HS30-H

Can I vote for more than one type? I'm biased, as I own both a genuine factory-built ZG and a super-plain 1970 S30 Fairlady ( no spoilers, plain bumper with no rubber trim and a mesh grille ). I think that the Factory made the best job with the early cars; either totally plain ( preferably with Factory headlamp covers ) or the REAL Fairlady ZG. Most of the aftermarket "G-Nose" kits that I have seen have been pretty poor representations of the real thing. Lots of people will be basing their opinions of the ZG on bad replicas that do not fit right. Thats a shame. Seeing a real one in the flesh might change their mind............. I'm also a fan of the Factory-built race cars ( especially their attempts at improving airflow both before and after the debut of the ZG ). The Factory released a lot of these body parts to the public through their Sports Option parts lists in Japan. Its great to see ANY of these properly fitted to a good car. So, in short, any of the EARLY Factory type front-end treatments are to my mind superior to the later aftermarket additions. Usually, stuff like the KAMINARI spoilers seems to have been trying to make the car look younger than it really is................ Regards, Alan T.

Hi Rick, That's good information from Steve, and its certainly the best place to look. There are other places on the car where you can also find the production dates of the components ( note: they date the manufacture of the component - which can sometimes be as much as a few weeks or even in some cases months before the car was put together ).................... As Steve said, the seat belt labels are a good place to look as they are quite accessible and the date is written in "English". The other locations can be a bit obscure, and may be in the form of an ink or paint stamp on the reverse of the part itself. Have a look on the back of the ashtray or on other easily-removable parts. You can also see them on light housings / bulb holders etc. What you are looking for are usually circular and blue-coloured marks with a date on them. HOWEVER - the dates are not immediately recognisable, as they use the Japanese system for years in relation to the incumbent Emperor of the time. To cut a long story short - you will usually see numbers in the late Forties for a car made in the early Seventies period. If your car was made in 1971, you can expect to see the date marks with a number "46" on the end. This is because they were made in the 46th year of the Emperor Showa's reign ( We know Emperor Showa by the name Hirohito, and the Japanese do not use this - they use the more respectful title of "Showa" ). He came to the throne in 1925, so you can get the Twentieth Century year date by adding 25 to the "Showa" number. Got that? Seeing as we are talking about early S30 models here we do not have to go into the pre or post Showa eras ( we are now in the reign of Emperor "Heisei" - who we know as Emperor Akihito, who is Hirohito's son ). So, you might see a little mark that has the numbers "12.25.45" on it - which means that part was made on Christmas Day in 1970 ( quite possible, as the Japanese do not take holidays for the Christian festival of Christmas............... ). Take a look around the car and try to cross-reference the numbers that you find. You can usually come to a conclusion that is near as dammit from these. Pinning down the precise production dates of "HS30" prefixed VIN numbers is quite a lot more difficult than for the "HLS30" prefixed VINs. The factory has never released precise information to the public or any enquiring journalists on the Export RHD cars, and one of the reasons for this is that they made a giant leap in VIN numbers when the Japanese "Home" market finally got the option of the "HS30" L24-engined models in October 1971. They still don't really have a proper explanation or data to cover this, and don't really like to be reminded of it either.............. Looking at your VIN number I think it would probably be a '71 car rather than a '70. That's quite a nice low number that you have ( for an HS30 ). Low number "HS30" prefixed VINs are a darn sight rarer than early "HLS30" VINs. Please remember that the "HS30" VIN numbers don't have any relation to the "HLS30" VIN numbers, or indeed the "S30" and "PS30" VIN numbers. All of these had their own number series - so you cannot get information on one set of VIN numbers by cross-referencing with another different model type. I've posted about this point before - so you might be able to find it if you have a look around using the "search" function. Hope this is interesting / useful to you. All the best, Alan T.

