HS30-H

Truth be told, Goertz had just as little real input into the Toyota 2000GT as he did with the S30-series Z. He has been credited with penning the A550X ( the Yamaha / Nissan collaboration that Yamaha later showed to Toyota ) but the A550X was nothing more than a reference tool for Toyota when they were putting together their plan for the car that became known as the 2000GT. Satoru Nozaki was the designer / stylist, Hidemasa Takagi was in charge of engine development, Shinichi Yamazaki was in charge of chassis and suspension development, and Shihomi Hosoya was assistant designer and a very competent development driver. It is Nozaki who should be given credit with the looks / style of the "2000GT", from Yamaha YX122, 280A, 390A, 460A prototypes and 311S racer, through to MF10 and MF12 production cars. The 2000GT was never really in direct competition with the Z, as it was first put on sale to the general public several years before the Z and hit its peak production well before the Z too. They were two quite different automobiles, with different philosophies behind them. I've been lucky enough to see many of these cars in Japan, and have even had the opportunity to drive one around the Tsukuba race circuit. The 2000GT was a fantastic car, and would be VERY high on my personal shopping list if I had the kind of money that is required to buy one of them these days. In my experience they are quite often slated by people who have never driven one, and in some cases never even seen one in the metal. I heartily recommend Shin Yoshikawa's excellent book "Toyota 2000GT", published by KAI, with ISBN number 0-932128-10-6. Hell its more than a book - its a positive bible on these cars. Alan T.

Some Fairladies were 'Fairlady 240Z's', but not all of them......... Probably the only really foolproof way of referring to ALL of the 'first generation' Z cars with one catch-all label is to do what Nissan themselves did, and call them all "S30" series Z cars. Nissan even uses the "S30" type name for the Japan-only 'S31' VIN-prefixed cars. To Nissan, anything pre S130-series is an S30 ( including the S31 ). The problem - as I see it - is that many people refer to the "240Z" are the 'original' Z, when in fact this is only half the story. I had a conversation with the guy who rents one of the garages next to mine a few weeks ago. He looked at my Fairlady Z-L project car ( a bare painted body, up on jackstands ) and sucked through his teeth. "Looks like a big job" he hissed pessimistically, "what is it?". "A 1970 Fairlady 240Z-L" I replied, "and I'm turning into a replica of a Fairlady Z432-R". His face was blank. "What's that then?" he said, "it looks like a 240Z". "I can see why you might say that" I replied, "they were brother and sister, but technically different models of the same basic S30-series type Z". He looked slightly confused for a moment, and then a spark of recognition lit up his face; "So its a 240Z, but different!" he exclaimed triumphantly......... Although only relevant to a few members here, it would be nice to see a list that was a bit more comprehensive and included models that were not officially sold outside Japan ( but nevertheless did exist. Some of these cars found their way outside Japan through private channels. I own two of these orphans. I believe there are other members here who have cars that would not fit into the list as it now stands. My 1970 Fairlady Z-L ( 'S30' VIN prefix ) certainly does not fit into the list. Its most certainly NOT a '240Z'. However, the '240Z' and the Fairlady Z-L are both 'S30-series' Z cars..... My 1971 Fairlady 240ZG is ( technically ) a '240Z', but its perhaps not what most people would think of when they hear or read about a 240Z. Summing up? Its a quagmire! Not all Fairladies are Z's. Not all Z's are Fairladies. Not all Fairladies are Fairlady 240Z's. The permutations are endless:dead: Since the debut of the Z33 ( notice I didn't write '350Z' ) I've seen many journalists comparing them to the "original 240Z". I guess its just a matter of perspective, but it would be nice to see a well-informed journalist comparing to the "original S30-series Z". Too late now I suppose... Alan T.

Hi HKSZ, Its probably from the S54B-II Skyline GTB, which used the Prince G7 engine. It was equipped with triple 40DCOE carbs on the GTB model. It must be worth a few Dollars I would have thought? You could sell it and use the money to buy a manifold that will fit your L-series engine. Good luck! Alan T.

I won't be able to forget that now. It might spoil my driving experienceLOL

Hi Nick, I've got a few L14 rods back at home. As far as I remember, I have around 8pcs. You could possibly mix and match a set of six out of the eight, but they have been messed with a little before I got them ( casting flash taken off / smoothed out, sanded ) so they need a little work. If you are going to race-prep them then they are already started.... I'm away from home on business at the moment, so if you can wait until I get back to London ( middle of next week ) I can dig them out and send photos to you. These are genuine L14 rods, and the classic formula for a Japanese big-bore / stroke L6 engine. I can't remember the centre to centre length off the top of my head, but they are long ( 140 something? ). I'll get in touch when I get back from Japan. All the best, Alan T.

Didn't we get the real story on this subject a few months ago? I think it was Kats who spoke to Matsuo san about it, and Matsuo san confirmed that the original steering wheels were indeed made from wood... It was a new process at the time, and involved pressing wood into a mould ( under huge pressure ) and combining it with some sort of resin? I don't remember the thread it was on, but I think I'm remembering it correctly. So it IS wood, but not JUST wood:ermm: Alan T.

