HS30-H

Carl, Colour: A slightly metallic gunmetal grey, with a lot of matting agent. Hard to describe properly in words. Texture: Smooth to the touch - nothing like the finish on the rear garnish / tail lamp surround for example. Pictures don't do them justice really; They tend to react to flash and get affected by strong sunlight ( fading badly ). They are almost impossible to keep clean and original looking in service, and that's why - in my experience anyway - many ZG owners over the years have painted their original overfenders with metallic gunmetal paint and a gloss clear coat. Mine are like this. See below pics for reference. White ( gel coat ) overfender is an NOS factory 'Sports Option' item for the PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R. This is a really nice quality moulding, made from roving: Woven glass cloth, and is nicely sculpted in the corners. Factory part number label is still intact. Dark coloured overfender is an NOS HS30-H Fairlady 240ZG item. Again, very nicely moulded, but this time in chopped strand. External finish is exactly as they came from the factory. Factory part label was on the plastic bag that this came in, and the 'FR' sticker on the inside of the part indicates where it goes on the car. Both these overfenders are for the front right corner of the cars.

THIS site - and more specifically the Gallery section here - has to be one of the best English-language sites on the 'net to find such photos. Try looking in the 'events' folders for Japanese meetings like the annual Sagamiko picnics. I've posted literally hundreds of photos, which should keep you occupied for hours. Using the site's SEARCH function should lead you to plenty. Old Japanese saying: "The darkest place is at the foot of the Light House".

OK - good luck. If you get stuck with the translation I'd be happy to take a shot if you think it might help. Cheers, Alan T.

I happened to be at the garages this afternoon, so I took some measurements from the NOS 'Booster': Overall length of the 'box' itself ( measured to the outer edges ) is 350mm, and it has a diameter of 165mm ( it is perfectly round ). The pipes going in and coming out are actually 50mm diameter. The slash-cut and chrome plated exit pipes measure 220mm ( top one ) and 180mm ( lower one ) at their longest points. I forgot to get an idea of that slash-cut angle. sorry. I looked down the exit pipes to see what I could see and it was DARK in there. I didn't have a torch with me either, so you'll have to wait a couple of days until I go over there again armed with a torch. Sorry I can't be of more help with regard to what's going on inside there, but it certainly doesn't seem to be hollow ( must have some sound-deadening material in there I'd think ) and I can't see any evidence in the way of spotwelds on the outer casing that would show the presence of a 'divider' inside........... Alan T.

Tony, Thanks for the update, and congrats for getting this accepted and the matter settled in your favour. In truth I suspect that the FIA Gr.4 homologation was really all that was needed. There can be little argument that the 'HS30-H' Fairlady 240ZG model existed, and was sold to the general public in high enough numbers to satisfy the homologation. If other competitors are legally mixing and matching parts and specs from other variants of the models they are using, then the factory-style G-nose on your team's car has to be legal too. I suspect the main problem - and this is something that we see so often with our cars - is the basic lack of knowledge on the variants that were sold outside the English-speaking world. Maybe you should now start saving up for an S20 engine!? Cheers, Alan T.

Ron, The centre section that you pictured is part of the Optional system for the L-series engined cars in the Japanese market, which was standard equipment on the S20-engined cars. It wasn't a 'Sports Option' part - it was in the standard sales brochures. It did however mate with the L-series Sports Option exhaust manifolds. Original part number for the centre section in your picture was: 20010-E4201 arse'Y-TUBE, exhaust with muffler ....which was paired with: 20050-E4200 arse'Y-TUBE, exhaust with booster ....which was superseded by: 20050-E8710 arse'Y-TUBE, exhaust with booster ....in 1973, and I believe the difference was simply detail in the mounting points. That 'booster' is simply a fat round box which the two pipes run through. The two pipes that run through it are perforated with multiple holes, but become solid again where they exit the box - so in effect it is a two-pipe system all the way through. The last six inches or so of the pipes are chrome plated and slash cut. These systems sound rather nice on the car. I have a complete NOS system hanging in the roof of one of my garages. I can take some measurements and detail photos of it if you want to try and replicate it - but the shape of the pipes is rather complicated.........

