HS30-H

I'm not getting enough of one and I can't afford the other. Alan T.

Hi all, Well today was a 'bumper' day in more than one way. I had a good conflab with the guys who should know, and we are quite certain now that the metal G-Nose story is bunkum. Five genuine ZG owners and a whole bunch of other Japanese early Z fanatics all thought that the story was apocryphal - so we are now in need of further evidence to the contrary. As previously mentioned, the only parts of the Factory G-Nose that were made of metal are as follows: *Bumper brackets ( moulded into the Urethane front bumper ) *Upper panel mating bracket ( moulded as above ) *Front number plate bracket *Bonnet hinges *Bonnet hinge torsion bars ( different to 'normal' type ) *Headlamp cover garnish ( stainless steel ) The rest is either made of expanded Urethane ( front bumper ), ABS-type plastic moulding ( in white ) for the headlamp pods and the bonnet extension / upper panel, or woven mat glass-reinforced plastic ( GRP / FRP ) for the lower panel. I took quite a few photos of original cars and I'll post them in the Gallery when I get back to London. Went to the old Nissan factory at Zama today to see their collection of old race cars, rally cars, pre-production prototypes and other historically-important cars. There were more than 400 cars in a huge warehouse, and only natural light from the skylights in the roof ( the electrics are temporarily off ). It was almost too bloody dark to take photos! Since the Zama plant ceased production, Nissan have been planning what to do with the site ( its massive ) and have all sorts of interesting things going on there. At the moment its a kind of activity centre and used-car sales and service operation mixed with some press and PR activities. The collection of old cars is very difficult to get to see ( invitation only ) but Nissan DO now seem to have plans to build a proper museum to house them, and are working on the details. They have already got a location sorted. This is good news I think, but probably something like ten years late in comparison with Japan's other big brands............ Again, I'll post some pics when I get back to London. Cuong, I can't believe you've bought a BNR32! You jammy bugger. The Mrs won't let me have one. Looks like you are going to be getting some R32-related books, mags and bumph from me in the near future. It needs a good home. I'll say hello to Mr Sugamura in Jimbocho for you ( haven't been over that way yet ). Gav, I'm much too old and ugly to appear in photos that involve young ladies ( or even older ladies ). It would put you off your food for days.....................:classic: All the best, Alan T.

Hi Mike, I don't know how I managed to do it - but I somehow started a new thread on the "Early 2+2's" subject when I actually meant to continue the original thread started by ZEDRALLY. Maybe I'm just being cack-handed while I'm in Kinko's and pressed the wrong button ( I throught I pressed the NEW REPLY button......... ). It's these Japanese keyboards y'see............. Any chance to shift this thread and tack it back onto the original Early 2+2's thread? It'll make much more sense that way. Cheers, Alan T.

Hi all, Just calling in from a local Kinko's in Tokyo ( can't keep away, can I? )..................... Coincidentally, I've been swanning around in a 73 ZG today ( belonging to fellow Club S30 member Mr Watanabe - its the white one in my Gallery pics ). I took some photos and I'll post them when I get back to London. Mr W's been very nice to me all day and we had a great laugh. He's got a very dry sense of humour which I really like. I took the opportunity to put my 'hand up the Fairlady's skirt' ( if you see what I mean ) and can confirm that, apart from the extra ducting on the 73 model which my 72 model does not have, Mr Watanabe's car has exactly the same structure as mine. That means: ABS plastic headlamp cones, expanded urethane foam bumper with integrally-cast bumper irons and metal mounting section for the upper panel mating surface, fibreglass lower panel ( woven mat type - not strand ) and the upper panel / bonnet extension made from either ABS or GRP that is gel-coated on both sides and has fillets moulded into the underside for strengthening. It really is exactly like the one on my car, except for the extra ducting ( which was to help the cooling on cars that were being equipped with air-con, after the ZG models that were fitted with coolers had overheating problems. The Factory made the 'mark 2' G-Noses with the ducts at the end of 72. I can confirm that the ducts ARE indeed made from GRP / FRP / Fibreglass or whatever you call it in your locality, and its woven mat just like the panel its bolted to. The woven side is face down, so you can't see it in most photos, and its thin enough to look like metal until you touch it. Quality is absolutely top notch. I'm going to a club meeting at Nissan's old Zama factory tomorrow ( Sunday ) and there should be a few more genuine ZG models in attendance. I'll take as many shots as possible. We are supposed to be getting to see Nissan's own collection of old race cars - which should be fun. The Japanese SP / SR owners club should also be in attendance. Mike - your acquired G-nose panels look like top-notch replicas. The shape looks just right, and I would guess that it may well be a Japanese-made set. Only the Japanese 5-piece kits look as good as that ( from what I've seen ). You did well. Good stuff! Don't forget that you need the special bonnet hinges too, though. The guys tell me that there are still some specialists with some stock over here.................. Just a last thought about the "Yeti"............. From what I've seen of both replica AND genuine ZG panels that have been dismounted from cars - they quite often show surface rust marks on them from where they are rubbing through to bare metal on the panels that they are attached to. Kind of a Turin Shroud type of situation. Makes it look like rusty fibreglass............... but its fibreglass just the same. I'll take a straw poll amongst ZG owners and other experts tomorrow as to whether a metal G-nose ever existed. If I hear any inkling that it even MIGHT have existed then I'll eat my Urethane front bumper with steel bumper irons still attached. Pass the Ketchup..................:classic: Alan T.

