Mr_A Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Hi members - I've recently stumbled across a 240z in regional Queensland and have just started doing some research on its history, including trawling through the helpful forums and threads on this site. The car was originally an automatic but at some point in its life the L24 engine was replaced with a manual L20A. The car is a local HS30, but is anyone able to shed some light on how such an engine could end up in a local 240z? I understand early Japanese Fairlady Z's and a few other models such as the Cedric had this engine, but were any models with this engine every exported to Australia? is there a reason why this engine would have been chosen over the L26 or L28 (I would have thought going bigger was better than going smaller)? Any information appreciated - car number is HS30 - 01524 for the record. Used to be orange, now red. Straight body with some rust in floor pan and doors. Dash is toast but the rest of the interior is largely original. Have a few photo's to upload but getting error codes at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted December 28, 2016 Administrators Share Posted December 28, 2016 HS30 where the H represented the L24 motor. So the L20A is a later change to the car. Maybe because it is all that was available? Hard to say. Cars with L20A had S30 as chassis prefix only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HKSZ Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 I had a 260Z with a L26 in it, that is till I pulled the head off and found it had peashooter pistons, some prick had stamped a dash on the L20 to make it look like L26! ScottyD, gav240z and locklock 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dat2kman Posted December 28, 2016 Share Posted December 28, 2016 Some cheap-arse dropped in a bdget replacement motor,l20's were also fitted to JDM Skylines, in early '80's, and due to Japanese registration fees, 2 litre engines are much cheaper. It most likely came out in a container full of used motors. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 9, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 9, 2017 Your car? http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/home-hill/cars-vans-utes/1972-datsun-240z/1135304033 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjcurtis Posted January 11, 2017 Share Posted January 11, 2017 Hi, Mr-A and Gav, Mr-A ,are you able to post photos of the build plate and compliance, I saw the post and it intrigued me as I did see a lot of L20 A engines imported and sold in FNQ in the late 80st. I suspect by VIN alone against data the build would be around 10th month 1971 and if it is Australian market delivered which it looks like it should be then 11or 12 of 1971 compliance plate should be there. This could be early 1972 of course on account of delays due to engine or transport snag in Japan, The data plate engine number and compliance plate info would confirm both scenarios. To the auto I am sceptical if the vehicle is the one in the article by posted by Gav at #5. this looks like a manual delivered car, if converted it was done very early in the life of the car with some of the key Auto tell tails well removed and changed over in a very professional manner. What are the items that highlight the Auto to you. My 2 Cents Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_A Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Thank for the information gents, very helpful. I'm still unable to load any pictures but I've put a few up at the following Google Drive link: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-_AboqoEoQyXzVYX1BQaE1xV2s?usp=sharing sjcurtis, I've include a snap of the compliance plate - hopefully this will help you find out some further information about the car and motor. For what it's worth the engine number is L20113654, though judging from some of the previous comments this could have just as easily been a cheap donor. I don't know the exact origins of the vehicle. Although it is in the Far North it is registered in Western Australia - before that, who knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_A Posted January 11, 2017 Author Share Posted January 11, 2017 Gav, you picked it! Someone obviously jumped on it for a quick turn around - last I saw it (about three weeks ago) it was in a barn far from where these pictures were taken. Snooze you loose I guess. gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 11, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2017 Seems we have a few folks flipping cars lately for profit. I guess that's the way it goes when an asset market becomes hot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 11, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2017 The ID plate confirms beyond doubt it was an AU market delivered car. The only other cars to get HS30 prefix were the Fairlady 240Z and the Fairlady 240ZG models in Japan. However they didn't have engine numbers stamped onto the ID plate. Also they were Nissan's, not Datsun's and of course you can see this car's original motor was an L24 055242. The ID plate and compliance plates are different. I don't see any photos of a compliance plate. It may never have had 1 fitted either. As a 71 model it's possible it never had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 11, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2017 Any information appreciated - car number is HS30 - 01524 for the record. It was actually HS30 01425. