HS30-H

"Limey know it alls" like Mr George Herbert Skinner of 154 Kentish Town Road, London NW5, perhaps? I think Healey Z is more likely to meet 'Yank know nothings', given his location......

The same was true for many other marques and models of sports cars and GTs in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s. A very large proportion out of total production ended up in north America and the USA in particular, but we are often told that the high proportion of S30-series Z production that went to the USA is "proof" of the car being "built for the USA", as though it was some kind of exception. It was - in fact - pretty much the norm for that type of vehicle...

That's a long time from "....at the end of WWII" though, isn't it? Just a figure of speech, I'm sure. I understand the scenario ( such 'souvenirs' were very common up until even quite recently ), just the time frame didn't seem to fit with the "end" of WWII. When I think of the early Fifties I think Cold War, Iron Curtain, Checkpont Charlie and all that.... No matter.

I'm wondering what model of Healey that could have been? Even the Nash Healeys were not made until the early Fifties.....

Take a look at these old threads, where I think we covered the Japanese home market showroom options in more detail: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?14422-Home-market-S30-Factory-Options http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?14501-Home-market-HS30-options

R192 ( & R190 ) pinion oil seal part number was 38332-A0100, whilst R180 pinion oil seal part number ( from the same GC10 series parts list ) was 38332-21100, so certainly not the same part and - without having both in front of me, so take this with a pinch of salt - I would have thought the R192 / R190 seal would be slightly bigger than the R180. Pretty much everything else on the R192/R190 is bigger than the R180 anyway..... Useless diversions department: See if you can spot my KPGC10 on the Rubber Soul website. Previous owner my good friend Dr Shimizu is a Kyoto resident, and always had his GT-Rs looked after by Rubber Soul, Revolver, Help! and Sergeant et al in the Osaka area. There's a lot of their work in the car, and some quite special parts. Alan T.

Remember that the PGC10 and KPGC10 Skyline GT-Rs, and the PS30 Fairlady Z432 ( and PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R ) all used the R192 diff as standard equipment. The R192 is virtually identical to your R190. Part number for the side flange oil seals was 38342-A0100. RUBBER SOUL still had them in stock just a few months ago: http://www.rubber-soul.net/

'carrott', I don't know much - if indeed anything at all - about you ( you don't even tell us your location ), but you giving me the title of "Mr Knowledge" leaves me with a fairly high mountain to climb. I'm ALWAYS aiming to obtain knowledge wherever and whenever I can. It pains me to see - once again - so many myths and misconceptions about these cars and the story around them being perpetuated, and I WILL try to do something about it. If you on the other hand don't want to try to do anything about it, so be it. But do me one favour, please? At the very least, do me the honour of spelling my name correctly? It was spelled correctly at the bottom of my first post on this thread, and I don't think it should be too much bother for you to copy it. But on the subject of the AUTOSPEED.com article that Blue liniked to, can I try to convince you that it's not fit for purpose? It's a fairly brief article, so I reckon if we could find two or three mistakes in it we could safely say that it was flawed. If five or six, then even more so. How about TEN? It would start to be getting silly, wouldn't it? How about more? Twelve, 'lucky' thirteen? More? Starting to sound like garbage now. Want me to go further? You seem to think there's nothing wrong with it. Not only that, but that page is bombarding me with advertisements and inviting me to make a financial 'contribution' into the bargain... Sorry, but I think it's a very poor article and I feel justified in making that point on this thread - which would otherwise recommend it. This is a forum dedicated to the cars in question, after all. Alan T.

Trying to turn the focus onto me is to miss the point. And it lets that crap autospeed.com article off the hook too.

Dreadful. Full of the usual misconceptions and myths, and appearing to contain large sections lifted almost verbatim from other writings on the subject. The thought that 99.999% of early Z enthusiasts will lap it up, call it delicious and ask for second helpings is heartbreaking. And this in the week when 'Octane' magazine served up re-heated version of the abysmal 'Moto-Man' online "interview" with Yoshihiko Matsuo and Randy Rodriguez, too. Alan T.

The numbers stamped into the top surface of the bellhousing are not the transmission type codes. They are quality control / casting batch number stampings that were for internal use, and not intended for the use / reference of the general public. What you might see occasionally is a part number ink-stamped onto the front mating face of a transmission. Cross-referencing this part number will tell you the type of transmission and the ratios inside, but I have only ever seen this ink stamp on transmissions that were supplied as service replacements or as Sports Option / 'Competition' parts, and never on a transmission fitted as standard equipment on a car as it left the factory.

".....other ZG owners..."? Your car appears to be an HLS30-U model, modified. It's not a ZG. How's that for some "feedback"?

Maybe when I know a little more about you, and a little more about your project. I try not to put out on a first date.....