Gav, Thanks for the kind comments about the car. However, it really IS the dark choccy brown that people associate with S***! If you saw it in the shade, or out of clear sunlight ( evening is best ) then you can see it in its 'true' shade. It seems to get lighter in sunlight. It's not everybody's cup of tea. Its absolute hell to keep looking clean too. Its shows up absolutely everything, and there are lots of little scratches, stone chips and more serious marks almost everywhere - but particularly at the front. There must be something about the shape of the G-Nose that funnels flying stones up and onto the bonnet ( hood ) more than the short-nose car. I've never suffered so much stone damage as I have with this car............ Alan T.

Great! Glad that the numbers were of help, and I hope it will be useful info for others too now that its going to be in the 'archives' so to speak ( as mperdue pointed out ). Its nice to finish off a thread and bring it to a successful conclusion too. All the best, Alan T.

Tanny, It would be nice to know whether my efforts were any help or not. To go to a bit of trouble to dig out what I thought was the relevant info and then not get any response is a little bit disappointing to say the least............................ Alan T.

Must be how dark they look in pictures that makes people think that mine are black. They are actually metallic Gunmetal Grey ( the colour is called Anthracite Grey ) and they are the same colour as the Bumpers and Overfenders on my ZG. BURGUNDY????!!!!!!! Must be another problem with picture colour, as the colour of my ZG is original factory Grand Prix Maroon - which is not really Maroon at all, and is best described as a pure brown, as its not got much red in the colour. Gets a lot of choice comments ( "s*** brown" etc ) but its the correct Factory colour, so I think I can live with the funny looks and amusing asides. The original Factory Sports Option 8-spoke wheels came in a satin black finish and that's how they were used on the Factory race cars. It was this look that really started the ball rolling for the Japanese street look of dark wheels - but they are a devil to keep clean if they are not lacquered. That's pretty much why you will see a lot of dark metallic grey wheels with lacquer on them in Japan. My tip for a good look is the darkest metallic grey colour you can find, and to lacquer them for ease in cleaning. Both BMW and Opel have factory paint colours that look just right. Alan T.

Hi Eric, Congratulations on your new race car. Hope you do well with it. 2ManyZ's posted the list of the names for the different "B" box ( 'Bent Stick' FS5C71-B option box ) transmissions and their ratios - which you should copy and file away for future reference. That's useful data. I think that the spare box you have is the "Option 2" Direct Drive ( fifth gear is 1:1 ratio - ie. not overdrive ) and the shift pattern is the 'Dogleg' first ( first gear is all the way over to the left and back, and reverse is all the way over to the left and forward, leaving second, third, fourth and fifth in the conventional 'H' gate pattern ). Does that make sense? If it doesn't then I'm not explaining properly! The idea of the 1:1 Direct Drive top gear is that in a pure race car you don't really need an overdriven top gear at all - as long as your Final Drive ratio and driven tyre size are correctly matched to the max revs that you want to turn. The idea of the 'Dogleg' shift pattern is that when racing you very rarely need first gear, and the 'H' pattern gate of the remaining 4 forward gears makes it a lot less likely that you will 'wrong slot' and ruin the transmission ( or worse..... ). Sorry if you already know the above, but you might not. Coincidentally, I've been using an "Option 2" box on my car for a while now ( even though its not a race car ) and rowing it along in the gears is real fun. Its just that first-to-second shift that takes a moment longer. Its mated to a 3.9 R200 with LSD, and my rear tyre size is 225 / 60-14 at the moment. I don't find that too frantic for my engine, although prolonged high-speed cruising on the Motorways here in the UK ( max legal speed 70mph ) can be tiring. To be honest, a final drive ratio of 4.1 or 4.375 would also be OK for me ( a lot more interesting around the backroads and occasional circuit drives ). For your AutoX and track work, I think it would be fun for you to try the Option 2 box for a while. If you have good engine power then a 3.7 or 3.9 rear end ratio might be OK. If you are limited for torque ( like me ) then a numerically higher diff ratio might be more suited to it. Depends on your tyre size of course. If you want to turn the Option 2 box into funds to use elsewhere on the car, then you could sell it for quite a few dollars. You might be pleasantly surprised! Good luck, Alan T.

