HS30-H

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.

Actually, I found it amazing how many people who initially turned their noses up to the very idea of the car ( me included ) seem to be coming around to a different viewpoint. Not that I'm ever going to entertain the idea of buying one or anything ( yuk ) but what I mean is I don't hate it as much as I used to! For me, even the S130 series Z is a model that probably did not really deserve to be called a "Z", let alone this new thing. I think I resented the idea of it being a "Fairlady Z2 more than anything else.............. Interestingly, I already see the whole "Fairlady" / "240Z" name thing happening all over again; In Japan, this new model is called a Fairlady - but ( like I think they should ) it is identified by its model designation of "Z33". All the different versions on sale in Japan are just varieties of Z33 Fairlady. However, in the States and very probably everywhere else outside Japan, its going to be identified as the "350Z". Plus ca change............... Alan T.

Sorry Mr C, maybe I was being a bit too obscure. But Raven really ought to have used the "search" function a bit more before firing off a question like that..................! That "My Fair Lady" story actually initially applied to the "Roadster" SP / SR series cars, and ever since then Nissan / Datsun have called the series and its successors "Fairlady". The "Fairlady Z" was the next generation on from the SP / SR series - and technically we should call this iteration the "S30" series ( mainly because all the model variants were derived from this basic model designation ). When you see the cars badged "240Z" you are really just looking at one type of S30-series Z ( and a local-market single type at that ). Don't forget that in Japan there was always a bigger choice of model variant to choose from. From October 1971 they got the addition of the L24-engined cars - called "Fairlady 240Z", which will confuse you even more. At that time they had a choice of 7 different versions to choose from, and none of them were called just "240Z" - they were all Fairladies................. The more pendantic amongst us ( moi? ) might even try to persuade you that ALL S30-series Z cars are really Fairlady Zs, whether they are badged locally as "240Z" or not. I guess its just a question of where you are looking at it from. For further information on this topic, might I suggest that anybody interested invests in a copy of Brian Long's excellent book "DATSUN Z - from Fairlady to 280Z" published by Veloce - ISBN 1-901295-02-8. Anybody want to discuss where the musical "My Fair Lady" came from? Regards, Henry Higgins.

Hi Raven, OK - I admit it. It was me all along. I made it up. It was my idea of an April fool joke ( but a bit late ). You got me. Alan T. ( insert "irony" smilie here ). PS - clue: You will not see OXO Cubes in Japan, as "oxo" means something very unappetising indeed.

Er, Mike I think the point that Kats is making is that with the help of Nishi san he was able to convert his NOS 72-73 dash to look just like a 1970 version that his car should have ( with the undrilled / unused recess for the Hazard Lamp switch ). I'm sure that he knows what the original dash was supposed to look like ( and that's why he was trying to replicate it ). As you can see from his photos, Nishi san did a great job. This is no mean feat, as it involves some serious filling and blending to make it look correct. Nishi san and his small workforce have these skills. I'm hoping that Kats will keep Nishi san as "our" little secret.......... Regards, Alan T.