HS30-H

Great. Thanks very much! Got to go out now, but I'll start uploading when I get home. All the best, Alan T.

Hi All. Here's a request to our Moderators. Can you please create a new Gallery section for some picture uploads that I would like to make? I would suggest that this could be under the heading "2004 EVENTS" with a subsection of "Nissan Style Week - The Racing Spirits" ( if that is not too long :classic: ). Basically this was the latest instalment of Nissan's round-Japan touring display of old race cars. It took place from 26th December 2003 through to 8th January 2004, and I visited it just after the New Year. The location was the NISSAN GALLERY SAPPORO, in the city of Sapporo naturally, which is the capital city of Japan's northern territory of Hokkaido. There was one Z car in the display ( the 1971 East African Safari Rally winner - which can also be seen in previous photos taken at Nissan's Ginza showrooms ). The other cars were, for the most part, slightly more modern - but perhaps still of interest to many of us here. I'll upload the photos to the new section as soon as its been created. Many thanks to our Moderator / Admin team. Alan T. Here's a scan of the poster for the event:

Yes - there may well be different names for the different designs in different territories. Sometimes the local or nicknames become the 'official' names. As I said, I'm not very well versed on the names of the Enkei wheels. There's also the issue of whether they were 'real' works wheels ( ie - actually used by the team, and of traceable provenance ) or just the same type as those used by the works team. There is usually an appreciable price difference between the two. And I share Steve's feelings about old wheels. In many cases they are shagged out ( especially if they've done a few rallies ) and its well worth checking them for cracks, metal fatigue and concentricity BEFORE you pay out any money for them. Here's a Japanese advertisement from 1978 that might be of interest:

Here's the "Enkei Mag" in classic gold on a works Bluebird:

Here's the classic Kobe Seiko works "Rally Mag" wheel:

Hi Mike, The Nissan "Works" rally team never used Enkei wheels on the works S30-series rally cars ( 240Z / 260Z ). The wheels that they used were made by a company called Kobe Seiko, and they were very similar to the wheels that were standard fitment on the Z432 - which were also made by Kobe Seiko. In fact, some works 240Z rally cars used the 432 wheels on the FRONT in some events ( when they needed a particularly narrow fitment ). The 432 version and the works rally version are very similar - its basically just the cutouts that are different. The rally wheels came in both 6j and 7j, whilst the 432 wheels were narrower. If you are talking about the 8-spoke Enkei design, as far as I am aware that particular design was not made until around 1975 to 1976. I have some original Enkei advertisments from around that period that made a big fuss about their new designs, and the 8-spoke was one of them. The 8-spoke design that can be seen in Nissan's Sports Option parts catalogues ( for all the S30 models ) was also made by Kobe Seiko. Kobe Seiko made these for many of Nissan's 4-cylinder rally cars and circuit racers too. I'm attaching a picture of one of these on the 510 Bluebird that won the 1970 Safari Rally. Some time around 1975 to 1976, Enkei made a big effort to get the contract to be Nissan's official "Works" wheel supplier for their rally programme. From that point on, you mostly see Enkei wheels on the works rally cars - with lots of Enkei advertisments on the car too. However - this was on the 4-cylinder cars and NOT the Z cars. I should imagine that they supplied the wheels for free as part of an advertising / PR budget. I'm not very well versed on all the different names and designs of Enkei wheel, but probably most famous is the "Enkei Mag" that was usually painted gold. See pic below. Just to sum up, Enkei wheels were not OFFICIALLY used on the works 240Z and 260Z rally cars during the time that they were current. Hope that helps a little? All the best, Alan T.

Actually, my head was 'turned' some years ago by the Japanese-market models and I reckon I know a good deal more about the stuff we didn't actually get over here. Nevertheless, I'm willing to have a go:classic: Ah, Rob - now I can remember your car. It used to live west of me - just on the edge of London. Used to be a lot of them around the west London area for some reason. That "240Z" private number plate has probably been retained by somebody who's going to put it on something appropriate. Yours must be one of the DVLA's "Age Related" numbers? I've got one of them on one of my cars. Watch out for mistakes in the "Essential" book. At one point he says that the original hubcaps were 'plastic':stupid: Cheers, Alan T.

