26th-Z

Bryan, Go out and drive a 1970 HLS30U 240Z. It is soft, it squats, the steering is vague at high speed, and the wheels rumble. There is no acceptance of the sacred going on. That's how it was and the BRE championship car addressed every one of those issues in it's "stock" racing trim. There are plenty of us here who question the "sacred", but I don't seem to think we have an issue with what John wrote. I know John and his forward reads to me just like I was talking to him. Chris

Carl, I don't understand what you mean by "huge idea".

I can't seem to find the photos of Nissan's crash testing program for the 240Z It was a discussion a l o n g time ago and there were photos of the test cars and dummies, etc. In the archives - somewhere. My opinion is kind of a wierd one, perhaps. I'm a believer in air bags and have seen plenty of people walk away from wrecks that would have killed them otherwise. You are not very safe in an S30 chassis - not at all. A later 280 Z chassis is probably better than something like my early chassis, but either way. The cars crumple badly. There's a good chance you have survived a 40 mph front impact, KDMatt, but it would have totalled my Z and probably yours. I suggest the first rule of thumb when driving a car. Don't hit anything. :-)

Greetings! I'm surprised we haven't seen Carl yet. I know he wants to talk about the book. I saw Carl at a car show last weekend, but we didn't get a chance to bring it up. Pete Evanow was with Nissan for four years during the financial crisis period around 1997. He managed the Z-Store program which is my primary interest in this book. He says he wrote an "insider's report" and I think his perspective should be considered. I think the material we read should be given this context. I also believe that the mistakes we have pointed out concerning the Japanese cars are characteristic of attention given to the subject in America all the way up to the insider's level. As sarcastic as that may sound, I mean no offense. That is just the way it is in America, I find. Very few people know anything about the Japanese cars. Having said all this, I can cut the poor guy some slack and go back to what I originally said about the book. For most people, this is a good, all-around, get to know the Z story, beginning text. The pictures are nice and plentiful, so you will have a pretty good idea of what you are looking at when you see the real cars, posters and memorabilia. In terms of a strict historical document, it is not. Subjects like the Datsun / Nissan name change are editorialized. Topics I would think important are not covered very well from my perspective and leave me with more questions. But that's Ok! I was interested in what he put together and he has some great pictures! Several comments have been made about writing an accurate account of the historical facts. I want to comment by saying that any historical account is always going to be through the eyes of the writer. In our case with Mr. Evanow, we see a story from a car guy limited to four years of exposure during an unattractive period in the company history. The effects on him and his fellow employees must have taken some toll. I wonder how it is reflected in his book?

Hi Guus! A great many of my pictures come from Alan. I have seen other copies of the one of 26, but the one of 27 is from him. The color pictures come from a Bonhams catalog when the cars were on sale last. I have no problem with using the pictures. Alan? Chris

You have a door panel for a right-hand drive application. Quite common. They are the only new original ones remaining.

MSA cam kits come from Schneider Racing Cams. Nothing shabby about their cams. http://www.schneidercams.com/cams/50.htm

Here is what I believe happened to most of the Rallye / Competition parts from HS30-00026. Start comparing pictures. And finally, the car we are discussing at the Bonhams auction. See the differences? I just went back to the auction - 14 bids up to $9,000 and the seller maintains authenticity. (Edit) In support of what Alan is saying, it is my understanding that the real HS30-00026 was crashed - rolled - and written off.

A few pictures from my files. What I believe to be closest to the truth of the issue. I will also note that I have communicated with Mr. Bradburn about this particular car as well as others. Here are what I believe to be the real HS30-00026 and HS30-00027.

That's a pretty good price, too. You can buy all sorts of sportswear / clothing directly from Nissan / Nismo if you like. They have a full catalog. Shoot on down to your local dealer.

Late to the party again - sorry. Yes I know all about this car.

Look these people up, Arne. http://www.cvvacuumplaters.com/

The VIN plate on the right front strut tower will have the engine number. The engine is stamped on that same side at the very top of the block above the starter. Just below the head, on the top face of the block. That's it. The VIN is stamped in the firewall, appears on the dash and the driver's door jamb which also includes the manufacture date. Various parts are dated and there is a seriously fun anal conversation in the archives about it.

I cut a 4x4 post the width of the car and drilled it to fit the mustache bar bolts. At each end of the 4x4, I bolted a castor wheel from Harbor Freight - the large ones. I pick the car up at the front frame rails and wheel it around. The front is real light. The back takes two guys to lift.

Yes. I know about the car. I was hoping the lads would send me a postcard, but I think they are having too much fun.

The S30 is the Nissan internal chassis designation, David. All the VINs will contain this simple designation along with several other letters which designate the engine type, model type, and side of drive - L for left-hand. There are other letters associated with the VIN that are not stamped on the ID plates but indicate things like country destination and emission standards. Mine are HLS30Us, technically. That's the brief explanation to get you started. Not a stupid question at all. I didn't know anything about this until a couple of years ago.

