HS30-H

I agree. Unfortunately, there are myths all over the place: Quote from zhome.com: "Special Note #1: The first "HS30" Series Datsun 240Z's started production in Jan. or Feb. of 1970." I know what "started production" means to me - but others may not agree. Here's a little bit of evidence from Nissan themselves:

If there's anything you don't understand about the model chart I posted, just ask. I think its actually more simple than you think. See the file attached below for explanation: Looking at the rows from left to right, your car is a '2by2' - so you can ignore the 'C-S31' 2-seater rows and just focus on the 'C-GS31' rows below it. If your car didn't come with a four-speed transmission from the factory, you can be fairly sure that it probably wasn't a 'GS31S' base-level 'Fairlady Z' model ( although somebody might have specified the four-speed as an option ). So you can now focus on the four remaining types: 'GS31', 'GS31J', 'GS31A' and 'GS31AJ'. If your car doesn't have an automatic transmission, you can forget about the 'GS31A' and the 'GS31AJ'. Which leaves you with the possibility that your car is either a 'GS31' Fairlady Z-L or a 'GS31J' Fairlady Z-T. The main difference is in the trim levels - the 'Z-T' was a higher spec than the 'Z-L'. If you have electric mirrors then it is quite possible that it is a 'Z-T'. Alan T.

Kind of - but the S130-series had a bigger range than the S30-series ( as you can see ), and there were three steps in trim levels instead of two: 'Fairlady Z' ( S130S ) was the no-frills entry-level model, and then there were the 'Fairlady Z-L' ( S130 ) and the 'Fairlady Z-T' ( S130J ) in ascending order of price. This three-step spec level choice carried on up through the sub-models. You can see that the structuring of the codes was similar to that of the S30-series, but there were more models to choose from. No, no L28ET in a Japanese S130-series Z from the factory. Alan T.

The 'C' prefix denotes models that were fitted with extra anti-pollution equipment, in order to be compliant with the stricter regulations phased in during 1976 ( Showa 51 ) in Japan. Here's a scan of the Nissan 'Service Shuho' manual which covers those models, with a page that explains the model breakdown and the anti-pollution compliance specs:

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 ) Alan T.

S30-series and S130-series are completely different generations. I won't bring the S31 into the equation for fear of confusing the issue even more! USA ( North America? ) only, I'm sure. Yes, always alongside eachother. Japan always got more model choice and options than any other territory. I'd be reticent about tarring all the L20-engined versions with the same brush ( "lesser?" - oh dear ) as the L20ET versions were arguably better than the n/a L28E versions...... No. Two different generations. I think that is the source of the confusion here. Exactly that. No such creature available in the Japanese market. It didn't exist. Perhaps this was a Brigadoon that only appears on April 1st? :-) That's it in a nutshell. The model names cause confusion, especially when the Japanese market is largely ignored and misunderstood. This kind of confusion is rooted in the fact that we don't see the different generations of Z as small families of different models for different markets. If we look at one market ( and often one model ) and then decide that this particular model represents the whole range, we are bound to get confused eventually. This reminds me of the comments of my neighbour. He saw me working on my project car in my garage ( its a 1970 Fairlady Z-L that I'm turning into a 432-R clone ) and he said "Wow - what's that, have you got another 240Z?". "No", I replied, "It's a Fairlady Z-L". "It looks just like a 240Z" he said. "Not quite the same thing - but they were pretty much the same shape" I explained. He looked thoughful for a moment, and then said: "So what you are saying is, its really a 240Z - yes?" Er, no! Alan T.

Japanese market S130-series models never got the 'X' suffix on their names. Here are the L28-engined models: *HS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L *HS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T *HGS130 = Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2 *HGS130J = Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2 *KHS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z ( T-bar roof ) *KHGS130JBC = Fairlady 280Z 2by2 ( T-bar roof ) I'm not listing up the 2 litre engined versions ( there's hundreds of 'em ). Here's a late 1979 Nissan ad:

Jim, That red rally car is a '280Z' - but it is a Japanese-market S130-series 'Fairlady 280Z' ( note the lack of the 'X' ). This often causes confusion. Alan T.

Eric, Both Yokohama area and Saitama ken are happy hunting grounds for parts, aren't they? All you need is time and money, eh? ( especially money......... ) :knockedou Alan T.

Eric, Just a heads-up: GRIT are in Kawaguchi ( Saitama prefecture ) - not Yokohama ( Kanagawa prefecture ).