Hi James, Bad luck, but I'm sure you'll get a good car in the end. Thanks for closing the thread. It makes things nice and neat. All the best, Alan T.

George, You might also like to ponder on the fact that the HLS30 and HS30 cars switched the different spring rates for the front springs, quite apart from the fact that the LHD and RHD cars had different spring rates anyway. That means ( I think:ermm:) that it was not JUST about balancing up the weight of the engine. It must also have been about the driver too? There was also a special spring for one side at the front of the car for when the car was fitted with Factory Air-Con. Of course, this must have been to balance up extra weight added by the Air-Con parts. I've promised to write out a list of part numbers for all the different springs for the different markets and different models. I've come unstuck because I've noticed part numbers that are very similar and look like a misprint in the Factory parts lists. I've asked a Japanese friend to check out his data to cross-ref this but he says he's confused now too! There seem to be hundreds of the darned things! Its a real can of worms:cross-eye Alan T.

Hmmm, that's a difficult one and an easy one at the same time. It seems these kinds of terms mean different things to different people, but amongst the group of like-minded people that I hang out with we would define "Semi Works" as a car that was close to Factory spec. in many respects, and would have had to have a good few proper Works parts on it to qualify as such. A real "Works" or "Ex-Works" car would have to have been built by the Factory or the Factory's appointed constructor, with a specially-selected / fabricated bodyshell ( part no.1 ). A semi-Works car would have to be in some way endorsed by the Factory, or at least have a hell of a lot of the 'right' stuff on it........... I think its easy to pin down the meaning of "Works", and a lot less easy to define the "Semi-Works" term. I also think its a historical fact, and is not possible to change or make something what it originally was not. So if you took a Factory "Works" Rally car and turned it into a coffee table, it would still be a Works Rally car ( if you know what I mean! ). With a semi-Works car, you certainly could not turn it into a full Works car, although you COULD turn it into a coffee table. Where am I going with this????!!!!.......... I think the cars in the photos that Guus posted are ( like his own car ) replicas of Works cars. That is, the intention is for them to look and perform in a similar way to the genuine Works cars - without actually pretending that they indeed ARE the real thing. Guus, in Kevin Bristow's case I think you are getting mixed up between the TWO cars that he owns. "OMT" - the yellow car that he has rallied for many years with great success, was originally put together ( based on a standard UK-market road car ) by the staff at Old Woking Service Station - which was the Datsun garage where the Works rally team made their base when they were in the UK. It carries a number of proper "Works" parts that were pirated / salvaged / bought from the Works rally operation and fitted to the car. Kevin has sometimes called "OMT" a 'Semi-Works' car, but this is probably stretching the truth a little. On the other hand, his genuine ex-Works rally 240Z ( the 1971 RAC Rally car driven by Edgar Herrmann which he has been restoring for many years and has not yet driven) is without any argument THE REAL THING - that is, a full Works-built ( at Oppama ) and dedicated Factory rally car, with just about 95% of its original fittings and parts left intact. This is a very special car indeed, and could be used to define the term "Works" car. But as I say, these terms seem to mean different things to different people......... Alan T.

St.stephen, Thanks for the support. Here's what the UK price guides say: *Datsun 240Z = ~ 8,500 *Datsun 260Z = ~ 7,250 *Ferrari Dino 246GT = ~ 55,000 *Lamborghini Miura = ~ 70,000 Those prices are in Pounds Sterling, and for "Condition 1" cars. Must say that the really good stuff seems to go for more than that over here - so the price guides are a bit conservative. Condition is ALL when it comes to the top money though. The really best Creme-de-la-Kremlin stuff seems to change hands for top money and never gets advertised. All the best, Alan T.

So it looks like the part number that you need is 32703-78103 for the 4-speed up to 8/71 in USA and all the 5-speeds, or 32703-P2619 for the post 9/71 in USA 4-speeds. It would have been a lot easier if they called a spade a spade and just said "A" or "B" type - but there you go. Those Japanese manual numbers are probably different because its a really early edition. The Datsun Competition manual numbers will probably be more help to you if ordering in the USA. Alan T.

And here's the diagram of the parts that the numbers relate to;

Here's a page from the Nissan Sport Service ( Factory race and rally parts manual ) manual for option transmissions. Notice that the numbers are different, but I think they are in many cases the same parts; Alan T.

