Genuine PS30-SB 'Fairlady Z432-R' refresh story in Gallery

[HS30-H]

If you have a few minutes to spare, please take a look at our fellow forum member take432r's Gallery photos:

take432r Gallery - Classic Zcar Club Photo Gallery

'take432r' is Takeuchi san from Japan, and his genuine PS30-SB 'Fairlady Z432-R' has been the star of many Japanese classic car magazine features. Takeuchi san has been refreshing the car recently, and has been adding some very interesting and informative photos to the above gallery. Please take the time to have a look at them, as they reveal many of the 432-R's subtle differences from the 'normal' 432, and of course all other S30-series Z cars. It's a rare treat to see a genuine 432-R in pieces...

The 'super lightweight' PS30-SB is the rarest of S30-series production models, and certainly the most valuable today. 'Less Is More' certainly applies here, and the 'PZR' ( in factory jargon ) hides many of its unique features - such as its super-lightweight body with thinner gauge panel pressings, whilst many others are not immediately apparent - such as its acrylic windows and 100 litre fuel tank, until you start looking a little more closely.

I've seen this car in the metal ( and plastic! ) several times in Japan, and it's one of the few S30-series Zs that I seriously covet. It's lovely.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[geezer]

Very interesting to say the least and you can be assured that this beautiful example has not gone unnoticed. I hope to see many more pictures of the process and refreshed car, knowing that I likely may never see one in person. It is a real treat and I would like to thank Takeuchi san for sharing this treasure with us.

[John Coffey]

Nice to see how they did the fuel tank mounting.

[spitz17]

Thank you for posting this Alan. Great to see!

[Marty Rogan]

It's beautiful! Doesn't even look like it needs to be refreshed.

I didn't notice any badging that identifies it as an "R" model. Is there anything on the car that identifies it, or do you just need to know what to look for?

Marty

[26th-Z]

Thanks for posting the pictures Alan! I'm sure I'll have more questions but first to mind is the underbody coating. Is that a coating? Black paint? And is it stock?

[AZ-240z]

This car looked very familiar, Alan. Finally found an article with pictures in my copy of "All About Fairlady Z" published in 2005. Also nice pictures, but text is in Japanese, unfortunately.

[HS30-H]

I didn't notice any badging that identifies it as an "R" model. Is there anything on the car that identifies it, or do you just need to know what to look for?

Hi Marty,

If you saw a Fairlady Z432-R in a Nissan showroom in 1970, you'd be able to recognise it from the following:

First of all you'd probably see a 918 Orange paint job, as all the 432Rs sold to the general public were apparently in the one no-option colour. Next you'd notice the anti-glare satin black FRP bonnet / hood, and the smooth all-chrome bumpers with no rubber trims and no trim holes. You should see plain steel wheels with no hubcaps ( the magnesium Kobe Seiko wheels standard on the 432 were an extra-cost option on the 432-R ) and a plain clear glass, untinted, windscreen / windshield. You should also see a satin black FRP rear spoiler - the ribbed type ( for extra sensitivity... ) - sitting on the tailgate. No badging other than 'Fairlady Z' and '432' ( and perhaps an oblong 'Nissan' emblem on the rear spoiler ), and there was no 'R' type badging or emblems. A side stripe kit might have been fitted.

Look a little closer and you'd see that the door window, quarter and tailgate glass was actually lightweight acrylic with a 'Nissan' heatstamped logo in the corners. Some - but perhaps not all - 432Rs had an FRP tailgate, with no gas strut ( just a steel rod prop ). Look around underneath and you'd see a full-length FRP undercover for the engine bay at the front ( the front valance subtly shaped, and with captive nuts, to accommodate it ), and the 100 litre fuel tank in the rear ( to homologate the 100 litre tank for JAF-sanctioned GT class endurance racing ). The front grille should be subtly different to the standard Fairlady Z / Z-L / 432 item, with a finer mesh.

