HS30-H

I think you really ought to be able to see when I have my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. They do cater for the spawn of the devil. I don't understand why you think they don't. Perhaps - like other people - you are not reading the literature from source? That seems to be one of the big problems here. Try talking to the organ grinder, not his monkey.

Because they are the spawn of the devil, perhaps? In Fujitsubo's case, they clearly cater for the GS30 model. It's in their literature. I know other manufacturers do too. You just have to ask them. Just make sure you keep your voice down when talking about the 'Limo Version'...

Sean, are you actually on another planet altogether? I just can't get my head around your way of thinking on this. What responsibility have Fujitsubo themselves got in any of these reported fitment issues? How can you expect a company of their size to curate every single sale through a foreign re-seller? Their contract is with the re-seller, not with the re-seller's customer. It's not within the realm of Fujitsubo's responsibility to stop people buying items which are inappropriate to their vehicle through each re-seller, and every time. If your exhaust business gets big enough you will experience the very same issues. It's the nature of international trade. The long, tall and short of all this is the simple fact that Japanese market S30-series models didn't receive the R200 differential until after September 1975, and that's why it is Fujitsubo's cut-off date for correct fitment. If anyone doesn't realise the significance then they simply haven't asked the right questions.

If anyone actually wants to buy a Spirit Garage system, I recommend they contact Spirit Garage direct - in Japanese - to get the best price. Good discount available.

I did read through the whole thread before commenting. You seem to be missing my point. Fujitsubo - as far as I am aware - do not claim the exhaust you bought as suitable for fitting to a USA market '280Z'. They market that system (the system you bought - not the latest system that is the subject of this thread) as fitting Japanese market cars. I don't care what 'Whitehead Performance', 'RHD Japan' or any other re-seller claims, Fujitsubo themselves do not claim the system fits a car with an R200 differential. That's the key point here.

Take that up with the "suppliers" then. Personally I'd rather converse with the designer/manufacturer/brand owner to make sure I'm buying the right part in the first place, and I'd reach out in the Japanese language if that was necessary. Presumably if you get an enquiry from Japan regarding your exhausts, you'll answer it promptly and fully in Japanese? You'll need to be able to tell them that your exhausts are not JASMA certificated, you are not a JASMA licensed manufacturer and that using your exhausts on Japanese roads is illegal.

Also recommended: Close one eye and stand on one leg whilst rubbing your head clockwise and your belly anticlockwise. I tried squinting at your S30 and S130 'Z' images, but still don't recognise them.

I'm curious as to why you purchased a Fujitsubo exhaust system in the first place? Who told you it would fit a 1975 280Z without needing to be modified?

As mentioned, the material is FRP (Fibre Reinforced Plastic - AKA 'Fibreglass'). There are occasional private re-pops of these items by specialists in Japan, but few and far between. 'Revive Jalopy' in Saitama makes them to order (no stock held, I believe) but might need a minimum order to start a new batch. They are 'reassuringly expensive' too...

Hopefully Kats won't mind me answering that question. I think you're getting mixed up between the PS30 Fairlady Z432 and the PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R. It was only the 432-R which had the full-length, FRP 'under cover':

Don't think it was built to be a beauty contest entrant. Goes 'quite well':

So why write it under a comment about Spirit Garage...?

Spirit Garage have a long history in business and are well known and respected in Japan. I can personally vouch for them, having visited in person (to a friendly and generous welcome) and having used a Spirit Garage stainless exhaust system on one of my cars. I also got a thorough conducted tour and talk-through of this rather indiscreet car, which was built - and is usually driven by - Spirit Garage owner Itagaki san...

You see the bits that say "FOR CROSS FLOW" and "When using a cross-flow type of cylinder head...."? The 14004-N3120 MANIFOLD-EXHAUST is for the 'LY'/'Cross-flow' cylinder head. It was a Nissan Sports/Race Option part. It only fits the 'LY' 'head. Just as with the normal L-gata exhaust manifolds, the true 'Works' exhaust manifolds for the 'LY' heads were quite different from the 'Sports/Race Option' parts. Here's an example of a proper Works race exhaust manifold for an LY Crossflow engined Z: ....as you can see, it differs in shape and construction from the 14004-N3120 in the Sports/Race Option catalogue. That's the difference between 'Works' and 'Sports/Race Option'.

You don't need to avoid them completely. Just use them correctly...

Kats, Love, love, LOVE the 'Serusman-yo Setsumeisho' booklet! Super rare survivor there. Fabulous! I believe they made pocket-size information booklets too (for home-visiting, workplace-visiting salesmen - probably on bicycles! - to carry with them for quick reference when customers asked difficult questions...) and I have a Nissan Prince Automobile Sales one for the 1973 range. It's about the size of a smartphone, but has 70+ pages of data. Have you seen one that covers the S30 series cars? I believe the handbrake/e-brake lever seen on some of the pre-production cars was a C10-series Skyline item. It looks almost exactly the same. Like Gavin, I was always told the rear bumper end rubber 'sandwich' pieces were to stop pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists from being 'hooked' by a close passing Z car...?

