Great site - lots to learn - from a Datsun Z Car fan

[nzeder]

Thanks for the warm welcome.

Well the differences - there are a few and it does depend on the year of the car manufacture and the market the car was destined for. Nissan (Datsun as they were sold outside of Japan - that is a story in its self) like other automobile manufactures the cars changed as either processes improved or changes were forced via legal requirements, ie safety changes, emissions requirements etc.

I actually have 2 x 260z 2 seaters (they are very different but again from the outside look like a 240z apart from the tail lights) - and I have only ever owned 2 seater zed cars be they S30 (aka 240z/260z and US market 280z) or the S130 (aka 280zx or the Fairlady 280z) and zeds in Japan have been marketed as Nissan Fairlady Z throughout their production life - from S30 to Z34 (Z34 = 370z the current model but once Nissan went to a V6 aka 300zx that was the line over in my mind)

This is might not be the correct place for all this info but if you are interested to know more about the difference I know a lot about these cars and there would not be too many in NZ that would know more (well I am talking about the S30 range as that is what I like - never researched the other models). I have owned the 16th right hand drive 240z produced, and my late 260z is the last body shell design for the S30. So I know the difference from a very very early car to a late car - and there are many.

For example due to the complexity of the tooling required to make the headlight buckets and to make the first production run they (the head light buckets) were first produced in FRP (fibre glass) and then later in steel.

Floors were changed, inner panels changed during the 2 seaters runs - it does get complex like any made/model of car.

But basically all the 2 seaters have the same look when side on or looking from the front (unless a US spec 260z or 280z which due to their legal requirement had large impact bumpers). All 240z share the same doors, early 260z 2 seaters, which almost share the same body as the 240z, have different doors (only due to window regulator relocation = new inner skin design) then the later 260z has new chassis design, floors, inner guards, doors, bonnet, strut towers, petrol tank the list goes on - yet if you were to install 240z tail lights in these cars most would not tell this was not a 240z.

So I am sure you get the picture. I do know a bit about these cars and like I say not too many would know more about the difference here in NZ that I - and I am still learning and have been for 20 years about the changes Nissan/Datsun did to all the different markets and evolution of tooling/design and legal requirement changes (ie late 260z have very different doors due to non burstable lock setups)

But I am sure non one on here wants to know about all this stuff - what I am interested in the racing history of these cars which I am very much still learning about.

I know a 260z was entered in the 1976 Le Manns, they raced in a number of Japan GP meetings, in the US, Europe and then there was the rallying.
Here is a pic of the 1976 Le Manns 260z (notice sporting 240z tail lights - it might have been a 240z with a L26 or L28 engine and entered as a 260z) also notice all the homologated group 4 & 5 body work.