HS30-H

The Kameari seats are replicas of the original Nissan 'Sports Option' U0175 bucket seats that came to be nicknamed the 'Datsun Bucket' in Japan. They were first offered as a Sports Option part on the 510 Bluebird in 1969 ( hence that 'U0175' part number suffix ) and they lasted right through until the early 1980s, when they were still being offered as an option on the BS110 Nissan 240RS homologation specials. In 1992 Nissan made a limited-edition re-issue version trimmed in leather in commemoration of NISMO's 10th anniversary. I have a pair in one of my cars, and they look very nice and 'period correct' - but I have to mention that they not very comfortable and, as you can see from the design, don't offer very much in the way of shoulder support. They are however better than the stock seats, which I think are awful......

I've seen this mentioned several times in the past, but I honestly can't get my head around it. You can't just 'flip' the rack over, can you? The connection for the input shaft would be pointing towards the radiator, would it not? On standard RHD configuration, the pinion gear is underneath the rack and the 'retainer' and its adjust screw ( with the big lock nut ) are on top. If you flip the LHD rack 180 degrees in the left and right right plane the pinion would still be underneath and the retainer still on top, but the pinion would be facing 180 degrees the wrong way in the fore and aft plane. Flip the rack 180 degrees in the top and bottom plane and it puts the pinion on top of the rack ( try that! ) and the adjust screw, retainer and lock nut facing the road surface....... There are no shared part numbers between RHD and LHD racks for the complete racks assys and the housings themselves. They are different. Maybe it would be possible to completely disassemble an LHD rack, take the steel tubes out of the alloy housing and swap them around, then put it back together with the rack itself swapped 180 degrees inside the housing and tubes - but it sounds like a lot of work for something that can be picked up quite easily, and even then I think we are missing something (???) ....... Will anyone volunteer to explain this to me?!

Thank you gentlemen. 46 years old now. Please don't talk too loud, as I have a lovely hangover from last night's 'beverages'. Ouch! Leaving this evening to travel up to Silverstone to watch the Le Mans Series sportscars tomorrow. Towing the KPGC10 up there as it has been invited to do some 'parade' demo laps at some point in the proceedings. I'll try to keep it on the track, and hope that I don't run out of talent..... Cheers, Alan T.

First ones were originally made and sold by Kakimoto Racing in Japan, I believe. Some explanation here: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20795 Posts #28, #41 & #44 of that thread have comparison pics. So "Banned user" agentc73 is now Aalpha?

Gilles, I'm glad you agree with me, and I'm glad that M. Bourgoin did not fool you. Poor Andre Haller. RIP. Actually, Rob Grant ( English ) and Martin Birrane ( Irish ) tried to qualify a modified ex-Works rally 'HS30' 240Z at Le Mans in 1972. I believe they did not set a time fast enough to qualify that year, and the race was heavily over-subscribed. There were lots of reserves that never got to start. The '75 & '76 cars were actually the SAME car. In '75 it was entered as a '240Z', but in '76 it was entered as a '260Z' to take advantage of rules allowing a percentage increase in standard engine capacity. Both times it was actually an ex-works race car 'HS30' which Haller had obtained though connections including Hans Schuller. All of which makes M. Bourgoin's claim to have the original Haller car ( in which he was killed during the '76 Le Mans, and the car destroyed ) all the more ridiculous. Bourgoin's car is a modified standard road 'HLS30', and people don't even ask him how the original Le Mans car was RHD but Bourgoin's car is LHD............ If he sells it, I hope the buyer knows what he is NOT getting.

Gilles, Is Monsieur Bourgoin still telling people that his car is the original 1975/76 Le Mans 24hrs race car of Andre Haller? M. Bourgoin's car does not have any genuine period race history, and therefore should not be allowed to take part in the Le Mans Classic - according to the event's rules. It is not the original car, and it is not even anything like the original car. Bad karma.

By 'active' I meant a little bit more than driver adjustable. I meant active in the sense that it changes automatically according to conditions - outside direct control of the driver........ Jim Hall would probably have heard about the May brothers of Germany, who took part in the 1956 Nurburgring sports car race in a modified Porsche 550 Spyder. The car featured a mid-mounted wing, with angle of attack adjustable by the driver through the use of a cockpit-mounted lever:

No, it was designed as an active rear wing / 'stabiliser' to do more than one job. It wasn't like the air brake on the 1955 Mercedes Benz 300SLR; That was an air brake and nothing else. Looks to me as though the 'Aeromotions' active wing is aiming at something very similar to the 1967/68 Nissan design, but the method of control is different. The Nissan design did not have a 'computer' as such, but it did have a set of sensors to control the hydraulics. It increased wing angle of attack in braking below certain speeds, decreased it in straight line acceleration after a certain attained speed, and actuated different angles of attack for left and right elements according to speed and cornering forces. The mounts for the Nissan design were attached to the uprights/hub castings, so downforce was not acting on the chassis through the springs and dampers - unlike some other early attempts at wings in F1 for example - and this would of course increase unsprung weight. The Nissan design is not very widely known, so I wonder whether the 'Aeromotions' team know about it............?

