc for $84.19 or www.nissanpartsnow.com (as I have mentioned many times, my favorite) for $74.91. The current part number is 17208-N3050 in case you need it. -Mike