atticus Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Hi Guys, I'm hoping you can clarify something for me. I've read articles on the history of zeds, some saying that the 260 was only produced from '74-'75, but I've seen '77 260z's advertised for sale? I'm guessing there's a difference in the US and Aussie markets? In the australian market, when did the model/body change to the 280? I only ask in case I end up with a 280 that's been re-badged And if so, is there anywhere I can find out what the factory colours were in the Australian market for the 260's? Also - can anyone recommend quality rust repair and paint work in melbourne? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sam Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 Australia never had the 280z. The 260z was produced through to 1977 then the 280zx came out which is a different shape and could not be rebadged as a 260z. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atticus Posted October 1, 2007 Author Share Posted October 1, 2007 Aha - thankyou so much Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benny Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 As far as i know america had the 260z in 74-75 and the 280z was the fuel injected 2.8 l-series the change was due to emmision requirements with the l28 with F.I meeting these requirements. Later the 280ZX was born with the same motor and F.I setup as the 280z, there was also a turbo version of the 280zx released which is quite popular in the U.S with alot of these motors being pulled and put into earlier model Z's Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JP Posted October 1, 2007 Share Posted October 1, 2007 I have a '77 2 seater 260Z. It had the body changes that match the US 280Z, minus the ugly bumpers and the EFI 2.8. I am not an expert on this stuff, but to my knowledge these include plastic A-pillar trims, different seat rail mounting points and vents below the rear bumper. This makes sense as of course they all came off the production line at the same time and it would have been impossible to modify the tooling for the US model without affecting models destined for other countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZeder Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 Yep different markets different specs - same thing still happens today. In the US there were 2 type of 260z too - the early ones had bumpers like our 260z while the later models had a sort of US 280z bumper just not quite as big but more than big enough. If you have a look at our RHD later bodies S30 ie 260z you will also see below the bumpers large bungs covering the holes where the 5mph shocks that connected to those big ugly bumpers. For the record I prefer to call the most cars by the model (that is not the marketed model but the model code). I will list some examples. Datsun 240z = S30 model Datsun 260z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S30 model Datsun 280z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S31 model Nissan Fairlady 240z = S30 model Nissan Fairlady Z = S130 model (what we know as the ZX shape) Nissan Fairlady 280z = S130 model Datsun 280zx = S130 Nissan 200sx = S110, S12, S13, S14, S15 (starting to get the picture) These are just the base model codes there are more to it than just the S30 part of the model code. ie HS30 = L24 power S30 but a straight S30 in the chassis tell us it was a L20a power S30 and a RS30 = L26 power S30 (aka 260z) now there are difference between each model as parts were changed/improved over the life span of the model range. I am by no means an expert on all this but if you are zed nut like me you learn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FuzzyDropbear Posted October 2, 2007 Share Posted October 2, 2007 If you have a look at our RHD later bodies S30 ie 260z you will also see below the bumpers large bungs covering the holes where the 5mph shocks that connected to those big ugly bumpers. Ahhhh, thanks for that. I've been wondering what those damn ugly looking bungs were for. Lucky I picked up a '74 body which doesn't them.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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