You can find the appropriate wiring schematic on the Nagai Denshi website: http://www.nagaidenshi.co.jp/ The MDI, MDI-R and MDI-RR wiring diagrams are listed on the left hand side of the home page.

Which I think would be a really odd situation. It would be a real shame for it to be 'judged' if the expertise and knowledge to accurately appraise originality and finish etc was not there. OK, theoretical 'Internet Car Show' mode ON: I think it would be a travesty if a 432 was forced to join a "240Z" class. Ideally, there would be an S30-series Z class ( which both models could join ) and that could be divided up into subsections where the PS30 could find its natural home, and the '240Z' sections could ideally be split into subgroups according to model and market. You'd need to do that because it would ( I think ) be daft to group distinctly different models according to such a catch-all title as '240Z' - if you consider that my Fairlady 240ZG is arguably a '240Z' too for example...... So either it needs to be divided up into all the distinct model variants, or all joined together in an 'S30-series Z' group. Does that make sense?

I don't understand your comment. As far as I can tell, Kats is saying that this car - PS30-00087 - is a good car; ( "..... unrestored body,still great original painting with remaining lots of early original small parts." ) but that some of the modifications are not to his taste. Like it or not, it is for sale at 8 million yen and will probably find a buyer at something close to that price if not the full whack. There's a finite amount of such cars on the road, and the prices of them are on an upward trend. Alan T.

GOOD answer. My hat is off to you. I think the ZCCA needs more people like you! As I said before, the questions I posed were somewhat rhetorical. I think I got the same answer from you(?) the last time I asked something similar: non-USA/Canada market cars would end up - by default - in the 'Modified' class, even if they were totally stock, because the ZCCA judges would be unlikely to be able to judge them objectively. I'm nothing if not a pragmatist, and I would honestly feel sympathy for the ZCCA judges if somebody stuck something like a 1970 432R in front of them in a showroom stock class and expected to get anywhere. I would not actually expect them to know what they needed to know, but it would be an interesting exercise nonetheless. If I had unlimited funds I might even consider attempting it! On the other hand, if I had truly unlimited funds I might sponsor a proper WORLD convention of S30-series Z cars - to take place in Japan, and with all market models and variants present and correct with their owners. That would be fun. Alan T.

I thought it would be more likely to be "........Here come the Judge!" Surely they would be looking for a car that was being judged to have the correct type of parts and equipment for that market model ( ie - as it left the factory ) if they are judging a 'Stock' class? Sure there are a multitude of parts that were shared by all models in all markets that were built around the same period, but if a USA market HLS30U is fitted with something like - for example - a UK market distributor, then surely it is up to the judges to pick up on it and the owner to explain it? I suspect your question would have been too close to a 'How Long Is a Piece Of String' to answer. You see, to me your above comment strikes right to the heart of what I'm talking about. I don't see why anyone would necessarily feel under any obligation to travel halfway around the world to "share" any information on cars and specifications that are not even present. You are familiar with the idea of 'The mountain going to Mohammed' I take it? Frankly, I think if an organisation wants to promote itself as some kind of world authority on a subject then it had better open its eyes to the whole story of that subject, rather than just one part of it. Some very significant members of said organisation are happy to tell people that certain models of the S30-series Z family are "irrelevant", or indeed that it is unnecessary to think of the S30-series Z as a family of models made for different markets and market sectors. Quite a fundamental problem I would say. Of course, if the ZCCA judging panel wasn't implied to be the single, all powerful, all-wise and all-seeing body of the world ( see the three posts that I objected to in just this thread ) then it would not be an issue, and "assholes" like me would not need to pipe up. First of all Will, I'd remind you that I have on many occasions tried to be of help and assistance to people that needed information or data that I had access to. You yourself are one of them. I don't think I need to be reprimanded for not trying to be helpful. There's an open invitation to anyone who needs anything specific, and I will always do my best to help. But I certainly do NOT want to be sending half of a very precious, rare and hard-won collection out of my sight! There's also the question of copyright ( you are going to be selling these CDs, are you not? ) as I feel sure that a lot of what I have will not be covered by any agreement / dispensation you have obtained from Nissan in the USA. Really, what has this got to do with the subject I brought up? Like I said, I haven't been backward in coming forward to try and help where anyone needed specific information that I might hold. It's not MY obligation or duty to educate ZCCA officials on market models that they do not judge, but it IS my right to point out that the ZCCA should not be held up as some kind of WORLD authority on the S30-series Z car by default. 26th-Z made a great answer to me in post #58 on this thread, and addressed the crux of my questions whilst showing some understanding of what I might be objecting to with my post #54. I think he - at least partly - 'gets' where I'm coming from. I don't see how pointing the finger at me for not lending some ( unspecified!? ) stuff to your monster CD project is actually relevant to this? The ZCCA might like to try starting its own non-USA/Canada market model data collection if it really wants to be all-inclusive. But that's the point; I'm not so sure that ( if it could speak! ) it would actually claim to be the defining World authority on the first generation S30-series Z that some people are implying that it is ( see post #54 again ). Alan T.