Hi everyone, Ken - I have a copy video of a Japanese TV programme about the Z ( not the "Project X" NHK programme ) that might be the one you are talking about. Have you ever seen it? I don't think its the "Sunday Project" show that Kats is talking about, as it does not seem to have anything much about Ishihara on it. If you have never seen it, I could get a copy for you. Maybe you are in it! Kats, if you want to get a discussion going about Matsuo san then I would suggest that you make a completely separate thread. Maybe we should start yet another called "Goertz - the lying Count".....! I really want the world to know how he has stolen the credit for "designing" the S30. QUOTE: "I,really found out DATSUN was not well known in some nation as some of you said, in France or other nations in Europe. And in Australia neiter. Even in the U.K. DATSUN was not wellcomed,right?" I think the "Datsun" brand name WAS well-known in the UK, at least by the late Sixties / early Seventies period. The point is that they were looked down upon by motoring journalists and the general public, even to the point of ridicule. I can say that the "Datsun" brand is STILL a joke for many people here, and they have no idea about the history of the company or its origins. As far as I can tell, this was not the case in the USA. As I said in a previous post, there always seems to have been an anti Japanese-car prejudice here in the UK. Even now, I still read and hear comments that mention the word "copying" in particular. It would appear that the people who make these comments know almost nothing about Japan, and even less about its car-making history. I particulary notice it in relation to motorsports, and I am reminded of the many smug English people who are still convinced that they "taught the Japanese all they know". Chief amongst these has to be Mr Tony Fall ( the well-known rally driver of the Sixties and Seventies ) who drove the Works rally 240Z's in many events. He still recounts the story of how he "taught" the Japanese Works rally mechanics ".....the difference between Oversteer and Understeer.........". This is from a person who appears in all other ways to be quite sane. I am sorry to say that people even seem to believe him................. I really don't see that the blame for the decline in sales during the late Seventies and early Eighties period ( the start of Nissan's long slide into trouble ) can be laid solely on Ishihara. I think it must have been a combination of many factors that he and his executives contributed to, as well as natural conditions. Perhaps we ought to be circumspect about turning the whole thing into a Good Guy / Bad Guy gunfight at the OK Corral ( with Ishihara in the black hat and Mr K. in the white hat ). I must say I sometimes feel slightly uneasy about the hero-worship of Mr Katayama. I am sure that he deserves more than his share of praise ( he was a visionary who transcended the normal Japanese working practices ) but it all seems to get a bit like a "cult of personality" type of situation. I hardly ever hear the name of Mr Soichi Kawazoe mentioned, despite the fact that he so obviously played a very large part in Katayama and NMC USA's success. I find it most odd that Katayama gets described as the "Father of the Z", and poor Matsuo gets left as the "Mother". The names of the other people involved in the project are hardly ever even hinted at....... When Nate mentioned the story of some people thinking that "Nissan bought Datsun" ( which is a great story and a really good point ) I am sure that what it means is that many people had NO IDEA that Nissan and Datsun were essentially the same company. It reminds me of another story that I heard, in which one of the first American franchised dealers was selling Datsuns and telling his customers that they were from Germany. He was basically cashing in on the success of Volkswagen in the USA during the Fifties and Sixties, and he found that his customers thought that the "Datsun" name sounded as though it might be German! This is interesting, as Volkswagen's policies in foreign territories really blazed the trail for companies like Datsun and its quite clear that Kawazoe and Katayama learned a lot from what VW had done in sales and supporting services for the USA market. I've tried not to speak on behalf of the USA side in answer to Kats' questions - as its not my business to do that. I'm very interested to hear the views from that side of the world too. It certainly seems that the image of the Datsun brand in the USA was quite different to that of the rest of the world. Regards, Alan T.

When I first saw the picture it made me think of something. Do you have an electric fuel pump? If so, it might be an inertial safety cut-off switch that shuts down the fuel pump in the event of an accident. If the knock is hard enough it cuts the power supply to the fuel pump, and you have to hit the reset button to get the power back. If it has not been "tripped" then it might explain why pressing the red button does nothing at the moment. I too think that it is an aftermarket fitment - I've not seen an "official" one on a Z before. Quite a lot of modern cars have these switches. I have one under the passenger seat of my daily driver Alfa Romeo 156. Just a guess though................... Alan T.

