HS30-H

Try posterity. It lasts longer...

1983: Post crash:

HS30-00034 It was given UK road registration (license plate) 'UAR 603J' and eventually embarked on a career as a race car in the 'Post Historic Road Sports Championship' during the early 1980s with owner/driver Ian Pearce, and later in the HSCC's (largely stock) Roadsports Championship in the hands of ex-BMC works driver Peter Riley and his son Tim. Tim Riley undertook a major rebuild/update in the late 1990s/Millenium period, with more extreme modifications for different racing classes. In mid to late 2002 the car had a big accident and required yet another build, but the comprehensive roll cage protected the 'shell and it was saved after being pulled straight on a jig. I supplied some of the panels. I'm not sure where the car is now. I heard that Tim took it with him to New Zealand some years ago.

That was the case, but Uemura san, Ozawa san and the other members of the 'Kaku U' team from Nissan Shatai had no direct responsibility for internal engine issues which were domain of Nissan Kohki. The 'Kaku U' team could report their experiences to Nissan Kohki, but Nissan Kohki were undertaking their own testing in Japan and were already fully aware of the problem. I've said it before and I'll say it again: There's too much emphasis on the north American side of the story here, and that's why everybody is ready to believe the BRE-narrated story of 'discovering a problem' and prescribing the cure. Meanwhile Nissan Kohki - having designed the crankshaft with six counterweights to save money on a de-contented, cost-sensitive product - were fully aware of the problem and were arguing with the white shirts about the costs and implications (not least homologation) of going to eight counterweights. It's almost like people are ready to believe that Nissan was some tin pot company which didn't know what it was doing...

Here's a perfect example of this impetuosity I'm talking about. Within a couple of posts you've turned your imagined scenario into fact, and you're looking for "the notes" which document that imagined scenario. It's not scientific, it's not scholarly and it flies in the face of common sense. You told me that you are an "Automotive Historian" and that you have written books and magazine articles. I don't think this is how they work. NEWS FLASH: NMC USA was not directly involved in "developing the 240Z for racing". They passed that task onto the likes of BRE and Bob Sharp Racing to take it on by proxy, supplying them with (mostly stock) hardware and supporting funds. The surrounding stories are all out there, readily available for you to look into and research yourself. We've touched on the topic many times on this forum in the past so there's a rich seam of knowledge to be mined here, but there's plenty available in period and contemporary publications too. You just have to do the due diligence yourself. Nissan Japan - through their 'works' team(s) - carried out their own activities and developments, and it is a BIG topic. There's no single one-shot injection of knowledge about all this and - once again - if you want to research it then you have to do your own due diligence. At some point it will become apparent to you that the real truth about the activities of a Japanese company, a Japanese car and related matters largely happening in Japan are - if you're lucky - written in Japanese and passed between interested parties in Japan. Quite a lot of it is even now - 50 years later - considered as private corporate property not for the consumption of 'civilians' like us. The implication is that you will need to start mining Japanese sources in Japanese, getting in touch with prime movers in Japan and spending a fair bit of precious time and money gathering documentation and evidence. Sometimes you will be trusted with information and documents that you will be asked not to make public and not to 'share'. That's the nature of the beast. My best advice to you is to slow down, research what is already out there and then pursue your own particular line of enquiry. Nobody is going to make a one-shot post for you on here, or give you a memory stick with 'everything' on it.

More like 15 years on here, I'd say. And still we are learning, aren't we? Indeed, we still don't know what we don't know... Our impetuous new friend is currently paddling in shallow waters, unaware of just how cold, dark and deep are the waters that await him the further he gets from shore.

Sorry to say it, but you're barking up the wrong tree. In fact, you might not even be in the right forest...

Kats, About the Kameari 'Kyoka' bolts/studs for the S20 engine: This is not really any different to the upgraded bolts and studs offered for any other engine today. In fact, Kameari proudly state that they are made by ARP - probably the most trusted brand for this kind of item worldwide. ARP are almost a byword for quality and integrity, and they offer parts for our L-gata engines too. The advantage of such bolts and studs is that they are stronger for the same or similar torque settings, are often made from better materials than the OEM equipment due to advances in metallurgy, heat treatments and finishes, as well as retrospective re-engineering. Replacing factory bolts with ARP studs and nuts is very common these days and is certainly wiser than using old and/or untested parts. And when you can't see them inside the engine they are not going to be offensive to the eye. I think you could easily rebuild an S20 yourself, Kats. They are beautifully designed and engineered, and a pleasure to assemble. It's not one big job, it's just lots of small ones. You can do it! When I start to build S20 no.3 I'll let you know. I'll probably be needing some of those parts you've got there! But before that, I have to build an 'interesting' L24-based engine for the ex-Kuwashima san 240ZG. It's in the body shop being painted now.