Ha! I knew you'd reply with that. Fair enough. But just because the ZCCA is 'the only game in town' so to speak should not imply that it is a defining authority for the whole world. I've asked the question before ( admittedly rhetorical, as I know the answer ); would these 'trained' ZCCA judges be able to judge market models other than those they are most familiar with? If Kats brought over his 432, would the judges know what was correct and what was not? How about if I brought over my 240ZG? How about if Len Welch brought his UK-market 240Z over? I'm not saying that these cars would be contenders ( although Kats' car might well be ), but my point is could these cars be judged to the same level of expertise and accuracy as the USA/Canada market models? Somehow I think not. I'm not denigrating the ZCCA in any way ( I'm sure that they have excellent standards and high expertise ) - just trying to get this into some kind of WORLD perspective. Do you get the point? I'm not trying to be a thorn in anyone's side here. I'm just trying to ask that we be mindful of the terms that we use, and their implications. IDEALLY, I'd like to see the people who designed and made these cars judging them - but sadly that isn't going to happen, is it? Yes, I remember the Bonhams auction very well ( I was there ). There were NO ex-Works 240Z rally cars at that auction. Some random ex-Works parts attached to standard road car bodyshells, yes - but no proper, correct, historic ex-Works cars. That's it in a nutshell. Alan T.

Carl, That's a bit of a strange list to my eyes. I don't know what data you used to set that price range ( $100K + ) for the Works rally 240Zs ( I noticed you didn't include any Works 260Zs? ) as I am not aware of any that have come onto the open market in the last ten years or more - although a couple have changed hands privately. Surely you can't put a Works-built ( and therefore fundamentally different to a modified standard road bodyshell ) rally car of international significance - such as the 1971 and 1973 East African Safari Rally winners - into the same price bracket as others? It's something of a moot point, as Nissan surely have no intention of selling their Safari-winning 240Zs, but I think an insurance valuation alone would show that those cars would most likely top any list you care to make. Even Nissan's ex-Aaltonen '72 Monte Carlo Rallye third place finisher would be right up there, without even having won a race. There are other ex-Works cars in captivity, but they really have to be judged on a case-by-case basis. There was a very large variation in build detail depending on the season they were built in, and what event they were aimed at. I noticed too that you quoted a price range of "$75K to "$125K" for "any of the Fairlady Z 432s" - which is also a bit out of focus. For many years now, it has been the much rarer Fairlady Z432R models that have been leading the way as far as high sale prices are concerned. With a fundamentally different bodyshell to the 'ordinary' Z432 model, it is hard to lump the 'PZR' model in with its 'PZ' sister. And $125K US is only going to net you a 432R restoration project these days. It might not be enough to buy a really nice 432 either, as prices are on a steep upward curve. Even original factory 240ZGs are starting to command pretty serious money in Japan these days. Alan T.

......... In the USA. ......... In the USA. .......... In the USA. Gentlemen, Just a little reminder that this is ( supposedly ) an international forum, dedicated to the subject of a Japanese car. Thank you! Alan T.