HS30-H

Oops! I misread that. Thanks for putting me straight ( that had me scratching my head for a little while.......... ). I wouldn't worry about getting the Service Shuho booklets at this point if I were you. They were sent out to Nissan dealers in Japan when new models were introduced or updated, and contain snippets of useful and interesting information - but they are all in Japanese and deciphering them might not be all that much of a fun prospect for you. They are also pretty expensive collectables. It is the 'H' in the prefix of your VIN / body serial number combination that denotes the L28E engine on this model ( letter H in the prefix usually stood for the higher engine capacity versions across the models ) and since injection was standard on the S130-series Z range ( letter 'E' after the engine type denotes that ) it just means that your engine is the 'L28E' - which might help you when you are ordering parts for it. I think the most useful thing for you at this point will be a copy of the Japanese market Parts List for the S130-series Z. If you can send me a PM with your name and postal address I will send you a CD version by Air Mail. Alan T.

Actually, its quite a few rungs up the ladder from the true 'basic' model ( the S130-S 'Fairlady Z' with the L20E ) and as an L28E engined model - and a '2by2' at that - it would have been pretty expensive when it was new, and would have fallen into a higher taxation bracket too - so the original owner wasn't all that frugal. Japan never got the option of a Turbocharged L28 on the S130-series, so it was up at the top end of the price range for that year's production models and just one step down from the 'T-bar' roof versions. I don't know why it has both wind-up windows and electric window switches though? I'm certainly no expert on these models - but I can't imagine a car leaving the factory like that? Is it possible that it has been given the door panels from another car at some point in the past? I don't have the Nissan 'Service Shuho' booklets for the S130-series range, so I'm afraid I can't decipher the meaning of the '0-12' and 'P7560' numbers with any accuracy - but they relate to the taxation classes and safety legislation that applied to that particular model type. I think you are pretty close to your answer now anyway, and only close scrutiny of the car itself is going to get you closer to knowing whether it is actually a 'Z-L' or a 'Z-T'. You're going to need a Japanese market S130-series parts manual to enable you to cross-reference part numbers for your car if you are going to be ordering them from the USA suppliers. Alan T.

Japanese market S130-series full model lineup: *S130S = Fairlady Z ( 1978~83 ) *S130 = Fairlady Z-L ( 1978~83 ) *S130J = Fairlady Z-T ( 1978~83 ) *GS130 = Fairlady Z-L 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *GS130J = Fairlady Z-T 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *GS130S = Fairlady Z 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *HS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L ( 1978~81 ) *HS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T ( 1978~83 ) *HGS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2 ( 1978~81 ) *HGS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2 ( 1978~83 ) *KHS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z ( T-bar roof ) ( 1978~83 ) *KHGS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1978~83 ) *KS130J = Fairlady Z ( T-bar roof ) ( 1980~83 ) *KGS130J = Fairlady Z 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1980~83 ) *S130ST = Fairlady Z Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *S130T = Fairlady Z-L Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *S130JTB = Fairlady Z-T Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130T = Fairlady Z-L 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130JTB = Fairlady Z-T 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *GS130ST = Fairlady Z 2by2 Turbo ( 1982~83 ) *KS130JTB = Fairlady Z Turbo ( T-bar roof ) ( 1982~83 ) *KGS130JTB = Fairlady Z Turbo 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) ( 1982~83 ) NuttyforNissan, I'd wager that you have either a 'Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2' or a 'Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2'. It might very well be 1978 production year too judging by its relatively low body serial number. I don't think you will see the letter 'J' suffix of the 'Z-T' model stamped on the actual car, and certainly not on the VIN / body serial number combination stamped onto the bodyshell. The difference between the 'Z-L' and the 'Z-T' was purely in trim and accessories, and there's the added complication that the original Japanese buyer might have chosen some factory options and upgrades when he ordered the car from the dealer. You might be able to pin it down by examining the details and clues on the car itself - and if the original factory engine bay tag is still present it might hold a couple of clues. Have you got electric door glass and remote control exterior mirrors? Alan T.

NOT TRUE. . Carl, Nissan's suppliers ( and there were many ) didn't all use Cadmium before the 'Yellow Chromate' ( 'gold passivate' ), and quite a number of them actually did use Zinc. People who are familiar with original Nissan parts for models other than the S30-series Z could tell you that some suppliers even used both from time to time, depending both on what they were making and when they were making it. This should not really be all that much of a surprise to us when we take into account the circumstances and the period in question. So to make the sweeping generalisation that all of it was Cadmium is not really a good idea. Just don't try to pin me down and make me tell you which is which on any particular car, as I have absolutely no idea! Alan T.

