Mike B

Here is a copy of the TM-1081ZA radio manual that came with HLS30-000210. Also, I have noticed that in the 1970 owners manuals dated from December 1969 through July 1970, the radio is shown with a red "indicate light" (turns on when power is applied). However, in the November 1970 owners manual, it shows a green "indicate light". I'm not sure when the change occurred exactly, but that may be the visual difference between the TM-1081ZA and TM-1081ZB. The attached radio manual refers to it as the "Pilot lamp". I've got several of the early AM radios now. I'll see if I can get them together and try to confirm my theory about the light color and model soon. Does anyone have a copy of the TM-1081ZB brochure they can post scans of? -Mike

Well, thanks. There are alot of people much more knowledgable than me on this site, which it what makes it such a great resource. -Mike

It should be and easy fix. That rubber line goes from the fuel rail (under the silver insulating material) to the carb. Just make sure you get the right size hose and it is fuel rated. Did you pull these hose off to see if it is split? Maybe the connector is just loose? -Mike

Congratulations and welcome to the club. I was watching that car on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=140446171108&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT. It looks really nice. My son is a fan of the "Black Gold" commercial from back in the day, especially the guy with "the 'stach". -Mike

WOW! Looks great John. I was waiting to see pics after you got it back on the road. That should do it for another 40 yrs at least. -Mike

The service bulletin (TS70-28) that Chris cited in the thread you linked to only mentions the crankshaft counter weight increase beginning with engine #L24-3607. For HLS30s, that would be VINs roughly less than #1500 (1/70 cars). I think Chris was assuming that the oil pans were changed at the same time, but that may not be the case. When did the emissions laws in Canada change so that they required emissions equipment? Maybe the non-emissions cars were allowed to be sold in Canada for the entire 1970 model year (except for the province of Ontario, which apparently required emissions from the beginning)? -Mike

Actually, the Zhome site shows HLS30-100262 as the last 72 model reported. There may be others that Carl knows of with VINs later than that, but not on the list. There are three cars listed as 73 models with VINs below 120000 (which is when Nissan says the 1973 model year VIN range began). All are listed as being located in Australia or New Zealand. The HS30 model was sold in those markets, not the HLS30 model. One of the VINs on the list says it is a HS30 and one is a partial VIN number - 11955?. That makes all three of these reported VINs questionable in my opinion. Also, I'm not sure why you posted a picture of your door tag. I don't think anyone was questioning the accuracy of the VIN/build date you stated. I think Rich1 was just agreeing that Mike W's spreadsheet data was incorrect in his opinion. -Mike

See the prior two posts. The spreadsheet is currently messed up again, so the data is not correct. Your VIN HLS30-91415 falls in the range for 7/72 cars on the Zhome registry, which is not directly user editable. -Mike

According to Carl Beck in post #3 in this old thread http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20928, about 20,000 VINs were skipped when the 1973 model year was begun (from about 100,000 to about 120,000). I believe there were probably a few other VIN ranges skipped prior to the introduction of other model years, since the starting VINs for each year all started with VINs rounded to the thousands. -Mike

If Carl's registry on zhome.com is correct, the highest VIN for a HLS30 (240z) it shows is HLS30-172753 The zhome.com registry also shows that Eiji's HLS30-170408 has a build date of 8/73. -Mike

Looks like the seller increased the shipping to $14.42 now. Still a good deal for $29.42 shipped. -Mike

So it looks like you have all the photos you need to start the cloning process now. Are you hoping that vintage racers will actually wear these while racing? If so, are going to be making these out of Nomex or whatever the modern fire resistant material is? Do you have any prior experience making racing suits? If I was racing I would be much more concerned with the safety protection the suit provided than what it looks like. -Mike

Overall, it looks like a pretty nice car. In this market, my guess on value is $6-8K, probably closer to $6k in its current condition and location (So Cal). I'm basing that on: -It's the less desirable 1973 model year -If the paint it original, it looks flat and sun damaged. If it can be buffed out ok, that will increase the price. -The dash is cracked. I don't think it matters much if it is one crack or 10. -The carpets are "dry and crunchy", to me, that means they need to be replaced and the rest of the interior is probably sun damaged also. You should post pictures of the surface rust in the battery tray and of the floors and undercarriage to get a better guess at the value. -Mike

The only photos of Bob Sharp's racing suits I have seen were gold with black cuffs and stripes. There is someone on ebay that has been trying to sell one that he says is original for months now with no luck http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Datsun-BOB-SHARP-Racing-FIRE-SUIT-SCCA-RaceMark-/200507420101?pt=US_Racing_Fan_Shop. The B&W photo from the ARRC shown in the ad, shows Bob's name under the Datsun patch on the right side, instead of on the left side as the one on ebay has, so I'm not totally convinced it is original. Maybe it is a later suit? The period photos I have seen of John Morton show him in a similar gold suit. By the way, why are you trying to "clone" one these vintage suits? What do you plan to do with them? -Mike