Hi BleachZee, Your car would have come from the factory with the standard steel rims ( probably you still have an original spare in your spare wheel well ). If it was an ordinary Fairlady Z ( the basic model ) it would not have had any wheeltrims / hubcaps, but if it was a Fairlady Z-L it would have had the first ( now very difficult to find ) design of hubcaps. If your car had carpets ( instead of rubber mats ) and rubber trim on the bumper corners, it is probably a Z-L. You should be able to find a set of steel wheels in the USA, I would have thought. Good luck, Alan T.

Hi znz, Looks like that car would have been a private import to NZ ( i.e. non-official ) Japanese-market car. If it was a '77 with an injected L20 ( that would be an L20E ) and 5-speed then it was probably a Fairlady Z-L ( S31 ) or Fairlady Z-T ( S31-J ). If it had a 4-speed it would have been a Fairlady Z ( S31-S ). The Air-Con was a factory option in Japan on those models. Technically speaking the Japanese-market S31 model was pretty much equivalent to the RHD "260Z" model, but with a smaller engine. Actually, they were quite refined cars with the Injection and 5-speed - and the L20E with its injection system was almost as efficient as the carburated L26, and a lot smoother. They rated the L20E at 130BHP. It had a pretty low compression ratio of 8.6:1. Shame you missed it, as at that price it would have been a real steal..................... You'll have to keep looking. I've heard that there are some good Z cars in NZ. Regards, Alan T.

Hi everyone, 2Many - I used to own a Sunbeam Alpine ( Tiger's poor four-banger brother ) and it was AWFUL. That car taught me all about "scuttle shake". I suppose they must have beefed up the chassis on the Tiger. Being an Englishman, I have to say that there are frankly not that many old British cars that I would covet. I've owned a lot of bad ones. Maybe I think I want to own something so-called "exotic"! Ben - sounds like the situation in Australia was fairly similar to the UK in the '60's and '70's. Even though the cars got grudging respect for being well put-together and fairly highly-specced for the price, there was always that element of prejudice ( sometimes verging on racism ) that damned everything the Japanese made as a "copy" or inferior in some way. I strongly suspect that this originated from wartime ill-feeling and propaganda, and I have to say that I STILL hear anti-Japanese comments in relation to cars. I find it quite disgusting, and it certainly damns those who make the comments as idiots and bigots. Fred, that's a good point about import restrictions. Many European countries had these in the '60's and '70's to help protect their national car industries. This was particularly true in Italy - where you hardly ever used to see a foreign car. We had a semi-protectionist policy in the UK, where they just taxed the hell out of foreign imports. That's one of the things that put the price of the Z up in the UK market ( along with the long-distance shipping ). The cheaper models did not get hit so badly, so British people saw more of the cheap-and-cheerful four-doors and formed a mental image of the Datsun brand as something boring or ridiculous, despite the fact that it was a great product. I guess this did not happen in the USA? Kats, I cannot and should not comment on what the USA thought, but surely Nissan's sales would have gone down in the USA whether they changed the name of the brand or not? Don't forget the crisis that the world economy was in during that period. We had the "Oil Crisis" ( the big increase in world oil prices caused by OPEC ) and basically a big economic slump after the boom of the Sixties. Add all the tide of new legislation on safety ( Ralph Nader et al ) along with stricter emissions regulations and a lot of anti Japanese-car maker protests ( I remember seeing American auto-workers abusing a Nissan on the TV news ), and it was clear that the carmakers were forced to retreat and regroup. They came back with some very badly-conceived models in the late Seventies, and surely that is what hit sales most? I can't see that the name change had that much impact........................ When you mention Japanese TV, are you talking about that "Project X" special on the S30-Z made by NHK? I have a video of it, and I must say that I think it was deeply flawed. I think they got a lot of things wrong. I applaud their efforts on trying to cover such a subject ( I am a great supporter of the "unsung heroes" of Japanese industry ) but I think it was very badly researched and presented. The S30-series Z that they had in the studio was not even an early one. The whole programme was looking for a hero, and once again Mr Katayama was brought on as a figurehead. I still have feelings of unease about this, as he tends to overshadow ALL the other figures in the company history of that period. Poor Matsuo and his team are only ever promoted by Katayama, and most of them also left Nissan a long time ago. I can understand people thinking that Ishihara was responsible ( everybody wants to look for a scapegoat ) but the WHOLE management of that period was responsible. I think whatever they did at that time would have been seen as the wrong thing, and their hand was forced by economic and political conditions. Generally speaking, I find it very regrettable that large ( almost faceless ) corporations like Nissan did not look after , nurture and support many of their key staff during that era. Many very talented people were almost forced out of Nissan, when they should have been promoted and given greater power. That whole thing of Japanese team-identity still dominates, and this is why hardly anybody knows who designed and styled their cars. This left the door open for opportunists like Goertz to claim credit for something that he had very little to do with. Who knows the names of any famous Japanese car designers / stylists? Not many, I suspect. Compare this to the American / Italian / French / British "superstar" name designers which companies actively promote. This is not the done thing in Japan. I think its a good thing to some extent ( sometimes you see stylists taking all the praise for something that a team of hundreds worked on ) but it does leave Japan open and vulnerable in some respects. Regards, Alan T.