Unfortunately, the above articles illustrate some of the bad research and plain mistakes ( not to mention fanciful thinking ) about some of the cars concerned. Take the first two paragraphs from the "History" page linked above. Quote: "HS30LW -00023 or 00026 - Started life as a light weight, "factory works" rally car. Assigned to Shekhar Meta and Dave Doughty for the 1972 East Africa Safari Rally. The team finished 10th Overall that year, and took third in class. Below is the rest of the story about this historic Z Car. After the 72 EAS Rally, HS30LW 00023 was shipped back to Datsun UK under whoes auspices it had been initially prepared for competition at Old Working Garage. After receipt from Africa by Datsun UK, was stored .... " Sorry, but to be blunt - this is complete garbage! Note: *There's no such chassis number prefix as "HS30LW" ( where the hell did that come from???!! ). *The car pictured between those two paragraphs ( 'Big Sam' version 2 ) is a different car altogether! *Nissan's 'Works' 240Z & 260Z rally cars were assigned standard 'HS30', 'HLS30', 'RS30' and 'RLS30' chassis number prefixes and standard production sequence body serial numbers. *'Big Sam' ( version 1 ) was based on 'HS30-00025', which Rauno Aaltonen had driven on the 1970 RAC Rally ( its competition debut ). *Neither 'HS30-00023' nor 'HS30-00026' ( presuming that's what these 'HS30LW' cars are supposed to be ) competed in any East African Safari Rally - let alone the 1972 event. Neither did 'HS30-00025' for that matter. None of them were ever 'practice', 'chase', 'recce' or 'high speed tender' cars for the Safari either. *The name of ( one of ) Shekhar Mehta's navigators was Mike Doughty - not "Dave". *Old Woking Service Station here in the UK never actually built the Works rally cars, so to say that any Works cars ".....had been initially prepared for competition....." there is well wide of the mark. As far as the Safari was concerned, Nissan built batches of cars in Japan for the event and shipped them direct to Africa in the majority of cases. One of the exceptions being the '73 Safari winning car, which had already competed in the 1972 RAC Rally before being used on the Safari. Old Woking Service Station was an important part of the Works rally car jigsaw, but to make it sound as though they built the cars themselves from scratch is nonsense, and just illustrates the low level of understanding about what was going on. *The current bodyshell of 'Big Sam' ( I call this 'version 2' ) is another ex-Works rally 240Z body ( 'HS30-00025' was destroyed in an accident ) of a later vintage, and was originally LHD. This bodyshell also did not compete or take part in the East African Safari Rally, but the main part of its Works rally career is known. The fact that it started life as an LHD car should be a big clue as to what it's initial event was intended to be - but people seem to prefer to believe the big 'Safari' myth even though the evidence shows that it is completely untrue. 'Big Sam' is an interesting car ( actually two cars ) with a fascinating history surrounding it, but the vast majority of magazine articles, book chapters and anecdotes about it contain myths, poor research and silly speculation - not to mention the odd plain lie. Even some of the characters that are part of the story don't get it right...........

Toecutter, The picture you attached was not taken by Nick Howell, and none of the cars pictured ( including the wreck ) had proper factory-style metal rimmed headlamp covers. I think you are mistaking the white pinstriping around the headlamp area for the chrome / stainless rims? The two cars had the American-style aftermarket flush-fitting tinted covers. I honestly don't know why people get so excited about cars like the 'Samuri' in the first post. That car would have essentially been little more than a standard UK-market car with a jazzy paintjob, a bit of pinstriping, some signwriting and a bit of 'tuning'. That 'tuning' - more often than not - consisted of cut-down standard springs, a ported cylinder head, triple carbs and an aftermarket exhaust system. The earliest cars even used a standard camshaft. People are talking about it like it is some long-lost race warrior that needs to be saved for posterity. There were some properly prepared and tuned 'Samuri' conversions, but they were in the minority overall. This one looks like it has been further adulterated later in life with a crap wing and a sunroof that does not fit. Nice. The race cars built by 'Samuri Conversion' were a different kettle of fish, and the car(s) that we know as 'Big Sam' ( that name has been used on two different bodyshells ) were even more special. The first 'Big Sam' was converted from an ex-Works rally car ( so it already had a very special bodyshell ) by privateer racer Rob Grant, who entered it in many GT races throughout Europe - apparently without managing to get the attention of the media. Grant is one of the pioneers of privateer Z racing, and is something of an unsung hero. Many of the modifications on what became the first 'Big Sam' were carried out by Grant and his team, and he usually gets almost no recognition for this in the 'Samuri' or 'Big Sam' stories. The 'Samuri' converted road cars benefitted from the kudos and reflected glory of the race cars, but in reality they often consisted of a few tweaks and some fairly basic tuning and showed that - above all - the cars offered a very good base to work on. Its a shame that whenever you see a piece of writing on these cars it always has so many mistakes in it. There's an article on the subject of 'Samuri Conversions' in the latest issue of Motor Sport magazine here in the UK ( a publication with a long history and a high reputation ) and it is choc-full of mistakes and bad research, and will simply serve to reinforce old myths and previous mistakes. Very sad.

