240z cartoon

[Guycali]

Yeah. GT2 does have a 1971 240Z ZG Fairlady in it. It's available in Nissan used car section around 20th day. It's also available at different times through out the game as well. It's priced at around $7K I think. I bought one and it was only available in White. Funny tho, it came with a 5spd tranny. .

The gearing of the tranny in the game by default does not match with any actual gearing from real cars, 240Z to 280ZX. I'd recommend purchasing a full-customizable racing tranny ($11K) to get the correct factory gear ratios for the best simulation and realism. At 150hp stock, the car is dog slow...

-Guycali

[HS30-H]

Funny tho, it came with a 5spd tranny.

All the HS30 Fairlady Zs in the "Home" ( Japan ) market came with 5 speeds from October 1971 on, and of course that included the Fairlady ZG ( HS30-H ) model. Unless of course you were one of the very few people who desired the HS30-HA model with the automatic transmission. Funny - seems there were some people who DID think this a good idea....................

Only the USA market got lumped with a really long diff. ratio and a four speed with no other choice ( tee hee! ).

They also had a really nice Sports and Competition Options list from 1969 onwards, and diff. ratios from 3.154 up to 5.143 if needed. Have you ever seen the full Japanese Competition and Sports Option parts lists? ( Not the American ones ).

Shame you could not get all this on GT2.

[zep]

Mmmm,I like the front spoiler on that Z in the clip. Is there one made like that?

[Ivan]

yes, 240z g-nose i beleive, incedently also the one in GT2

[Alfadog]

Alan,

From october '71 you say? Does this include all RHD countries such as Australia and England?

My car is HS...3031 series 2 and it has a 5 speed in it - I always assumed it had been replaced at some stage but when I asked the bloke at teh "Z Workshop" he said all Australian Z's came with a 5 speed.

Which implied that even the ones before '71 had them...

Would you mind telling me the full story, if you dont mind of course?

[HS30-H]

Hi Alfadog!

Sure. I don't mind getting a chance to preach the Bible!......

ALL the "Export" version right hand drive cars from year dot had five speeds - so that's why your official Australian-market car had one from standard. All these cars had the chassis type "HS30" ( the "H" prefix before the base model type "S30" denotes that it had the L24 engine, and the lack of the "L" prefix between that H and the S30 denotes that it was a right hand drive ). These "Export" ( i.e. non-Japanese home market ) HS30's were made from early 1970 ( they only made home-market PS30, PS30-SB, S30 & S30S types in 1969, apart of course from the USA - aimed HLS30 cars ) and that is why some of the RAREST SURVIVOR variants of the S30 Z car are the early 1970 HS30 types.

Very few of these were made in the first year of production, and you got the bulk of them down there in Australia ( you lucky dogs! ).

So, ignoring all the brackets and other stuff in the above paragraph, all Export-version RHD cars had five-speeds and most of them had the 3.9 diff. ratio.

As the game designers are Japanese, they tend to design the games according to what was locally available. However, they are not necessarily up to speed with all the correct info. from 30 years ago - so they can make mistakes. I noticed a "Fairlady Z" crop up in my GT2 game that had a G-nose on it. This would have to be a "Fairlady 240Z" and the H suffix variant at that, if it were a true factory-built ZG.

In October 1971 the Japanese "home" market also got the chance to get the L24-engined variant HS30's ( previous to this, only two-litre L-series engined Fairlady Z and Z-L S30 and S30S types, and the S20 twin-cam engined Fairlady Z432 and Z432-R PS30 & PS30-SB were available in the Japanese home market ). The 2-litre cars were still available, but a whole new addition of L24-engined cars ( badged as "FAIRLADY 240Z" ) became available. All of these had five-speeds and a choice of diff. ratio, and included the Fairlady 240ZG ( HS30-H ) which was a limited-production model intended to homologate aerodynamic body parts that the factory wanted to use for racing. From October 1971, the most expensive model in the Japanese home market was the automatic-transmission equipped version of the ZG ( the HS30-HA ) - which incredibly was more expensive than the S20 twin-cam equipped Z432 ( PS30 ) which was still listed up until 1973!

For my money, the Japanese home-market cars have always been the most interesting. They had so many more variants, and many of them, especially after late 1971, had better specs than the "Export" versions. They also had an absolutely astounding factory Options and Sports / Competition parts list available to them. Most Z owners outside Japan do not realise how extensive these lists were, and the books on the Z that are written in English very rarely seem to get it right. They almost always dismiss the Japanese home-market cars as some inferior base-model ( mainly because up to Oct.'71 they could only get 2 litres ).

At the risk of starting a whole new thread, ( and probably a small nuclear war! ) I will say once again that in my opinion the USA-market export version HLS30 was a mass-produced "basic" model that was specced down for that particular market to keep prices low. Even the European export version HLS30 types had a five-speed transmission. It seems plain that the S30 series Z was DESIGNED as a RHD car, and that the LHD versions were something of a compromise ( check out that handbrake location ).

I am now retreating into my nuclear bunker.

Yours etc. Alan T. ( HS30-H ) ( "I love brackets" )..............

[Alfadog]

Why dont you write a book? I'm serious!

I really want a Z432... problem is I'm guessing they'd be VERY hard to find and buy, as Japan isn't into keeping old cars and thus Z's are worth a fortune over there...

What is your car? Have you got a webpage or anything about it?

[HS30-H]

Hi Alfadog,

WHO told you that the Japanese aren't into keeping old cars? I used to live there, and there is a MASSIVE classic car scene there.

I think the misconception comes from seeing that the Japanese have very low market values for cars that are three or four years old. At that point, it is simply cheaper to trade in for a new model, and consequently the unwanted but still by our standards good low mileage cars filter down into the used car export market at very low prices.

