HS30-H

I would date 'S30-09435' as being around February/March/April 1972 production date. Looks like a good honest car to me. Hard to tell from the photos whether it is an S30-S Fairlady Z 'Standard' model or an S30 Fairlady Z-L 'Deluxe' model, although the non-trimmed 'Standard' bumpers might be a clue. It is also wearing the 'Deluxe' hubcaps so perhaps it is an example of a Standard model with a few extra option boxes ticked, or later Deluxe additions? If it has a 4-speed transmission it's probably a Standard model. This car might well be of interest to United Kingdom-based buyers. I will spread the word. There's also a Facebook group for USA-based Fairlady Z owners which would I am sure be interested in it. GLWS!

(my bold) If you'd really prefer LHD, I can't see you valuing the RHD properly, let alone the seller. Maybe it's not the car for you? Some RHD-specific and Japanese market-specific parts are far harder to source than the equivalent LHD parts, and if you were to find that too annoying then maybe your heart would not be in the car? My ha'penny worth: On a global scale, and comparing like-for-like in condition and level of modification/originality, a 1972 Fairlady Z or Z-L is going to be something like 20% to 30% more valuable than a 1972 HLS30U Datsun 240Z. A 1972 Fairlady 240Z or Fairlady 240Z-L maybe 30% plus, and a genuine 1972 Fairlady 240ZG maybe 60% to 70% up on the HLS30U. If the cars were in Japan, even more so. I own a few of these cars, have been watching the global market for 30+ years and I think I have a pretty good handle on what's what at the moment. I have seen USA-based marque and model 'gurus' and 'experts' talking down the Japanese market models for many years, but mostly they are talking out of their hats and know next to nothing about the cars themselves, let alone the global market situation. Having said that, it's a case-by-case situation. Less than ideal location and somewhat under-the-radar selling will not help the car to achieve its maximum potential. Put it in front of the right people in the right place, get a few facts straightened out and it could do well. This could be to your advantage. If you play your cards right you could buy the car for much less than it would achieve elsewhere on another day. If you can effectively 'snipe' it, you could probably move it on for more than you end up paying for it if you found it hard to live with. If you have any Fairlady Z-specific questions (specs, equipment, originality etc etc) I would be happy to try to answer them to the best of my ability.

Good point. I have a vague memory that you can switch them around 180 degrees on the mount. The driver's side has the little card pockets, of course.

Black no problem, but Beige/Butterscotch? I don't ever recall seeing a proper UK market 240Z with an interior colourway other than black. They would have been hugely in the minority in-period, and just about nonexistent now...

If you're truly interested, you might have some reading-up to do. The L20 six was the first of Nissan's L-series engines, dating back to late 1964. The updated L20A six (given that 'A' suffix to differentiate it from the L20B four that was then being planned) was fitted to several Nissan models including the Japanese market S30-series Z from 1969 through 1978. Japan got the option of L24-engined Zs from late 1971 through to the end of 1973, and the S20 24 valve twin cam six from 1969 through 1973, but the L20A and superseding L20AE were the staple Japanese market engines for the S30/S31 models. L20A/L20AE bore and stroke was 78mm x 69.7mm.

Not at all, actually. The L20 six was the first *real* engine that the S30-series Z project was conceived with. It existed way before the L24, so nobody 'made it smaller'...

I think that vinyl roof needs stronger adhesive...

Personally I'd go for The Real Thing when it comes to brake parts, and fit genuine Sumitomo MK63 pads. However, there's an OEM Ford fitment that uses a similarly shaped pad to the solid rotor MK63, and they will work with a little modification. I don't know what your local market part number will be, but there's a Ferodo-branded DS2500 compound reference part number of FCP167H. Maybe you can cross-reference?

'S30-01036' - as an early 1970-build 'S30' model 'Fairlady Z-L', would have been fitted with an L20A engine, FS5C71-A 5-speed overdrive transmission and 3.9:1 ratio R180 differential. The remaining - splined - back half of the propshaft seen in the photos appears to be correct for the original 2-piece, sliding spline-jointed propshaft with flanged U/Js at both ends that would have been factory spec for this car:

I'd say that your ad needs more detail description on the Fairlady Z-L (and more detail photos) to be more effective. You'll attract an awful lot of time-wasters and dreamers unless you give them a reality check, and the kind of people who might well take it on as a realistic project will be needing more to go on too. The situation regarding (possibly important to certain buyers....) key missing parts is not ideal. I'm sure you realise that, but if there's anything that can be done about it I'd be trying to settle the issue before sale if I were you. In the previous thread, I asked whether the original firewall-engraved chassis number was present and correct. The answer will be one of several key points for what I would class as 'serious' potential buyers.

