HS30-H

Hi Mr C, Yes, I think the HLS30 "280Z" was basically a USA / North American market-only version. We certainly didn't have it here in the UK either. I wonder if there were a couple of other places that got them other than the USA / North American market though? There's no such thing as Nissan gospel truth. I can't help thinking that I've seen something somewhere about a few very late S30 / S31 series cars going to Cyprus, Greece, Turkey, Outer Mongolia or somewhere like that. Maybe I was hallucinating or having an LSD gear-oil induced flashback............... Alan T.

Hi Steve, Good to see that you outed the Z31 ( hopefully you will have turned a slight profit? ). Also good to see that you got the books OK ( we never trust the Postman over here any more..... ). That's a good question about that reversion to "H" prefixes for the L28 engined cars ( after the "R" prefix for the L26 engined cars ), and its easy to see that it might easily cause confusion. Did you also notice that the later S30 models were called "S31" ( at least they were in Japan )? In Japan, the "S30" model type covers all of the iterations of S30 / PS30 / HS30 / HLS30 / RS30 / RLS30 / GRS30 / GRLS30 etc etc and usually includes the "S31" versions. Funny that. By all accounts ( from what I have been told, anyway ) there was quite a lot of confusion with regard to the RS30 / RLS30 models at the Factory, and the Japanese-market model got pulled at the last moment because it was found to have a real lot of trouble related to the fuel system and the new Japanese emissions regs. They did actually let a few out into the Home market, but then pulled it. This makes that particular model something of a rarity in Japan. After that, they started calling the Home market cars "S31" series. They never had the "280Z" model in Japan. Strange that they would revert to a previously-used code instead of doing the logical thing and making some kind of progression in the prefixes, isn't it? Maybe you should use your CB and put out a distress call.....? Nudge nudge wink wink! All the best, Alan T.

Hi Steve, George and Ben P, As far as I am told, that E mark sticker on the later European cars is related specifically to European standards of emissions control. The earlier UK cars did not have it, and I must say I did not know until now that some of the Australian market cars had it. I think I might dig into this a little deeper and see if I can get the SMMT ( Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders ) here in the UK to look at their records for these regulations and see what they can come up with. It might take a while ( they can be dinosaur slow ) but it will be worth putting it to rest once and for all. I guess we could chalk this up as more evidence of Nissan's slightly confusing policy with regard to the right hookers; it seems that there are many things that do not add up to common sense! I have no information on Australian regulations with regard to lighting and emissions, but I would NOT have thought that they fell in line with European laws! I suppose that Nissan may have got near to making a standardised spec. for the "Export" HS30 models towards the '72 / '73 period, and that this enabled them to divert cars to the market that they were needed in. In the case of the Export HS30 cars, this would I am told be AFTER they were made and had been sitting in Yokohama for a few weeks. In that case, it would make sense for them to have put the E stickers and other stuff on them regardless of whether they were eventually destined for Europe ( UK ) or Australia / NZ. The Japanese-market cars did not have any of the E markings on them. With regard to those "taped off" wires, I think I can confirm that ALL the UK-market HS30 cars had this phenomenon ( with the exception of the first two officially imported cars and a few strays ). This was because the front indicator lamps were found not to comply with UK Type Approval regulations ( too low ), and a hasty re-design was made necessary. This in fact delayed the delivery of the first batch of UK-market cars ( I think the first batch was diverted to Australia because of this? ) and the re-design included a whole new version of the front quarter valances without any cut-out for the indicators / side lights. UK-market cars were forced to sport rather ugly little front indicator pods on the top of the front bumper ( I believe that they were sourced from a Sunny model ). However, their re-design did not go to the extent of a full new loom section - and they simply taped off the unused wires. This has befuddled many a UK-market Z owner down the years, with quizzical looks and scratched heads as to the purpose of the taped off wires............ I'll let you know how I get on with the SMMT on those E marks. All the best, Alan T.