Don't worry Mike, I think Nate and Fred understand eachother. I think Nate's a peacemaker ( he's stuck up for me a few times ). I've had a look at a few other ( non Z ) BB's and I think this one does quite well for peace, love and harmony. Some of the others look pretty acrimonious from the outside. Hope we don't get like that. I think its interesting what Kats is saying about the demise of the "Datsun" name. There seem to be quite a few people who cherish it, and would like to see it come back. However, the situation here in the UK ( although admittedly only a very small part of the world ) is quite different. When Ghosn made his recent statement of intent to do something about bringing back the Datsun brand, many motoring journalists and news media people here in the UK were making all sorts of jokes about it. I am sorry to say that the Datsun name here in the UK conjures up very negative images for many people. Most of this is down to the activities of "Datsun UK" ( the franchise holders who were the first importers of Nissan's products to the UK ). They insisted on importing the most bread-and-butter Datsun models ( the Z was the exception ) and they almost made a point of fostering a negative image for the brand. They had many disagreements with Nissan, until Nissan could bear no more and ended the relationship. In light of the above, as far as the situation in the UK was concerned it was probably not a bad thing for Nissan to get rid of the Datsun brand. They were probably hoping to get rid of some of the negative connotations and give the Nissan brand a leg-up and a fresh start here. I certainly don't remember anybody here protesting about it................. Its interesting that the Japanese "Home" market S30-series Z cars ( and probably many other models ) were not branded as Datsuns, and in fact great lengths were gone to in avoidance of the name. When I first got my Fairlady 240ZG I was fascinated to note that there was no "Datsun" branding anywhere on the car. Even the pressed aluminium step plates in the door apertures do not have the "Datsun" brand on them - they are just plain. This has led to some Japanese enthusiasts seeking out the "Export" version parts ( which they see as interesting and unusual ) and fitting them to their cars. Personally, I would rather have the PRINCE MOTOR COMPANY revived. That's a cause I could really get behind. Regards, Alan T.

Good stuff Ben, I don't think there was an N/A 200ZR, from what data I have on hand - they all seemed to be turboed. There were two versions of 200ZR as well as two versions of 300ZR ( both called I & II ). I don't have any data on a 200ZX. Was that an official import to Australia or was it a Japan-only model? I can't see any mention of it in my stuff ( although the Z31 is admittedly not my strong point ). Factory codes were as follows: *200ZR-I & 200ZR-II ( 2 seater ) = PZ31 *200ZR-I & 200ZR-II ( 2 by 2 ) = PGZ31 ( so ZR-I & ZR-II had the same factory prefixes - confusingly ) *300ZR-I & 300ZR-II ( 2 seater ) = HZ31 *300ZR-I & 300ZR-II ( 2 by 2 ) = HGZ31 ( so the 300ZR did actually come in the "2 by 2" as well - which contradicts what I said in the above post. I've now edited it ). There are a few others too............. So there were obviously lots of special versions / promo / anniversary models that were only seen in Japan. Interesting, isn't it? Regards, Alan T.