(inextricably) Related thread:

Kats, If this is for the L24 in your 240ZG, I would go with the later system. It seems to me that it is more appropriate for the later car. For my 432-R replica project car (1970 Fairlady Z-L based) I found a full 20010-E4201 and 20050-E4200 system. I am using an R192 diff in the stock, early, location. Pipe bending/shaping on the early system is very distinctive!

Hi Kats, My impression is that the white paint mark on the 'U' clamp corresponds with the rubber 'snubber' block. The thread on that side is longer, and corresponds with the snubber block. When fitting, you tighten the nut on the side with the shorter thread just to the point where it is snug, then you tighten the nut on the snubber side so that the snubber block is firmly against the crossmember. The longer thread on that side allows you to do that. That's the way I've fitted them before, and it seems to make sense to me.

Not with an HLS30-prefixed chassis number and that build year. 'European' mainland market would only be RLS30 ('260Z') and GRLS30 ('260Z 2+2') from late 1973 through 1978.

If the car has a "back seat" (ie, it's a 2+2) and it doesn't have a letter 'G' in the chassis prefix, then it's an impostor. And if it was indeed built in 1978, and was for the north American market, then it was never a '260Z' whether 2-seater or 2+2. You're not describing it very well, either way. Is it a 2-seater or a 2+2? All S30-series Zs are "2 dr". Does it have a North American market door jamb tag and dash tag, or not? When you mention "vin number", are you referring to the full number engraved on the firewall sheetmetal (have you checked it?) and not just the tag in the engine bay?

So what was the "low VIN club guys" comment all about then?

(my bold) What's the "..."not worthy" thing..." you are referring to? Have I missed some posts? With respect, I think you have to expect straight talk on a marque specialist forum. I'm not going to blow smoke up your rear end for you and if I see claims - no matter who they are attributed to - that I believe are mistaken, unlikely or just plain wrong then I'm going to speak up. I think it's fair to say that I know a little bit about the Japanese market models and I'm probably one of their most passionate advocates on this forum. I think I have a pretty good handle on what your car was and is, and if you put it in front of us on this forum I'm going to say it as I see it. As a car enthusiast, I can't believe you would honestly want to hear only *good stuff* or have people swallow every tenth-hand tale whole? If you acknowledge this forum's integrity - which I think you have done, by asking your questions here - then you have to accept that you might not necessarily be pleased by every response you get. Am I right? My feeling is that these cars can tell us a lot if we only learn to listen. Your Fairlady - even from the limited photos you have posted - says quite a lot about itself. I think the fact that the rear arches have not been cut, and that the trailing edges of the lower section on the G-nose have not been relieved says a lot, and it's likely that it has never been fitted with very wide wheels, as many were in-period. My personal view is that this is a good thing, both for the lower panel of the G-Nose (they are worth more if they have not been chopped) and the 'shell of the car, which is - in my opinion - better off in stock configuration. I've already stated that I think it very unlikely that this car was circuit raced in period (scrutineering for even the most basic clubmans races in Japan would require fuel and safety-related changes that would be difficult to erase completely) and I also think it much more likely the RHD to LHD conversion was done in USA than in Japan. Some deeper research would surely answer a lot of questions. You asked about value but - as has been pointed out - the photos are not enough to go on. In my first reply I asked about the firewall-engraved body number, but you have not answered that question. It's quite an important point for the destiny of the car, I think. So too are the details of the RHD to LHD conversion. From your description, it sounds as though this was not a whole firewall change and that the original RHD details were covered or patched? To my mind that makes it more viable to be reversed. As an early 1970 production car, it surely makes much more sense to turn it back to its original RHD layout - even if you are forced to use slightly later componentry (such as the dash, for instance) - as if it's kept in LHD configuration it is neither fish nor fowl. It doesn't need to be 100% stock. Some Japanese period-correct touches would not be frowned on, but I think it needs that RHD layout for it to actually mean something in the context of its true origin and its original market. The G-nose, to my mind, seems a little incongruous on an early 1970 car. Stock body would surely make more sense?

See that? Three sentences that make me think I've taken acid and accidentally wandered onto zcar.com. I mean really, WTF? LOL... If there was any low-VIN bingo going on I certainly didn't notice it. Shame I missed it if there was, as I would have enjoyed the delicious irony. Here's a heads-up for you; The car in question is (according to the engine bay identity tag) an S30-prefixed, early 1970 production dated 'Fairlady Z-L'. Harry Potter would struggle to make it a "240Z". Even Nissan Shatai would struggle with that one.