Yes Rolf, the spring question is an interesting one. In fact, its a real can of worms to open............... I don't have much data on the numbers for the HLS30 cars, but the part numbers for the Japanese-market cars make for interesting comparison ( if you like number-crunching on Nissan part numbers that is ). Take a look at these numbers: *S30 / HS30 Fairlady Z ( from 1969 ) 54010-E4104 Spring Front RH 54010-E4103 Spring Front LH 55020-E4102 Spring Rear - both 54010-E4105 Spring Front RH ( Air Con type ) *PS30 Fairlady Z432 ( from 1969 ) 54010-E4203 Spring Front RH 54010-E4202 Spring Front LH 55020-E4201 Spring Rear - both *PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R ( from 1969 ) 54010-E4202 Spring Front RH 54010-E7200 Spring Front LH 55020-E7200 Spring Rear - both Naturally the 432 had stiffer springing than the normal S30 and HS30 models, and the 432-R had yet stiffer springs ( especially at the rear, because of its 100 Litre fuel tank capacity ). However, what's interesting is that "Air Con type" front RH spring on the S30 and HS30 cars. Fascinating that they should choose to change to a different spring on one side when Air Con is fitted. Must be a question of balance.................. Part numbers for FRONT springs are different on ALL models from side-to-side, whereas rears are always the same side-to-side. Somebody else will have to post up the part numbers for the LHD cars ( if anyone's interested to compare ) as I do not have them to hand. Does this answer any questions or throw up any new ones? Alan T.

Old School, George! And how the hell are you anyway? Must meet up some time when the weather gets a bit better, eh? Kind of ironic that we are just a few miles from eachother but communicating via a USA-based website, isn't it?! George, PLEASE don't mention the dreaded "S" word again ( you know, that S-a-m-u-r-i one ). Its a very rude word in our house! All the best, Alan T.

Actually................ On the seventh day, God made the 432R, and there was light. Everything else came afterwards, including the Works rally cars. Samuri Conversions and "BIG SAM" certainly DID NOT influence anything going on in Japan - quite the opposite in fact. The photo of the Orange car with Overfenders, wide RS Watanabe 8-spokes, a deep front spoiler / air dam and a black bonnet ( OK - hood ) is a typical example of what might be called an Old School Japanese street-tuned look. This grew up from a mixture of influences, but can be traced back to the look of the 432R and the Sports Option parts that were available from the Factory since the beginning of Z production. Its always been cool in Japan to use these parts, but over the years the look slightly mutated and you can see different ( and sometimes not very well done ) versions of it. The black bonnet / hood look started out as a matt-black or satin black finish for heat dissipation on race and rally cars. This is a difficult finish to keep looking smart, hence the gloss black version ( less effective at heat dissipation but easier to keep clean ). In a nutshell, this look is just apeing the Factory race and rally car look of the early Seventies - but with a little bit of a modern twist. If you want the REAL story of the Works rally cars then I suggest that you buy one of the Z books that contain a chapter or two about them. The best of these would be between "The Z series Datsuns" by Ray Hutton ( ISBN 0 947981 02 0 ) or "Datsun Z - Fairlady to 280Z" by Brian Long ( ISBN 1 901295 02 8 ), both of which have fairly good chapters on this aspect of Z history. However, the definitive book on Nissan's "Works" built race cars is still to be written.................. People seem to be getting more and more interested in the 'Japanese look' recently, don't they? I reckon its a good thing. Maybe people will start to realise that the Z has a Japanese history too. Alan T.

You are most welcome. I should imagine that the numbered plaque would indicate that JANSPEED themselves fitted the kit to the car. I can't think that they would want to endorse it in this way unless they had ensured the quality of the installation. It might be a good idea to try contacting them for their advice. As the kit was so simple I do not believe that it had any adjustment or external control, and that the distributor advance was pretty much the same as a stock engine. Best to confirm this with JANSPEED themselves or with sjcurtis and Ben, as I profess no in-depth knowledge of turbo installations that would be of any help to you. I've seen these kits on some UK cars and it does indeed look very basic. Owners report very good peformance considering its a bolt-on............. With regard to the JANSPEED kit and the numbered plaque, I have to be honest and tell you that I don't think it would increase its value significantly. Bear in mind its fitted to a 2+2 model, which generally speaking attain lower prices than 2 seaters do. I guess its worth whatever the most enthusiastic buyer is willing to pay for it. Alan T.

