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+1 on the @siteunseen comment. That color is also used for restoring the grill and rear finisher. The secret is the use of the matte clearcoat to eliminate the gloss in the color coat. Here's a close-up of the color on a grill resto.

PSA: Make sure your tetanus immunization is up to date. I had mine done last week - 20 mins, painless and better than death by a thousand rusty cuts ?

Glad you found it informative. For me, the BringaTrailer comments section is - once again - proving to be an echo chamber for many of the same-as-usual characters. One contributor suggested that the comments on this particular car be gathered up in digest form as some sort of reference material, but I don't see how that could ever hope to be accurate when so many contributions don't even get past the first level of moderation? Once again I see larger-than-life character 'Lstepp4re' apparently getting some kind of free pass to post incorrect statements. He's been wittering on about 'Nikra' exhausts (he means Nihon Radiator's 'Nichira' brand) and how Matsua (he means Matsuo) told him that the 240Z was 'designed for the USA', whilst also stating that "stripes on a Z are aftermarket". That would be news to Nissan, who offered them as a showroom option from 1969 onwards on Japanese market cars. There are also stripe kits - in three colours - with a K3110 part number prefix - in the factory R-Drive parts manuals. So of course he's wrong, but an attempted correction doesn't make it past BringaTrailer moderation. As the seat question shows, it's wise to look at ALL variants of the S30-series Z as a source of reference. If people are convinced that the "Made For The USA" mantra means they only need to look at USA market variants, then they'll never properly understand their USA market variant.

Kats, motorman7, CanTechZ thanks for your clarification. Seems like the collective here as solved another Z mystery, and the auction can proceed for an amazing find.

For reference my 7/70 car has the angled connectors for the rear window defrost wiring. Mid 1970 as suggested by @kats

Yes, you can remove the shims under the hinges. which will move it forward, but you have to be very careful the hatch lip doesn't contact the roof! It will remove the paint really quickly if it does. The hatch looks like it might still be a touch lower than the roof which will add to potential interference

@wheee! posted this photo:

If you get piston #1 at the top, and both cylinder 1 cam lobes are symmetrically up, then you're at tdc between compression and power strokes and you can time the distributor spindle.

Agree with Dave here. I don't see any electrical measurements. The 280Z EFI system is all about the electrical system. Almost pointless to try working on it without a meter and knowledge of how the system works. Use the 1980 EFI Guidebook.

432-R is likely going to stay premium for years to come, but current bid on this low miles, timewarp condition HLS30U is way below what even an average 432 will command, and roughly around what an average 240ZG will change hands for. HLS30U values have been lagging behind for years.

Yes, by MRM. Pretty sure I know who that is. Has his own museum up in LA area.

Do it 8 more times and it gets in the realm of the 432-R ?

So do HLS30-00026 and HLS30-00027

First six photos are LYs, which are single cam. HTH ?

Like I haven't been considering it for the last 15 years I've been building it... A philosophically pragmatic 'tribute' I presume. Unless you have period interior and engine bay shots...? We live in hope. Final touch will be the 'Fairlady Z Export version' plate. Has to be done... ?

Personally speaking, I would not be surprised by anything that Nissan/Nissan Shatai (or any of their family of companies and suppliers) did in the early days of production, and/or in the switchover to superseded parts and new models. The principle of Occam's razor usually applies. I'm not saying it was total chaos, but those were heady days. We are well aware that there was always a certain amount of fettling going on, and we have seen evidence of repaired/re-finished (presumably initially rejected as substandard, then rectified and re-introduced to the parts bins) so I would never say never. The BaT universe for a car like this is - naturally - biased towards the North American viewpoint. But these are Japanese cars, and it's almost like some of those people forget that. The memories of somebody who sold these cars when they were new, or who has owned fifty of the same type, are always of interest - but I'd rather speak to somebody who was working on the production line. Or better still, many people who were working on the production line... A perfect example of what I'm talking about has just popped up on that BaT auction: Jeff Segan has just made comment on the rear bumper forward-edge rubbers, after somebody queried their absence on this car. He might need to tread carefully with a "not used on 1970 240Zs" type statement. It's a little like running with scissors... After all, what does "1970 240Z" mean. What month? What variant (HLS30U/N/V? HS30U? HLS30? How about Aus and NZ?)? You'll end up dancing on a pin. The E4100 rear bumper forward end 'base' blocks were seen - for example - on the SLE 0630-911027-U factory sales flyer in 1969 (you know, the red car without a clock, radio or antenna, and with cut-and-pasted emblems) and were a feature on Japanese market cars from the first days of deliveries. Applied somewhat haphazardly in Export market cars, they are perhaps a lesson for us in treating sales brochures as reference points and - indeed - any one of these cars with one-size-fits-all ideas about content and conformity.

@CanTechZ found about the closest paint I've seen for the hubcaps and the rear finisher panel. Much easier than the paint match in the "how to restore 240Z" book.

Okay, took a few minutes to find it but I did. Here's my original early '72, s/n 69,???. As @dutchzcarguy it's vinyl with a leather boot lace to tie it together up top. found an interior...