Indeed. What would have been the point for the factory engineers to bring an S20-engined car to a territory where there were no intention to sell and/or race it. I put it down to either a misunderstanding or mis-remembering something else. A lone S20 (race) engine cutaway was shown at some European car shows in the late 1960s as a general promotional tool, but no S20-equipped cars. North America? Closest proximity I could ever get was somewhat more southerly... In December 1970, SCCN works team drivers Haruhito Yanagida and Masami Kuwashima took a race-prepped 432-R over to Brazil to compete in two rounds of the 'Copa Brasil de Automobilisimo Internacional' race series at the Interlagos track in São Paulo: I've talked to them both about it, and it was an interesting story.

Except that's not really what happened, is it? You PM me totally out of the blue with a list of chassis numbers and many other associated questions (a full and proper answer would almost be a book in itself) and I replied that I wanted to know a bit more about you - and what was behind it all - before entering into a conversation with you about it. Some of what you asked about is sensitive information (especially the questions regarding ownership of certain cars in Japan) and I have learned to be cautious about sharing stuff like that with people who are - effectively - strangers. Before I could give you another answer you sent me a snarky PM and then start talking about "armchair experts" on the forum? You addressed me by my first name, but you still insist on calling yourself 'Roo'? You claim to be an "Auto Historian" who has "written a number of books and magazine articles", and yet you apparently haven't heard of the late, great Griffith Borgeson? Well forgive me if my spidey senses tingle a little and I don't feel convinced about you just yet... Q.E.D. Haven't, let alone haven't yet, isn't the same as cannot.

Jeff, Have you got a copy of the factory parts manual for the RHD 240Zs? If not, why not? Ask us! And if you have, then maybe you would be wise to be reading it in the bath, in bed and in front of the telly - before you start drilling holes in things and cutting off bits of Harada manifold that you don't really need to. Don't spoil the ship for a Ha'penny worth of tar.

Key point in bold above. We are talking about a 1970 S30 Fairlady Z-L here, not anything else. And if the car in question was to have your quoted 50k USD spent in bringing it back to very presentable condition then I think your 'valuation' of 25k USD would be, er, unenlightened to say the least. And I don't think it would even require 50k USD to make a nice car out of it anyway. Everybody knows we can get into negative equity with these cars (I'm no different), but that's for a future restoring owner to worry about, isn't it? Early S30 and S30-S Fairlady Zs are changing hands for more than their contemporary build date HLS30Us (they pretty much always have done...) so for anybody who actually desires one - that will be people who have legs that can hold them up whilst they lean against the wall at the ATM and the indoor counter of their preferred fast food supplier - the market price is what they will usually have to pay. My observation is that the market price is still rising.

I reckon there's a good possibility of a sale as-is in the range of 18k to 20k USD or more if recent interest is anything to go on. It needs a lot of work and some rare parts for a 100% factory-correct restoration, but there's no imperative for such a car to be bone stock and it's a great candidate for a Japanese home market style period-modified project. I believe there are a fair few people looking for such a blank canvas these days. If it were priced around 15k USD or so it would almost be a no-brainer purchase for export. The 5k USD comment further up-thread is just trolling.

So you think a fully restored car that just had 50k USD spent on it is only worth 25k USD? Point me at 'em. I'll take three. Ha Ha! Deal breaker! Personally I leave that kind of stuff to my butler.

I think it got 'personal' when you started the thread with your "rust bucket" comment. I didn't think you'd be scared of differing opinions though? You say "if it were a series 1...". You think it doesn't qualify for that soubriquet? Why can't it be a "Series 1" and a Fairlady Z? Do the two things have to be mutually exclusive? I'd say that this is probably a better car - structurally for sure - than the Fairlady Z-L which was bid up 20k USD on Bring A Trailer a couple of weeks ago. If local people don't want them/don't know what they are looking at, then they'll probably end up being sold for export.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a "rust bucket". I've seen a lot, lot, LOT worse and it is still eminently restoreable. It has rust in the floors for sure, but it still looks structurally sound and relatively good in some areas. I'm currently rebuilding something that started out far worse. Certainly wouldn't frighten off anyone who is used to serious repair. That tow bar and fender mirror/door mirror combo will elicit some throwaway lines from the peanut gallery, but this car looks like it could be a bit of a diamond-in-the rough to me. The asking price may well be a little high (probably a good strategy for the vendor), but what do you value it at? I would be willing to bet that it sells for more than your valuation. Let's hear it. Here's a current market reference point for you: https://page.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/g317504338?fbclid=IwAR2i0nT_GnctmANNPj4kbi65FzHPxYZzAPCdMjw150LGMIV1426zIwZxjtg

