26th-Z

This photograph is definitely from the North American testing program.

"Groovy" was used until 1973, Carl.

Got mine in the mail today. Nice article Carl. Congrats. And for those of you who subscribe to AutoWeek, the 50th Anniversary issue is out listing the 240Z and Yutaka Katayama in their "most significant" article. The picture they use of the 240Z is Mr. K's yellow car with the ZG nose. Something to smile about: think of the most significant automobiles and people in the automotive world in the last 50 years. We keep good company.

The factory service manuals have measurements also. Support the car and level it as best you can on the rocker jacking points and the mustache bar mounting points. Bolt the transmission mount crossbar into the tunnel to keep it straight. I bolted up the sway bar to begin aligning the frame rail and from there, I took measurements.

I am able to speak highly of the car and the seller also.

Patz, The US version S30 / 240Z came with a 2.4 liter L24 engine. Head and valve specs varied between 1970 and 1973 as you may know. The Japanese S30 came with L20 engines until the introduction of the HS30 and HS30S in October 1971 which came with the L24 engine. Known as the Fairlady 240Z and 240Z-L, the cars were very similar and I suspect the specs for valve and cam were the same as the HLS30 in the U.S. There are casting identification numbers on the heads just above cylinder #1 which should identify and confirm compatability. For instance, my 1969 produced cars came with the E-31 head. Depending on which head you have, I would imagine the cam and valve specs to be the same.

Yes. aircraft latch buckle for me.

I think these would be the belts you are talking about? The long straps in the center have that "curious rivet" on the end and the belts over on the right show the buckle with the notch that the rivet goes into. Yea? I could sell this set, BTW. Early push-button type.

Reading through some of the early Datsun literature, service manuals, owners manuals, etc., you will find reference to leather or leatherette upholstery. This is a translation issue and not meant to indicate real cow. The vinyl upholstery is simulated leather. The original designs called for leather but vinyl was used for durability and cost reasons. Datsun (Nissan) made a serious attempt to simulate leather and did a pretty good job of it. That's why there is the confusion and mis-identification.

I'm assuming you are talking about the convention? The "poker run" event is very well defined and explained in the "How to put on a national convention" book you should have from the ZCCA. I'm sure you are getting people who want to go fast and race around. Nothing unique about that. Technically, a "poker run" is a described course that includes a number of stops to obtain a playing card. Best poker hand at the finish wins. Thus...Poker Run

If I understand it correctly, a "poker run" involves stopping at certain points to obtain a game piece as part of the "fun rallye". The "game piece" can really be anything from a playing card to a puzzle solving clue to rallye directions; depending on how the fun rallye is set up. I didn't do the rallye at Daytona, but I heard it was fun. Fred and I won the rallye in Dallas after managing to get lost a couple of times. We got so lost in Syracuse that we just stopped and went to a couple of junk yards. We did that in Long Beach also. The rallye shouldn't last more than a couple of hours, end at a nice place to get food, and involve at least one potty stop. I'm not a big fan of diversion attractions. You're supposed to be on a rallye, not shopping. Keep it focused. My BIG suggestion is that the rallye directions and route get tested by people who aren't involved with planning it at least a couple of times the week before the event to make certain that everything works properly. Nothing worse than lousy directions.

I think you will find the TR-6 to be a lot of fun and very similar to the 240Z in terms of mechanical design. As I understand it, the 6 was the export version of the 5 which was faster but didn't meet emmission standards at the time. Either way, the 6 is fun and fast, but the Z is faster and MUCH more stable in the corners. Congrats on your purchase. No, I don't hate you!

Two South West Florida clubs: Suncoast Z Car Club in Tampa http://suncoastzcarclub.homestead.com/ and 350Z Club of Florida http://www.350zclubofflorida.net/ Both are in Tampa. I'm in Sarasota.

Carl, We're getting way off topic! I really don't know what to say about any of the photos. The people in the Parker photo are the same as the red brochure photo, but they have different clothes on. I see oddities in all the photos from what we are normally used to seeing. I don't think the NA test cars had colored fender light lenses. I see in at least one of the photos that the rear bumper has that rubber end cap that we normally associate with home market cars and the 432. The wheels used for the snow tires on the test cars are like nothing I have seen before. The list goes on and on. The Road & Track article indicates the 240Z came with carpeting, AM radio and rear window defroster. Also, their pictures all show the hand throttle. Point being that I don't think we can expect consistancy with the production of later months.

Of course anything is possible, however as highly unlikely as that farce about Mr. K ripping the Fairlady emblems off at the docks. The North American test cars were silver, they had no emblems, and they were returned to Japan. The snow tires were black-walls and the wheels were silver. Have a look at Kats' videos. I'll bet this is the red car.

Yes, now that I look at the pictures more closely, I can see the D on the hub caps. Not necessarily the same car. I wasn't aware that the very first cars came with D hubcaps. Here is the Road & Track introductory car. No D hub caps. Do you figure this one to be the silver car? Note the whitewall tires, Kats?

I think that's the same car. Look at the hub caps. How do you know it's #7 ?

Do you mean this car?

I was hoping you would weigh in, Alan. I was glad to see the conflict between Katayama and Kawamata mentioned however the cited examples require deeper explanation. Of course the bias toward Mr. K, but for good reason from an American journalist. Non-the-less, I would hope the diamond plating erodes a bit. Just remember this, my friends; no one is going to retrospect history which put themselves in anything but the glorious light.

Well! I can't thank you enough for throwing that Hemmings article into the fray, Zztom! Seriously! That was great. Here are a couple more logos they didn't print. Despite a couple of spelling errors, the article confirms a few things I have long suspected. Did anyone ever really believe that Nissan used the Datsun name "in case they failed" story? The Katayama revival of the Goertz scheme is an interesting spin. Don't you think, Alan? And, did you get the line about the corporate rivalry? I don't think I have ever heard it put that way.

After watching that great video I looked up the web site. The kit shown in the video costs about $100. All the various stuff is also available individually.

That's very interesting ! ! ! I don't think I have those wing nuts.

There was a conversation years ago about the validity of the manufacturing date on the door tag. The point was made that the tag represented a "date of shipping". The November date stamp on 26th is a perfect example of the presented case. Obviously, 26th was assembled in October, however I believe the original engine was replaced before she was shipped.

Thanks for posting the info, Carl. It certainly answers many questions one may ask. I can vouch for the complexity of what has been accomplished so far. A 501c3 is Internal Revenue Service lingo for "non-profit corporation" as many of you know. It takes over a year to process the application. A corporation must be established with published by-laws, officers, and a board of directors. This is all governed by law, I would imagine California corporate law, and provides for the corporation and it's benefactors a legal tax status. Fred has been talking about this project for years. Every time I go to an annual ZCCA convention, Fred is talking about the project. I can imagine how fulfilling it must be to see the birth of the dream. Congrats to all the board, the officers, the Datsun Gang, and especially to Fred and Betty.

Don't ya think Nissan should campaign the GTR? As much as I like Johnny O, I was glad to see the Astons beat the Corvettes.