Don't worry 2Many, I'm not blaming you personally for the misnomer! The Fairlady Z ( S30-S ) and 432R ( PS30-SB ) bumpers DID have the drillings for the bumper guards ( we call them Overiders in the UK - you call them Bumper Guards out there? ) which were plugged with plastic grommets if unused. What they did NOT have were the little holes for the mounting of the rubber corner trims, so I think it is only two designs of bumper after all. Did I make it clear with my garbled ramblings that the Fairlady ZL ( S30 - "luxury" model ) and the 'ordinary' 432 ( PS30 ) DID have the rubber corner trims? It was the base-model cheapo S30-S and the stripped-out 432R that did not have the rubber trim or the holes to mount them with. All Japanese-market S30-series Z cars had the extra front corner rubbers on the leading edges of the rear bumper. This was a large C-shaped piece of rubber that had a slot moulded into it - enabling it to be push-fitted between the bumper corner and the body of the car. This was designed to stop pedestrians being 'hooked' by a passing Z in Japan's narrow backstreets. I think they work very well and give an extra mount for the bumper which is sometimes useful. Don't know why other markets didn't get them too. I believe that the Factory is still making a few of these trim-less bumpers from time to time, so maybe that's why supply is somewhat intermittent in certain territories. Did you know that the structure for the ordering / distribution and manufacturing of genuine Nissan parts for these older models is incredibly complicated and esoteric? My friend in Japan, who deals in vintage parts and is also a restorer, tells me that the system is enormously frustrating. He says that he has to order the parts from one of Nissan's subsidiary companies that deals with spare parts, and they pass the orders on to the Factory. Nissan actually sell these parts to their own subsidiary, and the whole relationship between the two is not as tight as you might expect or want it to be! The Factory gather together orders and when they have enough to do a small production run they contact their suppliers and make a little order. If the supplier does not have the time or the raw materials / moulds / tooling to hand then it gets shelved for a while. In the meantime, some of the original orders get cancelled - and the whole thing turns into anarchy. My friend tells me that he sometimes receives parts that he had totally forgotten about ordering as it was so long ago. He says that the lack of concrete and reliable information, and the fact that there seems to be almost no rhyme or reason to what turns up and what does not, is the most frustrating part of it all. Added to this, the new regime at Nissan is doing away with a lot of the old ways of the company - so when some parts become 'no longer available' it really will be true. In the meantime, when Nissan get enough orders on their books, they can produce certain items. I know its true as I've bought stuff in Japan that is no longer available elsewhere, and its not NOS or deadstock either. However, it seems that the communication system and the structure of the company determines that the Japanese orders get dealt with as a priority, which is just a fact of life I guess....... All the best, Alan T.

Hi to Ben ( Bpaccaud ), sjcurtis and the other Ben, The points-type ignition on the GRLS30 would be correct for that year and model. As it obviously started out life as an LHD-market car I will leave it up to the LHD-spec. experts to comment on what year the electronic distributors started to be fitted from the Factory. Bpaccaud, I would imagine that the symptoms you describe could be linked to almost any fault and not just something on the turbo conversion. However, if its running hot and likes the choke then I would be tempted to investigate that its not running much too lean. Has anybody been messing with the carburettor settings? By all accounts the Janspeed conversion is pretty simple - so not too much to go wrong. Don't quote me on that though............. I don't believe the Janspeed kit came with water injection, and I'm not sure what you mean about pressure regulation - but the Janspeed kit was a fixed boost system if that's what you mean. Steve ( sjcurtis ) - glad that you have practical expertise on this kind of thing as I certainly don't! I too remember the old RAJAY turbines, and do you remember brands such as HOLSET? I used to spy things like that on old diesel trucks and wonder what the hell they were............. Ben, Janspeed made a different and probably more sophisticated kit when the injected cars made it to the UK ( the S130 series ). Was a copy / similar design to that system also used in Australia? Maybe they licensed the design or something. I did Janspeed a dis-service by saying in my previous post that they were founded in the early Seventies. In fact, Jan Odor started the company back in 1962. Here's the latest information that I have if you want to contact them to ask for any data that they might still have: JANSPEED ENGINEERING LTD. CASTLE ROAD, SALISBURY, WILTSHIRE SP1 3SQ tel: 01722 321833 fax: 01722 412308 Good luck, Alan T.