Kats, The S20 main bearing caps are "cross bolted". Enthusiasts of high performance engines are familiar with these as many 'Extra Duty' engines were designed like this from the factory. The advantages are in helping to eliminate 'crank walk' and 'fretting' (where the crankshaft deforms the main bearing caps and block casting) and helping to keep the engine block casting's shape and size during heat cycles and high rpm use. As you will notice, the machinists at the factory marked the block/oil pan mating face with the 'grading' measurement for the correct shim size on each cross-bolt to help the engine builder. This is a labour-intensive operation of the type still performed by Nissan's 'Takumi' engine builders for the VR38 engine, and it is a mark of quality. 'Hand Made' still means something today too. That's a wonderful pile of NOS shims you have found there! You can become a specialist supplier now. When I rebuilt my ex-432 S20 engine it was very hard to find these kinds of parts (valve lash caps in various sizes were also a problem) but the situation seems much better these days. Now I know where to go when I build engine no.3...

If you're expecting a groundswell of Japanese owners to start converting their cars from RHD to LHD, from 5-speed to 4-speed, from 3.9:1 diff ratios to 3.3:1, fast steering rack ratios to slow etc etc - with a special premium on adding Amco 'towel rail' bumper bars - then don't hold your breath. Emblems are one thing, but it tends not to go much further than that.

The first three could equally apply to the stock Mirror(s) on the HLS30U. The fourth wasn't and isn't an issue for owners of Japanese market models as the factory didn't charge extra for them. Seriously, if they "get in the way" of working on the engine then it must be a hell of a job that needs doing? I find that they don't get in the way at all. Of course, you can reach underneath, undo just one nut and remove them in a jiffy if it's that much of an issue. Try that with the stock Export door mirror...

What harm? I'd rather have that than the flood of "My cousin's friend's tap-dancing teacher used to have one of those, GLWS!" type comments. If anything grates it's the people who seem to regard themselves as high roller 'collectors', adding to their "portfolio" (pfft) and talking about 'Pebble' when it's likely their collection is more of a box-ticking exercise of third rate 'cool investment' pension fund hardware, hardly touched by anybody except the local handyman and destined to be liquidated as also-ran lots in an auction where Wayne Carini is selling a Fiat Jolly. I get the feeling these people are money men rather than car guys.

Which part do you object to most, the fact that they are making "snarky" comments, the fact that they are not bidding, or the "experts" bit? Looks to me like even other Scarab owners don't qualify as "Scarab experts", and it's hardly surprising given the nature of the story...

So what's really behind the "armchair experts" comment then? To whom are you referring? You've pitched up on a 'net based forum, asking questions. Are you expecting to find the Z-world equivalent of Griffith Borgeson to be at your beck and call? By definition, we are all "armchair experts" here, all scholars on the same voyage of discovery. I suggest you at least wipe your feet before you cross the threshold.

Would you classify him as one of your "armchair experts", or not?

Halberstam's book (note the spelling) is history as schmistory. It's not a reference source. It is tabloid-level entertainment - more National Enquirer than National Geographic. History reduced to soap opera. . John B. Rae's 'A History Of Nissan Motor Corporation In USA 1960-1980' is a proper reference-level tome and impeccably researched and written, but it's not a 'Z' book. Brian Long's efforts for Veloce Publishing get a mention in dispatches, but would benefit from major re-writes as new information has thrown light where there was otherwise darkness. The fact is, there is NO 'definitive' tome on these cars. In my opinion - take that as you want - the most accurate story of these Japanese cars would be best told by Japanese sources and in the Japanese language, but so far most Japanese publications have been written with a somewhat skewed viewpoint and keeping the "Thanks Mr K." status quo rather than being revelatory. Hitoshi Uemura's 2014-published 'Fairlady Z Kaihatsu No Kiroku' ('Fairlady Z Development Record') got "translated" into 'Datsun 240Z Engineering Development - The Journey From Concept To Reality', which gives a clue to the Bowdlerisation involved in an already skewed narrative. The short answer? There isn't one. I don't think there is a 'definitive' book on the Porsche 911 either, despite what people might claim. Even Karl Ludvigsen got a lot wrong. If you volunteer to write one, you'll soon be disabused of the idea that a 'definitive' tome is even possible. In my view it's only going to be possible to be a specialist in one aspect of such a wide subject, and even then you're on a hiding to nothing. Welcome to the party. Take a drink from the tray over there. Choose your 'guru'. It won't take long before you - turning up out of the blue as an impetuous arriviste - are an "armchair expert" too... Bottoms up!

Now, is that a 'replica' or a proper 'fake'...? Here's The Real Thing, for reference: Just in case anyone is confused, the funny one is on the right.