Hs30-01415 - 904 White And Blue Interior - Auto - 71

[gav240z]

Hi Folks,
Opening myself to judgement here, but as was let out the bag here. It's time to start another thread, even though so far it's just been towed to storage and I haven't had a chance to work on it yet, with travels for work etc.. and it's likely much won't get done between now and the end of the year unfortunately.

 

This is car HS30 01415, which is 904 white and has the rare and elusive blue interior, I'm almost ashamed to say I bought the car for it's Interior colour only (perhaps because it reminds me of American Muscle Cars and Corvettes example1 and example2), but that's only half true. Of the total 388 HS30's (AU Delivered cars) I have records for, I can only confirm that 4 cars (including HS30 01415) have a blue interior. The blue interior cars to my knowledge were only available with 904 White in AU delivered trim. I haven't found a 903 Blue AU market 240z with a Blue interior yet, if such a unicorn does exist, I'll end up selling my soul to own it. So hopefully none do exist.

 

I'm sure that there was a few more blue interior cars than the 4 I have records of, for example Len Brennan's 240z (interior photo), but he doesn't recall the chassis no, and his ex-wife threw all the paperwork out, so we don't even know if the car still exists! (Last known registration in Victoria: KZU-567) and this 240z dump or restore. But outside of those 2 examples, the only blue interior cars I can confirm for sure are:

 

HS30-00063 - (Datsun 240Z & Japanese Woman, Melbourne International Motor Show, 5 Mar 1971) - This was once upon a time Frank Kilfoyle's car.

HS30-00982 - Cuong's car, was sold to Singapore recently.

HS30-00990 - Blue interior was removed when it was 'restored'.

HS30-01415 - This car, which was originally purchased new by Laurie Ogle of NSW.

 

So that brings me to the original owner Laurie, I haven't spoken to him yet, and I don't actually know if Laurie is still with us. I hope he is, but what I do know about Laurie is that he truly cherished this car for many many years and only gave it up when his health meant he was no longer able to easily climb in and out of it.

 

It was around 2004/2005 when Laurie advertised the car for sale, and being an older gentleman he wasn't able to send digital photos of the car to prospective buyers. Instead someone I know in South Australia (Joe) who was interested in the car at the time was sent actual original photos from Laurie in the post and was requested to 'please mail them back' after receiving them. Joe was good enough to scan them in and save them before posting them back to Laurie in Split Junction NSW.

 

Here are the photos of it when Laurie still had the car. As you can see very original and well loved, the only real modification was the fender mirrors were moved and modified to fit on the door instead of the fenders (Laurie didn't like them up front, they looked silly).

 

NB: The original licence plates LO-062 (LO for Laurie Ogle).

 

[gav240z]

So here are some photos from 2005, which show the interior, engine bay etc.. Hopefully you can get a sense here that the car was really well cherished and the kind of car you'd love to find now in original condition (unrestored etc..).
 
Joe actually saw the car back in 2006 or 2007 and said the only thing he did NOT like about it was the auto, but that was really the only issue it had. He also told me it had been given rust treatment in cavities etc.. and that's what in my opinion has really helped the car hold up over the years unlike so many other S30Z's.
 
At the time Joe looked at the car Laurie was residing in an apartment complex at Spit Junction the car was advertised in Unique Cars magazine and seems to think it was advertised around $14k AUD at the time. Expensive for 2005-ish but theft by today's prices.  The car was stored at Laurie's holiday house on the South Coast and he would retrieve the car and bring it back to Sydney to show it to potential buyers.

 

Actually it's easier to quote Joe..
 

The car spent a great deal of its life at the original owners holiday house on the south coast. The car was always garaged. It also had a tow bar many years ago and I vaguely remember the owner telling me that he use to tow a boat with it from time to time. He also lived at Spit Junction and sometimes had the car there.

The car had less than 100k original miles on it when I looked at it, about 80k from memory (its amazing that I can remember such things when it comes to z's but struggle to remember later in the day what I had for breakfast earlier).

It had an aftermarket alarm that was deactivated and an immobliser so original wiring may be chopped a little.

I remember that he struggled to sell it, I think it was on the market for a few years...those were the days! It was advertised in Unique Cars magazine and later I believe that the z car club of Sydney aided him in selling it.

I watched it on and off until it disappeared and I assumed it had sold.

It had original wheels and d caps, original radio etc. Looks like it now has replacement metal headlight buckets, which may have been changed when the original owner had a small front end collision*, at least that's what he told me. Original black fender mirrors were relocated to door at the time of repair as he couldn't stand them on the fenders.

 
The new owner Luke took possession of it from 2007, which made him the official second owner. That's where this story takes a slight turn..

*RE: Metal headlight buckets, I believe this was normal on a 71 model such as this and only pertains to the early 240z's with the vents in the hatch. The collision was a minor altercation with a light pole that meant the front passenger fender was replaced with an OEM Nissan panel. No serious front end shunt.

[gav240z]

So I want to prefix the next part of this by stating that Luke was a really nice guy and a good person to deal with and made everything go smoothly. But unfortunately under Luke's care the car deteriorated quite a bit from the state that Laurie had kept it in as the photos will demonstrate.

 

Many of you would have seen it on eBay a month or so ago and we chatted about it here. Well since the car was about an hour out of Sydney I took a Friday off work and decided to go have a look-see (probably never a good idea) since the car looked honest and I was wondering how "honest".

 

My first reaction was "oh no" (probably because I had seen the photos above), followed by - actually this is quite good...and I could still see that good car from when Laurie owned it under all the dust, dirt, grease and pulled apart interior.

 

Luke must have left the car outside for a period of time, which is when the rust you see in the photos developed. He also installed a few electric fuel pumps that kept dying and had to pull the amp meter apart chasing an electrical fault. That's when the interior sort of got pulled apart and never put back together.

 

Luke put the car in his garage at the top of a steep drive (see photos) where it sat for a number of years off the road. He did tell me he took it to Wakefield once and it went ok with the auto box. He removed the fresh air duct in the engine bay to replace with a "cold air" intake which I'll be promptly removing when time suits. I'll also be putting back a mechanical fuel pump.

 

The car has suffered a small ding here and there and the rubber protective stripping on 1 side of the car has come off. The original wheels were replaced with these "cobra" style wheels, which I haven't been able to find much information on with a few quick Google searches, the originaly Topy's and D caps were included with the car (sans 1 cap that fell off and was driven over by another car denting the cap and ruining it, good thing I have spares!).

 

However remarkably the car still has almost everything original, it's the small details like:

• Original undertray still in place (bit dented - but fuel tank is not dented!).
• Original antenna and radio (plastic faceplace unbroken!)
• Original ashtray (unbroken)
• I was hoping exhaust was original, but I think the backbox was replaced - I do have an original S30Z muffler tip though!
• Original L24 block and automatic transmission - But I will eventually put a 71A box in it.
• The rear 1/4 panel joins (lead joins) are not even cracked on this S30Z, which goes to show it hasn't been hurled about.
• Likewise the drivers door often get a split where the stainless trim meets at the front A-pillar, on this car no such thing!
• Chassis rails have no rust and are very straight.
• Dog legs (1 tiny rust bubble on passenger side)
• No bloody sunroofs!
• Tail lamps and front indicators have no hairline cracks or UV stress cracks in them, indicating it was garaged for a long time.
• It still has a Koito headlight lamp on 1 side (the other was replaced)
• Topy steel rims, but 74 date stamped. I think Laurie may have wanted wider 5j wheels instead of 4.5j (which would have been the norm for 71).
• All OEM panels! Panel gaps are perfect, drivers door closes beautifully and I believe the car has never had a hard knock anywhere. The passenger fender was replaced with an OEM Nissan 240z guard (with no indicator cut outs) in the 70s when you could still get them new. Due to a light scrape with a light post.
• The paint I believe is still original in many places, although there is evidence of some touch ups (overspray where windscreen cowl panel is).
• It was dealer fitted with an aircon unit and I plan to retain or refurbish this at some point.
• Interestingly the center console has NO hand throttle and I believe this was the case from new. Since the hand throttle slot has a plastic blanking plate there, I've never seen this on AU market cars with early consoles! However I may be cheeky and fit the hand throttle at some point in future.