OK - I've scanned a page from an old Datsun Competition parts catalogue which seems to have most of the information ( and even in English ). I hope that the numbers will be legible from this scan. Alan T.

Victor, I'm willing to try to help. I have some part numbers for the speedo gears, but what transmission is it for? Is it the "A" type or the "B" type, and is it 4-speed or 5-speed? If you can get back with a reply, in the meantime I'll go and dig out the tranny book from the cupboard ( its a danger to your health just to open the doors at the moment; I'll have to wear a hard hat! ). Alan T.

Well Trex, I'm sorry that you seem to have missed my caveat about 'opinions expressed....' at the bottom of my post. I'm also sorry that my opinion is not a reflection of the truth as you see it, but surely you can't expect everybody to think the same way as you? What makes you think that I have not met Spike Anderson, and what makes you think that I would have a different opinion about the Samuri hype of the UK-based Z scene after having met the man behind the company? There are many stories about Spike being a 'loveable rogue' and a bit of a scamp, and I hear plenty of kind words about him as a person. I told a little story about Samuri, and there are plenty more - but I don't think they are all bad or all good. You also seem to think that I have not met Win Percy, but I have. Win has his own opinion, but he would wouldn't he? Nothing wrong with that. Presumably you have your own story to tell - so go ahead and tell it. That's what this kind of site is all about. Surely you can't expect everybody to agree with you? I don't expect everyone to agree with me ( and they evidently don't! ). My own car would seem to have little to do with the Samuri topic, but you seem to think it does. I can't see why you think I am "lucky" to come across an HS30-H ( luck had very little to do with it, and my car had several owners before me ) and you seem to be trying to bring that model type into the discussion in some kind of competition against the HS30. I don't see the relevance of this. They both had identical mechanical specification. Please also note that the 'H' suffix in the Factory code for the ZG does not appear in the VIN / Chassis number. I'm glad that you mentioned Tim Riley. Tim recently emigrated to New Zealand, and will be sadly missed from the Z scene here in the UK. In my opinion, Tim's work was vastly underrated. He put an awful lot of time and thought into Big Sam, but when it goes well now Samuri get all the plaudits. That's an injustice, and it's just the kind of thing that I kick back against. The scene here in the UK is such a blinkered one that people like Tim don't get the credit they deserve, but the Samuri name seems to get more than its fair share. I don't quite know what you mean by "ivory ZG tower" - but it would seem to reflect your own personal bias and prejudice, to which you are entitled just like I am. If I did not own ANY car, would this make my opinion any less valid? I can't see how my car has anything to do with this thread. I also have not set myself up as some kind of historian, but If you see my posts in this way then that's up to you. I should not think that Spike will worry too much about having to 'forgive' me or not. The Samuri legend is well established in the UK, and has spread to other parts of the world too. If you want to post some information regarding the Samuri conversion cars, then please go ahead ( that's what the original post was requesting ). Differences of opinion are healthy, and there's nothing wrong with discussion without confrontation. Keeping it all interesting and good natured is the 'black art' - not cylinder head porting. Best wishes, Alan T.:classic:

Phil, I'm glad you concur. That makes just two of us here in the UK that don't believe the hype........... That Samuri legend is a really hard thing to kick back against, as everyone in the UK seems to connect the early Z to the Samuri name. Last time out in my ZG I was filling up at a petrol station and got asked the Samuri question ( you know the drill - "Is it a genuine Samuri?" ). No it bloody well isn't! I've seen some really nasty work on some of the cars that *purport* to be Samuri conversions ( there's lots of fakes out there, or just stuff that is mistaken for being Samuri ). Some of the intake manifolds and linkages can be laughable; differing lengths of linkage to each carb and even three different series of Weber on one manifold. The mind boggles. You are going to have merry fun if you expect your car to fit in to any category at a car show. I would not worry too much about it if I were you. You can't really expect the judges to know too much about what they are looking at. Mind you, I got an unexpected award once just for parking up at a show. A car club for a different type of car gave my car their "Your Car Is Cool" award - which I was quite chuffed about. I don't go to many shows now. I prefer to see the cars moving and not static, or at least mixed up with other different types and marques. Leads to much more interesting conversation. Fred! Sean's coming to see me on his way back from visiting Dave Jarman next Wednesday. He'll be bringing some stuff back for you, as long as he doesn't get lost! ( I have to make a good map for him ). He tells me he's originally from south London. Usually we don't let those foreigners over this side of the river:bunny: I hope hope he'll be carrying his passport......... Alan T.