I well remember seeing Russian trawler ships in the northern ports hoisting K-cars onto their decks ( and piling them two or three deep! ) to take home to Russia. The sailors bought them locally for peanuts ( de-registered, and with no papers in some cases ) and would sell them at home at a profit.

Most of the more desirable models filter out into the Japanese rural areas, where people are generally less affluent and hoover up the slightly out-of-fashion stuff that is a few years old. Hence after a few more years, when things become "neo-Classic" like the R32 GT-R is now, people go out into the "sticks" to find them. In this way a real lot of old stuff has survived. You would not believe the amount of 60's and 70's cars that are lurking in the countryside - most of them cherished by their owners..........

I would consider writing a book if I thought I could do a good job and it would be popular. However, I probably could not ( too many brackets! ) and it would NOT be popular, as I would tend to veer towards the historical aspect of the domestic Japanese race scene of the late 60's and early 70's. That would be what they call "Vanity Publishing".....................

My cars here in the UK ( London ) are slightly unusual. The main one is a 1972 FAIRLADY ZG ( HS30-H ) that is the only genuine factory-built ZG in Europe. I have owned it for about 5 years now, and it is constantly having parts changed on it; I have a fetish for early 70's Sports Option and race parts, especially factory race parts, and it has quite a few special bits on it now. Most of them are under the skin ( adjustable suspension with rose-jointed compression struts and TCAs, F.I.A four-pot ventilated brakes, LSD with cooler pump, triple Mikunis, Rally cam etc ) and some of them you can actually see ( Option roll bar, Datsun U0175 "Bucket" seats and "Compe" steering wheel ). I even like period stickers, and find that they are the most effective method of making the car go fast..........

The other car is a long-term project ( because money comes in slowly and goes out fast! ) - its an early 1970 Japanese-market S30 model that I am mutating into a Z432-R "Replica", with an S20 engine, Ikeda Bussan factory race seats, Kobe Seiko wheels, 100 litre fuel tank etc etc. The body is now in the paint shop ( 920 Gold - one of the original Z432-R colours, which I love because so many people hate; even in Japan they call that colour "unchi" - which means s**t coloured ). The challenge is to make something that looks and sounds unusual, but is "period correct". There does not seem to be any point in making a 432R replica with an L-series engine. The S20 engine is rather expensive and even more expensive to get big power from, but its all about "flavour".

I don't have a website or anything, but I could mail you some photos if you are interested.

Australia seems like a bit of a Happy Hunting Ground for cool Z cars and parts. Is that true? I have heard about parts over there that I would be shocked to find over here.

My posts always end up so long.....................

All the best,

Alan T.

[HS30-H]

Oh, and another thing.

You might be surprised at the prices that good Z cars change hands for in Japan. There are a real lot of mid-market cars that are good condition ( because of their strict "shakken" test ) and the prices are not too bad. Buying from a dealer is more expensive, and if buying for export you can get a much cheaper deal than you might think.

However, it seems that you have quite a low local market value for the Z in Australia ( am I right? ) and it might look expensive in Japan if the exchange rate is not so favourable. However, you are at least closer to Japan that I am here in the UK!

If you want a 432, there are still quite a few on the road in Japan. I drove two last year, and they are not all that fast of course. However, with the five-speed that has closer ratios, and the 4.44 LSD, the car is really well balanced and is GREAT fun to drive. The flavour is all there, and having a little six that is happy to spin up to 8000 rpm is really a treat for the senses ( especially aural ).

Trouble is that the cheapest 432's change hands around the 4,000,000 Yen mark. Don't know what your $AUS to Yen exchange rate is, but its bound to look expensive to you ( and me.... ). Prices are going UP, not down.

Dream on......... eh?

Alan T.

[Mr Camouflage]

I started working on a 3D modle of a 240z a while ago, but have been too busy to get any further than the headlights, surrounds, and front bumper. My aim was to create a highly detailed accurate model, not the type you would use in a game, but photorealistic quality to improve my modelling skills. I intend to modell all parts (eg, body pannels, engine components, etc) seperatlly so that eventually I'll have a complete virtual model of a 240z. This project will take forever, and I'll probably have to buy a 240z to take measurments off. Well that's my excuse buy a 240z.

Mr Camouflage

[Mr Camouflage]

Originally posted by Alfadog

Alan,

From october '71 you say? Does this include all RHD countries such as Australia and England?

My car is HS...3031 series 2 and it has a 5 speed in it - I always assumed it had been replaced at some stage but when I asked the bloke at teh "Z Workshop" he said all Australian Z's came with a 5 speed.

Which implied that even the ones before '71 had them...

Would you mind telling me the full story, if you dont mind of course?

The 240Z was released in Australia in 1970 with a 5 speed manual. In 1970 they sold 110 units. 1971 they sold 751 units, stock shortages in 1972 cut sales to 534 units. Source: Modern Motor, January 1974 ( Australian magazine).

Not sure if/when an automatic transmission model was released.

I know the 260z 2+2's had autos because I knew a girl that owned one. She now has a 85 300zx.

Mr Camouflage

[Mike]

Originally posted by Mr Camouflage

I started working on a 3D modle of a 240z a while ago, but have been too busy to get any further than the headlights, surrounds, and front bumper. My aim was to create a highly detailed accurate model, not the type you would use in a game, but photorealistic quality to improve my modelling skills. I intend to modell all parts (eg, body pannels, engine components, etc) seperatlly so that eventually I'll have a complete virtual model of a 240z. This project will take forever, and I'll probably have to buy a 240z to take measurments off. Well that's my excuse buy a 240z.

Mr Camouflage

What about buying a good plastic model kit? The car is already in pieces and you can assemble it on the computer AND in real life.