@HS30-H On BAT people don't take you serious when you are not from the US. I guess this L4steppre never took a 240 apart. Because than he would know that drilling holes in doorcards and doors and putting in screws without prefab the location, wasn't the way the Nissan Factory operated. Thanks, I will take a look at Jalopy!! For me the beauty of the S30's is that they designed it extremely light. After taking apart several 240's I can see without knowing the VIN# wich of the 2 bodyshells is earlier than the other, teh later one has always more reinforcements. But still I have to learn a lot of things, and one day I hope I will have a PS30. I drove the car of Kats in summer 2018 when I visited Japan. The S30 wich made me smile the most is this 1970 US (see picture) market car with triple Mikuni's, matching but improved engine with a 2,8 crank, LSD, 5-speed, coilovers and improved brakes. End of september I did a trip with it in the South of France of about 4000KM. To replace this I'm building a period correct HLS30 #156 with all period/Nissan/Datsun competition parts I can get.

It looks like the lip on the new sill plate is a bit longer than it should be and the lip needs to be pushed down some so the finisher can slip over top. You could take a block of wood, place it on the edge of lip and with a hammer tap the wood while moving it along the lip, it looks like you only need to move it down about an 1/8". If the paint cracks you'll have to touch that up before installing the finisher.

Hopefully, this image is helpful. The hatch sill plate on this car is factory. The passenger taillight surround is installed but the piece behind the license plate is not. Please let me know if you need another angle. Thanks

Hi Alan , I totally agree with you, it is like if I want to know more about myself, I must look into my family , and relatives. Without this point of view , I will never understand what I should be . Looking at some variants sometimes gives enlightenment to me why the parts should look like . And it also gives me an idea how to get parts from , etc etc . Kats

Revive Jalopy in Japan is a great source for items like that. Here are some Revive Jalopy radiator hoses on my 432-R replica project car:

It was as far i know Always a vinyl boot with boot lace at the top.. Leather in a Z ? no way!! that came with the 300zx or so..

Spend another few hours working on this clunker ? ( as you can see from my tone about one of my favorite cars of all time) Today tasks, Cleaned all the spark plugs again, Started her up ran well no idle still. Did find a small hex to adjust the butterfly but what i gather dont mess with it. wrong way to get a good idle. Had the A/F Ratio gauge hooked up and was right super super rich. Now, the AFM is brand new (re-manufactured by whom unknown) (maybe an issue why the car has so many problems) Replaced FPR (it was not working at all leaky) Put the car together a 100% and then started working with AFM. AFM - Idle A/F Ratio did nothing. Rich AF (not in the good way) I hooked up my leak tester and noticed that there was a bit of smoke coming F.I.C.D. solenoid. (i think that's what it is called.) It was minor but I am still going to take all the accessory hoses and zip tie them shut. Connect my vacuum gauge and really see whats up. Going to use this is a reference, http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/vacuum/ Will keep you posted, thanks for joining me on this fun journey, learning a ton!

Siteunseen, Yes! I have the right ones. (now comes the hard part - restoration) Many thanks for replying.

28th June 1970.

Nov 1971 Mid-1972

Went to the storage unit today, so took a couple pics of HLS30-02614 of items that we have been discussing. The one loose seat is a passenger seat from a '73 The two door screws look to be 'oval head' screws with a hard clear (now yellowed) plastic collar underneath.

^This worked like a charm! Thank you SO much. Perfectly aligned now. So, two more questions: 1. Can anyone snap a photo of their rear hatch sill lip WITHOUT the finisher panels attached? Still unsure of how to make that work, see post #1 in this thread. 2. The hatch is still about 1/4" misaligned at the rear. Can I remove the shims under the hinges and move it forward, or is there another adjustment method for this direction?

@kats thanks for your opinion (I am in agreement) with pictures regarding the door panel screws, my car #6521 also has them. @christoffel With what has been discussed here and on BaT, I'm in agreement that it makes sense that these screws were added by the original dealers during the PDI process when it was deemed they were necessary. I mentioned on BaT that I would check the holes in my panels and doors as I recently removed mine, here is what I found. I have owned the car since 1978 and I would say this was the first time they had be removed. I base this on the fact there was remnants of plastic wrap on the door fasteners and top corners. Also the interior of my car was meticulously kept by the original owner. The holes appear to be in the same location as we usually see in pictures but there placement is similar but not exactly the same on the left and right doors, the hardware seems to be the same as others have described. It really has the appearance of "a fix" and not a designed production feature. It would make sense that dealers were advised of this potential issue and given a correct measure, this would explain why most cars we see have such a similar fix. Here is a good discussion on this subject and other interior topics: Cheers, Mike

70 and early 71 are D. The rest up until 77 had Zs. Iirc The ones referred to as series 1. The 69 was D I suppose. I'm not familiar with the early cars.

Yes, until about the late 60s it was not uncommon for import dealers to have left- overs re-titled as the next model year. I have a letter from Datsun headquarters outlining what models - at the time of the letter, if memory serves, 411, roadster, trucks - could be re-titled and how to go about it. All that changed when I became a Datsun mechanic in the spring of 1970. Now the dealers couldn't keep cars in stock or on the show room floor. Wise guy mechanics like me called the salesmen "order takers", heady times.

Maybe one day. I have a web site but never seem to find time to add content. Work and other hobbies always seem to get in the way. http://240260280.com/ http://240260280.com/Tech/ http://240260280.com/Docs/ http://240260280.com/Tech/Carbs/Weber/DCOE Theory Operation and Tuning.html old stuff: http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/ I put most of the good stuff on this site. e.g. first Datsun sports car sold in the USA below. First Z's arrive in USA announced in papers: