reliablejunkie Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Hey everyone I have recently bought my very first Z in New Zealand and i was far too excited about this car that i didn't really pay much attention to anything other then its gorgeous curves so i bought it, fixed the vacuum leak and drove the car from his drive way that day. Now that i have owned this car for several months i have been wanting to alter several things and after some serious researching i have come to the conclusion that my Z is really mixed up. My 280Z is registered as a 1984 Nissan Fairlady 280Z that was imported from Japan in the late 80's but in 1984 the 300ZX was being produced and the 280Z had finished. it also has an L20E engine which was put in 280Z's in Japan as an alternative to the 2.8L engine. I went to check the VIN and being a 280z it should state S30 but instead it states S130 which means it is a 280ZX (79-83). All the interior and exterior badges are Fairlady 280Z. Also my last thought was just the general shape of the body. The sharp rear windows, bumper and grill, and pre face lift is the same of a 280Z. Unless i have missed something that is right in front of me (something men are good at) i think this Z is actually different to what it is registered as, name and/or year. Here are several photos of my 280Z. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 That is a 280zx. I can't tell since I'm not super familiar with s130's, but do you have back seats? if so, you've got a 280zx 2+2. The last 280z was produced in 1979 I think... might have been 78 or a half year. But no doubt about it, your car is an s130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Six_Shooter Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 Yep, you own an S130, known as a 280ZX here in North America. Japan may have badged it differently, such as a 280Z. In some case, usually cars from the early to mid '70s and before it was not 7uncommon for a car to be registered as a year or two newer than it's manufacturing date would suggest. This would be due to sitting on the lot for that time, and the first year it was registered is the year it was dated as by that DMV/MOT/MTO. This is less common with newer cars where the VIN actually dictates the model year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tecreatta Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 In Japan the the s130 was badged as the Fairlady 280z when fitted with an l28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luseboy Posted March 25, 2012 Share Posted March 25, 2012 In Japan the the s130 was badged as the Fairlady 280z when fitted with an l28. Not to mention they could be aftermarket badges... unless I'm mistaken, that is not a stock paint job, so it wouldn't be far-fetched to assume that someone got it painted and wanted fairlady badges and just went for the 280z ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reliablejunkie Posted March 26, 2012 Author Share Posted March 26, 2012 (edited) Thank you everyone for the help. The Z still has the pre face lift bumpers that the 79-81 had so so i think we can come to the conclusion that it is definitely a Nissan Fairlady 280ZX made in 79-81 but registered as an 84 and badged as a 280Z. That makes life a little easier when sourcing parts in the tiny island country i live in Edited March 26, 2012 by reliablejunkie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted March 26, 2012 Share Posted March 26, 2012 ....so i think we can come to the conclusion that it is definitely a Nissan Fairlady 280ZX made in 79-81 but registered as an 84 and badged as a 280Z. That makes life a little easier when sourcing parts in the tiny island country i live in It's going to be much easier to source parts once you start forgetting about any export market specs, badging and terminology, and embrace the fact that you have a Japanese market S130-series Z... If the L20E engine currently fitted was there when it left the factory, then it's not a "280" anything. It'll be a 'Fairlady Z', 'Fairlady Z-T' or 'Fairlady Z-L', and seeing as it appears to be a '2/2' variant that means it will be either a GS130S 'Fairlady Z 2by2', a GS130J 'Fairlady Z-T 2by2' or a GS130 'Fairlady Z-L 2by2', depending on trim level and equipment. It should be fairly easy for you to pin down the sub variant if you look at the trim level, equipment and options. S130-series production began in 1978 and finished in 1983. If you quote the full chassis number here I can tell you what year it was manufactured in, but there are dating clues all over the car which would help you to pin it down further to within a couple of months or so. Don't allow yourself to be misled by red herrings such as modifications / retrofits from other models or other markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reliablejunkie Posted March 27, 2012 Author Share Posted March 27, 2012 My full chassis number is GS130-041493 and underneath that is the model number GS130JAB making this 2+2 S130 J=Grand Luxury A=Automatic B=Power steering. The automatic transmission was taken out and replaced with a manual and it was recently fitted with a turbo upgrade making it an L20ET now. is that correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galderdi Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 I agree with HS30-H. It is in no way a 280z. Here in Aus/NZ we never received the 280z (S30). Nissan used us as a dumping ground to dispose of all their surplus L26s by extending the life of the 260z. We then went straight from the 260z to the Series 1 280zx in 1978. The S130s delivered new here were all L28 engined with no turbos. Yours would seem to be a Japanese market Fairlady Z 2+2 as alaready discussed. Because of regulations in Japan they did not sell the L28 engined cars in their domestic market. I hope they didn't sell it to you as a 280z / S30 and priced accordinly? If so they have ripped you off. There is nothing wrong with an S130 but they aren't worth as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Here in Aus/NZ we never received the 280z (S30). Nissan used us as a dumping ground to dispose of all their surplus L26s by extending the life of the 260z. We then went straight from the 260z to the Series 1 280zx in 1978. I don't get the "dumping ground" comment. Nissan continued to make and sell the RS30 '260Z' model for the RHD export markets, and the RLS30 '260Z' models for LHD export markets other than north America. There was no "dumping" going on. The north American '280Z' model was arguably no better a car than the RS30s and RLS30s that were being made and sold at the same time, and it was certainly not prettier... Because of regulations in Japan they did not sell the L28 engined cars in their domestic market. ....apart from the 'HS130' Fairlady 280Z-L, 'HS130J' Fairlady 280Z-T, 'HGS130' Fairlady 280Z-L 2by2, 'HGS130J' Fairlady 280Z-T 2by2, 'KHS130JBC' Fairlady 280Z T-bar roof and 'KHGS130JBC' Fairlady 280Z T-bar roof 2by2, and all the other non-S130 series models with L28-based engines. There were no "regulations" against the L28, just taxation bracketing to fit into. The larger engined models fell into a higher ( more expensive ) taxation bracket, and that made the under 2 litre capacity more accessible. Nissan made cars to suit the Japanese market, with more choice of model variation, sub variants and factory options than any of its export markets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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