Chaparral 2E wing wasn't active though, was it? Thought that was the point in this instance......?

"Nothing new under the sun.........." April 1968. Nissan R381 sports car. Split-element, hydraulically-actuated rear 'stabiliser' wing, reactive to speed, cornering forces and braking. Raced. Won. Banned.........

I doubt that they are the original factory Grand Prix White, to be honest. They seem much more vibrant than that when you see them in the metal. More like an 'Appliance' white...... But that's just a guess so take that for what it's worth. If you want to know anything specific about the cars - from the horse's mouth - then I recommend you send Moroe san a short e-mail at Green Bell. He doesn't bite! The 432R replica project has been suffering from a lack of attention whilst I have been preoccupied with the KPGC10, but the engine and trans are ready to go in when I can get around to it. Still need to get a radiator and 100 litre fuel tank replica made for it, but there's lots of time taken up in other minor detailing........

No, that's a completely different car: Sato san's L-series engined Fairlady Z. The pic that rahail240 posted comes from Moroe san's site, promoting his company GREEN BELL - which built both of the Fairlady Z432s in the pic: http://www.240rs.jp/ .....which would seem to be a good place to start if you want to know about the cars.

"Attitude"? As in life, so on a forum like this; Do and write stupid things, and you will be treated as stupid - until proven otherwise.

So, let me get this straight in my head here: You don't think that the metric dimensions given for an RHD S30-series car are going to work on your LHD S130-series car ( OK - I'm with you so far ) so you decide to pretend that the metric dimensions can be converted to Inches, and use them instead. That's it - you lost me. You and me are not on the same planet....... Yes. Definately different planets. Maybe your intentions were good, but the result is just a confusing jumble. I can't see that it will benefit anybody, and I'm doubtful that the mirror positions on your own car work properly or even look 'right'. You are also making it sound as though the measured ( factory! ) positions on the original car are in some way wrong. 'Zilvia' I never heard of. Perhaps that's a blessing.......

Actually, that's MY diagram. I took the measurements from my Fairlady 240ZG ( obviously RHD ) and drew them up on a scan from a Nissan 'Service Shuho' booklet on the 240ZG model because it offered a nice overhead outline drawing of the 240ZG to give the dimensions on. I did this in response to a request for help on the classiczcars.com forum. At the time, I pointed out that the mirror mounting points are assymetric and would need to be transposed to give ideal LHD lounting dimensions. If you remember Tony, you yourself took the original diagram and made an LHD version from it. Both of these versions are now knocking around, bouncing off the walls at various forums with people 'not remembering' whether they have the RHD or LHD version. Cue mucho confusion. Now we have another one to thicken the plot and muddy the waters.........

I don't understand why you have drawn those red S130-series 'frame contour' lines on a template for the S30-series cars. Give it just a few months and that file is going to be bouncing around the 'net, posted by all sorts of people who can't remember where they got it from and have no idea what it relates to. Huh? The original template measurements were taken using the headlamp bucket to front wing ( fender ) joint as one of the datum points. Judging by where your blue points are sited, you literally cannot have followed the template measurements for the S30-series and transposed them to your S130 - can you? And which S30 template are you talking about anyway? Did you follow the original RHD template measurements or the transposed LHD version?

Yes, the new company bought all the assets of the old LEDA ( who were based in Essex ) and they can rebuild / refurb original LEDA products. I think it will be easier for you to send your struts to them rather than try to do it yourself. I had a set of LEDA-modified struts ( looked just like yours ) on a street car some 10 years or so ago, and I must say that I found them far too stiff for the UK roads. They were fine on a race track, but useless on the street. I tried to find out what bump and rebound rates they had been built with, but LEDA could not tell me without the original order number. There was no ID on them to say what rates they had been built with....... You might like to ask LEDA if they can re-valve them for you, with the emphasis on street use rather than track use. I think their default thinking around 10~20 years ago was that stiffer was better, but it's a bit harsh on a fairly lightweight 30-something year old bodyshell ( especially if you do not have a full cage ).