Hi Thorz, I don't want to hijack Kat's thread about HLS30-00007, but I doubt he will mind. HLS30-00237 was my first 1969 production car and I found it in New Jersey through a Hemmings ad in Feb 2007 http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24915. I had always wanted an early blue 240z, so when I found HLS30-00032 for sale in another Hemmings ad in March 2008, I went to see it and bought it http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29880. Finally, I ended up buying HLS30-00210 in December 2008 after someone that had just purchased it from the original owner contacted Carl Beck and wanted someone familiar with low VIN cars to evaluate it http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32826. I also bought HLS30-00331 along with a couple of parts cars from a guy that was local to me. However, it was a real mess so I ended up saving every thing I could from it and then scrapping it. Even though only approximately 500 HLS30 cars were produced in 1969 many of them still exist, although many are in pretty rough condition or have lost some of their unique parts over the years. They come up for sale periodically on ebay, craigslist, Hemmings, etc. I know of a car with a VIN in the low 100's (HLS30-001xx) for sale in Canada, but it is a real project (currently a shell and parts) that will require a lot of work to put right. -Mike

My thoughts exactly. I wouldn't put fiberglass fenders on a stock car unless it was a Corvette . -Mike

Hi Thor, Yes, I hope to meet you some time in the future. Perhaps your next trip to the US should be to the west coast. The convention this year was very special, due to the presence of guests like Mr. Matsuo and the number of former Gold Medallion winners that brought their cars. It may not be equaled again for many years, if ever. I was able to talk to Mr. Matsuo briefly, but unfortunately didn't get his autograph on anything or any pictures with him. I had hoped to later, but ran out of time with so many other things going on. -Mike

Thor, welcome to the best site on the internet for early Z cars. There's lots of valuable information and great members here. I was also at the Zcon this year, and heard about your visit, but we didn't meet. -Mike

Hi Rick, Yes, if you ever decide to load up the trailer and head West you should plan around attending the Canby, OR show (in June) or the Vancouver B.C. show (in Sept). I'm sure all the NW folks would love to see your car. I don't really think that the "No. 3" marking was anything more than an inspector sign off. I was just kidding with my comment about it being an earlier car, although the solid cast hood emblem that it came with and the welding and lead work around the hatch opening are interesting. There was a very similar "No. 1" mark that I found on the back of the speedometer in my HLS30-00032. As Kats noted earlier in this thread, there were various delays and rework done on some of the cars, and we are not even sure how or when VINs were assigned, so I think it is really hard to say for sure which cars were finished ahead of others. -Mike

Thanks for the comments Ron. I was wondering if that was a common practice to write on the panels like that, and it sounds like it is. I was also surprised that this writing survived not only the paint prep process, but also the chemical stripping of the panels. I wonder what they used to write these with, some kind of marker? I guess the factory red iron oxide primer that was used provided good coverage for anything written underneath, even on a white car like this. -Mike

Hi Alan, Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking, some sort of panel finishing/rework instructions. I realize it is pretty challenging to read and translate these. They were difficult to photograph, especially the ones on the door, due to the angle of the light and I didn't have a lot of time. It was late in the day and the painter was wanting to leave. I might try to play with the contrast to see if I can get them any more legible. Here is what Eiji had to say "picture 23 and 27 says "上バリナラシ", 上 means up or top, バリナラシ means deburring or something out the burr or like that." I guess it doesn't really matter so much what they say exactly, but that we are able to see them at all and get some insight into what the production process was like. I hadn't seen anything like that before, so I was very interested in them. Thanks to both you and Eiji for taking the time to look at them and giving us your best guess on what they might mean. Thanks Alan. There are a few small spots of rust and some body work to be done, but over all it is a very solid car. I'm never quite sure what I will find under the paint on a Z, so I was happy that this one was pretty clean. -Mike

I vote nice price for the car and crack pipe for the author of the Jalopnik write-up. -Mike

Here are some pictures of writing we found on my HLS30-00210 once we stripped the paint. The first two pictures are Japanese writing on the left quarter panel. The next three pictures are Japanese writing on the top of the right side door. The last picture is the "No.3" written on the top of the left side inner fender. Hey Rick, maybe this means this is really HLS30-00003 and it just got sent back through the line and had a higher VIN number assigned . Maybe Alan or someone can translate the Japanese writing for us. -Mike

I went over to drop off a set of NOS fenders and a second set of valance panels for #210 today. I want to have two sets of valance panels painted so I can mount a spook to one and have a spare set if I want to switch back to a stock look for a show or something. I took some photos of the progress. Things are going a little slower than planned, but I'm not in a hurry and it should be getting more attention next week. Also, my painter has worked on lots of Z's and said that he found a couple of unusual things near the hatch that he hadn't seen before. He said the top of the hatch opening has lead along the inner edge. You can see the lighter colored line along the top of the hatch opening on photo #7. Also the seams where the roof is jointed to the quarter panels was welded differently than he has seen before. I believe he said it was welded along the entire seem rather than stitch welded. The rear of the car had all of its original paint on it before it was stripped, so that is how it left the factory. -Mike