Luke was sad to see the car go, but needed the money for house renovations as he was planning a career change and to move house. It's fair to say he didn't really present the car in it's best possible light. Even so I was expecting the car to go for a bit less on eBay than it actually did, but after seeing the car I kind of likened it to my 72 240z body wise (solid but minor rust spots) and I don't think it would take much to return her to the road.

 

So that brings me to my plans for it..

[gav240z]

So what am I going to do with yet another 240z?

 

Well the first thing to do is figure out why it's not running, as mentioned Luke installed an electric fuel pump but said they were poor quality and kept failing, so I am gong to keep it simple and return the stock look with the factory mechanical pump. I do have an aftermarket mechanical pump which I might install for now, although it looks 'incorrect' aesthetically.

 

I need to source the fuel pump insulator and pump bolts to attach it however, if anyone has spares let me know? The fuel lines are also dry and hard and will need replacement. The cooling system and hoses (as much as I want to keep the braided ones) will need to be replaced for maintenance reasons. I will try and source braided ones where feasible.

 

A complete degrease and clean up of the engine bay, remove all dirt and debris from crevices etc.. check for leaking gaskets (there will be a few), tidy up the wiring it's a mess right now, remove immobiliser and return loom to stock. Amp gauge is apparently giving issues and was bypassed, replace with another.

 

Tidy up interior, put stuff back together (should be easy enough, but fasteners are all over the floor and were not kept ordered etc..) and perhaps re-dye faded blue interior bits or source second hand replacements (I'm going for the survivor look, as opposed to restored / new). Which is a good segway, basically for this car at least in the short term I plan to keep it as "original' and patina'd as possible. There is of course a trend towards unrestored examples these days and I want to really tidy this car up, but retain the patina. Very much like this Mazda R100. There is of course a couple of rust spots, the front headlight bucket (easy to find replacements, although painting without setting off alarm bells will be a challenge), the rear slam panel will need some patching and the rear valance below the tail lamps will require some skill to repair without removing the rear valance section itself (maybe not within my skillset to do the way I want it done).

 

I will replace worn seals (doors), will give the chrome on and stainless trim a clean up and in time put the Topy's back on (maybe sans D caps for the period look) with some nice "Good Year" tyres with white lettering (vintage appropriate). The interior has suffered a little water ingres and the floors have surface rust, so I'll try and detail all that and make it a bit more presentable.

 

The seats are split at the bottom, I will remove the ghastly covers and see what I have to work with, may try and find some second hand blue trim in better shape to replace with.

 

Now for the transmission, at least for now I'll keep it auto, but as time, money permits I'll look to convert it over to manual. Of course condition of the auto will also accelerate or delay the conversion. Yes, it would be more original to keep it auto, but I actually think it will be a much more fun car as manual and can just imagine a 5 speed gear knob in the interior with the blue interior and early console etc.. looking the part. This means I'll need to find a 3.9 gear r180 diff also (shouldn't be too hard). I think there is 1 cut needed to go manual to the trans tunnel, but I don't think this will deflate the cars value overall in future.

 

I'm pretty excited about this car, as it's far less work than HS30 00150 and HS30 00051, I've probably spent the same amount on HS30 00150 and feel I have far less to show for it at this stage, I hope I can get HS30 01415 on club rego and be able to go on some more club drive days in NSW and get it out and about. Sadly I have no room for it where I live so I'm paying for storage until I find a place to call home with a big enough shed/workshop etc..

 

I can see a time where perhaps a set of Triple 40 or 44mm Mikuni's are fitted to it, but that's a long way into the future.

 

I do apologise to anyone else who may have been bidding and had their heart set on it, I feel a little guilty owning 4x 240z's now given that some can't find 1, however it was such a great original example I just couldn't help myself, what can I say?

 

I just need a 73 model now and I've got 1 of each year.

[RB26DETT]

Wow Gavin you really have a bad case of zed fever !!!

[Brabham]

This is why the youth of today can't afford houses - too much spending on smashed avocados and 240Z's . Nice pickup Gav, probably my favorite color combo too.

[Cozza]

Wow. Good buy!

Looks like it will come up well and, without too much work.

Looking forward to seeing it on the road Mate.

[gilltech]

Sounds like it's been well rescued actually, well done!

[OdinZ]

This is why the youth of today can't afford houses - too much spending on smashed avocados and 240Z's . Nice pickup Gav, probably my favorite color combo too.