Kats, I have an original set of prints from that sequence, and they came from Datsun Netherlands. Clearly a canal/kanaal in the background too. Dutch and Portuguese licence plates look very similar.

Hi Kats, Great! You are a codebreaker! Yes, I have the same set of Nissan ten-year report books as you. However, they are so big, heavy and complicated that it is very hard work to go through them. I found some treasures but I am sure there is so much more in there to be discovered... It's great to have all the K-section sub department codes in one place. I am going to cross-reference them all now.

As far as I'm aware (and I'm hoping if I'm wrong I'll be corrected) the 'Entreposto' HLS30s were built that way at the factory in Japan to Portugal-specific models. The factory may well have supplied certain parts in the car (headlamp covers?) to protect them during shipping, perhaps? All other 'European' models (HS30U, HLS30Q etc) were certainly built that way at the factory, so not the same situation as dealer add-ons and local market showroom 'options'.

Another example: S20 race ex. manifold. Note construction:

Sean, First of all, I would say that the description "Nissan factory race header" is kind of misleading. It would more accurately be described - in my opinion - as a 'Nissan Sports Option' or 'Nissan Race Option' part, or - if it was being retailed in the USA by 'Datsun Competition' - as a 'Datsun Comp.' part. Yes it was a Nissan part, yes Nissan qualifies as 'The Factory' and yes it was intended for race use however, Nissan themselves tended to use different - usually hand made, more complex and more specific (as opposed to generic) - exhaust manifolds than this on their own race and rally cars and it is usually these to which the term 'Works' is applied. Generally speaking - and certainly so in the case of S30-series Z race and rally parts - the proper 'Works' parts were not intended to be sold to the general public, they had part numbers that were only for factory logistics use and their costing was only for internal use and/or Customs carnet use. The 'Sports Option' parts on the other hand were designed and manufactured with the intention of sale to the general public, had full part numbers and a pricing structure, were listed in factory-authorised literature and customers could seek advice on their fitment and use. Two quite different situations. Looking at the parts themselves, they are something of a moving target. Especially true of the 'Works' parts which - by their very nature - were constantly evolving, being superseded and made obsolete. If anybody wants to claim that they have a genuine 'Works' or 'ex-Works' part, then provenance is the key. You've really got to know what it was originally fitted to, where/how it was used, where it has been up to now and how it has survived. If you see enough of these parts you can start to understand a kind of vernacular in their construction, and evidence of their handmade is clear. In the period I'm talking about (let's say roughly 1968 thru 1974) there were probably just a handful of guys making Nissan's Works race and rally exhaust manifolds and systems. You can see the same techniques, that same vernacular, on most of them. The Sports Option parts on the other hand were - in comparison - volume produced, and in different facilities. Here's an example: An RHD Works rally exhaust manifold from 1971:

The driveline vibration problem only occurred in the (Works) PZR race cars - not on the road cars - and at prolonged high RPM, especially at Fuji Speedway. I think it could have been cured pretty easily with a few small modifications to driveline installed angles (trans output, diff input), engine and transmission mounts. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the S20, FS5C71-A & R192 combination (it was perfectly OK in the GT-Rs) so I think it was just a body harmonic issue that could have been cured with a little more race-specific parts development. But the political issues going on between the ex-Prince and Nissan factions meant that there was not much momentum behind the race development of the S20-engined Z cars. The S20 continued to be developed, refined and improved in the Works GT-Rs and the ex-Prince guys were concentrating on the planning of the two-door 'Hard Top' KPGC10 which would be hitting the market in the latter half of 1970 and the race track soon after. They really didn't want to give the PZR the attention it needed, and with Nissan developing the L24-engined variants for a serious campaign in international rallying to start in late 1970 too the writing was on the wall anyway.

I'm not sure the spec was that firmly fixed. I've seen a lot of the Portuguese market cars wearing them and Entreposto certainly optioned their cars up through their great leverage with Nissan, so likely a lot of their cars got them. Always exceptions to the rule, I guess. And the change in European lighting regulations (minimum height) certainly made a mess... More on topic: It's interesting that much of the refinement work on the HLS30Q is framed as 'Stability' (especially in cross-winds) and 'Safety' (in control), when in effect it is making a sports-oriented car even more 'sporty'.

'Entreposto' HLS30 walkaround:

Kats, We are very privileged to be able to see 'Maruhi' (Secret) factory internal documentation such as this. Thank you! This was the testing that Takei san was involved in, yes? I see the name Takahashi on the report too. Datsun Netherlands was clearly a great influence on all this as Nissan's European base. I had heard in the past that Nissan had a lot of feedback coming from Datsun Netherlands with regard to product refinement and development, and Nissan took it seriously. Lots of sightings in period of mysterious Japanese cars on Japanese temporary-export 'Carnet' plates whizzing around on European roads. Some of them full of electronic measuring instruments and men with clipboards taking notes... For me, the 'Entreposto' Portuguese market 240Zs were the prettiest and nicest-equipped of all the Export market versions.