Peering inside, you would see the spare wheel perched on the rear deck area ( the spare wheel well having been deleted to make way for that 100 litre fuel tank ) and a pair of hopsack weave fabric-covered FRP bucket seats ( manufactured by office furniture maker Ikeda Bussan ), and probably only the driver's seat would have a bolt-on headrest with a black vinyl cover. You should also see a Takata four-point safety harness on each seat. Had the new owner specified it - and paid the extra cost - a leather-covered 'Mach' three spoke steering wheel might be present, but if not then the standard Izumi pressure-moulded wood composite wheel. The plain black moulded urethane / rubber mats on the floor would sit on plain painted metal with no sound-deadening material on it. The diamond quilted vinyl interior covering - as seen on other S30-series models of the same period - would have no sound-deadening / insulating material under it either, although the trans tunnel cover would be plain unquilted vinyl. A thin urethane / rubber mat would sit on the rear cargo area. The firewall should have no sound-deadening mat on it either.

The dash would look a bit bare, as stock 432-Rs had a blanking plate in place of the clock. Standard 432-Rs would often have no glovebox lid and no heater / fan - although some buyers paid extra for them to be fitted. Proper 432-Rs would have no radio and no antenna. You'd see just one sunvisor ( for the driver ) and no day/night feature for the rear-view mirror, and no centre console. There would be no ignition key barrel on the steering column, as it was re-located to a bracket just in front of the gearstick ( to make it easier to reach when strapped in by the four-point safety harness ). Door panels should have simple woven nylon pull straps instead of arm rest / door pulls.

Looking in the engine bay, you should see no air box on the Mikuni 40PHH carbs ( just steel trumpets ) and no air filter box on the radiator support panel. You'd see an oil cooler standing in front of the ( aluminium ) radiator. You should see no brake booster either, as it was deleted to save weight and give better pedal feel through a brake pedal with a different pivot ratio to other models.

You would not be able to see those lightweight body pressings ( made from one gauge thinner steel than stock ) but they'd be there.

Apart from all that, it would be the same as the PS30 Fairlady Z432 standing next to it in the showroom...

That's the theory anyway. In practice it seems that there was some subtle variation in specs, and that buyers either specced the cars with a few extras ( heater / demister, glovebox, mag wheels ) or added them soon after buying. Many cars will have been modified down the years ( one 432-R even ended up with a G-nose... ) but the trend these days is to bring them back to a period-correct spec.

I'm sure to have forgotten something, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. I find the cars fascinating, and I'm always learning new things about them.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[HS30-H]

Thanks for posting the pictures Alan! I'm sure I'll have more questions but first to mind is the underbody coating. Is that a coating? Black paint? And is it stock?

Hi Chris,

As far as I am aware, the stock 432-R would not have had any underside protection apart from body colour overspray over the stock primer. I think Takeuchi san's car was possibly protected later?

But each car must be viewed on a case-by-case basis. There seems to have been an exception for every rule. In the case of underbody protection, I should think the territory the car was going to would influence the spec. If it was going up to snowy Hokkaido, for instance...

Alan T.

[kats]

Hi Alan,

Thank you so much for creating this thread, I talked with Takeuchi-san this morning and he is very pleased about this forum, many people are seeing his car.

Takeuchi-san's Z432R has been restored by a restorer who has amazing skill, he is exceptional.Now progress is good, Takeuchi-san showed me some pictures the car has been painted beautifully, so we will see them one by one later.

Takeuchi-san told me that he checked each body panel when they are disassembled, he noticed there are various thickness of the panel. He said probably Nissan used some kind of liquid to thinner the metal by hand, quality is not same, the thickness is vary between 0.6 mm and 0.8mm .

He is impressed about frames under the each side of floors, the thickness is almost 0.7mm!! Our cars has 1.0mm for the frame is not it?

kats

PS: Alan, did you get the box safely?

[LeonV]

Fantastic pictures and info! Thank you Alan and Takeuchi-san for sharing.

[take432r]

All of you hello

I am poor at English. I cannot do good expression.

I inform it beforehand.

[HS30-H]

Takeuchi-san told me that he checked each body panel when they are disassembled, he noticed there are various thickness of the panel. He said probably Nissan used some kind of liquid to thinner the metal by hand, quality is not same, the thickness is vary between 0.6 mm and 0.8mm .

He is impressed about frames under the each side of floors, the thickness is almost 0.7mm!! Our cars has 1.0mm for the frame is not it?

Hi Kats,

I believe that the PZR-specific panel pressings were made from one gauge thinner sheet steel than the other early S30-series Z models. There are also some sections of the bodyshell ( inner sills / rocker panels, and around the diff area ) which are one gauge thicker than on 'normal' cars, but maybe this was not on all 432-Rs.