Hi 2Many, Would that would be Nissan USA and Nissan Motorsports USA's catalogues by any chance? Nissan Japan and NISMO Japan don't seem to call them "euro" bumpers - so it must be an American thing. The thing that's strange about it is that over here in Europe we all got the rubber-trimmed bumpers like the Japanese market Fairlady ZL, and never the untrimmed ( and undrilled even ) bumpers of the Fairlady Z and 432R. That's what's daffy about calling them "euro" bumpers......... I reckon this must be an American colloquialism when it comes to bumpers. I remember when I used to hang around in vintage VW and Porsche circles many years ago, and the non USA-market ( and therefore somewhat sought-after by USA-based collectors ) bumpers were always called "Euro" bumpers. It makes sense for a German-made product, but not for a Japanese-made one! Alan T.

Hi Rolf, I don't think they sold many S30-series Z cars in North Africa and the Middle East, but the few that did sell there were probably 'improved' by the dealers. They would have specced them up with all sorts of extras and options to make them more appealing. Imagine all that sand getting in there! If any cars were sold with headlamp covers you can bet that they were put on by the local dealer. No stock models for sale to the general public left the factory with them already fitted as far as I am told. It was only the ZG model that left home with them already on. Alfadog, the stories about headlamp covers screwing up light beams are all true. Both my two previous Z cars ( short noses ) and the ZG suffer terribly in this department. Enthusiastic driving on twisty unlit country roads is a real nightmare, even though I have CIBIE H4 lights in the ZG. The perspex covers diffuse the light and you lose the depth of field that they should give on main beam. I really ought to upgrade. All the best, Alan T.

That sounds like a "JANSPEED" conversion from the late Seventies / early Eighties. JANSPEED were ( still are ) a UK-based company run by ex-racer Mr Jan Odor. As far as I remember, Mr Odor was born in Holland and came to the UK in the 1960's to work at famed Mini tuners Downton Engineering. He set up his own company in the early Seventies and became very successful - providing hard race parts and tuning gear for BMC products. He very soon moved onto Nissan / Datsun parts as he reckoned they offered more potential for cost-effective tuning. They used to have a very large inventory of Nissan / Datsun related tuning parts, but not so much now. They had a fairly close relationship with Datsun UK in the old days, and I have to say that the quality of their parts was very good for the time. The Janspeed turbo conversion used a Rotomaster turbine sucking through a single 2 inch SU carburettor, and they left the engine internals alone - so boost was limited to just 5psi. The kit also included an oil-cooler setup. Figures of 0-60mph in 6.6 secs. and 15.3 for the standing quarter-mile were quoted for an otherwise-stock UK-spec. RS30 260Z. Above figures and the photo below are from "The Z Series Datsuns" by Ray Hutton ( published by MRP in 1982 - ISBN no. 0 947981 02 0 ) which is actually quite a good little book. If you want to get in touch with JANSPEED I'm sure they can give you any data that you might need. Let me know if you want me to track down their contact numbers. Alan T.

My radar seems to be working.............. ( which is what I should be doing at the moment instead of checking out this site. Naughty naughty ). The genuine ZG did indeed come from the Factory with the headlamp covers installed. Anybody who has seen just HOW they are installed might wonder whether they really would want to install them with the same method. Its got to be said, the mounts are pretty agricultural. Luckily, if they are installed right you at least don't have to look at them. A genuine ZG without the headlamp covers looks pretty much half finished. I've seen some cars with aftermarket so-called 'G-nose' kits ( that don't look right anyway ) used without the headlamp covers, and they look most odd I think. On the same kind of tack, Mr K's yellow HLS30 ( a standard US-market car with a genuine Factory G-nose kit retro-fitted to it ) also looked a bit strange with the lower pan colour-coded yellow to match the body, and without any 'Overfenders'. The Factory accessory headlamp covers for the ordinary ( short nose ) cars were also attached to the body with the nasty fixing kit - just like those on the ZG. However, they are even more difficult to fit without leaving gaps because of the difficult shape of the sugar scoops. The sugar scoops on the ZG don't have that 90 degree angle to fit round, and are consequently easier to fit flush. In answer to Raron's question, they were NOT fitted as "Standard" equipment on any model - even in Japan - but they WERE a Factory-made option and were listed in the Japanese market sales catalogues from late 1969. I get lots of spiders and stuff living inside my headlamp covers, and water always gets in when you wash the car. Then they steam up. Look great though.............. Back to work................ Alan T.

