Kerrigan

No. Actually when three informed people on four different forums (yes, I'll admit I cruise the forums seeking/learning new stuff,) put forth "facts" which made sense and were pretty much the same, that settled it for me. The pictures in the FSM are misleading, so I got mislead. By people too. But all is well in Fairladyville now :-) I was sort of surprised by some of the people who really had their tit caught in the wringer over it. "Some peeps always hasta put ya down" ... Forums are to share common interests, swap "facts", and information. Not a place for one to pump up their under-inflated egos .. :-) You think this gets bad, log onto one of the train fan forums and stick your opinion toes in the acidic waters. I've also collected about all the manuals and books out on the Z car and the information and instructions vary quite a bit. Some totally incorrect, some half-right, and the others helpful and accurate.

Guess I've been wrong about the engine in these cars. Only had an L20A, not an L20. Apparently they never had a L20. Amazing really, I learn something new to me about these FairladyZs every week.

Sorry about the title error, I meant "1969-1972.

That has been the frustration. The people whose opinions are respected and admired have offered up different answers, in good faith, which has made this been probably one of the most interesting quests for information I've ever embarked upon. It's been highly informative and interesting! "Enjoy The Ride"!

Yes, the water outlet to the radiator is on the carb side, above the distributor.

Blue sent a link to the FSM for these engines which shows an illustration for the L20A engine as having a single down-draft carburetor; did it come in both this configuration and the dual Hitachi side-draft carbs?

Thank you. The cooling setup illustration on his site shows it's an L20A, stamped or not. That settles that question.

Do you own or have access to a 1960-1972 JDM FairladyZ or FairladyZ-L? If you do, could you share/post a picture or description of the number on the firewall (e.g. S30-00014), one of the engine number on the two pads found above the heater tri-**** (e.g. L20 - first pad sometimes electropencil engraved appearing, the second pad: 256597), and a photo of the id plate on the strut tower in the engine compartment? This would be great information gathered together on these early Series 1 JDM Z cars! Here are two from my 1971, the engine compartment id plate is missing. Thank you!!

Is the serial number on the firewall S30-00144 or is it HS30-00144? My '71 is firewall stamped S30-05553.

That's a great idea, Zed. Thanks. No, I'm serious. Just an Irish/Scot and you know how we are ... at least the English do ... we never give up.

Found this really interesting interview write up, The following is a professional translation of the article that reports an interview with Mr. Iida, the man that designed Nissan's first OHC, 6cylinder engine, the L20. Nissan L20 Engine Design And this one; interesting if you have not seen it already. Nissan/Datsun L Series Engines

Yes. That's it. A plain 1971 FairladyZ-L with the stock L20 engine. You're correct ZH. I'm happy with that because, as you said, it fits my cognitive bias, which comes from looking at mine in the metal flesh. I believe it's the original engine to the car; the mounting fixtures and bolts and transmission bolts have not been removed. At least it wasn't swapped by the original owner nor me as the second owner. I have seen, in a posting, a picture of an 6-cylinder engine block stamped L20 followed by a number with an A prefix on the second number pad. I don't remember the serial number but it looked like L20 A12345 So I guess that's what has caused the confusion, as I understood it to be an L20A engine. Can't believe pictures in books. The photo of the cockpit of a early FairladyZ-L (in Brian's Z book) shows a horn button without an image of a horn at the bottom. Mine doesn't have one either, but people insist it isn't correct. I'll go with the Nissan photograph. The one without the horn image is correct, but perhaps only in this year? Who knows. Not I for sure. One never learns anything unless one asks a question of more than one source (or Forum). I've changed my bias on a lot of things on this car that I though I had right, but others showed me where the information was incorrect. No fuss. Just Yankee curiosity. And again, thank you for being "nice".

Wait .. hold the phone ... How can the 6-cylinder be designated L20 if the "A" was added to denote the 6-cylinder from the 4-cylinder L20? Man, I'm confused! Geeze, what am I not catching on to here?? Here is a for-real L20 6-cylinder dual Hitachi carburetored engine in the 1971 FairladyZ-L. Here's the stamp on the block. There isn't an "A" anywhere. Don't know what else to say, except "weird".

It's funny actually that Wikipedia has it wrong as well ... so much for those "experts" ... ;-)

Nice manual ... note the cover does not list an L20 engine ... just an L20A ... with the single down-draft carburetor. I've never seen a manual specifically for L20 engine with the dual Hitachi carbs ... never. Do you know of one? I'd LOVE to see it! Like to find the right specs for internal parts .. like bearings, rings, pistons, and the like.

Thank you for the information. And I appreciate you reply; very civil and helpful. I have posted the information on our FairladyZ-L and it seems to incite so many different options about the car (and me) which has been good as it's caused me to keep looking for all the data I can find. And the confusion about these cars is rampant. It can't have the engine it has, it's number is "wrong for the car" and so on. It's fun, but confusing. I've had local Z "experts" look at the car when shown and tell me it's not original, that it's been "tampered with", has a engine that was not original, and so on. Had the car for over 35 years and know IT'S history being the 2nd owner since 1971, and always want to learn more about it. I'd be happy to learn it's a "factory fluke" or the ilk. Then, as the ONLY example left, it would be priceless :-) All in all, it continues to be a wonderful learning process and a barrel full of laughs over some of the "information" shared by others. Hell, even the books are wrong according to some folks, and the pictures of the car new must have been "faked" when published ... what a hoot. I just love the guys who say "the books are bull****, don't believe your eyes." One more time around the block: Manufactured as the Japanese Domestic Model (JDM) for the home market in Japan. Build window is May-July 1971 based on coded dates on wiring, fuel pump, etc. Total number of S30 models built in 1971 is 3,346 based on Nissan production records I've seen here and other sites. Luxury Model (suffix "L"), sub-model D. Equipped with original unmodified L20 2.0 liter engine coupled to original 5-speed manual transmission, ending with the original R180 3.9 ratio differential. L20 engine is 1998cc with 130bhp @6000 rpm, producing 128 ft lbs torque @ 4400 rpm. Listed top speed is 195kph with a dry curb weight of 995 kg. Full exterior restoration in 2007-2008 repainted in match to factory original paint Nissan 901 Grand Prix Metallic Silver, using original Nissan parts. Disassembled for painting except for engine unit. Interior remains original with original seat upholstery, has original factory option Hatichi AM/8-track tape player radio which still works and plays Steppenwolf just grandly.