Atleast it's not on having smashed avocado! haha

[mossy]

Hoarder! 

[Rickers]

The next step....

 

[gav240z]

Wow Gavin you really have a bad case of zed fever !!!

 

And the only prescription is MOAR cowbell.

 

 

This is why the youth of today can't afford houses - too much spending on smashed avocados and 240Z's . Nice pickup Gav, probably my favorite color combo too.

 

Obviously I know you're just having fun, but actually I did try buying 2 houses in the last couple of weeks, the first place I signed contract and agent used it as a way to canvas another buyer in, sand-bagged on deposit details etc..I wasn't happy to say the least.. The second place I was an under bidder on an Adelaide place that was very unique (yes garage was too small), however got beaten by another Sydney bidder. I literally saw this place last minute and registered to bid, not expecting to even get a bid in before I was blown out of the water by another bidder, but in actual fact it was just myself and another bidder through most of it, but it just got too rich for me. Shame, it was awesome.. Probably would have had to stick to a diet of only Avocado's if I bought either though!

 

I also thought I was going to have to sell this car too if I bought either (or at least see how things went) but since I missed both I'm keeping it now.

 

 

Wow. Good buy!

Looks like it will come up well and, without too much work.

Looking forward to seeing it on the road Mate.

 

Yep, looking forward to the T-bar experience, full Grandpa spec.

 

 

Sounds like it's been well rescued actually, well done!

 

Thanks, this is how I justify such madness also.

 

Hoarder! 

 

Fair...I have toyed with the idea of selling the RX-7, but it's only really 2 years away from Historic Registration, at which point I suspect insurance and registration costs will drop significantly...so probably a good idea to hand onto it. They are also trending up in value as of late..

 

The next step....

 

Close, see the properties I mentioned above, I like old stuff. That's a bit too modern looking, but the idea is correct. Actually I was looking at this 1 in Warragul (Just to annoy Lurch all the time), it was originally listed at $250k-$275k but I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to read the contract of sale and let's just say that, having to sign something like that before seeing a contract of sale usually isn't a good start. I was shocked at it's sold price. I think that will be an expensive white Elephant for someone.

 

I'm about done dealing with Real Estate agents, I'd rather have to deal with Edward Lees buying 1 of his Jalopy van's with a haircut than another agent..

The hunt will continue however and while the property market continues to look weak I'll just wait and see how it pans out..

[lightmaster240z]

Gav we have an empty ex Aldi  up for sale down here you can fit at least 50 z in it

[OdinZ]

 

 

Close, see the properties I mentioned above, I like old stuff. That's a bit too modern looking, but the idea is correct. Actually I was looking at this 1 in Warragul (Just to annoy Lurch all the time), it was originally listed at $250k-$275k but I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement just to read the contract of sale and let's just say that, having to sign something like that before seeing a contract of sale usually isn't a good start. I was shocked at it's sold price. I think that will be an expensive white Elephant for someone.

 

I'm about done dealing with Real Estate agents, I'd rather have to deal with Edward Lees buying 1 of his Jalopy van's with a haircut than another agent..

The hunt will continue however and while the property market continues to look weak I'll just wait and see how it pans out..

Gav I hear you there! 

That old building looks awesome as, but would hate to see what elephant skeletons are hiding in it!

[PB260Z]

Hi

 

Re #1415

I am looking forward to seeing it back on the road, might even get my hands dirty if time and workshop space permits.

I had a look at it the other day and whilst it is dirty and needs work, it is surprisingly solid - a very good base for a "survivor" style car.

 

Re the property.

I can't believe it sold for $440K, I was struggling to see it make business sense at $250K.

It looked like it needed some serious work and possibly decontaminating. It will be interesting to see what the new owner turns it into.

 

Cheers

 

PB

[HS30-H]

Congrats on the purchase, Gav. I don't think you will regret it.

 

About the blanking plate where the hand throttle lever would be: I think the clue here is that the car left the factory with the Auto transmission. I don't think Nissan fitted the hand throttle on Auto trans cars.

[Cozza]

Sidetracking somewhat but I’m intrigued by your taste in property. How do you come across them, nothing like that has ever come up using my search criteria ?

The Adelaide property is definitely unique but seems to stick out like a sore thumb in the neighbourhood. You’d grow some solid calf muscles walking the stairs.

The Warragul one is enormous but a little hard on the eye.

[gav240z]

Gav we have an empty ex Aldi  up for sale down here you can fit at least 50 z in it >

 

You shouldn't encourage .

 

Gav I hear you there! 

That old building looks awesome as, but would hate to see what elephant skeletons are hiding in it!

 

Happy to discuss it in person with anyone interested, I've learnt a lot about old factories / warehouses and what they can be hiding. .

 

 

Hi

 

Re #1415

I am looking forward to seeing it back on the road, might even get my hands dirty if time and workshop space permits.

I had a look at it the other day and whilst it is dirty and needs work, it is surprisingly solid - a very good base for a "survivor" style car.

 

Re the property.

I can't believe it sold for $440K, I was struggling to see it make business sense at $250K.

It looked like it needed some serious work and possibly decontaminating. It will be interesting to see what the new owner turns it into.

 

Cheers

 

PB

 

Sounds good, I think this car is currently living next door to a Prince Skyline GTB! Another car I've always wanted.

 

I'll fill you in on the details of the property on the drive to Melbourne for Gordo's BBQ. It is a 12 hour drive after all.

 

 

Sidetracking somewhat but I’m intrigued by your taste in property. How do you come across them, nothing like that has ever come up using my search criteria

The Adelaide property is definitely unique but seems to stick out like a sore thumb in the neighbourhood. You’d grow some solid calf muscles walking the stairs.

The Warragul one is enormous but a little hard on the eye.

 

Without derailing this thread too much I'll just say I'm happy to share details next time we meet. I use a combination of techniques (I guess kind of like searching for rare S30Z parts) to find properties.

[gav240z]

Congrats on the purchase, Gav. I don't think you will regret it.

 

About the blanking plate where the hand throttle lever would be: I think the clue here is that the car left the factory with the Auto transmission. I don't think Nissan fitted the hand throttle on Auto trans cars.

 

That's interesting, I never knew that actually. I would have thought the auto and hand throttle would go "hand in hand" so to speak, but perhaps too dangerous, given you can't put the clutch in to cut power to the wheels as easily?

 

Do you know the rough date that Nissan introduced an automatic? So few S30Z's have been left auto these days they are quite rare to find. I am under the impression that this car would have been an early automatic for a 240z delivered to Australia.

[andyk_79]

So with 4 Zs now Gav which one are you making fully sik with flares and a turbo RB engine ha ha ha!

[gav240z]

None mate, not my thing. I prefer to keep them vintage, if I was going to modify 1 I'd probably get a later 2 seater (74+) and do a ZG conversion.

[andyk_79]

None mate, not my thing. I prefer to keep them vintage, if I was going to modify 1 I'd probably get a later 2 seater (74+) and do a ZG conversion.

Ha ha was winding you up. Congrats by the way! Must be nearly time for all of us Sydneysiders to catch up.

[chris240]

Congrats Gav !

A fellow zed owner just up the road from me in Fisher has a badly faded red 240, his father in law who also "lives in the area" has a white 240 with BLUE interior.

I should pop around , It's been a few years .

[gav240z]

Yeah for sure, I am interested in seeing how many blue interior cars are left. There cannot be many.

 

Interestingly I was speaking to someone from NZ who is almost certain he saw blue interior 240z's before the days of Japanese grey imports.

 

Which would have meant HS30s interestingly he didn't like non black interior cars. So ignored them.

 

I was going to try and start a new topic actually on interior colours for HS30s. It could undercover some interesting stuff. For example I had never seen a 907 Green car here with tan interior but I have a photo of such a car on NSW registration. Thought it might have been HS30 00051 but it wasn't (car had vinyl roof also).

[gav240z]

Something I forgot to mention was that the car came with original books, including owners manual, warranty/delivery card and Hitachi TM-1081ZB operating manual.

 

I was always wondering if the AU market owners manual was different to the US spec manuals, but unfortunately they are the same. So any old US manual will do for those wanting to have the original look for their cars.

 

 

I haven't scanned the entire manual in because it's quite a few pages.

 

Warranty card - Capitol Motors distributed the car, which is of Arnold Glass fame.

 

and Hitachi manual.