Interesting that you were told this came from a "Z 432", as the single knob clock was never used by the Factory on that model ( they all got the proper oscillator-run two knob 'Stop Watch Clock' ). In fact, the plug shown on the single knob clock in your photos would not match up with the dash wiring loom on a 432 ( different plug ). Strange, isn't it? I highly doubt that you will come up with any secret stash of two knob Stop Watch clocks and oscillators in Japan. They already change hands for pretty serious money in Japan and there is a finite supply of them, unlike the single knob clocks - which are more plentiful and MILES cheaper. Alan T.

Carl, Am I missing something here? I don't see anything particularly earth-shattering in Mr Brock's quote. I thought the story around the car ( despite the vendor's hyperbole ) was pretty much understood and documented anyway? What made me cringe in the original auction description was the vendor's insistence on comparing the car to one of BRE's race cars - which surely anybody who knows anything about proper race cars would see through in an instant. BRE-linked it might have been, but comparing this jazzed-up standard road car to a fully race-prepped BRE team car is just ridiculous. By the way, the David Muramoto quote on Brock ".....As one who convinced corporate marketing of the value in offering a Red/White/Blue "BRE" edition back in the day....." adds to the dis-information on the subject in my opinion. Brock clearly didn't manage to convince Nissan USA's corporate marketing dept, or this car would have been one of many - would it not? Alan T.

By the way, that looks to me like a SPIRIT GARAGE twin-pipe stainless system, just like the one on my Fairlady 240ZG.

'Taco-ashi' is romanised Japanese that translates as 'Octopus leg(s)'. It's just a generic colloquialism for a tubular exhaust manifold ( for obvious reasons ). It is not a brand name.

Rob, I think Alfadog is right; the manifold will probably fit an RHD S30-series Z without any problems, but look out for issues with aftermarket inlet manifolds as some of the old ones for Skylines were shaped differently ( they curved up higher when viewed from the front of the car for clearance ) and aftermarket Z manifolds might interfere. It would help if you knew which series of Skyline the Trust manifold was originally designed for, but Skyline engine bays were usually narrower than their Z counterparts - hence the different shape of the aftermarket manifolds. Alan T.

