432Z front grille

[Dreco]

I found a great alternative to the stock front grille. It's the grille from the 432Z (only released in Japan). here's a picture of the grille. I'll post a picture of it on my car in the future. Sorry folks, I think I got the last one from Nissan.

[HS30-H]

Hi DRECORD,

Don't want to rain on your barbecue whilst you are still enjoying it, but the PS30 Z432 had the same mesh grille as all other early Japanese Home-market S30 series Z cars. What you have found is actually a Japanese Home-market mesh grille common in all the S30 Fairlady model variants ( except the HS30-H 240ZG ).

They are still available in Japan ( I was in a specialists in Japan last week and he had a stack of about 12 in the factory boxes ) so they are out there. The trouble with Nissan at the moment is that they are telling different stories to different people. My contacts in Japan tell me they can get most parts if they put an order on a waiting list and then get patient. When Nissan have enough orders they put them together and make an order with the supplier for that part. Naturally, we know there are some items that are now unobtainable - but it seems that the Japanese specialists with the better contacts in Japan are able to get things that we outside Japan are being told cannot be had..............

The mesh grille ( to my mind ) looks a LOT better than the bar type grille. Hope that you enjoy it, but please make sure that you correctly identify it as a Japanese Home-market grille - and not specific just to the 432.

Regards,

Alan T.

[Dreco]

Thanks for the correction. I'm glad there still available. I know a few people who wanted one, but I took Nissan's word for it. I think it looks much better than the bar type grille.

[Gav240z]

I really prefer the mesh grille too but it's pretty damn expensive I hear???

[Dreco]

I believe I paid 140 dollars for it.

[260z]

Got any better pics/close ups? Seems to be pretty simple? Could be done by self with welder, bender and grinder?

[Mike]

Originally posted by DRECORD

I found a great alternative to the stock front grille. It's the grille from the 432Z (only released in Japan). here's a picture of the grille. I'll post a picture of it on my car in the future. Sorry folks, I think I got the last one from Nissan.

Where can I get one of these? Alan, you aren't still in Japan are you ?

[HS30-H]

No Mike, I'm back in cold and rainy London now ( home sweet home ).

Mind you, those grilles are a lot more than $140 in Japan - more like double or triple that last time I asked, and then the freight and duty on top. You can bet that Nissan Japan will not have any in stock, and will tell any enquirers that they do not envision making any in the near future. Like I said, its the better-connected of the specialists in Japan who can get them nowadays.

Like 260Z said - this would actually not be that difficult to fabricate at home. Its a slightly rounded-edged square section tube ( does that make sense? ) welded into an oblong shape. The mesh is tack-welded to the back of it, and some brackets attached to line up with the body mounts. Its got a very thin layer of paint with apparently no primer under it ( ! ).

I was a bit shocked when the last one I bought turned up. I figured it was rather expensive for what it was. Anyone with a welder ( or a friend with a welder ) could knock one up. The only difficult part would be getting the "kink" in the centre to match that of the bonnet ( hood ) line, but then you DO have the line there to follow anyway. Why not have a go?

By the way, if there are any grille pedants out there who are as badly afflicted as me, then they may want to know that the very earliest Japanese Home-market mesh grilles were the same across all models ( including the base Z model, the "luxury" Z-L, and the 432 and 432R ). In late 1971 Nissan changed them slightly and listed three different types; one for the Z and Z-L, one for the Fairlady 240Z series and 432, and one just for the 432R. Its a real minefield of part numbers, and since the late '70's they have offered just ONE part to cover all three types again.

Regards,

Alan T.