HS30-H

Well, there's probably just a handful of S30-series Fairladies here in the UK. Perhaps around five or six at the most.

In my 'Gallery' on this site. Look for the '432R Replica Project' section. Some silly new pics added just today.

Don't apologise to anybody Ben - I agree with you completely, this car is much more likely to be a Z-L ( 'S30' ) than an entry-level no-frills Fairlady Z ( 'S30-S' ). You are correct about the bumpers. The Z-L had the rubber trim from the Factory and the Z did not, but the rubber trim and over-riders could be ordered as an option. The Z-L came from the Factory with a clock, but the Z had the super-rare clock blanking plate from the Factory. But again, dealer option choices and later replacement could change the way the car came from the Factory. The other identifiably Z-L specific thing on this eBay car is the presence of stainless front and rear window runner garnish pieces. Z-L came with these from the Factory but the Z did not. Could have been added later in the car's life but more likely original I'd have thought. One of the other swaying factors is that the base-level S30-S is so rare in comparison to the Z-L, and always was. This car being what I call a "G.I. Bride" ( like so many of the Fairladies outside Japan ) it is also much more likely to be a Z-L than an S30-S. The S30-S was particularly austere, and any serviceman bothering to take Fairlady home with him would have tended to favour the relatively luxurious Z-L over the S30-S. I hope somebody saves the car and takes some of the gee-gaws off it. By the way, my project base car ( also a Fairlady Z-L ) has VIN number 'S30-03761' - precisely 80 numbers older than the eBay car........... Cheers, Alan T.

The "Project X" book by Akira Yokoyama is a 'Manga' based title, originally published in October 2003 to accompany the NHK television documentary of the same name. It tells what I would call a modernised version of the story of the creation of the S30-series Z in cartoon format, and leans heavily on the Katayama / Matsuo dynamic. It is quite lighthearted, and not really 100% historically correct. It is hard to truly recommend other Japanese titles, as each of them tends to contain just a small section that is of interest to me. Also some of the ones I consider to be better are no longer in print..... "Warera ga Fairlady" ( roughly: "Our Fairlady" ) published by Kodansha in 1979 is a great little paperback with a lot of small but interesting historic photos in it. Out of print now, but sometimes possible to find used in Japan. More recent is "Z no shin wa" ( roughly: Legendary Z" ) by Shigeru Kubota, published by Shuppan Geijutsu sha, ISBN 4-88293-211-3, is a rather dry text-based softback that puts the Z into historical context in Japan. Rather short on good photos. Also recent is "Z o-tsukuta no otoko" ( "The man who made the Z" ) by Hisashi Kuroi, a softback published by Futaba sha, ISBN 4-575-29444-6 and subtitled ( my translation ) "Yutaka Katayama and the Datsun Z". Some historical pictures in this, but in my opinion it is basically an opportunistic bit of bandwagon jumping in the Katayama personality cult vein, and the title is fairly preposterous. But there you go - there's a lot of it about. Car Graphic's "Nissan Fairlady" softback, published back in 1981, is a good value compilation of all Car Graphic magazine's articles on the Fairlady up to that point. Their road tests are a benchmark in Japan, and their reprint of the article detailing the creation process of the S30 is nice, but not as good as the original magazine with its fold-out sections. There are some good articles about the race and rally cars in there too - with a reprint of Shotaro Kobayashi's Fuji track test of a Works 240ZR, which is great. Car Graphic recently updated and re-released this as "Nissan Fairlady Z", ISBN 4-544-91502-3, but it adds lots of S130-onwards stuff and drops the SP/SR stuff that was nice in the first version. However, the printing is much better quality and on much better paper. This is worth having. Neko Publishing's "Fairlady Z" - no.32 in their pocket-sized 'World Car Guide' series is fairly new ( ISBN 4-7770-5067-X ) and covers the whole Fairlady range with a few bits of race history thrown in. Some nice colour pictures, but some silly mistakes on captions and headings. Probably still very worth having at the price though. Neko publishing's "Fairlady I" ( ISBN 4-87366-005-X ) and "Fairlady II" ( ISBN 4-87366-007-6 ) hardbacks are pricey and weighty investments as coffee-table 'art' tomes, but I reckon they are nice things to own and pull out of their slip covers for a browse every now and then. Good data in them too. In and out of print since the late 1970's, sometimes seen on eBay and with book dealers, it should be possible to order from a book specialist if you are armed with the current ISBN. But as I said, pricey. "Fairlady Z File" published by Studio Tac Creative has been re-released a couple of times, and is a full-size full-colour "mook" of the type that is so often seen in Japan. Lots of colour, lots of street-modified cars. Re-prints of NOSTALGIC HERO magazine's articles in the GEIBUN MOOK series are good value: "All Fairlady Z" ( ISBN 4-87465-480-0 ), Geibun Mooks no.260 is an all-Z compilation from several years of Nos Hero magazine, and is nice. As is Geibun Mook no.327 "All Nissan Sport" ( ISBN 4-87465-562-9 ) which covers many of Nissan's sportier models, with some rare Z content and good race history articles. Interesting and worth having at the price. Since the Z33 debuted there have been a wealth of new "Mooks" dedicated to the Z range published in Japan. Each of them seems to cover a little bit of history, and I'd say each of them has something to offer - even if it is only one picture that we have never seen before. I can't list them all here as I'd be typing all day. Maybe some of the above would be of interest to you? Cheers, Alan T.