aarc240, I see your bicycle has ten reverse gears as well as ten forward gears, and you are pedalling like mad. :knockedou Your "source" wants me to prove to him that the KPC110 model was built, then? I suggest he ( and you ) do your own research on that one - as it seems you have trouble believing anything that comes from me. Perhaps the info from g72s20 above might go some way to convincing him? 'Katashiki' doesn't translate to the equivalent of a 'build order'. It is a word made up of two Kanji characters ( reading 'Kata' and 'Shiki' ) that both mean almost the same thing. A dictionary definition of each character would give you 'model' or 'type' for the first Kanji and 'style' or 'formula' for the second. I think it is quite clear what the term refers to - and you can translate that to suit the automotive usage how you want. But you get the point don't you? These are Japanese cars ( and mainly Japanese market models too! ) that we are discussing here, and therefore I believe it is correct to use the factory's own terminology when referring to them. Splitting hairs about the modern meaning of the acronym 'VIN' is a waste of time, and I've already justified the reason why we use it on forums like these. *sigh* You missed the point I was making ( again ). You keep disappearing up avenues that are side issues to the main point here. You need to remind yourself that earlier on in this very thread you were convinced that all the different models shared the same body serial numbering sequence! If we look at Nissan Japan's whole modus operandi with regard to model variation identification and body serial numbering sequences during the period in question, we can see what they were doing. I'm talking about all models, and all variants of those models. Then it starts to make a little more sense. WHO said that the body serial number sequences apply to SUFFIXES as well as prefixes??!!! I suggest you go back and read what I wrote again. I'm talking about major variant prefixes having their own numbering sequences. Once again I remind you that it was you yourself that was trying to convince us that one body serial number sequence was shared across all the model variants, and this info came from your "source". Clearly mistaken. I think you need to look at your copy more often ( before you post! ) and also keep in mind that the major topic of this thread concerns Japanese market models. Quoting parts of the Export market manuals as though they are comments that you have personally obtained from your own enquiries to Nissan ( Australia? ) are not really going to cut the mustard, I'm afraid. As for "snide sarcasm" - if you don't like being on the receiving end of it then I suggest you refrain from using it yourself first. Nonsense! The suffixes are a vital part of the correct identification of the exact model variant. Surely you can see the irony of your statement when we have spent so many thread inches discussing just this very fact? Just because the weak links in the chain ( meaning us ) do not use them properly or - usually - acknowledge their significance, doesn't mean the factory considered them meaningless after the cars had left the factory. You only have to look at the first few pages of a factory parts list, service manual or Japanese 'Service Shuho' document to see the factory helping us to understand and use them! You can lead a horse to water............. You can consider a pukka factory-applied and unaltered 'KPGC110' firewall stamping a "legal" identifier if you want, but I think you would find that the idea of what is "legal" and what is not depends on the legal system in use in the court concerned. Maybe you'd have a chance in Australia, but I think Japan would be more of a challenge. The reason being that ALL the other 'evidence' so far presented ( including the body serial number that follows the prefix! ) points to the bodyshell being something other than what the prefix says it is. All the parts attached to that bodyshell now ( and there's a grey area there, as the previous owner changed so much himself ) are a side issue, as the 'shell itself bears little tangible relation to a genuine GT-R 'shell. Somebody earlier in the thread brought up the possibility of selling it back to Japan for a high price, but in my opinion ( I imagine shared amongst other GT-R owners ) such a car could only be sold as an anomaly, and is neither fish nor fowl. Hopefully this is academic, as I am sure that Brian has no intention of trying to pass it off as a 'GT-R' anyway. Time for a cup of tea for me. :squareeye Alan T.

Yes, thanks from me too Ron. Your post shines a light on the vendor's exaggerations. Cheers, Alan T.

Looks like a factory PL510 with some doo-dads on it to me. But maybe I'm one of those "CHAT ROOM NO LIFES" he loves so much? I know next to nothing about 510s really, but I've seen one of the BRE race cars close up and inside / underneath ( it was on holiday in Japan ) so this bit of the auction description made me chuckle: "........If the new owner does this then they will have the the most original BRE built 510 in the world as it will be original in every way including the original Goodyear tires." Nice bit of promotions-man hyperbole there. And he said the 'F' word too............. Naughty naughty. Sad thing is that none of the hype and overblown description from what appears to be the archetypal promotions bod is the fault of the poor car itself, which is obviously an honest example of a mildly ( period ) jazzed-up PL510 that even retains its stock air cleaner. Poor thing. I notice that the auction ends conveniently on April 1st too

Don't forget that the factory had made around 4500 RHD S30-series Z models other than the 'HS30' before the end of calendar year 1970. The '240Z' models were not the whole story............ But back to the thread subject: Ha! You've got me scratching my head and my chin at the same time now. When I was pulling my mid-1970 build 'Fairlady Z-L' apart, the scuff plates were nicely rusty - to the point where the vinyl covering was bubbling up and peeling off. I think they were the original fitment, and they were certainly steel. I have a couple of pairs of new ones still in the packet ( I bought them several years ago in Japan ) but I can't for the life of me remember whether they are steel or alloy. I'll have a dig around in the garage and report back later. I do remember thinking that the new ones were nice and light in comparison to the rusty originals. The RHD export model parts list shows that there was a supersession in May 1972: *74932-E4100 PLATE - SCUFF ( up to 05-72 ) *74932-E4101 PLATE - SCUFF ( 06-72 on ) Japanese market parts list shows the former in use there too. My LHD export parts list shows exactly the same numbers and dates - so I think all models got the same part during the same period of manufacture. I see that there's just one part number for RH side and LH side until November 1973, when new individual numbers for RH and LH sides must mean that there was a detail change for the new models. Alan T.

Ron, Those will be the Japanese home market versions. They didn't have any text on them ( not being 'Datsun' models they would not have 'Datsun' on them of course ) and the serrated stamping covers their whole length. They were still available in Japan last time I checked. Alan T.