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 11, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 11, 2017 A couple of it's sister cars.. HS30 01427 https://goo.gl/photos/dJne9hk6W3g4aQ3V8 HS30 01428 https://goo.gl/photos/RSof8rwJ4HC5LjxM6 Both were also originally 918 Kalahari tan cars. I'm finding a lot of cars in close sequence which makes sense, considering they would have been made together and shipped together and likely sold together once here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjcurtis Posted January 12, 2017 Share Posted January 12, 2017 Thanks for the picture of the data plate it really tells the story as gav240z has shown. I did not see any comment on the Auto transplant, I think that is just one of those things that come to the mind when you take a first look. I agree the beauty of the 240Z in Australia you just never know when or where you will see one and they do move around. I was at a BBQ, overnighting in a park area near the Rolling stone hotel near Ingham in FNQ circa 1987 and in the middle of the evening down the dirt road we heard the familiar notes of of the L series engine being hunted, an Orange 240Z burst into the light of the camp ground, pulled in with two people who where travelling round the north on a camping holiday. I was hooked. I also subscribe to the batch or delivery theory that gav240z has put forward in #12 and all three probably arrived on the same ship, both the other vehicles have the AUS compliance plates, maybe HS30-01425 had one too and it has become detached at some point. Cheers Steve gav240z 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 12, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 12, 2017 I agree the beauty of the 240Z in Australia you just never know when or where you will see one and they do move around. I was at a BBQ, overnighting in a park area near the Rolling stone hotel near Ingham in FNQ circa 1987 and in the middle of the evening down the dirt road we heard the familiar notes of of the L series engine being hunted, an Orange 240Z burst into the light of the camp ground, pulled in with two people who where traveling round the north on a camping holiday. I was hooked. I recall being on a tram in Melbourne coming back home from University 1 evening and I hear this massive induction noise and what sounded like a V12 Ferrari coming up past the tram. I was delighted to see an orange S30z buzz past, it must have been fitted with Triple Webers or Mikuni's. Sounded great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_A Posted January 15, 2017 Author Share Posted January 15, 2017 (edited) Gents - On the subject of it being an auto, the (previous owner) made the comment in passing that it was originally an auto but perhaps you can confirm whether this is the case. While trawling through the forums I came across a record of all the HS30's accounted for in Australia. It was very comprehensive. The record indicated that the vehicle produced just before or after one was an auto (HS30 01424 ??) but for the life of me I can't find the spreadsheet again to confirm. That is some supporting evidence. Secondly, the centre console has been modified to accommodate a manual transmission, which you can from the photo on the Gumtree ad. http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/townsville/cars-vans-utes/1972-datsun-240z-coupe/1135792440 Is the centre console standard for both the auto and manual, or are they different moulds? perhaps the shape gives it away. Unfortunately I don't have the depth of knowledge to make this judgement. Edited January 15, 2017 by Mr_A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators gav240z Posted January 15, 2017 Administrators Share Posted January 15, 2017 I'm pretty sure compliance plates in Australia stated if a car was auto (A for auto), but if this car didn't have 1 that would not help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjcurtis Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 Thanks for the further info. It looks like the modification to the console was very minor if any. It may be as simple as a floor shift lever (stick) changed or shortened with different dust shield and a missing boot assy - floor shift lever (looks like leather with a leather tie). Without the compliance plate a simple hands on at the point where the shift lever protrudes from the console will tell if it is an auto or manual console by looking for the four screw positions that attached the auto change unit. I think a check will not find these and only the extended lip for attachment of the boot assy - floor shift lever, this uses push on clips to secure the boot. Yes there is a difference between Auto and Manual in this case both the assy - floor front and the assy - floor console fitted match either to manual or auto. This is an interesting point as the production of 240Z at around 8/71 when this 240Z was coming out of the factory, the production of the future Assy - Floor Front 74300-N3050 was started this became a universal fit for both auto and manual.The replacement or later version of the Assy - Floor console maintained an auto or manual fit. It would take a number of months for production to exhaust the existing stocks of the superseded parts. If you do get close enough the information above may confirm auto or manual. Cheers Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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