HS30-H

By all means Sean, BUT... Please make sure it's clear that what's depicted is an original - NOS - mild steel factory twin pipe exhaust system. It's two pipes in, and two pipes out. They never join - even inside the 'can'. Different than yours, that is, as far as I understand, as yours are ONE in, two out and there must be a merge somewhere inside? Also mild steel vs stainless (?) and different pipe diameters (?). Don't underestimate the potential for misunderstanding by civilians...

Sean, they were pinched. Nicked. Right-Click-And-Saved. Same thing. I'm being polite there. As far as I'm aware, they were only posted originally in my project thread on the gtroc.uk forum. If they have popped up anywhere else I'd be interested to see where. If you found them through Google or similar, surely a click-through would take you to the original source? I just searched for 'Z432 exhaust' using Google and they didn't come up. I'd have no objection to anyone using them if they were polite enough to ask first, but my main concern here is that it's an original NOS system and is - therefore - not what people are going to get if they order one of yours....

The above two photos are mine, and show my NOS original Nissan twin pipe "432" style exhaust on my 432-R replica project car. The photos were pinched from my project thread on the gtroc.uk forum. So they don't depict anybody's product except Nissan's.

I think the video you saw was Matsuo san explaining that he originally wanted a slatted grille that filled the whole 'hole' in the front of the short-nosed Z body. The headlamp covers were also part of the original styling of the car but were used as an extra-cost showroom option in the end. Nissan would not have needed to make the cars with wide arches, as the process of homologation allowed them to document and legalise the parts they wanted to use for competition. That meant they could use rivet-on overfenders and cut the sheetmetal underneath them if necessary. After homologating the minimum-sized overfenders for the 432-R and then later the 240ZG, they were able to use a percentage slightly wider than that in competition. When they wanted to go wider still, they homologated what later became known as the 'Type A' and 'Type B' "Full Works" overfenders, and - once again - used a percentage sightly wider on their own Works cars. So there was no need for them to make wide-arched cars to sell to the general public when the process of homologation via JAF and the FIA made it easier for them to do it with rivet-on overfenders. People sometimes ask me why the 240ZG was sold with (normal) skinny wheels and hubcaps. The answer is that the 240ZG was only built and sold to the general public in a certain quantity that would legalise the homologation of the parts that they wanted to use for racing, and - just as importantly - the evolutions that followed from them. The 240ZG wasn't built as a 'race' car, it was simply a homologation exercise.

The rear arches on my GP Maroon ZG were cut when it was still in Japan. I believe they were done in the mid to late Seventies. It also had the rear edge of the ZG lower nose panel cut down for tyre clearance on full lock, which was something you used to see on ZGs with wide tyres in Japan before really low profile tyres started to become more available. The rear arches on my GP White ZG were still uncut and intact when I got it. They've been cut now though...

I can confirm that the factory did NOT cut the front or rear arch sheetmetal on the HS30-H model Fairlady 240ZG. The FRP overfenders were simply installed (with pop rivets) on the normal factory sheetmetal.

Gav, I was discussing this with some of my fellow Club S30 members in Japan in January. Also with Ando san of T.A. Auto. Prices (asking, and selling) for the homologation specials are rising faster and higher than those of the common-or-garden variety. Condition and integrity (there's a few 'genuine' fakes to deal with...) is still king, but generally speaking the prices of good examples of factory HS30-H models are climbing fast. In Chiba I saw an HS30-H that had just been restored, and was told by the restorer that the owner had turned down several offers on it after it emerged from resto and had been featured in Nostalgic Hero magazine. The highest offer he turned down was "over 15 million JPY". Gossip is that the resto itself cost more than 5 million.

You're officially off my Christmas card list, Gav. And I'm actually looking forward to being 'beaten' by a Corolla that's being driven spiritedly. Seriously though, I think it's good to talk about this stuff. And it's clear that the zeitgeist of today is quite different than, say, the zeitgeist of 10 years ago. There's still a whole rainbow of taste and preference, but there's been a noticeable shift in the scene as a whole now that the effect of social media has really kicked in.

Wondering where I stand with this one...?!

No, no connection. Yes, it's a fairly common name in Japan.

LOL. Well spotted. The bullshit piles up so fast and high that you need a bulldozer to get through it. I might start collecting those stupid comments to make a compilation tribute page to the unintentionally tragic. Just this morning I read a post (on a Facebook group dedicated to the Z, no less) which claimed that Katayama was the "chief designer on the Z project" (presumbly he sent all his designs by Telex machine) and that he had personally flown to France to "collect the patent" for the hatch strut (like you need to personally collect patents and put them in a suitcase to take them home). Just... bizarre. Obviously that last bit is rooted in Matsuo's story of getting his inspiration for using a gas strut for the rear hatch when he saw one on a (French) Mirage jet, but it's a story that's now been put through a crack pipe backwards for the guy on the Facebook page. In the 'Information Age' there should be no excuse for it, but it seems the dumb gene is just getting stronger.

http://zclub.net/forum/showthread.php?t=25164

And the correct (polite) way to address him is 'Mori san' or - even more politely - 'Mori sama'.

Gareth, I recommend you pose any questions/requests for Kameari parts advice direct to Mori san at Kameari, in English. He's a really patient and helpful bloke, never gives you the Hard Sell on parts you don't need, and stands by the advice he gives and parts that he sells. I've known him personally and have been buying parts from him for 16 or 17 years or more now, and I don't have a bad word to say about him. Give it a go. What have you got to lose? Alan T.

