Found: Z with a G nose

[CoastGuardZ]

Okay here it goes...

On my way to Savannah, GA the other day I damn near broke my neck when I caught a glimpse of a Blue long nosed car on the side of Highway 17 in someones yard. Yup it was a 240 and appeared to have a... no could it be? ... yes it had a G-nose and a fender mounted mirror. Well we picked up my mother in-law from the Sav. airport and I swung by real quick to try and get a better look. It looked pretty rough. Only had the drivers (left) side mirror and the nose (which was fiberglass ) was cracked. It also had no badges on it was equipped with the most ridiculously wide tires and rims with a set of $13.99 Wal-Mart hub caps. Do to the small and very dead animal hood my wife would not let waste any time getting out to really check out the car but if I get time next week I will try to go back ( It's about an hour and a half from here) just to satisfy my curiosity.

Question. How does one tell if the G-nose was a Dealer added option (which I believe I have heard of), or a more recent aftermarket add-on like MSA?

Thanks and If i do go back I'll try to snap some pics.

Nate

[v12horse]

I think you are asking how can one tell if it was a factory 240zg or a Z with a g-nose. 1st giveaway if it is a 240zg is that it MUST be RHD. 2nd is that all 240zg's were painted either GP red, GP maroon, or GP white. 3rd the vin # must start with HS30-. Even with all of this it does not insure that one has found a true 240ZG from the factory, but if any of these are not there than you know it is not a Fairlady 240zg. If you ever do get to see a g-nose in person, look at the nose, is it one piece? Or does it look like it is made of separate headlight buckets, top panel, bumper, and under front thingie. I don't know the lingo. Anyways, back to 240zg. The 240zg had a 5-piece nose, oh and don't forget the dark grey bolt on fender flares. If you are more interested I could send you some pictures and tell you everything I know about the 240zg. I do not know a whole lot, but I am trying to learn. Member HS30-H has an exceptional example of a factory 240ZG. Just type HS30-H in the search bar for gallery and you will see what one looks like.

I hope I helped to answer your question.

-Ben:classic:

[Mr Camouflage]

I think the Fender Flares, were not bolted on, they were Riveted on.

[CoastGuardZ]

Hey Ben,

appreciate the reply. I am aware of the ZG and how they look, awesome amoung other fine words to describe them. What I am talking about is I have heard of dealers here in US back in the '70's installing the g nose which was sold by nissan as an add on. A perfect example is the yellow 240 on the "dream car garage" poster that I have seen labled as Mr. K.'s and it is also used on the Nissanusa.com site in the heritage section. It has a G nose and wire wheels with no flares. I am just curious if there is a way to tell the Nissan add-on apart from the the MSA part.

Thanks again.

Nate

[HS30-H]

Hi Nate,

Amen to what Ben wrote above. And Mr Camouflage is right, the original Overfenders on the Factory ZG were attached with big Pop rivets.

The example of the yellow "Mr K." car is a useful one. That car was NOT a real ZG, but I believe that it DID wear a genuine Nissan option G-Nose. The very earliest of these were virtually the same as those used on the Factory ZG model cars ( the "HS30-H" ) and were made in Japan. However, within a very short time Datsun Competition in the USA were supplying locally-sourced copies.

I would say that the best thing to do in this kind of situation is to trust your eyes and use a good cold-blooded attitude when inspecting the car. Don't get carried away by the apparent presence of a G-Nose or replica G-Nose, as the base car is the most important factor. If you are thinking of buying, then don't let the G-Nose issue sway you. If you really want to go the G-Nose or ZG replica route then that is something that can fairly easily be achieved at a later date. I can always offer my help on that score.

All the usual caveats will apply when looking at the base car. I presume it will be LHD and a USA-market model. If it turns out to be RHD, then try to collect extra data; the VIN number, approximate date of manufacture ( try to ascertain this from the usual detail change points ) and the original base colour of the car. Take a note pad if necessary. Note down anything you think unusual. There's always a chance with an RHD car in the USA that the present owner does not know what he has got. That can be either a good or a bad thing; in many cases the owner thinks he has something that in fact he does not..........

To identify a genuine Factory G-Nose, just look at the quality. The originals were a very accurate and neat job, with the lower panel made from fine woven GRP mat. They have lots of captive nuts in little cages. Corners and edges are sharp and well-defined. The later radiator inlet panels have ducts / air flow mouldings on them which are easily visible ( they were to assist the air con ). They are separate mouldings that are bolted on. They are very thin with a smooth outer surface and many people mistake them for aluminium panels. They are not. The earlier cars did not have these at all ( like mine ) as they were an attempted fix for the overheating issues that automatic transmissioned air-con equipped cars were suffering . The bonnet ( sorry - hood ) extension panel is a one-piece moulding that is SMOOTH on both sides. You will have to put your hand up inside the car's mouth to ascertain this ( tell it to say AAAH ). Originals have strengthening ribs moulded into the underside. The original front bumpers were big and heavy one-piece urethane mouldings. They are slightly squishy to the touch, but harden up a lot with age. If you flick it with your finger it should not sound hollow or hard.

