Mike B

John, my HLS30-00032 has that shim under only the left side motor mount and my HLS30-00210 has the same shim, but only on the right side. I don't think either of the engines have been removed before, but couldn't swear to it. I should be able to check my other cars for you tomorrow. As I recall there was a thread regarding differences in the motor mounts some time ago. I'll see if I can find that old thread. -Mike

Here are a couple more Nissan documents to support HLS30-46001 as starting VIN for the 1972 model year (series III). It looks like Nissan chose nice even VIN's (000's) to use as starting points for the model years. Although, as Ron noted, there was some parts carry over as some old parts were phased out. Also the cars could be titled differently in different states, by different dealers, etc. Using a starting VIN in the 000's seems much easier than trying to target a specific production date cutoff (first of the month for example). Rick, what is the closest VIN either side of HLS30-46001 that you have recorded? Zhome shows HLS30-43274 (Escanlon's car) on one side and HLS30-46354 on the other. It seems there may be a gap so that certain VINs prior to 46001 were not actually used in order to provide a proper starting point for the new model year. -Mike

For those interested in the reproduction 1970 ARRC poster, BRE just listed it on their site, along with a special limited edition of 40 (well 39 now ) signed by John Morton, Bob Sharp, John McComb and Peter Brock. I doubt you will ever find all of those signatures on a poster again. http://www.bre2.net/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=B&Product_Code=bre2_postr_arrcsweep&Category_Code=art_sub_bredatsun_posters -Mike

Wow, those look great Ron. Its nice that they come with the rubber strips too. -Mike

That's almost too much BRE history to risk on one transport. Kind of like the President, VP, and the rest of the succession line flying in one plane . I'm sure they will all be in good hands and arrive safely. I have family in Florida, so I am going to fly down the week before and spend some time at the beach with them before going to the Mitty. I'm looking forward to seeing your car and the others Ron. -Mike

Why do you have to change you points at every 300 miles? That seems excessive. The maintenance schedule in the service manual says just to check them every 3,000 miles. -Mike

Chris, The part numbers from the June 1974 USA & Canada catalog are: 27181-E4401 (Hose-water inlet) to 6/72 27181-N3000 (Hose-water inlet) from 7/72 27185-E4401 (Hose-water outlet) to 6/72 27185-N3300 (Hose-water outlet) from 7/72 Not sure why, but the 27185-N3300 says "For Canada". I can order them for you and ship them. I may even have a set that I already ordered, but I will have to check tonight. -Mike

I've considered it, and ssnake-oil is probably the route I will go, but I haven't looked into pricing yet. -Mike

Zeus88, wow, that was over a year ago! Sorry but I never got those transmissions. They were on the Seattle craigslist, but the seller flaked out after I arranged a time to come and pick them up. -Mike

I thought your story was going to turn out like this video I saw on the NW Nissans site of someone leaving Golden Gardens http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bVa-ZjYcC4. Sounds like it wasn't THAT eventful at least . The way you are making progress on that one Dave, I half expected to see pictures of it at Golden Gardens last weekend. -Mike

Not to be confused with the 240Z wagon...

Rick, I think any blue interior color you see from the exterior shots is the slight blue tint of the stock glass. That is another indication that this is a later car, since the very early HLS30 cars had clear glass all around, with no tint. I'm attaching a page from Service Bulletin 125 this lists the color combinations available for 1970-71 North American 240Zs. I am reminded of the 903 blue and 904 white with black interior combinations every time I walk out into my garage . I attached another service bulletin (TS72-29) which indicates that HLS30s with VINs below 01456 had the clear glass with no defroster. However, I had an early parts car a few years ago (HLS30-00882) that had the vertical defroster glass. Not sure if that was retrofitted by a dealer, or if some of the North American market cars below 1456 actually did come with it.-Mike

The seller says the production date is stamped 9/70, so it must be HLS30-09980. Definitely not "one of the first 1000 built" as the ad says. -Mike

I would say it is a late 1970 production car, titled as a 1971 model. I don't see anything to indicate it's an early car. In addition to the later Nissan OHC valve cover, it has the balance tube that connects to the master vac on the top, rather than at the back. The hood bumpers and the plastic air intakes are not the early style. The hatch glass has the vertical rear defroster, not clear glass like an early car would. Where do you see evidence of blue engine paint or a blue interior Rick? I don't see either one and the ad indicates a grey interior, which sounds like sun faded black to me. Remember that both the 904 white and 903 blue cars also came with black interiors, not just blue. Even it it were HLS30-00998, it would be a HUGE restoration project and not worth saving at this point, in my opinion.