But that's my point: What you are describing has nothing to do with the JAF / FIA homologation papers. It's purely a local (in this case Australian/CAMS) thing. Why are people making the link to the JAF / FIA papers? As I've said before, D.T. Dobie and Old Woking Service Station were franchised Nissan dealers, sold STOCK new cars and were connected to Nissan's works rally team (being used as a de-facto base for the rally operations in Kenya and the UK respectively) but the particular cars you are referring to were NOT sold to anybody as new cars. They belonged to Nissan, were being used outside Japan on temporary-export carnets, and in the cases where they DID pass into private hands (in contravention of their carnets) they were already USED cars. Therefore they don't qualify for what you are trying to prove. Whilst I support the principle of what you are trying to do and think the rules are biased against 'our' cars, I think you are chasing a rabbit down a hole with the D.T. Dobie / O.W.S.S. thing. No idea what rules were being applied in that particular case, but L24-engined HLS30-prefixed LHD 'Datsun 240Z' badged cars were being RACED in JAF-sanctioned competition in Japan during 1970 and beyond by privateers. One of said cars still exists in Japan and is owned by a friend of mine. Since this is proveable, it can only imply that the rules of the historic meet in Japan dictated that such a car wasn't legal for use in their meeting. Their choice.

As per my post on the JAF homologation papers topic, the JAF GT010/ FIA 3023 fiches do NOT show anything to do with 15" diameter wheels. They show the Nissan Sports Option / Junsei Race Option 14" x 8j and 14" x 10j Magnesium KS 8-spokes that were intended to be used with the 432-R type overfenders, but no 15" diameter option. So where is this "Official factory documentation" that shows optional 15" x 7J wheels?

But NONE of that is anything to do with the JAF/FIA homologation papers, which was being implied in the first post on this topic and I have seen being implied on another post on this forum. It simply isn't connected. Having been part of a long-winded and time-costly application to allow 15" dia. wheels to be used on S30-series Zs in FIA-sanctioned historic motorsport events, I can tell you that it's not as simple as pointing at something a dealer might have offered in-period. If CAMS accept that then good for you, but it won't wash for JAF/FIA-sanctioned events that are run more strictly to the letter of Appendix J and the JAF/FIA homologation papers do NOT prove legality of 15" wheels.

There seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding here. The JAF and FIA homologation documents relating to the S30-series Zs were compiled, ratified and passed with the express purpose of legalising certain models and certain parts for use in competitive motorsports. They were not intended to facilitate the use of certain racing/rallying-related parts on private road cars, and that legal aspect was under the jurisdiction of local transport ministries and/or governments. If your local transport ministry allows you to use the JAF/FIA homologations to 'prove' that you should be allowed to use something then all well and good, but let's understand that this is not what they were intended for. Whereabouts on the JAF GT010 / FIA 3023 documents is this noted?

The 'autojumble' / Flea Market section at the New Year Meeting is usually a bit hit-and-miss. It's not the main purpose of the event, and if there is any good stuff there it tends to get snapped up straight away (usually by other vendors/club members...). Prices are generally high, and some vendors put silly prices on rare items in the knowledge that they are very likely to be taking them home again at the end of the show. The trade pitches can be good, but it depends who is there really. So I'd advise you not to bank on finding what you are looking for there. In my opinion it's more of a social event than anything else.

It's the CSP311 Silvia, and its good looks (you might not agree... ) had little to do with its relatively low production figures. It was - by its very nature - always going to be a low-volume car.

Those figures are wildly inaccurate. Really all over the place.

He's switched the old HKS 5-speed sequential for a Hewland IGTC 6-speed sequential.

Gav, That's a (stitched on) leather cover which has aged/deteriorated to a colour that looks a bit like wood. It's not a different shade of wood.

There's no such thing as a "proper Datsun Fairlady" in the S30-series Z range. Japanese market S30-series Zs were Nissan branded. You would not have seen the word 'Datsun' on them anywhere in the spec they left the factory.

Thanks for the photos, Gav. I'm always interested to see all the different versions. The OEM ( Kotobuki-made ) versions were made from FRP but with woven cloth ( roving ) rather than chopped strand. I've actually seen several versions of what were supposed to be OEM ones and I believe they changed the design a few times during production. There are captive threaded studs in them: One either side of the central cut-out for the tailgate lock/pushbutton about mid-way along the width of the tailgate, and then two sets of two on the outer edges. There's a factory template for the hole drilling. The bottom ( mating ) edge was closed, so the spoiler was roughly triangular in section. It's always bugged me when well-meaning people push the cars using the spoilers. I find myself shouting at them... Probably need an aircraft-like 'NO PUSH' stencil on the back. There's not really that much holding them on, so they are vulnerable to the forces of the well-meaning pit pusher... I wouldn't recommend Sikkaflex or the like unless it was combined with nuts & bolts. There are OEM access holes in the lower closing panel of the tailgate precisely for the rear spoiler attachment nuts to be tightened through (another example - like the factory four-point cage mounts - of Nissan engineering the car to suit the Sports Option parts that were available for them in Japan ). Just remove the rubber bungs and hey-presto. The outers are outside access. I recommend you engineer some captive studs in the spoiler for the strongest and safest attachment.