HS30-H

Vicky, Take a look at Carl's reply to me and tell me if you think I'm being just a little bit paranoid? I'm sorry if I misunderstood the meaning of your "Geez :stupid:" - but can you see where I'm coming from? My original comment was just a general point, and not really aimed at anyone in particular. Stickling is stickling. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. If I make a mistake then I'm very happy to be put straight on it. Be my guest. Alan T.

Personally, I'd put all that stuff on the '72 - but with the proviso that the body was kept totally stock, and maybe also in a Factory-stock colour. Mr. W is doing something similar with HLS30-00027 I think. Lots of period-correct ( and tasteful ) accessories and options. With 26 and 27, he can have his cake and eat it.... Having said that, do just what you want to do. Its your car. :classic: Cheers, Alan T.

Who's "the teacher" then Carl? Vicky, you're taking my comment completely the wrong way. If you really think I'm trying to score points off somebody then you must think I'm really sad. All I'm interested in is getting this stuff straight. It might be a small point to you, but calling the JGTC race Z cars "350Z"s is starting off on just the same wrong foot as calling all first generation Z cars "240Z"s. Why not nip it in the bud? These are JGTC race cars for Christ's sake! They came over to the USA to show you what they have been getting up to over there in Japan for the last few years. Can't we at least do them the honour of realising that Japan has some homologation specials that the rest of the world does not? Geez. :stupid:

No, I don't think they are. They are based on the Japanese market versions, not the Export versions.

Ouch! Shot by both sides.......... :squareeye Sell the parts to fund the 'resto'? Have you got the ATSUGI, TOKICO or AMPCO coil-overs? Which Comp tranny - Direct Drive Opt.1, 2 or 3? Those 50's are worth a pretty penny too.

Were they calling them "350Z"s? I think Ben got it right in his photo captions. The NISMO JGTC race cars are Fairlady Z-based.

HLS30? Ooh, the irony! I already guessed you'd be familiar with Mr W. If HLS30-00028 turns up you'll have to 'save' him from himself........ You'll be in your element here, for sure. Cheers, Alan T.

Welcome to the site JLPurcell, No doubt you are familiar with Mr Wenzel's twins, and have already been playing early VIN bingo with them. :classic: Cheers! Alan T.

Amen to that, Craig. Exactly. Kazuo Kimura probably had more direct influence on the looks of the A550X than Goertz, and he had also penned most of the styling of the Silvia before Goertz even started his contract at Nissan....... I spotted a Swiss-registered 2000GT at this year's Goodwood Revival meeting back in September. It was what I'd call semi race-prepped - with a fire extinguisher system, roll cage and lots of lock-wiring - although it wasn't participating in the race events themselves. It was parked up in the central Paddock area with some pretty cool company, so I presume it was the personal transport of one of the gentleman racers. Some runabout! Cheers, Alan T.

That's a 432, not a 432R. It's a lovely museum isn't it? Nissan need something similar, but it probably won't be a reality until 2010. Nice pics!

Hello Christopher, I'm always gratified to hear somebody else thinking the same way as me. I've owned many cars from many different manufacturers and nations, and I honestly think that - in many ways - these humble Japanese sports-GTs are the most 'exotic' things I have come across. It is the many elements of mystery that I find so appealing. Want to know anything at all about Porsche homologation specials? - go look it up. Its all out there in umpteen books. Lancia suspension patents? - no problem. ALFA prototypes? - likewise. S30-series Z? - err, what's that? To some extent, I'm a little embarrassed to have the spotlight on me and to be asked questions that would best be answered by a Japanese native. But here goes..... No, I would not call these "Inkan". Inkan are the more exotic form of Hanko that were traditionally carved by hand from Ivory. These industrial examples are better described as "Hanko" - which is in some cases used like a verb as well as a noun. The one on your headlight scoop simply says "Ken" - shorthand for "Ken-sa" ( "Tested" ). The one on Kats' steering wheel is more complex, and says "Ken-sa" - with the date in the middle - and then "Go-kaku" ( "Passed" ). They would undoubtedly have been stamped by the companies that made them; in the case of the headlamp scoop it would be a company called "Kotobuki", one of Japan's most renowned modern furniture manufacturers, and in the case of the steering wheel it would have been "Izumi" - who made steering wheels for several car manufacturers and also sold sports steering wheels under their own name. These were the people who helped to pioneer the special half wood, half composite, high pressure moulding process that Kats reported to us first hand from Matsuo san. Actually, my first work-placement while I was at engineering college was with a company that made specialised injection moulds for the arms industry. I have first-hand experience of the kind of 'fettling' that used to go on with injection mould tools before the days when CNC and more exotic techniques became commonplace. In fact, we used to send some mould tools to be specially finished with a simulated leather-grain effect, and the guy who did this worked in complete secrecy. He would not let us near his premises! It seems like a million years ago now. In those days ( we are only talking late Seventies here of course ) things seemed much more hands-on, and we had to do many many re-fits and mods until the mould worked properly and the end-product actually FITTED the way it was supposed to. I don't doubt the situation with these interior panels was roughly the same. Regarding the non-notched headliner moulding panel on your car - this is the same as that on the 'no-frills' S30-S model. There MUST have been more than one mould tool - unless the first few production panels were ALL moulded without the notches and they were cut by hand? In fact, with production in early 1970 hitting such dizzy heights, I bet they had perhaps two or three different mould tools operating for EACH component on these cars. If we look really closely, I bet we could identify the 'fingerprint' moulding differences that would help to identify each individual mould tool.............. That's probably taking it all too far though. Cheers, Alan T.

Hi Craig, Not telling! ( Just like Katakana, its pretty-much impossible to get it to sound right ). I did get one made up in Romaji, which I was assured would be legally acceptable. I agree with you about the stickers. I doubt that they could be bothered to waste time removing them. Much more likely to be '****-up' rather than 'conspiracy' I reckon. Cheers, Alan T.