I apologize if I have asked this question here before (so I won't get fried again by certain "contributors" to the forum). Could someone describe the physical differences between the L20 engine and the L20A engines from 1960-1972? Apparently the S30 Z with the L20 was only available in the Japanese Home Market cars? I do know both are 6-cylinder engines and that the L20 is a 2.0 liter engine and that's about it as far as what I have learned thus far. What I did find in Wikipedia is: "L20/L20A Nissan L20 engine The L20 is a SOHC 12-valve engine produced from 1966. A 78.0 mm bore and 69.7 mm stroke meant a displacement of 1,998 cc. Later, this engine became the L20A to avoid confusion with the four-cylinder L20B introduced in 1975. The L20 was used in the Nissan Skyline 2000 GT and Nissan Cedric 130, producing 109 hp (81 kW) for the 2000 GT and 123 hp (92 kW) for the Cedric." This does not indicate the L20 was used in the FairladyZ, so is this just another example of Wikipedia information being incomplete? If someone has replied to this query before with the information could you please paste the link? I've not found it in my internet searches thus far. Thank you.

Thought the reply was a little parental in tone, but thought I'd ask anyway ... as you seem knowledgeable ... what are the physical differences between an L20 and an L20A engine, cause I didn't find any info explaining that on the Internet? The one picture I have seen had the "L20" stamped on the first stamp block as shown below, but the engine number has an "A" stamped before the numbers on the second stamp block.

Anyone know the significence of the "safety code" on the engine compartment ID plate for S30s? What do the codes on the last line, "7-1" or "8-4", signify? Someone said it referred to the size of the gas tank?? Another said it was some kind of "safety device indicator" ...? I don't have a clue and would like to know. Thank you!

What is so confusing to me Alan is the pictures of the L20A and the L20 in my factory service manual. The L20A is shown as having one down draft style carburetor instead of the two side-draft Hatachi carbs. The message I'm getting is either the Factory Service Manual is incorrect with the photos or my FairladyZ is a factory fluke. I don't find an "A" or "B" suffix stamped anywhere relating to the engine type or number, just L20 256597 stamped on the engine number pads on the engine block. No wonder there is much confusion about these since the factory and dealer paperwork is long gone ... at least the Nissan historian couldn't come up with anything other than "your car is an S30 model FairladyZ built in 1971." As I've opined many times, the only thing I really know about these cars is this one. I know the original owner in USA in the early 1970s, how he got the car, who bought it next, and I got it after that. I'm really only the second owner of it in the US as the original guy sold it via a dealer who didn't transfer the title until I bought it ... for WAY TOO MUCH money at the time ... but glad I did. So, this FairladyZ-L: .... came with the L20 dual carb engine (no "A", no "B" suffix engine) coupled to the 5-speed tranny ending in the R180 pumpkin, which it still has ... unmodified. And as far as we can tell, at 79000 miles the engine has never been cracked open. No valve work, no nothing. Trans is the original one never reworked (it does have a tick tick indicating a weak bearing, but nothing to tear into yet), and the rear end is untouched. I've repainted it to Nissan 901 with a color match to the untouched inner body hatch panels still in original paint (we think). These cars can be as much a mystery as anything I guess. Upon that I think we can agree.

Nope. The S30 has an L20 engine, with dual sidedraft Hatachi carbs, not the single downdraft carb on the L20A. At least according to the stamp on my engine block with it's dual carbs (as the car came). If it's a JDM FairladyZ it will not have rear side markers. And the front side markers are tied into the turn-signal and flash with them. That's stock as well on JDMs. This one anyway. But if we listen to the "experts" this car never existed ... it just HAD to have an L20A engine ... snicker snicker ... I've owned it for over 32 years and it's basically unmodified except for the wheels .... they are not stock. Oh, and the Carellos I run instead of the factory option fog lights ... All in all, nice car. $20k? Our Fairlady is appraised and insured for $30k ... so there must be something to be said for the "value" ....

874 lower than my 5553 ... guess on ours is a May-July build date window. The fuel pump date code is 1501 (May 71?) and a date code on the headlight wiring harness is, strangely enough, G-71 .... definitely a "G" ... not a "6" .... Don't think the louvered access hatches are stock ... ours doesn't have them and it's an original car. Nice Fairlady however; there aren't many left in the US ... just heard of another one wrecked and scrapped. Scored some parts off it. \ \

I'm thinking the battery is the primary power source; the alternator attempts to keep the battery fully charged, but all the power actually flows from the battery.

Does the original Z wiring which contains the leads for the fog lights come from the dash switch? I have the toggle, with long handle, above the hazard light switch. I like the long toggle for flipping the lights on or off with hand on the wheel.

This is an old thread but I'd like to ask about the wires on the fog lights. The harness has two wires for each light, as shown in the diagram. The replica fog lights being made now have one wire, just the "hot lead". When installing a replica set, what does one do for the common/ground? Should the "ground wire" in the harness be fastened to the fog light bolt or ? Thank you.