Hitachi carbs, surely? Good to hear that it is running again, but you appear to have something of a mountain to climb. That roof to rear pillar joint is particularly worrying. Is this going to be a rolling resto or are you going to strip the shell completely at some point?

Yes, that's one I can definitely second the recommendation on. Well worth having. There are a lot of English-language picture captions ( although watch out for a couple of mistakes ) and some paragraphs in English. There was a special limited-edition version that has a nice slip cover and contained a partial English-language translation by my friend Brian Long, but these very rarely come up for sale. Alan T.

jmark, I agree. I don't think you can go wrong. This might sound trite, but I believe that anyone open-minded enough to purchase a book like this is worthy of encouragement. Good on you. I hope you will add a few more similar titles to your collection. Cheers, Alan T.

Ron, What kind of critique is that? Can you read Japanese? jmark, I have a copy of it and I'd say its worth every penny that you spent on it. In my opinion, it is a damned sight better than just "okay"........... In noted that you asked about the "history of the S30 race cars" - and it will give you an insight into this whole subject ( a World story rather than a local single-country story ). But bear in mind that it is a piece of literature written in Japanese, and the pictures should probably be considered a bonus rather than the main course. Unless you read Japanese there will be a lot in the book that is not readily accessible to you. The S30-series Z is ( I don't need to remind you ) a Japanese car that was raced all over the World, and if you have an interest in that fact then I say you will be happy with this book. 'The Stainless Steel Carrot' is also a good read - but you didn't ask about that, did you? Good luck, Alan T.

Very funny. Although Brock and Morton look a little old. Maybe this will serve as an excellent 'aide memoire' to Ron Carter and Brian Pilati......... And who the hell is Dan?

Just a little in-joke between myself and I. Hi Ben, You spotted most of the PZR-specific details that are visible from the photo. Lack of '432' emblem on the rear is - ironically considering above posts - due entirely to the fact that the 432-R was fitted with the rear spoiler. Seems they never really did figure out a place to put the '432' emblem on the rear.... The '432' emblems were still fitted to the bottom of the front wings ( fenders ) though. The stripe kit was fitted to this particular car - but not that many others it seems. The 'wood' rim steering wheel was fitted as standard equipment on the PZR, and was the same as those fitted to the other contemporary Japanese market models ( note: these steering wheels were different to the 'Export' models, as they had a deeper 'dish' ). Cheers, Alan T.