Nate, you're a true Gent. Always throwing me a lifeline when I'm just about to go under..................thanks mate. Maybe I should apologise to Raven for being a bit too much of a smartarse ( sorry Raven ), but if you DO type "Fairlady Z" into the search engine thing on this site you can get at least three pages of relevant threads. Reading through them you would certainly glean enough info to realise that there IS indeed such a thing as a Fairlady Z. I thought my second post was a bit less smartarse and a bit more informative ( no? ), but maybe my "style" or manner is a bit difficult to get your head round unless you are acclimatised ( anaesthetised? immunised? ) to it. Oh well, you can't please everyone. I would have thought that Raven might have spotted an attempt at a constructive reply in my second post, but maybe it went over his head.............. Probably my fault. Sorry about that. Nate, things are really not all that good over here at the moment. I live in central London, and the transport / traffic system is in total chaos. Big Brother is trying to "improve" the situation by narrowing the roads and making traffic signals stay red for longer. From February we have a new system of road tolls for central London ( intended to stop people from driving IN to central London ) and I live INSIDE the toll-controlled area. However, I will have to pay to travel OUT of the toll-controlled area. Go figure that one out. Added to this we have thousands of "speed bumps" and traffic-calming measures that are tearing the undersides off of many cars. My everyday driver ( not a Z ) is even suffering from this damage, so I will stand no chance if I try to drive one of my Z cars down these roads ( goodbye exhaust system ). Compared to all that, the impending war seems quite unimportant ( at least until it all kicks off, that is ). Thanks for the lifeline, Nate. All the best, Alan T.

Go for it Kats! Your input will be hugely valuable to everyone who frequents this site. Just type away. Even a short post is better than nothing. I'll do my best to help out if I can. All the best, Alan T.

Yes Raven,thats me alright! Regards, Alan T. ( ps. Maybe Mike can make a "Smartarse" smilie for me, or a "tongue-in-cheek" / "irony" smilie so that people don't take a little joshing the wrong way? ).

Hi Zep, Those "late model" Z cars are not my specialist subject, but I believe the 300ZR was a Japanese "Home" market-only special edition, not officially sold outside Japan. Perhaps you friend's brother's car was a personal import? It's not to be confused with the 200ZR. There were two version of the 300ZR - the first in October 1986 and the second ( apparently rarer ) in June 1988. The 1988 special edition came with viscous LSD and 50-series tyres. They both had the VG30DE engine rated at 190ps and a 5-speed manual trans. and came in the 2-seater and 2 by 2 body shapes. Basically, I think the 300ZR was one of those last-gasp special editions that car companies put out just before the debut of a completely new model ( in this case the Z32 in July 1989 ). Alan T. ( edited )

The Japanese car companies have always seemed to keep some of the better models for themselves. However, it seems that this is usually down to a combination of local vehicle law compliance and dumwit distributors / importers who want to keep things simple for themselves. Certainly here in the UK, from the very earliest days of Nissan / Datsun imports back in the 1960's, we had a franchise company operating as "Datsun UK". They pretty much did what they wanted, and hardly imported any of the two-door, twin carb, or "sporty" models that were available in the Japanese Home Market. Nissan got rid of the franchise and took over the UK sales and service themselves back in the 1980's, but they STILL fight against the negative image that Datsun UK created for them. They don't seem to realise that selling even just a few of the factory "hot rods" actually pays off hugely in the long run. Honda have done it really well here in the UK, and enhanced their image as the sporty driver's friend no end. Personally, I have always loved the idea of lots of "deletes" ( like the Musclecar era of the late Sixties ) where you could specify a super-basic no-frills package combined with the hottest engine / trans / suspension. These days, they just seem to ladle on the extras whether you want them or not. I bet when the Z33 comes to the UK market ( late next year - why so late? ) it will probably be in a one or two model choice with not much personal input from the buyer. Alan T.