Hi Majik16106, I've just sent an answer to the PM you sent me about this. Cheers, Alan T.

Egads Mike, What I meant was that they used both concurrently ( at the same time ) - with BOTH being 'readable' to the Japanese it was basically just a question of style. They just never BADGED the cars in Japanese characters, as its pretty much been traditional to badge vehicles, trains and even buildings in 'Romaji" for style purposes over the last half century or more. Naturally, it would make sense for them to make a lot of their literature in Japanese ( a mixture of all three Japanese alphabets with some 'Romaji' mixed in ) just so that people could read it. However - headlines, headings and large banner emblems could be in 'Romaji' for style purposes. The very old styles of Japanese numbering are usually only seen on things like restaurant menus and the like these days. I'm getting too wordy rappinghood again. Suffice to say that they have usually used Romaji for badging the cars, and a mixture of Japanese and Romanised English lettering / Arabic numerals for the literature and other stuff ................ The "Datsun" name was not usually used in relation to any of the Z cars in the Japanese market. Mentioning the "Datsun 240Z" or "Datsun 260Z" would usually signify an export-market car to the Japanese. Pronunciation of 'Datsun' in Japanese would be something approaching "Datto-san" ( say it quickly ) and of course, as mentioned before '240Z' would be "Nee-yon-maru Ze-to" ( with that soft "zeh" sound rather than "zee" ) and '260z" would be "Nee-roku-maru". '280' wpuld be "Nee-hachi-maru". Interestingly, I started to hear people referring to the new Fairlady Z ( Z33 ) as a "Ze-to san-san" last time I was there ( and I suppose they will be calling the Export version the "Ze-to san-go-maru" too.................. Do you mean you want me to dig out and scan up some "Datsun" logos in Japanese characters for you? It'll have to wait a bit, as its 2am here in London and I'm losing consciousness. Night all, Alan T.

Just in case anybody's not seen the Japanese-market badging / emblems - here's what the "Fairlady" script looks like on the back of one of my cars. Alan T.

And here's the most commonly used 'Romaji' font of Fairlady in the early days. This one's from a Japanese-market sales catalogue that was issued in October 1971. Alan T.

