HS30-H Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 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'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hypertek Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Most pictures ive seen of japanese Zs with flares, are just riveted on with no fender welting. Japanese -made fiberglass parts tend to be high quality. Where as copied parts elsewhere, lose a bit of the fitment quality from decades of duplication. I got a set of jdmflares.com , and the flares lost alot of that flat mounting surface that the original styles had https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/1891191_10152116762463557_101635720_n.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPN_Garage Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 Here is our flares, Not flat at all. www.jpngarage.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 So where did the WIDE version of the ZG flares come from? Whom makes a GOOD version of these that will fit the body correctly? I know ZForce Productions makes some but I am not privy to the quality of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 Here is our flares, Not flat at all. Also nothing like The Real Thing, which is what I'm talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted March 21, 2014 Author Share Posted March 21, 2014 So where did the WIDE version of the ZG flares come from? Whom makes a GOOD version of these that will fit the body correctly? 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helghast7 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 So where do people get good quality flares then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Is is possible for one to get the wider flares that Nissan/Datsun created and sold in their catalogues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rturbo 930 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) So where do people get good quality flares then? From the post right above yours... Marugen Shokai ( again ) make the best quality version of the WIDE ZG-lookalike overfenders, as far as I am aware. Edited April 1, 2014 by rturbo 930 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texis30O Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 I sent an inquiry out to RHD Japan. I hope to get a response soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helghast7 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Oh, I thought that was only for the wide versions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnye Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Why did they even bother with the flares to begin with? Those wheels are so ridiculously narrow..? Also, HS30-H - I have been trying to PM you about possibly sourcing a G nose but it appears your inbox is full? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RB26powered74zcar Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 So where do people get good quality flares then? http://www.rhdjapan.com/ ~Marugen Shoukai~ overfenders > http://www.rhdjapan.com/solrsearch/index/index/id/19896/?q=Marugen+Shoukai+S30+S31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Why did they even bother with the flares to begin with? Those wheels are so ridiculously narrow..? 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: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 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....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Got any pictures of Mr M. S.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 Got any pictures of Mr M. S.? Yes, but you would have to pay to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rnye Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 (edited) 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: Great post! Thanks for the reply. 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? Edited April 3, 2014 by rnye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
helghast7 Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Thanks for the link to the flares. I actually saw them but the title threw me off because their listed as zg fenders wide. I thought that meant the extra wide fenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 HS30-H. Your car must be the real deal. You got a link to a photo album of your car? I would just like to enjoy checking it out, nothing weird or anything. You just seem to really have your shit together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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