The variation in panel thickness is - I think - part of the result of the manufacturing process. Some areas of the panels stretch, and some are forced to shrink in the dies. I have seen and measured this variation on stock bodyshells too.

PS: Alan, did you get the box safely?

Yes, received safely. Thank you! I have sent you an e-mail.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[HS30-H]

A couple of things that I forgot to include in my description of 'showroom stock' 432-R specifications:

You would not see any stainless garnish in the windscreen / tailgate rubbers. The rubbers were the same as 'stock' on other cars, but they simply did not put the garnish into the rubber on assembly.

Same with the roof gutters: No stainless garnish along the roof gutters in the standard specification of the 432-R.

[HS30-H]

All of you hello

I am poor at English. I cannot do good expression.

I inform it beforehand.

No problem, Takeuchi san. Every picture is worth a thousand words!

Kats and myself can help with explanation / translation if necessary.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[Carl Beck]

Alan - Great Thread. Thanks for pointing us to 'take432r' Photo Gallery - it is good to see some clear pictures that allow detailed views of these unique Z's. Also wanted to say that your summary of the "r" alterations was not only informative, but fun to read.

Kats - very interesting to have some actual sheet metal thickness measurements. I went out to the garage and measured the OEM Frame Rails and Front Fenders that I have - they are

Frame Rail = 1.27 mm / 0.050 inch - 18 gauge {0.478 nominal, 0.0438 Min. and 0.0.518 Max.}

Front Fender = 1.37 mm / 0.0539 inch - 17 gauge {0.538 nominal, 0.498 Min. and Max 0.0548}

Checking the weight of cold rolled sheet metal - per sq. ft.

0.6mm / 24 gauge cold rolled steel weight 1.00 bls per sq. ft.

0.7mm / 23 gauge cold rolled steel weight 1.125 bls per sq. ft.

0.8mm / 21 gauge cold rolled steel weight 1.375 lbs per sq. ft.

1.0mm / 19 gauge cold rolled steel weight 1.75 lbs per sq. ft.

1.27mm /18 gauge cold rolled steel weight 2.0 lbs. per sq. ft

1.37mm/17 gauge cold rolled steel weight 2.25 lbs. per sq. ft

So if the fenders actually are 0.8 mm it looks like about 0.9 lbs could be saved per sq. ft. of sheet metal. A wild guess would be that a front fender has about 8 sq. ft. of sheet metal {fender and brace}. So a "stock" front fender should weight about 18 lbs {8.16 Kilograms} and the "R" fender should weight about 11 lbs. {5 kilograms}

All just a wild guess - but it would be interesting to weight each type of front fender.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[take432r]

If there is Alan, I am fearless. Thank you.

[kats]

Alan, you have got the box, I sent a PM to you too .

I did not know about one gage thinner and even Thicker !

We are tend to focus on only thinner metal on Z432R,

but some erea need to have strength to keep the car on good

Performance .

Hi Carl,

Interesting approach of thinking light weight body of Z432-R,

I only mentioned how thin the body panels are, but on the other hand

we have to look where is normal thickness and even thicker than normal.

I think the most effective part of making the car to be super light is

deleted components from normal Z432,Z432-R is probably 80kgm lighter than

normal Z432.

I put an optional oil cooler system on my Z432,

I can feel the front section became heavy,it is a small system but it is located very

far from CG ,so it is not ignorable.

If you look into only front section, these are already "lightened" in Z432-R,

Z432-R does not have very heavy steel bonnet but light FRP bonnet , also front center apron is FRP,

no air cleaner boxes,

no master vac,

thin fender panel.

Z432-R acts very quick and light than Z432.Negative effects of oil cooler

system to handling performance is ignorable in this case.

And look into whole body, clear acrylic glasses ,no heater,

no sound deadening , these are very good to reduce its weight.

Keep joining ,Takeuchi San ! Yes if you have Alan, everything all right.

Kats

[EuroDat]

Hi Alan,

Great thread and the photo gallery gives great insight into how its built. I have never seen a Z432 in real life.

Like kats mentioned in his post, it doesnt have a brake power booster. Is that normal for all the Z432's or an extra weight saving? You would need a heavy foot for braking, thats for sure.