'GC10-TK' was the four door version of the GT-X, introduced in March 1973. A last-gasp sales push before the introduction of the new C110 series later in the year. The 'TK' suffix is not seen anywhere on the car - only on the paperwork accompanying it. g72s20, your car is a 'KGC10-TK' ( two door GT-X ) I believe?

Miles, Nissan made the option of a 'Regular' gasoline version S20 engine available as some of the more rural regions of Japan had filling stations that didn't always supply 'High Oc.' fuel. These S20 engines had different pistons ( for lower compression ) and different distributors ( with a different advance curve ). Lower compression Fairlady Z432 models were also supplied ( the 'PS30-N' model ) with the same parts and specs. Compression ratio was reduced to 9:1 ( from 9.5:1 ) and power dropped by 5ps. In practice, very few of these low compression models were sold as the take-up was negligible. Those that did get sold tended to get converted to the 'normal' higher comp specs at their first rebuild ( as High Octane fuel soon became more widely available ), and I believe almost no examples of original 'TN' C10 GT-Rs or 'N' PS30s exist in factory spec today. Alan T.

Apart from the 'KPC110' of course. Maybe you should ask your source at Nissan about that, as they would seem to have forgotten it? The existence of this model would also appear to blow your following statement out of the water: See chart of K-prefix C10 model types below. Not C110 series admittedly ( I don't have the C110 chart to hand, but somebody else participating in this thread does - so hopefully they will pipe up ) but it does at least illustrate the fact that the KPC10 and KGC10 ( and the KPGC10 - but we already knew that ) had their own different body serial number sequences. The C110 series followed suit, I'm sure. Alan T.

Well, if one of these "smartasses" got something wrong I invite you to correct it on this thread. Here's your opportunity to put down some good information to be brought up in future by users of the SEARCH function. But be careful, as you might get somebody labelling you a "smartass" too.......... Hold on, I think it was a little bit more complicated than that. This talk of "lines" is a little misleading, and I don't see what the number of "lines" had to do with the number of body serial number sequences ( ?? ). As mentioned before, each distinct prefix type had its own body serial number sequence. Are you saying that - for example - the KC110, KPC110 and KGC110 models all shared a body serial number sequence ( "So, all K codes received sequential numbers......" )? I'm sorry, but I do not think for one minute that this is correct. Perhaps you misunderstood? The production figures and body serial number sequences published by the Japanese motor vehicle ministry show that it is not the case. That we can agree on. But it is not news is it? The PGC10, KPGC10 and KPGC110 models are such a specialised and well documented subject that the body serial number sequences are common knowledge amongst enthusiasts. You are only 'confirming' a fact that you were effectively disagreeing with earlier in this thread. , That's all straight from the C110 series export model factory service manual! Have you only just noticed it? Some of us are very well aware that the term "VIN" ( Vehicle Identification Number ) is a more modern term, and that the 'VIN' on modern cars contains far more information than that seen on the cars of the period we are discussing here. But the reason we use the term 'VIN' is just for convenience sake ( so that everyone knows what we are talking about ). You only have to turn to the first few pages of a factory service manual to see the 'Model Variation' list, and the meanings of the prefixes and suffixes. The fact that the suffixes hold a lot of information on the model variant, and yet were never attached to the car, is unfortunately seldom acknowledged on forums like this. If I start using the real terms that Nissan ( a Japanese company! ) used in the period, namely 'Katashiki' and "Shadai Bango", wouldn't that just confuse you a little more, and give you even more reason to label me a "smartass"? That's why we use the colloquial vernacular of 'VIN' etc. I'm tempted to welcome you once again to the 'Model Variation' page of the C110 export model factory service manual ( welcome! ) as you don't appear to have noticed it before. Heaven only knows what kind of euphoric epiphany you will experience should you see the Japanese home market model variation page. Maybe you ought to sit down before looking at it? No, I don't believe they ever built any. Unless you know better? I think it is well known that the factory ( factories ) occasionally did things we find difficult to get our heads around, but we are standing on the outside and we - essentially - have no God-given right to all of the information that might make things a little clearer. We are often reduced to the level of archaeologists trying to decipher the Rosetta Stone. That's just the way it is. Personally I find it fascinating. The weakest links in the chain ( the ones that are often seen to be the least 'sensible' ) are ourselves - the amateur enthusiasts. Alan T.

Most RHD cars up to the end of 1973 have the correct mounting bracket for the oscillator unit welded to the firewall under the dash from the factory. If your car is LHD then you will of course have to reverse these illustrations, and hope that the mounting bracket is present. I have seen it on some European market LHD cars, but I don't know if it made it on to all LHD cars.