Yes I am, Bob. Thanks. I am encouraged to start up the Vintage Z thread again. Probably THE ONE most important issue to me brought up in Evanow's chapter is the discussion about the rain in California during 1997 / 98. Ahhh!!! That explains it!

Post a picture if you can, Mike. I'll try to help you out. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14422&highlight=factory+options

Alkyd Enamel Tower Paint http://www.towerpaint.com/hobbyist.html Give them your year of car and the paint code number and they will sell you a spray can of it. Forgot to add...the dark grey accent paint for the hubcaps, grill, and tail light finisher is lacquer.

Welcome to my world.

Alan, You should have let me send you my copy. Cancel your order! Unless you want to sit and chat with a California executive about his (myopic?) experience at Nissan USA, this is not something that is going to offer you the sort of information you seek. As far as I know, Brian Long still reigns supreme for what I can find written in English. I liked this book, however. Thanks to you mostly, I have been able to see past the issue and enjoy Evanow's work within his own context. My comment about Beck's involvement would also be favorable because the discussion about Goertz seems to have lifted right off his desk and I am glad to see it in print - finally. Albrecht came. Albrecht left. What might be his design work is reflected in another car. Matsuo (and his team...CW) designed the Z. End of conversation. Alan, you and I would have a bashing good time, but here isn't the place for it. We might be misunderstood. In the last year, I have noticed a lot of new members, young members, come on to this site and ask the same kind of questions I did when I first came here. To them, I would recommend this for their library. It will tell them why Datsun came to America, what Katayama did when he was here, what racing successes the Z achieved, why the Datsun name changed to Nissan, why Nissan discontinued importing the 300ZX in 1996, and how Nissan revived the Z car. I will never stop recommending Brian Long's "Datsun Z" even though it has errors as well. Long is far more worldly and much less American by contrast. Chris

Bob, When I was doing the Vintage Z research, I kept running into this "invisible brick wall" and Beck clued me in that Evanow was writing a book. I knew Carl had been corresponding with him frequently. I was also told that Pierre was writing a book, and then, I was told that no one was writing. I found out about this book from Ron - page 24 - over dinner in Sebring a few months ago. A great deal of my information came from Ron Johnson. The editing is not the greatest. I found a couple of typos and the captions for the pictures of the Japanese cars leave a lot to be desired. I learned three or four things about the Vintage Z program that I didn't know. For instance, I didn't realized why the body shops were such a problem. I knew they were, but Pete's explanation would not have ocurred to me. There are a couple of things I disagree with (including the VIN list of cars) giving me the impression that Pete didn't cover the subject as much as I would have liked. I was surprised to learn about how the program was handled internally and how late Pete became involved. For guys like us who have read a lot of books, looked at a lot of cars, and talked to a lot of people, this is a good coffee-book table. Perhaps very good because it is filled with very nice pictures. However! I will recommend this book because it generally describes the American Z car scene pretty well. Generally speaking, this is the American version if the Z car story - meaning what happened in America. The caption for the picture on page 113 is exactly what I think of the 350Z and why I like the car so much. And in my favorite color!

Headlight covers. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8014124589&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1 I have a set of these as well as a set of originals. These should reach upwards of $350. If anyone buys these and wants to see what the original hardware and installation instructions look like, PM me with your e-mail address so that I can attach pictures. CW-

I'm about 2/3's complete with the book. I suggest back to the original post of this thread that the author read the book before making the initial remark, however I understand the remark. Ironic it seems that John Morton would make the comment in the forward and then go on to say later in the book that his car was initially prepared and raced successfully in a very stock configuration. The author of the book, Pete Evanow, was with Nissan North America in an executive management position for a number of years. His writing style is somewhat informal which accents his intentions outlined in his 'forward', stating that he wanted to contribute his "insider's" comments to the history of the Z car within the context of Nissan Motor Corporation. His "corporatespeak" is most reminiscent of the type of conversation one might have over a few beers at a Z gathering; informal and conversational. Pete managed the Z-Store program which is why I was particularly interested in what he had to say. As many of you recall, I embarked on a research program about the Vintage Zs several months ago after sharp discussions on this site about the "factory" restored Zs. This book was published last August just as I was about to seek help with publishing my work. I put everything on hold until I read his book. There are quite a number of young new American members on this site and to them I would suggest reading the book. There is quite a bit of American racing heritage discussed; many great pictures and memorabilia about the history of the Z car in the United States. And, an insider's view of the events surrounding the history of Nissan North America. It is an American book about the American chapters of Z car history. I suggest one not lose sight of the fact that the Z car is Japanese and that although the American history is a large portion of the success story, it is not the complete, world-wide story. Chris

Always nice to see someone take the time and energy to post pictures of the events. Thanks!