I could've sworn it was explained before, but I Searched and couldn't find a thread explaining what exactly is the deal with this "elephant oil cap" I've heard about. I know what it looks like, but I'm just wondering what the story is behind it. Is it just the cap off a JDM S130? (our OEM caps already have Japanese writing on them, so I don't know why they'd need a different cap) Or is the elephant cap off a different car altogether?

 

could someone fill me in on what exactly a, elephant oil cap is???

 

Its an oil cap with a picture of an elephant on it and some japanese jargon. Nothing really special except that its apparently pretty rare. I'm not sure if its a Japan only thing or just an early Z only thing. Either way, I dont think the 280zx came with them stock, JDM or USDM. But since I really dont know much about them I could very easily be wrong here. Thats just based on information I've gathered by hearing about them from time to time.

 

I had an elephant oil cap and did some research on it, but still can't confirm what I've read. Some people claim the cap was produced by "Elephant Oil Company" for Datsun, and they were used on the some of the S30's starting in 1972 as a tribute to the African Safari Rally, but some others claim this isn't true. This was right after the oil and fuel crisis hit, and there became a higher demand for Japanese cars in the U.S. due to their better gas mileage. When this occurred, Datsun started a slogan called "Datsun Saves" (saves the U.S. economy crisis). I don't know if the elephant cap had anything to do with this campaign. So, I dunno what to believe.

 

Republicans trying to win everyone over.

 

im gonna check my caps

 

It's still made of the same black plastic as the regular caps, but is of a more rounded shape than the usual spoked/star shape. I found one in the junkyard today on a 280ZX with a sandblasted valve cover, and remembered some talk about them online. I even Googled "elephant oil cap" with no luck. ^^

 

Not the elephant .. but the hunts just started ..

 

i have two oil caps i found at the junk yards from 1972-73 240z's that have elephants on them.. i do belive.. can anybody post a picture of a real elephant cap so i can see if i really have these caps.. !

 

Putting it on ebay soon

 

i HAVE TWO OF THOUS ! WHY ARE THEY SO RARE.. the ones i have are broken and kinda jb weled back togethot.. i love the japanese writeing !

 

Beat me to it ..

From what I've read .. there's an India Elephant cap and an Africa Elephant cap ..



They Elephant Oil were a big sponsor (like what Z Car Barbie posted) of the Datsuns in the rally series back in the day and the official reccommended lubricant for the car, although every(?) manual seen for US market cars listed Castrol for all three oils.

Another cap I've learned about is the 710 cap?

 

A better pic?

http://classiczcars.com/forums/attac...8&d=1070325144

Elephant oil!

http://classiczcars.com/forums/attac...0&d=1070328422

 

^^^ From the GOT-Z thread http://www.got-z.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=25156


Oh yes... the 710 cap... aka the mechanic's blunder.

 

well at least the upper japanese mumbo-jumbo does say Elephant Oil. Not sure what the writing below says.

 

Another version?

 

ooh la la! that one is purdy!

 

I've never seen that one before. Is it a snap-in type? ...for the first year 4-cyl L-series and Roadsters?

 

from datsun1200.com site

 

That's the one I had, Inqui - the 1st one you pictured. Is that the India or Africa one? Come to think of it, I might still have it - brand new and still in the original packaging.

 

Hey ZCB ...

I don't know too much about the oil caps .. LOL .. I just started looking, researching .. asking 'round ..

 

Look what I found under my hood today. I was out there with the hood popped not really doing much of anything when I noticed this: