HS30-H

There's not much to 'decode' on S30-series Z chassis numbers / 'VINs'. The car itself will tell you more. What's the VIN?

Collateral damage.

So, did you learn anything? You asked for a link to photos of my cars, I gave them, and you don't seem to have any further questions. Like Nietzsche, I feel like I'm staring into the abyss, and that the abyss is staring back at me.....

The Nissan Fairlady 240ZG ( you would not have seen the word 'Datsun' anywhere on it when it was new ) didn't have any cuts to its factory sheetmetal. The Over-Fenders were pop-rivetted over intact, stock S30-series Z sheetmetal. I'm quite nonplussed that people don't seem to understand what a 'Homologation Special' actually was. Why the comments about skinny wheels and tyres? The Fairlady 240ZG wasn't a race car. It was a road car. But it was a road car that only existed because the manufacturer wanted to use certain parts - and evolutions of those parts - for racing, and needed to make and sell the car in adequate numbers in order to legalise that with the race sanctioning bodies. Think Dodge Charger Daytona, Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500, Alfa GTA, and any Group B rally car, etc etc. Same thing.

So the nose and flares had to be offered from the factory to be used in particular race classes but wheels/tires/larger flares didn't matter? Also, do you know of any OEM G noses or headlight covers for sale at the moment? For proper ( fully compliant ) Group 4 homologation of the parts in question - and the evolutions that followed them - Nissan had to make a special variant of the S30-series Z which carried those parts, make enough of them to comply with the requirements of the homologation, and sell them to the general public. Hence the creation of the 'HS30-H' model 'Fairlady 240ZG'. Actually, the dominant reason for Nissan making the Fairlady 240ZG model with 'Over-Fenders' was in order to homologate the extra width of the car. At that time, FIA Group 4 and JAF GT rules allowed the cars racing in those classes to have add-on panels, but there were restrictions on the overall length and width of the car related to its homologated body dimensions. Homologation of the 240ZG allowed add-on panels that were potentially wider and longer than would have been legal on the 'stock' S30-series Z body. Race wheels and tyres are not really relevant to all this. They had nothing to do with the road cars. You want the genuine parts? NOS OEM G-nose panels pop up occasionally for sale in Japan, but they are usually very expensive. They are also fairly expensive to ship internationally. Since I've seen you balk at the cost of shipping Japan->USA for ( the next best thing to OEM ) Marugen Shokai's replica parts, this probably won't be much help to you. I have a spare NOS lower panel ( the biggest single part of the ZG's 'kit' ) but I would not part with it for anything less than what you would probably think was crazy money. But why should I? These things are rare, sought after and pretty much impossible to replace. Anyone who owns a genuine ZG would - naturally - prefer to replace damaged or missing panels with the real thing if they can. If not, the Marugen Shokai parts are the closest alternative. My advice? If you want the best, then you have no choice but to pay. You won't find NOS OEM parts cheaper than than Marugen Shokai's replicas, and they cost the same to ship.....

Lots of photos ( as far as I remember ) in my Gallery section on classiczcars.com: http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/u2116-hs30-h.html A more recently updated thread on my 432-R replica project on the gtr.co.uk forum: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/236658-1969-nissan-s20-twin-cam-engine-rebuild.html A thread on my KPGC10 on the gtr-co.uk forum: http://www.gtr.co.uk/forum/59651-1971-kpgc10-skyline-gt-r-arrives-uk.html Same car on Speedhunters: http://www.speedhunters.com/2012/08/car-feature-hakosuka-skyline/ If only...!

Yes, but you would have to pay to see them.

In the spirit of my Obsessive Compulsion, a note about the spelling of 'Marugen Shokai': I see a lot of people - in fact just about everybody, including the company in question (!) - spelling the word 'Shokai' as Shoukai'. In fact, that's not strictly correct. You'll see me writing it as 'Marugen Shokai', but I really ought to be writing the word 'Shokai' with a macron over the letter 'o'. Unfortunately it seems that the HybridZ forum software won't allow that particular character ( at least I'm guessing that's the case, as whenever I try to use it and hit and hit the Add Reply button I get a database error message ). That macron is a diacritic that signifies a double stress on a vowel when Japanese is written in 'Romaji'. Phonetically, you just pronounce a long 'o' sound instead of a short one. The name of the company in normally written in Kanji. The third and fourth Kanji form the word 'Shokai' ( pronounced 'show-kye' - 'show' as in 'car show' and 'kye' to rhyme with 'sky' ), which translates - in its simplest form - as 'Company'. Think of it as 'Marugen Company' or 'Marugen & Co.' and you are getting the gist of it. 'Shoukai' is a different word entirely. It's most commonly used in connection with introduction. It's not the correct Romaji spelling for a company name. And breathe.......

Perhaps you don't understand the process pf 'Homologation'? Nobody expected the cars to be raced with "ridiculously narrow" wheels.... Building the 'HS30-H' Fairlady 240ZG model and selling a certain number of them to the general public allowed Nissan - and anybody else - to use the ''Aerodyna Nose' / Grande Nose' and 'Over-Fenders' in the FIA's 'Group 4' racing class and JAF's GT classes. In fact, it also allowed them to use wider over-fenders on the race cars than those attached to the stock 240ZG and opened the way for evolutions of the model ( attached air dams, spoilers, ducts, etc etc ). It was simply a way to legalise the parts they wanted to use for racing. Here's the JAF / FIA homologation for the 240ZG model:

The good news is that the '240Z' emblem for the 'Fairlady 240Z' was exactly the same as the one used for the Export models, so you should have no trouble in finding new ones. The 'Fairlady' emblems can be tricky to source, but you have an option. If you were careful - and I've seen this done very effectively - you can cut off the letter 'Z' from the 'FairladyZ' emblems and re-touch the cut-off stub to look OEM. Job done! I can sympathise with the part about being tired of parts hunting. But it will be worth it in the end. Chin up, and good luck!

This is HybridZ! I can see what you are doing with your car, and I'm perfectly happy with what you are doing with it. I don't need to ask you anything about the G-nose as you have already explained it in your thread. Simply, my point is that the 'FairladyZ' emblems are the 'wrong' emblems for a Fairlady 240ZG...... The title of the thread, the replica 'Grande Nose' on the car and the word "homage" all imply that you are aiming at a certain look - a 'tip of the hat' to the original Fairlady 240ZGs, yes? But the real ZGs used 'Fairlady 240ZG' emblems ( two emblems placed side-by-side: One 'Fairlady' script, and one '240Z' ) rather than the 'FairladyZ' script you have used. The 'FairladyZ' script emblems were only used on 2 litre ( L20A / S20 / L20AE ) engined models, and therefore not appropriate to the L24-engined 'Fairlady 240ZG' model. It's a small detail, but worth knowing I think.

Can I ask, why the 'Fairlady Z' emblems?

I presume your "history lesson" comments are directed at me? Sorry, but how can you possibly hope to have an objective discussion about products available to purchase today if you don't know what they are professing to be copies / replicas / knockoffs of. You used the term "ZG flares" in the title of the thread. That means something specific. Especially to people like me, who happen to own the real thing. The point about The Real Thing is that they did fit properly, and they were manufactured in a way that allowed them to do that. Some of the so-called replicas I've seen are nothing like the originals in terms of their shape, so I can't see how they can ever possibly fit the car properly. It's no wonder we see so many different positioning results with such parts, and no wonder people often - mistakenly - fit them to the wrong side of their car. It's almost impossible to do this with the real thing unless you are a complete dunce. Above are some photos for reference. This is a genuine NOS OEM 240ZG 'over-fender', marked with the OEM manufacturer's silver sticker indicating the fitment location ( 'FR' = Front Right ). Notice that - when laid mating-surface down on a flat surface - it will not sit flat. In fact, it sits like a 'tripod' on both ends and one point roughly in the middle of the panel. The gaps - measured roughly at their widest points - are as much as 20mm. The OUTER face on the other hand will sit pretty much flat on a flat surface. It doesn't need to be bent or twisted in order to fit the front right fender / wing correctly, and is under little or no stress when it is attached correctly. As far as I am aware - and this is something that I watch carefully - the only aftermarket pieces that have the same shaping details and the same standard of fitment as the OEM pieces are manufactured by Marugen Shokai in Muroran, Hokkaido, Japan. In fact. it was that company's original raison d'etre to accurately reproduce and replicate the OEM 240ZG parts when the originals became NLA, and they expanded after being set up on that premise. They are - to all intents and purposes - pretty much a one-man, artisan operation. I have dealt with them, have bought some of their products for myself and also sourced some for others. Never any issues. Great products. It would probably be better if the people who design and manufacture their own "flares" did not refer to them as "ZG" flares unless they were acceptably close to the shape, detail and fitment of the originals. That's not going to happen though, is it?

I'll have lots to say on the subject when you're ready, but I think now is the time to point out that you should make it clear who manufactures the parts that you are getting "from RHD Japan". RHD Japan is not the manufacturer. You should quote the name of the source, not the agent.

They were an aftermarket creation. Nothing to do with OEM, although Nissan had plenty of ( homologated ) race overfenders in various widths available from their Sports / Race Options catalogues. Marugen Shokai ( again ) make the best quality version of the WIDE ZG-lookalike overfenders, as far as I am aware.

Also nothing like The Real Thing, which is what I'm talking about.

Having seen one too many erroneous and misinformed statements regarding 'replica' / 'copy' / 'knock-off' ( etc ) 240ZG Overfenders, I decided it's time for a reality check. The Real Thing was well made and fitted the S30-series Z's body properly. They were not inordinately thick ( average thickness was around 4mm ) and they were pliable. They were not in any way "universal" and their contours were shaped to fit the S30 body at the individual side and corner of the car that they were tailored to. They were not designed to be used with any kind of VW-like 'beading' between the Overfender and bodywork, and they were designed to be Pop-riveted directly to the body. The very first factory Overfenders for the S30-series Z were the Nissan Sports / Race Option items designed for the Fairlady Z432-R, and dated from early 1970. The factory 240ZG production items - as seen on the 'HS30-H' Fairlady 240ZG homologation model sold to the general public from October 1971 - were not as wide or as full as the Sport / Race Option 432-R items. They were designed, made and sold to the general public purely to homologate them for legal race use, and this allowed the factory race cars to use even wider overfenders as an evolution of the OEM parts. See photos below for comparison between an NOS 432-R Sports / Race Option overfender and an NOS factory 240ZG overfender. Notice the contours of the side that mates to the body of the car. They are not 'flat' and they are not 'universal'.

The OEM 240ZG 'overfenders' were well made, and fitted properly. Your problem is that you are confusing 'copies' of copies of copies ( sometimes 'copied' from something nowhere near the OEM shapes and quality ) with The Real Thing. If you bought the best available replication of the OEM quality, then you wouldn't have a problem. So pay Marugen Shokai for their product and be done with it.

It's a valid e-mail address, but they have it set in 'half-width' characters as an anti-spam measure. It should work if you cut and paste from the exact text and font below: jalopy@dream.ocn.ne.jp

Their e-mail address is: jalopyï¼ dream.ocn.ne.jp

Japanese market cars didn't have a door jamb tag. Your 1971 Fairlady Z-L would have had the chassis number / 'Shatai Bango' on only TWO places on the car: The engraved prefix and body serial number combination on the firewall, and the alloy tag on the strut tower in the engine bay. Nothing on the door jamb and nothing on the dash top.

Perfect - 'blank' - replicas of the engine bay tags for Japanese market models ( including your 'S30' prefixed 1971 Fairlady Z-L ) are available from restoration shop 'REVIVE JALOPY' in Saitama, Japan. They'll even stamp them up with your chassis number if you prove 100% that you own it....

The chances of finding, matching-up and somehow combining two identical body serial numbers with different prefixes ( like 'RLS30-000123' and 'GRLS30-000123' ) are akin to winning the Lottery. Somehow I just don't buy it. This query is ringing a bell in my memory. Have you posted about it before, here or elsewhere...?

I have seen S30-series Z firewall chassis number ( 'Shatai Bango' / 'VIN' ) engravings 'corrected' by Nissan Shatai at the manufacturing stage, and 'corrected' after factory recall on certain models. NO WAY would a "mis-stamped" / incorrect chassis prefix and body serial combination make it out of the door at Nissan Shatai, let alone through the whole system and onto a ship for export. And that's even without addressing the problems it would cause at the receiving end. Sorry but it's an impossibility. The most likely scenario is that parts of your car are from another car entirely, and the work has been done by previous owners. If the firewall engraved number ( and some of the sheetmetal around it ) or the whole firewall has not been replaced with one from a 'GRS30' 2+2 then possibly the whole back-end of the car has. The reasons for such a swap are usually nefarious.... I've seen a 'GRS30' prefixed chassis number on what appeared to be a pre-1974 production 2-seater RHD car, and the story behind that one was that the whole front end of the GRS30 - the firewall and everything in front of it - was grafted onto the remains of a crashed 2-seater body. The result was neither fish nor fowl.