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Early Girl Bingo - With Photos


gav240z

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Jesus ::)

 

Just in case I haven't explained why I go on so long and hard about zhome.com and all that "An American Car, Made in Japan" stuff:

 

The first time I came into contact with that 'USA uber alles' type thinking was in the old pre-forum mailing list days. Carl Beck and his followers were under the misapprehension that the concept, design, engineering and productionisation of the "240" (other models didn't exist...) was ALL about the USA.

 

How does this relate to 'our' HS30-prefixed cars? Well, Mr Beck and his friends were convinced that no HS30-prefixed cars had been made in 1969, and that - therefore - they were obviously some kind of afterthought. That line of thinking extended to the concept, design, engineering and productionisation of the "240Z" - the mistaken belief being that RHD "240Zs" didn't figure in any of that. Which is - of course - a complete and utter travesty, and could not be further from the truth. When the protoype, pre-production and 1969 total production figures were released by the ex-Nissan Shatai guys, the numbers seemed to be something of a surprise to the USA hardliners. 

 

That's what I've been trying to get across. It sometimes falls on deaf ears, but if it causes just one person in a hundred to re-examine what they've been told ("240Z designed for the USA", "L-series engine designed for the USA", "Yutaka Katayama conceived/designed the 240Z" etc etc ) I think it's worth it.

 

Sorry if you don't agree.     

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Ummm

know & I have seen this car previously...did Alex M sell it?

???

 

 

No he still has it, I went and had a look with intentions of buying it.

 

 

I have seen cars in a poorer state come back to life. Is the original motor around ?

 

 

I don't think it is.

 

 

Yeah having a look at george's this one seems to be less  swiss cheese than his:) but then again I know how these things hide cancer :)

 

 

Lets just say what it makes up for in lack of rust it, gives away to crash damage. With modern re-pro parts available you could definitely fix it, just wasn't right for me with the ZG half done in the garage.

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Sorry but the term 'early girl' is full of gayness and misrepresents the awesomeness of the Zed :o Carry on, my good deed for the day is done ;D

 

Fairlady Z and Early Girl are synonymous with "gayness" in many people's minds it would seem. Personally I don't see the big deal when you have cars like Ford "Escort" or Mitsubishi "Pajero".

 

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Pajero

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Lets just say what it makes up for in lack of rust it, gives away to crash damage. With modern re-pro parts available you could definitely fix it, just wasn't right for me with the ZG half done in the garage.

 

So the original matching numbers engine is definitely no longer around? How original is it in terms of original bits and pieces? Assume they are stored elsewhere?

 

I only know of the damage to the rear 1/4 panel, but is it bent in other ways also?

 

It's definitely worth restoring, even without the original engine in my opinion. In some markets the engine number wasn't stamped on the ID plate.

 

It is a significant car in my opinion.

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would this have been sold around 8/9 years ago.........out near samford? I was very keen to have a look but had a a mssive repair bill on my daily driver at the time :)

 

I had it for sale near rockhamton probably about 12 years ago then Jake  (D3c0y) bought it off me and it sold on the Gold Coast a out 10 years ago.

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So the original matching numbers engine is definitely no longer around? How original is it in terms of original bits and pieces? Assume they are stored elsewhere?

 

I only know of the damage to the rear 1/4 panel, but is it bent in other ways also?

 

It's definitely worth restoring, even without the original engine in my opinion. In some markets the engine number wasn't stamped on the ID plate.

 

It is a significant car in my opinion.

 

 

Some of the parts are still with it, there is quite a bit inside the car. It crashed at lakeside and hit backwards and someone has had a go at repairing some of it. So it needs rear quarters, back end valance panel etc.

It was imported from PNG which is an interesting point.

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i remember seeing it.......only thing i can remember the ad saying was light weight racing wheels........havnt seen wheels like it since.....so just assumed it may be it......i could be wrong with samford :) the sale pics of were it sitting on a road with a bush back drop:)

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It was imported from PNG which is an interesting point.

 

PNG = Papua New Guinea I assume?

 

Yeah I do wonder if Nissan officially exported some cars to pacific island nations? I just found these posts which sees to suggest Nissan may have been active in that part of the world.

