Hello from the UK!

[jerz]

Hi all,

I have only recently signed up to this forum, but thanks already to Mike B and 26th-Z for sorting out a couple of NOS parts for me!

From my brief visits to the site, it is great to see people with clearly the same sort of passion for their cars as I have for mine, along with an incredible attention to detail.

My car is a 1978 registered 260Z coupe in 306 silver metallic (we did not have the 280Z here in the UK). From what I can work out, the car was built around October 1977, so it has the revised interior trim fitted, similar to the late model 280Z. I have had the car from 2001 and am the third owner from new. The car is stock, even down to the Hitachi flat top carburettors (ok, from what I have read on this forum, they are not particular popular - that being an understatement). However, in the interests of originality I intend to keep them on the car, as they do not have the emissions control hardware found in some markets, so I think worth persevering with.

As for me, I live in Kent, with my wife and two young children; and work in London.

I have uploaded a photograph of the car taken a few years ago, but that was probably the last time it was on the road.

Regards.

[ChrisZ]

Welcome, nice looking car there mate, funny thing we had the 280Z here in Denmark, with fuel injection, big bumpers and all that stuff.

This is a great site with some nice members, if you want to go more local, there is also http://www.zclub.net

Chris

[gnosez]

Welcome to the site.

Is that the OEM driver's side mirror? I ask because it sits lower than normal for mirrors on a U.S. 240/260. Do you a passenger side one too?

If your 260 was built in '77/78 and has Hitachi carbs, does it have an L26 engine as well? If yes, then I guess that's where they all went when Datsun moved forward with the 280 sold in the U.S. in '75.

Interesting that your car also has the early 240 front and rear bumpers as well.

In the U.S., 260s had similar bumpers until the middle of 1974 when they got mandated safety bumpers like those on U.S. 280s.

[jerz]

Hi there,

Thanks for the welcome Chris and gnosez. The Z Club site in the UK is very good and I am a member on there as well, but always very keen to learn more about the S30 range, hence my registering on this site, too.

To answer your queries, the mirrors are standard and they are fitted to the driver’s and passenger’s doors (I am told that some cars were fitted with drivers side mirrors only). I think the cars were imported without the mirrors, which were subsequently fitted by the concessionaires before sale. So essentially, I guess, they are OEM, Paradat branded and manufactured by Autosafe. As far as I know they are common across a number of models in the UK Datsun range, not just on the S30.

The car has an L26, but I suspect emissions legislation was harsher in the US than the UK, so the flat tops soldiered on here until introduction of the 280ZX in 1978, which had fuel injection.

Bumpers, front and rear, are stock and continued up until the end of S30 production on UK cars. The license lights are mounted on the rear bumper and the panel over the license plate itself is a dummy.

I will track down an original brochure and scan that as a reference for you.

Regards.

[jerz]

Here are a couple of scans. The red car in an information leaflet actually has door mirrors both sides, whilst the maroon car in the 1977 brochure does not have any. Note stock aluminium wheels on later UK cars (as fitted to the 280Z Black Pearl), along with factory fitted front and rear spoilers.

[gnosez]

I see that the corner valances and front signal lights are very different from either the 240 or 260 models sold here in the U.S.

The wheels are interesting too.

Thanks for the pictures. Post more if you have them....

[jerz]

Thanks for your interest.

Here is a brochure scan illustrating the front of the late model UK cars. Indicators sit on top of the front bumper. The aluminium wheels are stock on later UK cars. Early types of this wheel seem to be unpainted in the centre cross, but later models are finished in a charcoal grey. I can take a picture of a NOS late model wheel for reference if anyone wants it. The centre caps are interesting too, with mine being iridescent blue like the caps in the brochure scan. There may be other colours available, possibly a slightly darker greenish blue shade.

[geezer]

Welcome jerz! We never tire of looking at pics of such nice examples as your car or brochures that illustrate these market variations. Were the indicator lights mounted on the front bumper also fitted after being shipped, before sale? Are they also common to other models in the UK, as the mirrors are?

[jerz]

Ron,

Thanks for the positive comments.

I can definitely say that the front indicators were factory fitted. I have attached a couple of photographs of them close up, along with the Nissan boxes. I understand that the base metal is zamak, which apparently makes them very difficult to re-chrome using normal methods. The first couple (I think literally) of UK cars had the front quarter valance indicator lights, similar to the early US models.

I am pretty sure the indicators are unique to the S30 range

Edited March 10, 2009 by jerz

[FilipeA]

Hi

Welcome.

In Portugal, there a few cars like mine, that has the front indicators like US market, but the white lens on it, not orange!

But the 1972 cars all of them has the front indicators like yours or UK market.

Filipe

[Zenioric]

Hello jerz and welcome to the forum.

My Finnish 240Z-72 had indicator lights like yours but I moved

them UNDER the bumper. To me they look better there...

Edited March 11, 2009 by Zenioric

[RIP260Z]

Hi Jerz,

You know who I am, as we have discussed the originality of the UK late spec 260z which I think is RS30-Q.

From my understanding...the front indicators were a late addition to the S30 coming to the UK in 1970. It seems that the under the bumper indicators/side lights were too low on the car for the UK authorities. So I presume these were quickly made to suit..I have not seen them on any other Datsun.

Just for info, the purple 260z in the publicity photos still exists.

Regards

Ian