Aftermarket and even the later Datsun Competition G-Nose replica panels are usually made from chopped strand GRP, with the front bumper being made from the same stuff. Just look at the quality and decide for yourself whether you think its any good or not. Some of the better ones are excellent quality, and quite good enough. However, the real ones are a cut above that. They really are very good. A race mechanic friend of mine ( he used to work in the carbon fibre shops that made the bodies for the Mercedes cars that flipped at Le Mans a few years ago.....! ) had a look at my ZG and said that the lower panel was 'top notch' stuff. Race-quality he reckoned.

If you want any detail photos then PM me your e-mail address and I'll get some over to you.

Fingers crossed that you'll get a Z soon:classic:

Good luck!

Alan T.

edit: has this post disappeared? Its not showing as it should......

[HS30-H]

bump test

[CoastGuardZ]

Hey Alan.

As always, OUTSTANDING information and extremely informative. I was beginning to think what I had heard about these factory optioned non-ZG cars was false but you have restored my faith in mankind:D I think I will have time this weekend to head back out there and check it out and you can be assured I'm taking a copy of your response to help I.D. this G-nosed Z in what I consider to be about the weirdest places to find a Z in the U.S. (very back-wooded, redneck, and country). I'd love to see some of those pictures too. I'll PM you with my email.

Thanks

Nate

[hls30.com]

Hey Coastguard,

Take a closer look at SC, before you start talking smack about the "very back-wooded, redneck, and country" parts of Georgia!

check the US Census literacy ratings for Charleston County SC VS Chatham County Ga.-you might be supprised! We have all kinds of folks with all kinds of cars, and as fer as I kin tell, aint nobody ever said that all rednecks are too lacking in taste (wheels excluded) to have a g-nose Z car! I PMed you to save you the trip, and send pictures! I was not going to take your thunder or the G-nose, just save you the gas and time if it wasn't a diamond in the rough!

Will

[CoastGuardZ]

Hey Will,

Due to the fact that we are conversing through words on screens some of the finer points of the English language aren't always included via typed messages. Sorry to offend let me explain...

A. I left out a fact in the original post... on my way to Sav. Ga... I wasn't in GA yet.. the car resides off I-26 exit 31 (17 S) in South Carolina.

B. I was born in Texas. Then moved to SC when I was just 2. I am now 24 and have spent 17 years of my life in the Charleston area. Therefore making me one of these Rednecks, and yes I do have a dog and drive a 4WD pick up, a Frontier to be exact.

Now in defense of my home state (although sense I got married I now have to refer to Western New York as home:tapemouth)...

I took your advice and visited the US Census site and unfortuantly found nothing on literacy rates but did find info on % 5 and over that do not speak English well and % 16-19 Not enrolled in HS and not a HS graduate numbers are as follows respectfully... Chatham 2.6 and 10.2. Charleston 2.4 and 8.9. Now this is quite sad that this is still a problem in 2004.

Now in my defense I have never lived in Charleston county. I live and have always lived in Berkeley county (read only semi-backwooded ) and the numbers for Berkeley are 2.2 and 7.1%.

Of course all this is in good fun and no offense meant, I have frequented Sav. , GA many times and plan to many more... plus it's cheaper to fly in and out of SAV than CHS.

I are edyakated

Nate:stupid:

[hls30.com]

CoastGuard, please realize that my tongue was in my cheek and my eyes were full of devilment when I posted that reply-I mean how bad can you be, You were born in Texas(me too-I was born in College Station-moved to Sav @3), you love Zcars, you have sense enough to move to the south, and you take a joke well, and you risk breaking you neck to catch a glimpse of what could be a g-nose!:classic:

I told you you would be suprised-I didn't say "pleasantly, or that I was proud of the info either!:dead:

If you want to meet to go over the car, let me know! I have a digital camera and an interest in seeing the car-I have never seen anything but pictures of a g-nose, though I have read-ok I looked at the pictures-all about them-including all of the terrific information-and more importantly picture-on this thread!!

Shouldn't that be edumakated-well it is on this side of THE river!

Will

[CoastGuardZ]

Will,

Ahh, edumaketed it is!

I'll talk with the wife to see whats up But I might be able to pull it off this Sunday. Maybe we could meet for coffee or the like. I'll keep you informed.

Nate

I still need to get off the wallet for one of them "fancy cameras what takes no film"

[hls30.com]

I bought one of them cameras-but nobody can tell me how to git the pichers out!

Maybe it just wants to take pictures of a G-nose!

At least your wife will hear the idea of traveling to see a Z!

Unless we are pulling it home, mine is afraid of becomming emotionally attatched!

Will