Hi Mike, How are you? We'll have to be careful here - don't want to start that old "Zed or Zee" debate up again................. All badging / emblems on the Japanese-market cars were in 'Roman' and 'Arabic' ( that'll confuse Dubya... ) - that is to say, the "Fairlady" name was written in the Romanised English alphabet, and the numbers ( 240 and 432 ) were written in the Arabic numerals that we all use. Remember - that was what was on the cars. What they used on all their advertising and literature was a mixture of the Roman and Arabic, with a bit of Japanese mixed in............... The modern Japanese language is written in a combination of three alphabetic systems. 'Kanji' is the ancient and very complicated lettering system derived from Chinese ( some characters read the same in Japanese as they do in Chinese ). In order to slightly simplify the reading and writing of Kanji characters ( some of which have multiple meanings depending on context ) another alphabetic system was created. This is called 'Hiragana'. Finally, in more recent times, a phonetic alphabet was created - called 'Katakana'. This was necessary because after Japan re-opened its borders to international trade - after many decades of self-imposed isolation - it was found necessary to have a way of writing and reading western words that were coming into use through trade and cultural exchange. The situation now, after a couple of centuries, is that all three systems of Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana are in use. All three are mixed together. For the "Fairlady" name on their advertising and literature, Nissan used both the Roman English and Katakana versions of writing. Almost all Japanese people can 'read' Romanised English ( which they call 'Romaji' ) but they might not necessarily know what it means. For us English speakers this is a bit like seeing something written in, for example, German. We might be able to read the German phrase "Vorsprung durch Technic", but unless we have an even basic knowledge of German we would not necessarily know what it actually means ( unless you drive an Audi.... ). So - you sometimes see the "Fairlady" name written in 'English', as well as in Katakana. You will also sometimes see the 'Nissan' company name written in Hiragana, as well as Kanji. Because 'Nissan' is derived from two Kanji characters, it is possible to write it in all three Japanese alphabets - although it is most commonly seen in Hiragana or English. It is not possible to write 'Fairlady' in Kanji or Hiragana - so Katakana or English are used. There's a caveat to all this though. Its very frustrating, but the Katakana system of phonetic characters has a ( naturally ) very strong Japanese accent. Amongst other things, its very difficult to make an "L" sound in Katakana. That's why when I write my name in Katakana it actually gets forced into three characters and three syllables. It comes out as "A-re-n" - so Japanese speakers will consistently mispronounce my name because its most unnatural to write it any other way. Thats why Fairlady tends to sound something like "Fay-ur-ray-dee" in spoken Japanese............ The Romanised English letter 'Z' in Japanese is usually pronounced in two syllables. It sounds like "Ze-to" or "Ze-do" ( but with short "Z", like in Zephyr or Xylophone ) - more like the 'English' English pronunciation than anything else. This depends on the regional accent of course ( sometimes Japanese regional accents are quite different ). As far as numbers go, its another can of worms. Suffice to say that the Arabic numeric system is now widely used, but both Kanji and Hiragana methods of writing numbers exist. When it comes to pronunciation in Japanese, the number '240' in relation to the Z car is usually pronounced as individual numbers ( like 'two four zero' rather than 'two forty' or 'two hundred and forty' ) - and sounds like "Nee-yon-maru". Of course, for the Japanese the 240 is just one version of the S30-series Z car ( which they call the "Ess san-maru" ) as is the 432 ( "Yon-san-nee" ). All this talk of language and pronunciation reminds me that the "Fairlady" name itself is the product of a misunderstanding or mispronunciation. I'm not sure whether Mr Kawamata ( the man who christened the Fairlady ) realised it or not, but the name of the musical "My Fair Lady" - itself based on the book "Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw - was actually a pun. The story is of a linguist who is challenged by his colleagues to turn a lowly Cockney flower-seller into a "Mayfair Lady" ( the Mayfair district of London being the epitome of 'Uptown' in contrast to the East-End's 'Downtown' status ). The pun comes from the Cockney pronunciation of Mayfair as 'My-fair", and hence the name of the musical "My Fair Lady". Geddit? Oh well - it would have been at least half funny 100 years ago. Here's a couple of illustrations of the Japanese way of writing "Fairlady". The first one is in a very stylised forward-slanting font ( don't forget that Kanji, Hiragana and Katakana can be stylised with font and typefaces just like any other language ) and is from a 1971 Japanese factory manual. It reads "Nissan" and then "Fairlady Z. 240Z". Alan T.

Good job I've got a big nose, otherwise I wouldn't have heard you. I don't like this car much. It is indeed a bit of a mongrel from what I can see. The engine is probably very nice and I'm sure it works quite well - but linking it to a four-speed sounds a bit of a short cut. This gives a clue to the original identity of the base car; I should think that its a base-model Fairlady Z ( S30-S ) and that might also explain one "luxury" spec. bumper and one 'cooking' model version. It would be the one without rubber trim that is the original. Notice he says he's only got three matching wheels. He would have brought the car in from Japan ( I suspect that the vendor might be Japanese or Japanese-related ) and therefore would not have needed to have a Japanese "shakken" ( compliance and safety inspection ) - which would have made it much cheaper to buy. I have seen cars of this calibre selling in Japan for around 1,000,000 JPY - and this is when they are advertised at around 1,200,000 or so. Naturally, importing to Southern California will have cost some money - but not as much as he's asking for. Personally, I think his 510 coupe is a bit doggy but more of a bargain than the Z. Japanese Home-market spec. cars can indeed be hard to pin down. Its very difficult to give cut-off dates and spec. changes for some of these parts, and you certainly can't say "they did this, and then they did this" with any assurance. However, the 'later" style dash did cross over with the early type rear light treatment for a few weeks of production, and the switch to twin hatch struts was also fairly early in Japan. When the "Fairlady 260Z" model debuted in Japan, it was very quickly withdrawn and a stop-gap model ( cobbled up from earlier specs mixed with some of the new ones ) was put back on the market. The problems were linked to the engine, and particularly the way that the anti-pollution devices were strangling its performance and causing breakdowns in Japan's hot summer weather. Japan seems to be full of cars like this one. The really good cars are a real cut above and consequently sell for more money - but there's lots out there like this one, and the owners tend to be quite young. I guess there's no harm in him baiting his rod and seeing if he gets a bite. Ebay is full of overpriced items, and they - puzzlingly sometimes - seem to get sold. Gav - don't get confused about hatch and pillar vents. The early cars that you have seen with what appear to be "Z" emblem pillar vents AND hatch vents are almost certainly PS30 432's. Right from 1969 they had a "Z" pillar emblem that looked like a vent - but if you take it off there is no vent hole underneath. It just LOOKS like the later vent emblem. You can see this on my photo of Morimoto san's 432 that you posted above. All the best, Alan T.