Welcome Rob, I'm located in the sunny United Kingdom too... I'm sure I've seen your car around in the past. Did it originally come from the London area? The one I'm thinking of had a different registration number to yours, so I wonder if it might possibly have had a number change ( Personal Plate kept by previous owner? ). Good luck! Alan T.

I clicked on this thread thinking it was going to be about aero engines:stupid:

I reckon I'm not necessarily getting any wiser as I get older. There are more questions than answers:beard: I can't remember when I saw my first Z. I wonder when it was? Certainly not until at least a couple of years after it debuted in Japan, as we only had two cars here in 1970. Mind you, I was at the 1970 Motor Show in the UK with my dad - where "Datsun UK" showed a very low-number HS30 that was a preview of what we might be getting - but I certainly don't remember it. Must be all those brain cells dying off. If you are at least 8 years younger than me Frank, then you'll have an advantage in that respect. As an extended answer to the "what is best" question, I'd have to say that in an ideal ( read: dream ) world, I'd like to have one of each S30 / S31 series model, in each colour and each spec from each and every market, for each and every "year", and supplement it with as many Factory-built race and rally cars as possible. Which is not going to happen anytime soon. Alan T.

Must be from a fairly late 280C then, which means its probably not so hampered by some of the possible snags of low compression and super-conservative camshafts that some of the domestic sedans, wagons and pickups had. If you're going to tune it, then you don't have to worry about all that anyway. Good luck! Alan T.

Can't be referring to me, as I was just 8 years old in October 1969 :classic: zorro, as you are in Australia you are presumably talking about an RHD ( HS30 ) 1973 model? In which case you needn't worry, as many of the things that are *reputed* to make the later HLS30 models 'inferior' to the earlier HLS30 models don't actually apply to the RHD models. Most of that supposedly bad reputation comes from the USA market models, so for the most part you can ignore it and simply enjoy your car - safe in the knowledge that it is arguably superior to the equivalent date USA market model.:devious: Alan T. ( only about 73% serious ).:classic:

Hi Biker, Should be no problem at all, as long as you are prepared to swap out pistons, cam and valves where necessary. Check out the block casting number and the head casting number. It will probably be an N42 block if its from a fairly early 280C. The N42 has always been the choice of the Japanese tuners for the bigger bore conversions ( over the later F54 ). Head casting could be anything - depending on the year and model it was fotted to. Main thing you have to watch out for are the Sump / Oil Pickup - Strainer / Dipstick positions. The L28 was fitted to MANY domestic models, with a lot of applications seen only in Japan. Therefore you have to have the parts on hand to make one of these engines fit in a Z body. That should not be too difficult though. Check out the compression ratio if possible. There was quite often a low compression version of most domestic engines available as an option ( even for the S20 twin cam ). You might need a piston swap to correct this, and watch out for small valves and very conservative camshaft specs. Again, this depends on what it was originally fitted to. Japanese tuners have traditionally robbed sedans / wagons / municipal vehicles of their L28's, and as long as you pay attention to 'convert' it to Z-type fitting then you have something just as worthy of tuning as any L28 fitted originally to a Z. However, they usually tear them apart completely and start from scratch - so it's probably not wise to expect it to give much power unless you increase compression and pep up the breathing a little. Good luck, Alan T.

Hi Michael, Nice bike! While I was living in Japan I used to ride around on a CBR 400RR, which was in similar colours to yours. Lots of my old mates have 'converted' to big bikes over the last few years. I'm not brave enough I'm afraid, and I don't like getting wet either. As far as your thoughts about my handling / tyre issues on the ZG go, I think one problem is that I have far too much front-end grip as it is. Its a lot more complicated than just tyres, but they are a major factor in my ill-ease with its hadling at the moment. Even on the street its very squirrely, and there seems to be no progression between grip and no grip. This year the Bilstein set-up goes on, with a lower spring rate and revised front-end geometry. I'm hoping that this will help to make it work more progressively, but in any case the ZG really ought to start taking a back seat on the track activity front. I am building the 432R replica to be a track-day fun car, and its better to preserve the ZG for more sedate activities. However, there's no way the 432R replica will be finished this year. There's still much too much to be done. Cheers, Alan T.