Actually, they are still getting it wrong - while you got a bullseye right here: CLARIFICATION: Fairlady Z432 ( PS30 ) = No Factory-fitted spoiler. Fairlady Z432-R ( PS30-SB ) = Factory-fitted spoiler. The ribbed rear spoiler, first seen on the 'PZR' model that was previewed by the Japanese press before the 1969 Tokyo Auto Show, was available as a special 'Option' on ALL the Japanese domestic model S30-series Z cars up to late 1971. Calling it a "432 spoiler" is incorrect. Calling it a "432-R spoiler" would be correct. Ain't nitpickin' fun! Alan T. ( Today's self-appointed Stickler-In-Chief ). Picture: First 'public' view of the Factory rear spoiler......

Underpants doesn't rhyme with France where I come from. Cheer up everybody! Carchaeology is supposed to be fun!............ :love:

"Infamy, infamy! They've all got it in fer me!....." :classic: Enrique, you've got an acute accent......... :knockedou

Poor S30-00002. Nobody remembers his name

At this point, your guess is as good as mine. I really don't know what we are looking at here, but I don't see anything suspicious about the actual VIN / body serial number stamping on the firewall. It doesn't look to have been altered, transferred from another vehicle ( no sign of it having been welded in in the localised area around it ) or doctored in the photo......... Weighing up the 'evidence', I see what appears to be a car about two years younger than its VIN / body serial number. There must be a simple explanation for it, and whatever happened seems to have happened a fair few years ago. So far I'm swaying more towards it being an identity switch ( the VIN number being attached to a later car: either the firewall panel from the early car - or part of it - being attached to a later body ) and most likely for *economic* reasons some time in the past. I still can't imagine that it was a number stamping mistake that made it outside the Factory quality control, past the dealer, and past many years of Shakken tests and regular services without being picked up on............

Looks like I wasn't too far out then, doesn't it?

To clarify the clarification: The BRE cars may have used what is known as the '432R' style rear spoiler, but the 432R did not use a BRE rear spoiler. If you see what I mean........... :classic:

I don't know about you, but I see "1 8 30". 30th August 1971 manufacturing date stamp for the mirror mount? What do others think? Car probably put together in September 1971? I'd be interested to see you cross-ref the other date stamps on the car to confirm / refine this. :classic:

I have to 'stick up' for the integrity of the marking / paint / sticker around the firewall VIN number stamping: This is quite common in Japan, and I have seen it many times. It is merely an aid to locating the positioning of the number, and could have been carried out by a servicing garage before taking the car for a 'Shakken' test, or any number of other official and non-official agencies. I've seen them hand-drawn and I've seen them stencilled. I've seen yellow paint, orangey-yellow stencils and reflective stickers. Even 'Glow-In-The-Dark' paint and Tipp-Ex. I don't think there's anything unusual or suspicious about the box around the number........ Lets not lose sight of the rabbit here. In my opinion - for what it is worth - the only thing making us believe this car is 'pre-production' / extremely early production is the VIN / serial number itself. The rest of the car looks much later in date than the VIN / serial number would make us imagine it should be. The car even shows evidence of a spot of customisation ( the slat grille - which is an 'Export' market item ) which should serve to remind us that this car's life didn't begin the day we met it.............. Edit: By way of reference / comparison / light-hearted relief, I am posting the following photo. Taken from the very first Factory Workshop manual for the Japanese market cars, and published in 1969:

71ZZZZZ, The colour samples in the Japanese sales brochures are both tiny and actually nothing like the colours they are supposed to represent! I honestly don't think there's much point in me re-scanning and posting a close-up, as it will still be misleading....... Best reference for the colours on our cars is that compiled by our fellow classiczcars.com member Michael Perdue ( mperdue ) here: mperdue's paint codes data Good luck, Alan T.

Just to clarify; The Overfenders on the car could indeed be genuine "Factory" Nissan items and the shape looks correct in the details. However, let there be no mistake - the 1971 Fairlady Z-L model DID NOT leave the Factory with Overfenders. In most cases, they were fitted several years after the car was new. Main reason for this was that the fitment of the Overfenders technically took the car up into the next vehicle taxation bracket ( due to the extra width ) and this would have been more expensive. They would also be *technically* illegal in Japan ( as a non-standard item for that model ), although the owner may have got away with it if he didn't meet any trouble-making traffic Police officers......