Love that engine:D

Edited January 20, 2013 by EuroDat

[Jason240z]

Alan

Thanks again for the link and thanks to your friends for sharing. Its interesting looking at that and a normal 240z to see how they're constructed. Lovely colour too.

[HS30-H]

I have never seen a Z432 in real life.

Like kats mentioned in his post, it doesnt have a brake power booster. Is that normal for all the Z432's or an extra weight saving? You would need a heavy foot for braking, thats for sure.

Just to clarify, Takeuchi san's car is a PS30-SB 'Fairlady Z432-R. It's not a 'normal' Fairlady Z432, it's even more special. I tried to list most of the differences between a 'normal' Z432 and a genuine Z432-R in post #8 on this thread. It's not a definitive list, but it does address many of the things that made the 'R' special even in comparison to the Z432. First and foremost among them is the 'super lightweight' bodyshell...

Yes, the 432-Rs didn't have brake boosters. This saved some weight ( very important with regard to the homologation of the model ), but also gave better brake 'feel'. The pedal effort required would have been higher than a boosted system, but this was offset by the fact that the 432-R had a different brake pedal to the boosted brake cars. The amount of leverage given by the pedal was increased, as the pivot point was different in comparison to the boosted cars.

[HS30-H]

Alan - Great Thread. Thanks for pointing us to 'take432r' Photo Gallery - it is good to see some clear pictures that allow detailed views of these unique Z's. Also wanted to say that your summary of the "r" alterations was not only informative, but fun to read.

Hi Carl,

Thanks for that. I'm a huge fan of the homologation specials and the Works race and rally cars, and I think we are very lucky to see the images that Takeuchi san is showing us. Most of the Rs live well out of the limelight these days, and Takeuchi san is giving us a rare and candid look at his. Manna from heaven for me.

I did not know about one gage thinner and even Thicker !

We are tend to focus on only thinner metal on Z432R,

but some erea need to have strength to keep the car on good

Performance.

Hi Kats,

I assure you it's true. However, it's hard to prove without completely cutting one up......

One of the things I love about these homologation specials is that they are the gift that keeps on giving. There's always some new fact to learn, and some new question to ask. Each car seems to have its own specification. They are so mysterious. I love it!

Cheers,

Alan T.

[xs10shl]

Great pictures of some of the details. Thanks for sharing images of this important car.

To my eye, this car has several series one attributes- I'm looking at the firewall and the gearbox mount- what did the z432r-specific metal stampings look like on the series 2 cars? Were they similar or updated to series 2 specification?

Edited January 20, 2013 by xs10shl

[zpizzaman20]

I had the pleasure to ride in Takeuchi sans car in 2005. It is truly one of the most exciting days of my Datsun life.

Somewhere I have some pictures I took at Tochigi while riding in the car, I will look.

[HS30-H]

To my eye, this car has several series one attributes- I'm looking at the firewall and the gearbox mount- what did the z432r-specific metal stampings look like on the series 2 cars? Were they similar or updated to series 2 specification?

The story is that all of the super lightweight 432-R bodyshells were made in a single batch, and then put aside to be given a chassis number and put through final assembly as-and-when they were ordered. The sequencing of their chassis numbers certainly seems to support this.

Most of the PZRs sold to the general public would - I think - have been made during 1969 and 1970, and the majority well before the end of 1970. The "Series 1 " and "Series 2" thing is a retrospective moniker that applies more to the north American market cars and I'm more than wary of applying it to the Japanese market cars ( where small incremental changes seem to have been made in between bigger updates ). Suffice to say that we should probably expect the vast majority of PZRs to have '69 & '70 production dates.

I'm not aware of any 432-R chassis numbers over PS30-00300 ( remembering that they shared their 'PS30' prefix with the 'ordinary' 432 ), and according to Nissan less than 30 true PZRs were made anyway. Officially, less than 20 PZRs were sold to the general public for private road use and the rest were race cars. So even if the "Series 2" soubriquet could be applied to the PZR it would probably be moot as it was all done and dusted by the end of 1970. Officially, anyway. I should by now have learned never to say never with respect to the 432-R.

I think I probably ought to bring up the race homologation aspect to all this, as it kind of explains some of the numbers and the PZR's relationship with the PZ. Watch this space.....