daddz

I like the "sumo" reference for the Z31; my '86 was named by its original owner (a middle aged woman of English extraction) and as such it's called "Lady Clara". I don't much care for it but it is an aging plump and somewhat slow handling car. The '78 S30 must be named "Godzilla" only because it's fun as hell to drive while playing the Blue Oyster Cult song of the same name:classic: and it's a period song (one that you might have heard while cruising with a cold can of Budweiser in the late '70's--who said DUI?) The other Z's in the collection haven't earned names just yet--need some additional behind the wheel time to reveal their personalities--kind of like dating women--you don't see all of the flaws the first night out. check out the cars and give us your opinions: http://www.240ztt.com/nissan.html (anything with the name "Rob" is unfortunately mine)

I live in Southern Maryland (about 25 miles South, South east of Washington, D.C.) and if you see a Z you would be scared to ride in it! I have tried the strategy of getting firends into Z cars and that seems to be working:classic: I am now up to 7 of these fine cars (humble collection) and that's about my limit. Managed to convince my father to take two off my hands since it's his fault for getting this hobby/obsession started when he bought a 1978 Datsun 280Z finished in code 611 (wine red metallic) brand new. Another member of the No. Va. Z Car Club owns ten Z's and he's doing his part in helping to preserve these great cars and his stash of Z's isn't far from Patuxent Naval Air Station (look out for the Open House car Show this year--we should be able to corner the show between the two of us). (anybody know of a secure place to store these beauties?) Cheers.

Maybe not quite what you're looking for but check this out: http://www.240ztt.com/orig240z.html (this will probably get me into a spot of trouble (sorry Joe) since it is not officially for sale just yet.) :cheeky:

How about this for starters: http://www.refdesk.com/ Alot of s**** in one handy spot; check it out.

I think that the early 90's Capri was an Australian based car and it's such a shame because it was front engine and front wheel drive whilst the Miata was a true sportscar albeit an attempted rehash of the much fabled Lotus Elan (a truly sensuous machine). It's a shame because the Capri II was continued and continually developed in the U.K. long after its cancellation in the states. I think at one point Cosworth had come up with a special package for the Capri and it was quite the bargain racer.

I was also to understand that the Ford Capri was a nice alternative to the Z in terms of practicality when it was new and could be had with a V6. I think the Z was more of a "crumpet catcher" though.

Sean, Great point about the money men at Nissan doing what was necessary in order to adapt the car for left hand drive markets. The owner of Banzai Motorworks, Mike McGinnis, has been involved with the Z car since 1970 from the mechanical aspect and has been restoring the cars since 1980, also has the very same impression of Nissan. His overall impression was that Nissan was somewhat arrogant when it came to offering the options that most stateside Z owners would have liked to purchase. The U.S. motoring press, namely Car and Driver, were always clamoring for a back to basics Z that could have been offered for sale here in the U.S. If one looks at the advertising of the day the Z was advertised by U.S. marketing firms who didn't know a sportscar from their a**, touting such things as coat hangers (S30) and the ever impressive resale values (nevermind stagflation's effects) without ever mentioning how good the car was to drive. If Nissan had offered the car and marketed it in much the same way as Mazda had done with the RX7 here in the states the LHD models would be a bit more desirable. For instance, with the second gen. RX7's one could walk in to a dealer and order their RX7 with an aluminum hood if so desired. As Alan stated the mystery of this car seems to keep me enthralled; if it didn't I would have kept driving the RX7 ('85 GSL-SE and '87 GXL). Lastly, the RHD cars seem more interesting to me having owned a number of left-hookers; My ideal Z car would be a Fairlady ZG finished in GP Maroon with a set of Watanabes and a triple carb. setup much like the one Alan owns.

I have just finished reading this thread in its entirety and would like to offer a response from a LHD perspective. My experience is limited to S30's from '76 on and S130's from '80 to '83 as well as z31's (both '84 A.E. and '86 hardtop) and most recently the Z33 bsae model. To be truthful I have never relied on the handbrake as it really is not effective as a means to park the car; I always considered it to be too fragile and I always chuckle because us Yanks like to pull the brake to the top of its travel and then wonder why it has stopped holding the car on anything more than a 5% grade. As to the placement of the thing it never bothered me as much as my passengers who thought it somewhat odd that they would be expected to share their seat with the handbrake. Curiously the 350Z has the handbrake on the left side of the tunnel on left hand drive cars (I forget where the domestic market 350Z's have it located) http://www.240ztt.com/robs350z.html ( pics of the 350Z so you can see what I am referring to) I previuosly owned an MA70 Toyota Supra Turbo and it had the handbrake located on the left side of the tunnel and it was not in the least way obtrusive; then again that was a really large car. Having parted out four S30's of both '77 and '78 vintage I find it most interesting that Nissan in its infinite wisdom would change the luggage floor from one year to the next (the '77's floor trim raises up at the back and the '78's do not) and then not offer the five speed as an option until 1977. Here in the U.S. we also received the louvered bonnet from '77 through '78. Our injection manifolds also changed from a split runner design on '75/'76 to a connected runner desgin on '77/'78 models. Lastly, on the U.S. bound 280Z's the earlier storage boxes were covered and not accessible like the 240Z and 260Z. I apologize for digressing and to answer the question regarding pedal location; I have not found it to be a problem in 13+ years of driving these cars everyday.

Alan T: My friend Joe may be able to help with your quest to find the highest export S30 VIN#; He currently owns a 1971 240Z that has covered just 54,000 miles from new and it still wears its original hatch with the air extractor vents and vertical defroster lines and has a stock interior with the original radio still present. His website address is as follows: http://www.240ztt.com/nissan.html (this page has the links to a few of his cars as well as 3/5 of my humble collection) I wish it were possible to view one comprehensive database combining salient features of S30 production changes. For example: in the states in '77 280Z's the rear cargo floor angles up at the back to cover the back of the tailights, yet in late '77 production towards the '78 model year the cargo floor was made flat again, and thus the backside of the tailights had a trim panel.

I am sorry to report that I do not own a 240Z; as matters would have it I own the Z cars that were produced after the 240Z. It would be nice to own a car just like Mr. Thomas' maroon 240ZG! Here's some links to pics of some of my Z's: http://www.240ztt.com/robs280z.html http://www.240ztt.com/robs300zx.html and lastly: http://www.240ztt.com/robs350z.html