Mr C, Yes, that's the one that ended up with me - but I bought it here in the UK from the people that bought it from EKW all those years ago. See story below. g72s20, I think Ray Broughton's recollections are a good example of why we sometimes need to take a pinch of salt with the stories we get given. They don't entirely match up with the side of the story that I got, and it is fairly clear that he doesn't really understand the model of car that engine originally came from, and that he might be confused about the status of the engine when it arrived in Australia from Japan. I reckon it is fairly clear that it wasn't installed in a car when they got it, and that it had been removed from a car in Japan and sent to Australia as just an engine and trans. The story I got ( and I have little reason to doubt ) was from Paul of Fourways Engineering here in the UK. Paul's mother lives in Australia, and on this particular trip to visit his mother he also planned to buy some used parts from companies such as EKW to ship back to the UK for Fourways' business use ( used Z parts at that time being both cheap and relatively plentiful in Australia, as well as usually in better condition than our rusty English junk.......... ). Paul visited EKW and rounded up a bunch of stuff to ship back. He spotted the S20 engine on a pallet and was told that it had been brought in from Japan with a batch of used engines that were purchased from a dismantler in Japan. Paul called his boss Geoff back at Fourways, and told him about the S20 ( and asked him whether it would be worth purchasing ), the result being that he got the green light and he added the S20 to the other stuff he had bought, and shipped it all to the UK. After it arrived in the UK they never really got around to using it for anything, and it sat dormant literally for years. I spotted it in Fourways' storage barn some years back and asked for first refusal should it ever come up for sale. Eventually I did get that first refusal ( Geoff kept his word ) and I brought it home, but without the transmission - which had disappeared somewhere into the big spares mountains at Fourways. I sourced a proper 'A' type five speed with the correct S20-type bellhousing from Japan ( at no small expense! ) only for the original trans to turn up out of the blue at Fourways when they were having a clear up. Just my luck, but at least I have a spare. The engine and trans had all the hallmarks of being removed from the car in the Japanese dismantlers - most likely from a crashed car judging from the witness marks of impact damage on the offside of the engine. The harness wires, exhaust and fuel lines had been cut through, and all fluids had been drained. A label tucked into the exhaust tube gave a clue to the Japanese dismantler too. Manufacturing date of the engine block ( 2nd November 1969 ) and the engine block number itself gave a clue to the likely manufacturing date of the 432 that it was originally fitted to; clearly a pretty early build - and I find it a fascinating 'what if' to think that the original car might have been possible to repair, but was likely considered uneconomical at their market value in the Eighties. What a shame. I can't imagine that EKW took this engine out of a car themselves ( the evidence I see and hear makes this seem very unlikely ) and indeed they don't appear to really understand what model the engine type was found in. They seem to be thinking of ZGs rather than 432s, and if this engine and trans was actually in a car that they sold separately then why would they have effectively 'chopped' it out so roughly? The story doesn't stack up. Maybe that's just due to the amount of years ago that all this happened? Anyway, after a long process and steep learning curve the engine is almost completely rebuilt now ( just have to reunite the head with the rest of the assembly ). Internally it was in reasonably good order, with no evidence of seizure; the bent distributor shaft was what was stopping it from turning freely, and I reckon this might have been a legacy of the crash that I suspect caused the engine to be taken from the original car. It looks to have been fairly low mileage, but there was a lot of evidence of poor state of tune in the form of severe carbon deposits. All waterways were in excellent condition with no corrosion of the aluminium or iron, but the waterpump body was cracked and the impeller shaft bent ( more crash damage? ). Alternator was smashed ( and early Mitsubishi unit that I wanted to save - but it is sadly fecked ). Crank pulley was also damaged by a big single impact, and needed replacement. I have also replaced the distributor due to its damage. Some parts have been easy to source, and some more difficult - but they have all been too expensive for my liking! I'll take some more photos of it soon to update the rebuild stages in the Gallery. Alan T.

If that's the case, I'll have to watch out when I'm ordering a drink or meal at any London bar or restaurant.......... :paranoid: But I'm not guilty on all charges! It wasn't me that got it from EKW, and it was sitting in a very dark shed here in south east England for thousands of years before I rescued it from being a fancy home for mice. At least it went to an honest home, and I must say it is looking fairly spiffy at the moment. Does the idea involve an RB20 head and a large can of Evo-Stik? If so, I might not have one 'available to me' at the moment........