 

http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/51510-zs-in-fiji/

http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/23270-unusual-kenmeri-qld/?p=202243

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Many years ago when I lived in Auckland & regularly attended car shows I met an owner of a Z which was originally sold new in the Philippines, & another guy was the 2nd owner of a Z that had been sold new in Hong Kong. I'll have photos buried away somewhere as they were different in detail from the NZ, Aus & UK-new cars.

I suspect anywhere in the world where there was a Nissan dealer there's a good chance that a Zed or three were sold.

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Alan, can you elaborate further on Mr. Katayama's involvement (and lack thereof) with S30 development?

 

Katayama wasn't an engineer, designer or even a 'stylist'. He had no real ability to give technical input on any of Nissan's products, and he never had any remit to do so anyway. He wasn't any kind of product planner. His education was in economics, and he joined Nissan to work in their nascent advertising and sales department. He was related to Yoshisuke Aikawa, Nissan's creator and first President (a fact which helped him all through his career...).

 

Katayama came into the story of what would become the S30-series Z when it had already started. His 'input' was more along the lines of "I can sell this" than any other measurable practical sense. He added the weight of his support for the 'Maru Z' team, which would have been a help to them when dealing with higher management, but the Z certainly had no details that can be attributed to Katayama's hand. He was living and working in the USA for the whole time that the S30-series Z was being created, and only visited Japan for short periods. He was a supporting cast member with a walk-on part, not a main player. 

 

 

I've heard comments made he was 'banished' to the US...?

 

You've heard the phrase "Poor me, poor me, pour me a drink", right? He was actually given a promotion. Part of Katayama's schtick was to paint himself as a bit of a victim who had a constant 'battle' with upper management. If you think about it, this works well when talking to dealers; Enabling him to become the smiling, friendly face of a giant, all but faceless corporation. Good for sales. Good salesman.

 

He was an important figure in Nissan's history, indeed a great man, but so much garbage is written about him. Check out the very first paragraph of his Wikipedia page for example: It says he was "the first president of Nissan Motor Co USA", which is utter nonsense. The Wikipedia article goes on to contradict itself, and link to a classiczcars.com thread that I participated in: http://www.classiczcars.com/topic/50992-mis-informed-youtube-video/ 

 

In his later years I believe Katayama himself started to believe the things that people were (mistakenly) thanking him for. He's on film saying "I designed it" (the '240Z'). I myself attended a small gathering in Tokyo where he was the honoured guest, and heard him say much the same thing. He made a long speech where he used the word "I" many, many times. Other members of the 'Maru Z' S30-series Z design and engineering team were in the same room, so he would have been better advised to say - at the very least - 'we'. It didn't seem to cross his mind. I felt embarrassed for the 'Maru Z' team members, but they took it all with good grace. 

 

Catch me on a bad day and I might be tempted to say that Katayama's greatest sales success was selling the concept of "Mister K.". That's not necessarily a criticism, maybe more a wry observation on the cult of personality that surrounded him and the fact that he himself started to believe his own press...

 

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i remember seeing it.......only thing i can remember the ad saying was light weight racing wheels........havnt seen wheels like it since.....so just assumed it may be it......i could be wrong with samford :) the sale pics of were it sitting on a road with a bush back drop:)

 

The wheels are not a good topic  >:(

I let Jake take them so he could keep the car movable and he then sold the car with my wheels on it.

.... Was not happy to say the least.

The wheels are work e wings 3 piece and they were unbelievably light.

 

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Updated first post with the best picture I could get of HS30 00165.

 

The URL it was last seen at was:

http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Datsun-240Z-1970/SSE-AD-2795701

 

But none of the Internet Archive services I used could retrieve the page. So that was the best photo I could get of it. The 1/4 windows were welded over and the car was generally customised on every panel. As mentioned it's destined to become a Ferrari GTO replica now.

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It does have a certain smell about it, I can't quite put my finger on it. IMO it comes across as a little pretentious, each to their own I guess. To me 'Zenki' is much nicer.

 

On a lighter note, there's plenty of very interesting info here though.

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On a lighter note, there's plenty of very interesting info here though.

 

Agreed!

I am hoping more owners can post there photos here, also here is a photo of #409 when it was discovered, in need of quite a bit of work

post-3173-144023805912_thumb.jpg

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Hi All,

 

One more for the list. I am in Adelaide South Australia and have HS30-00134 with original engine. Currently ondergoing rotisserie restoration. Cheers Jeff.

post-823-144023805924_thumb.jpg

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