Yep, Arne's right. I've been to Canby for the last three years and it is a great event (shameless plug for Bruce ). I just wish we had something like that, even on a smaller scale, in the Seattle area too. As I mentioned before, the Vancouver BC show is also good and makes a nice end of summer trip. I think we just need to start a Seattle get together with a small group and hopefully expand it as time goes on. I'll have to throw some ideas around with Dave. There are a couple of other Seattle area events I want to check out this year: http://www.carsandcoffeewa.com/?source=greenwoodcarshow.com http://www.greenwoodcarshow.com/ -Mike

Yeah, I was planning to go last night, but the combination of the 99% tuner crowd, lack of parking, and rain kept me away again. I have always been surprised that the Seattle area really doesn't have any decent shows. The ZCCW has an annual show at the Nissan dealer that sponsors the club in the summer, but it is in the dealer's parking lot, so a horrible venue for a get together. We need something like the Vancouver BC show that they have at a park north of the city in Sept. I go to that most years and it is always a nice event. I would love a Datsun only show in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area. Dave, why not have it later in the spring/summer? The weather at the end of March is usually pretty poor. -Mike

Here you go http://www.northwestnissans.com/board/showthread.php?t=109652. I see Dave's car, but that is about it. -Mike

So what is the verdict? It sounds like rain, as usual. I'll go as long as I'm not going to be the only S30 hanging out in the rain with the tuner crowd. -Mike

A friend of mine installed the MSA leather seats (with new seat foam also from MSA). He didn't like how they turned out so he had a set custom made. He said the bolsters on the MSA seats weren't even side to side, the seams didn't line up properly, the gap between the bottoms and back was uneven, and the stitching wasn't even on the pleats on the back. The upholstery shop also charged him extra to put the MSA covers on since the new foam padding didn't fit without cutting and splicing the foam backs. They were too narrow as received. The first picture is the MSA seats and the second is the custom set he had made. -Mike

There are a couple of MC rebuild kits on ebay, but I haven't used either one, so not sure if they are any good. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200452014793&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200348208709&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT -Mike

Hi Carl, Yes, I was the one that had the reproductions made. Sorry to hear they didn't work out. When I first made them, I gave a few sets to a couple of friends to try out, but apparently they just put them on the shelf and didn't install any, so I didn't get much feedback on them. I only sold a couple of sets to people on this site before I heard from one of them that they had broken one, but I wasn't sure if that was due to installing them improperly or a problem with the material. I installed a set on #237 and have had no problems with them on that car. Send me a PM with your contact info and I will send you a refund. That applies to anyone else that I sold a set to that needs a refund too. As Johnny'O mentioned, we were discussing these clips recently, and I sent him the link to the CTZCC post about them. I don't know what they are made out of or how they will hold up, just trying to pass on info for another possible source. As far as having more reproductions made, last year I loaned one to another member on this site that was going to look into making them out of another material, but that never went any where. I agree that the originals were made of nylon and that is the only way to go for making reproductions. If your brother can machine them out of nylon that would be great. Rather than have clips made out of aluminum, I think you would be better off just using later inspection lids with the metal clips built in, if originality is not a concern. -Mike

Hey Steve, your car is for sale again at half-off (he's asking $1,250 for it now) http://seattle.craigslist.org/kit/cto/1646236439.html. It still looks like a lot of work though. -Mike

We've discussed vinyl roofs before on this site too Rick http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=33140. Alan, were the UK or Australian market 240Zs available with factory installed options (other than automatics or paint color)? How about the front and rear spoilers, were they optional or standard in those markets? -Mike

How is sanding it while it is spinning worse than turning and sanding it on a lathe? I'm pretty sure using a lathe goes against the grain direction too. -Mike

Not sure if it applies to a 280Z, but for a 240z it is 5.8 to 8.7 ft lbs. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=35458 -Mike