The ribbed profile is correct ( although it does not have the spare wheel retaining clamp bracket on it ), but the description is mistaken; 'PS30' model 'Fairlady Z432' had the 'normal' spare wheel well and 60 litre tank same as all other S30 models it was contemporary with. Only the 'PS30-SB' model 'Fairlady Z432-R' model had the deleted spare wheel well, flat top panel and 100 litre tank. Nissan works rally cars and works circuit race cars got the flat floor and 100 litre tank too, but with a slightly different tank on the rally cars. Surprising that 'JDM Car Parts' says the normal 432 had the ribbed "flat" floor and 100 litre tank. That's not correct. Alan T.

That's kind of true, but it's a little bit more complicated than that. There's quite an interesting structure inside, with supports, baffles and a shielded pickup. Dimensions were 970mm x 530mm x 270mm at their longest points, but the profile was a kind of rounded wedge shape ( deeper toward the front of the car ) and it was a roller-welded construction. Quite difficult to replicate correctly. Also had two big 'x' shaped strengtheners in the end panels that are similar to inner body 'cheek' panel and firewall strengthener pressings on S30 bodies. Note also that the original PZR type bodies ( designed to take the 100l tank ) had strengthened mounts for the tank hanging straps both front and rear. 100 litres of petrol is pretty heavy as well as expensive..... Alan T.

Why? It took more than one person to drive the auction up to the final price. The underbidder was only a few Dollars short. That $US price converts to something perhaps a little more reasonable in other currencies, and if you convert it into JPY you get a little over 90,000 Yen. They tend to change hands for more than that in Japan..... If you can find a regular supply of good, working 'Rally' clock and Oscillator sets for a lot less than the finishing price of this auction, then you can make a nice little business for yourself can't you?

CAUTION, this vid is old, and contains Katayama lore..... When the 240Z turned up in the USA ( and Canada.... ) it was called............ '240Z'. The stories about Katayama physically 'changing the emblems' / name are just stories. And Katayama had nothing to do with the naming of the 'GT-R' either.

'PS' is the abbreviation for Pferdestärke ( German, meaning roughly "Horse Strength" ), which is Metric Horsepower. 1 PS = 0.986 HP, 1 HP = 1.014 PS. Dating information can be found all over the car. We've discussed quality control / 'Kensa' stamps and component dating on the forum many times in the past, and a lot of the information for the S30-series is relevant to the S130-series too. Take a look around and see what the search function gives you on that topic. I'm sure we have touched on the topic of the Japanese market S130 models here in the past too. See what you can find.

That line on the tag reads "Ho-an kijun tekigo". You might be disappointed to hear that it simply identifies the safety ( 'anzen' ) standard legislation that the car complies with. The '0-12' number identifies the standard. It doesn't tell you anything specific about your particular car.

I'm trying to point out that the car needs to sit properly ( level side-to- side, and not too much rake end-to-end ) quite apart from the actual spring rates, but still taking them into account. Does that make sense? Probably not.....

Kats, Damper rates ( bump & rebound ) are different between north American market Export 240Z and Japanese market Fairlady Z & Fairlady Z-L. And 'European', UK, Australian & NZ market Export 240Z are different again. Spring seat heights are different too! Complicated subject...... I think it means neither. Key point is compressed length with car level and stationary. Aim was to level up the car. Spring rate ( 'hard' / 'soft' ) is a different issue.

I can assure you that there will be plenty of useful RHD-specific spare parts on the car. If it was local to me I'd have it in an instant. I wouldn't kick the wheels ( they look like early Minilites.... ), diff, trans, and dash out of bed either. And here's a challenge if anyone wants to take me up on it: I'll pay $300 US for that steering wheel and boss kit, if anyone buys the car.

Chassis number of 'S30-08589' indicates Jan/Feb 1972 production date. Looks like a 'Fairlady Z-L' model ( 'S30' factory code ), which would have been equipped with the L20A engine, FS5C71-A transmission and 3.9:1 ratio R180 diff from the factory. Some of the rarer components already gone or in bad condition, although as a 1973 build it would have had vented pillars and therefore the same 'vented' pillar emblems as the Export cars ( rather than the very hard to find non-vented Domestic pillar emblems ). Perhaps a little too far gone to bring back from the brink? Sad.....

Sorry, but it looks absolutely nothing like a genuine Nissan 'Monte Carlo' / 'Drop' bumper.... Obviously it doesn't have the two large chrome over-riders between the two horizontal levels, but the ends that would meet the missing over-riders would not be shaped in the way that these are anyway. Also the centre section is too short, and the genuine bumpers didn't have a rubber strip in the middle horizontal section either. Can't be off a works car either as it does not have the four mounts for the spotlamps on the centre section, or the holes that would be left over after they were removed. Looks 'home made' to me. And that may indeed be the very reason that Safari Motors or whoever at Zama didn't want it anymore.....

And to give some credit where it's due for the original artwork, it was drawn by artist Takeshi HOSOKAWA for Japanese AUTO SPORT magazine as part of a double-sided triple page pull-out, published in 1971. Alan T.