Hi Gav, O.S. GIKEN don't make the TC24 head conversion any more ( they have not made any for over 20 years now ). I talked to them about making a short run whilst I was living in Japan, but even then they were not interested. They are still a small company ( although bigger than when they made the TC24 ) and they are very busy with making new products, like their gear kits and clutches for domestic high-performance cars. They don't really tend to wallow in nostalgia, but a few years back they launched some "O.S. CLASSIC" parts, such as piston kits and the like. Would be nice if they did do another short run of the TC24 at some point. They would be expensive, but worth every penny in my opinion. I think they were very brave to make them in the first place, and some of the negatively-biased comments from people who have never even seen one are a bit annoying. Hats off to Giken, I say. Original examples that are still useable are very thin on the ground in Japan. They tend to be the kind of thing that the older enthusiasts have stashed away and won't sell for any price. Remember that many of these head conversions were destroyed in the silly years of Japanese street-racing, back in the mid to late Eighties period. Big blow ups at high speed took their toll on the TC24's and LY engines that made it out onto the streets. The S20 twin-cam is a different kettle of fish altogether. It shares no mechanical components with the L-series engines. I've read on other sites that the S20 head can be put on an L-series block - which is total nonsense. They must be getting mixed up with the TC24 head or the SOHC "LY" head ( often called the "Crossflow" ). The S20 was derived from the Prince GR8 racing engine ( which had twin distributors running off the ends of the camshafts ) and Prince / Nissan de-tuned it for street use in the PGC10 Skyline GT-R of 1968/9. When the Fairlady Z432 was launched in late 1969, Nissan's press releases called it a "Fairlady Z with a GT-R engine". The front crossmember of the 432 is different to the normal L-series engined version ( I'm having an L-series version modified into a copy of the S20 version for my 432R replica project ). However, this is because the engine mounts are further back on the S20 block - rather than being at a different angle side to side. The S20 mates with all the same transmissions as the L-series engines ( the 432 and 432-R came first with the FS5C71-A 5-speed, and then the FS5C71-B 5-speed ). The "LY" Crossflow used different engine mounts and bellhousing to the normal L-series, as the block was angled differently. Weight of the S20 was very similar to the L-series in 2-litre form. Just a few kilos difference ( S20 was slightly heavier - not surprisingly considering its extra complexity ). The S20 engine is an automotive icon in Japan. Its kind of annoying that its been almost written-off as a dud ( or damned with faint praise ) by automotive journalists outside Japan and "experts" who have never even clapped eyes on one. Everybody seems to just look at its capacity and imagine that it can't be any good - totally ignoring that the way it makes its power, and the way this is linked to its close-ratio five speed and LSD-equipped 4.44 diff. in the light Z body is what makes it so much fun to drive. Same goes for the L20 engine, which is what christ0ph originally asked about. These engines are not all that bad at all ( especially if attached to a nice five-speed and a 3.9 ratio diff. ) and are really smooth and revvy. The problem is that if its been put into a US-spec car ( four-speed and corresponding diff. ratio ) it will feel like a bit of a slug. This is why it will be considered a downgrade. Alan T. ( ps. - Gav, I only know about what I'm interested in - which is a fairly narrow area. I'm no self-appointed 'guru' or anything. ).

O.S.GIKEN of Japan made the TC24-B1 twin-cam 24-valve head conversion kit for the L-series back in the late Seventies. This was quite a comprehensive kit, rather than just a bolt-on accessory. New pistons were required, and machine work on the front of the block to mount the new cam drive chain system. The whole front timing cover was different too. It actually worked very well - but its complexity ( as well as the fine engineering quality ) made it rather expensive.............. Alan T.