Sorry, but this is utter fantasy. Nissan were simply not in the business or habit of undertaking such modifications. The (road traffic ministry related) ramifications alone make it a bureaucratic nightmare. If said G.I. wanted an LHD car, why didn't he just buy one? I'm sorry, it's just nonsense. I can imagine a situation where a local privateer 'shop' may have undertaken such a task, but where did the donor LHD parts come from? The further you get away from 1970 the less likely it all becomes too. Tall stories tend to attach themselves to such cars, and get bigger with the telling. Usually doesn't take much to dismantle them. I'd class this with your "factory race seats" claim. Doesn't stand up to any level of serious scrutiny. It's a (roughly) period-modded early 1970 Fairlady Z-L. Cool in it's own right. I think exaggerated claims and unsubstantiated 'race history' don't really help us to understand or evaluate the car as it stands.

OK, so names, ranks and serial numbers please? These "well known people in the Z community" are whom? If the car has been raced, there will presumably be event names, dates and results to back that up? The "President of his local Z club" has a name, I presume? If you make the claims - even by proxy - they have to be backed up. Hearsay is not good enough. I don't want to break a butterfly on a wheel here, but I see little evidence of the car ever being scrutineered and raced in period. First of all, who raced a 2-litre L-gata engined car in period (yes, names ranks and serial numbers please) and where is the factor max that proved the fact on the car itself? I see bone stock road car with period 'street' mods, not period-modded race car. Fuel system? Suspension? Brakes? Safety? Where's the scars? This car just doesn't have any aura of period race car about it. Not even a sniff...

Whoa there! Who said it was raced "by the factory"...? It would be news to Nissan, since they never took the 2-litre L-gata engined cars racing or rallying. They had the 432, 432-R, HS30 and HLS30 for that... I honestly don't see anything about this car that would suggest it was a proper race car in period. Wannabe street racer maybe, but more likely a typical Japanese street custom of the period.

It's almost impossible to take a stab at value in current condition with so few photos to go on. From what I see so far, it's in a bit of a mess. The true extent of the corrosion is a worry, as is the nature of the 'LHD conversion'. From your photos so far it looks as though wiper configuration was included, so perhaps radical changes to sheetmetal under the cowl (what happened to the heater inlet duct 'chimney'?). To reverse all that might be difficult, requiring RHD parts to replace. Properly restored? I think it's a moot point. Again, from the limited photos I see a LOT of original parts missing. Rounding up the correct parts for an early production LHD car is hard enough, but you can multiply it by a factor of ten for early RHD. If you start writing out a list it gets long pretty quick, and long means expensive. Proper restoration costs would easily outstrip the value of the finished car in your market. This is a car that needs to find an owner who will do what it takes without paying too much attention to the bottom line.

Yes, hood hinge and front bumper look to be correct for genuine Nissan-supplied items. Hard to value with so few photos though. Condition is important.

Some observations; 'S30-01036' would indeed be an early 1970 production (probably January or early February) S30-S Standard model 'Fairlady Z' or S30 Deluxe model 'Fairlady Z-L'. A closer look at your remaining trim and accessories should tell you whether it was a Standard or Deluxe model, but it's more likely to be a Deluxe just based on the law of averages and the stainless trim that I can see. The G-Nose assembly, whether it indeed is a genuine factory item or an early aftermarket copy, would have been attached to the car after (probably quite a way after) October 1971. The original colour of the car looks to be #905 red, which would be correct for a 1970 production Fairlady Z or Z-L. The 'Grand Prix Red' choice on the Fairlady 240ZGs was actually #110, so a different shade. It's kind of a moot point anyway as your car clearly isn't a Fairlady 240ZG. I don't see anything specific that would point to circuit race use in-period. The seats are aftermarket sports seats and are certainly not factory race seats, the centre drop bar brackets for the roll hoop look to be an aftermarket copy of the Nissan Sports Option items (yours appear simplified in comparison to originals) and there's an awful lot of interior re-trim with non-standard materials evident, along with a later centre console. It looks like a fairly typical 70s/80s 'street tune' car to me. The photo of the left door interior looks - to me - to show it is a later replacement. Does the engine bay tag match up with the body serial number engraved on the firewall?

The whole point of the vernier adjustable cam sprocket is that you set the cam timing to the cam card, using a degree wheel and pointer on the crank and a DTI on the valve spring cap.