marvo, 54302-N4051 is not a number I recognise for any of Nissan's 'Sports Option' front struts. I think it started out as a standard factory oil strut, and has been modified later in it's life......... so the original part number is now not relevant to what is inside it. In fact, I strongly suspect that you have a set of LEDA-modified struts there. If they are the non-adjustable oil-filled ( not gas ) LEDAs then it would all make sense. The small lower spring platforms ( for 2.25 inch dia. springs? ) and ( modified? ) standard-size upper spring mounts look aftermarket to me, and are just the kind of thing you had to do with the LEDAs. Most people ( inc. LEDA themselves ) just welded a suitably sized sleeve onto the underside of the upper 'hat' to locate inside the coil spring and keep it central. There were no Nissan 'Sports Option' struts that were like that. Do you have any clue as to the history of them? Did they come on a road car that you bought? I see you are based in the UK. I know that companies like Samuri Conversions, Fourways Engineering and A.C.T. used to farm out coilover conversions to LEDA, and I strongly suspect that this is what you have. Bad news is that LEDA got into financial difficulties a little while back, but I believe that they were absorbed by a bigger company and are still trading in some form. They used to offer a re-con / refurb service, so you might try looking them up and e-mailing your photos to them. At the very least they might have some data and useful spares for you. Good luck, Alan T.

Well, three years on and they are still working fine. The guy that did it does a lot of them. He does not put the valve anywhere too low down because they can be a little vulnerable - especially on rally cars. Actually, the piston / seal does not move past that valve. It stops before that point on the tube. Hard to explain without a schematic to hand. I'll see if I can find one. But I suspect marvo might actually have a standard factory oil-filled strut that has never had a cartridge rero-fitted into it. Just a hunch.............

Here's a pic of the factory filling point:

marvo, Have a look at the top of the rods ( near the screw thread ) where you will possibly see a dome-headed screw. That's where they were gas-filled at the factory. I didn't think to point this out before, but are you sure you have the proper 'Sports Option' gas-filled struts as opposed to the factory standard units ( which we joke were filled with fish oil....... )? The part numbers engraved / stamped on the tubes should tell you for sure. There were lots of different versions - some 'Rally' versions even without the adjustable lower spring platform, but with longer tubes - so you might struggle wihout all the part numbers. They might not have survived, but most of the gas-filled Opt. units had warning stickers in English and Japanese ( early versions were square shape and a goldish-tinged colour, with later ones oblong shape and chrome silver with blue writing and border ) telling you that they were gas-filled, and not to push the rod in or out with the strut inverted. What have you got?

Some clues as to what you will find inside, and an example of the weld-on Schrader valve method of re-gassing:

Opening one of these up is a one-way street........ The factory had a neat setup fixture for assembling them, but if you take them apart then you will have to weld to the tube a fitting to house a Schraeder valve. You will then need to know what pressure to put into it.......

I might print this out, frame it and hang it on my wall. Thanks.

"Badmouthing" might not be quite the correct term. Firstly, I had my tongue planted firmly in my cheek ( although you might be forgiven for not noticing, or indeed understanding why ) and secondly I didn't write "you're totally wrong" ( whom are you quoting there? ). The point is - despite what seems like hundreds of posts on this forum and others that try to clear up the misinformation and confusion - people still seem get the most basic things muddled up in their heads. I can only assume that people either don't read, or don't fully understand what they do read. I am presuming that member madmatt48's post was an attempt to identify the "mystery" 'Goerz-Paeco' casting in post #1 of this thread. He seems to think that it is an S20 head ( it isn't ), and also appears to have missed Tony D's explanation of the story behind it ( or at least what is known ) and his personal involvement in taking the photos that were posted. Looks to me like a clear case of somebody not reading the whole thread and then making a post that mis-identifies something in a picture, even though the 'Goerz-Paeco' looks nothing like an S20 head. His heart may well be in the right place, but his attempts to help went off half-cocked. As far as I understood it, the purpose of this thread was to identify and classify the numerous heads for the Nissan 'L-series' six cylinder engines. The S20 head does not fit on the L6 block, and therefore does not belong on this thread. Member zdrift might like to read the thread through fully too, as he's asking if anyone "kno" ( tee hee ) about an E30 head and block - when 1 Tuff Z identified the type clearly in post #5........... Seeing member zdrift then ask about "one of those dohc heads for a l28 or l28et" raised a smile from me, but then he goes on to ask about an "sw20 head or complete motor", which could be pathos or bathos depending on how you look at it. Slight digression: Is it just me, or does anybody else notice that very often these days the word "drift" sets off the alarm on the patent Dimwit Detector, and alerts you to the fact that you are just about to read something daft? No, please be my guest! Feel free to correct those "few things" you see, whilst I have a day off instead of a Groundhog Day............ Alan T.