26th-Z, The front-on photo of the car with the fog lamps is not an official Nissan photo. Its from the "Fairlady Z" book by Neko publishing, and I posted it on this site in relation to another fog lamp thread. The lamps in your other pics look very similar to the Nissan option ones, but not quite the same. Maybe they were made by the same manufacturer for another model? Actually, I don't know if the Z option fog lamps were made by Koito, Toshiba, Stanley, Ever Wing, or some other manufacturer. Anyone know? Alan T.

This diagram does not break down the parts as far as they will go, but hopefully it might help?

Hi DJACEY, The illustrations come from the Nissan "R DRIVE" parts catalogs. These were issued to dealers, and were not sold to the general public. They are big and heavy files of illustrations and part number lists. Very substantial. Copying them would be a massive job as there are several hundred pages in each book. If you keep a lookout on ebay, or with the automotive literature dealers here in the UK, you can sometimes see them for sale. However, they tend to command quite high prices. Have you considered investing in the "Microfiche CD" which is sold on this site? Take a look at the top left hand corner of the main page and you will see that there is a special offer on them at the moment. This is a CD that has copies of the official Nissan parts microfiches for the early Z cars, and it is endorsed by Nissan USA. Even though they are more relevant to the LHD cars than the RHD cars, it might well be worth investing in one as many parts are exactly the same. I think every owner should endeavour to have this kind of data in their collection. They really are one of the best tools that you can invest in. Cheers, Alan T.

And here's an illustration that depicts the switch:

This illustration might be of use / interest:

PhilUK, Just to clarify - your car ( now in UK ) was originally an Australian-market car, and does NOT have the front indicator repeaters - am I correct? As I think I said before, only the very first TWO cars that came to the UK ( VIN numbers HS30-00034 & HS30-00035 ) came without the front indicator repeaters. If there were any others after that, then I for one did not notice! Most UK cars DID have them, but no rear markers. Mr Camouflage, I would imagine that they did indeed punch the holes in the panels as a seperate process, and this would have to be performed once the application of the panel was determined. ie - rear quarters for the USA / North American market would have to have the holes punched in them - but most other markets would not. That would necessitate a different part number for spare parts. The same would apply to front wings / guards / fenders - as anyone ordering spare parts would need to know whether they needed the type with the holes or without. This is what I mean about complicating matters with "optional" parts for certain markets. Steve ( sjcurtis ), I am fascinated that Australia and NZ got the mixture of cars both with and without the front indicator repeaters. In fact, I'm surprised that the front repeaters were offered as an 'optional' part, as I would have thought Nissan would want to keep things simple for themselves ( as they did with so many other things on these cars ). Alfadog, I'm wondering at what stage these front and rear repeaters / markers were added to the design. I reckon it was fairly late in the design process, and I have a hunch that the front came first and the rear came a bit later ( ? ). I think they would have been added out of necessity rather than for the sake of looks. Zedrally, I'm fascinated to hear that you actually bought that car NEW! Its very interesting that you chose to take what was available off the showroom floor, rather than to wait. The fact that it was already well specified must have been a big influence on your decision. Here in the UK I have heard the same kind of story; namely that the cars appeared to be so well equipped as "standard" that it was almost unnecessary to specify any further extras. It would appear that the dealers themselves were choosing colours and trim for the majority of cars that they would sell. This would be especially true in the UK, where the time between ordering a specific colour / trim / spec. package and actually receiving it would probably be longer than any other territory...... 26th-Z, I'm fascinated to hear about the holes for the rear markers on your car. Do you think this is evidence of hand-cutting? If so, it might indicate that the addition of the rear markers on the USA / North American market cars was an even later decision than we realise. Certainly I don't recall seeing them ( front or rear ) on the prototypes and pre-production models, at least until they appeared on those cars that went on the American / Canadian cold and hot weather tests in late 1969. The HLS30 "Export" spec. car on the Nissan stand at the 1969 Tokyo Auto Show DID have them ( I wonder what the VIN number of that car was? ). All the Japanese home-market cars had the fronts only. Alan T.

What fascinates / confuses me is that there always seemed to be a very haphazard delivery situation with regard to these "Op" items. What I mean is, I have never actually heard of a person buying a new "HS30" ( here in the UK, back in the early Seventies ) being able to specify any of these "Option" parts. Of course, I was just a kid at the time, so I have no first-hand experience - but I have never heard or seen any evidence to show that prospective buyers were offered a list of options or choices at the time they were ordering their cars....... In fact, as far as I can surmise, the "Datsun UK" dealers simply sold what they had on the showroom floor. If anything, it was probably the dealers that decided what "options" would be on each car when they ordered them. What was the situation in Australia and NZ? Anybody know? Alan T.

I thought the discussion about front Flasher / Repeater units was interesting, so I've started a new thread on it here: Side Flasher / Repeaters thread All contributions / thoughts gratefully received. Cheers, Alan T.