HS30-H

That looks much too dark to me. You need to be aiming for a mid to dark gunmetal grey metallic. I don't know what cars you would have locally that I could point the colour out from ( I live in London, England ), so its a bit difficult! Its definitely better to err on the grey side rather than have it too dark, in my opinion. However, some Japanese replica ZG's can be seen with darker shades of metallic grey. I notice that the owners of white ZG replicas in particular sometimes seem to go for either a darker or lighter shade than the original Factory colour. Have a look at the pictures of my Factory ZG in my Gallery. I think there are some pics in there that will give you a good clue to the correct shade if you blow them up a bit. Good luck, Alan T.

The original Factory colour was a metallic Gunmetal Grey. BMW used to have a stock colour called 'Anthracite' which is just about perfect. I got a small bottle of touch-up paint from a fellow ZG owner in Japan, and he had it mixed to match his Factory paint on the lower panel. Its an almost perfect match to the BMW Anthracite. Almost any dark metallic grey colour is going to look OK. They were never black from the Factory. Alan T.

We should not forget that the non-crossflow layout is not just a Nissan thing. The inlet-over-exhaust and non-crossflow layouts ( inc. flatheads ) have been used with good effect since the birth of the Internal Combustion Engine. Brett hit the nail on the head; its all related to cost. When it comes down to it, a well-designed non-crossflow layout can work very well compared to a crossflow design - but the crossflow layout is theoretically superior if its potential is realised. The design of the L-series Nissan engine predates the S30-series Z by some years. Its ancestry is somewhat contentious, as there is always talk of its being derived from one of the Mercedes patents that was licensed by the Prince Motor Co. - but Nissan enthusiasts in Japan point out that the L-series 4 and 6 cylinder engines were already at the planning stage before Nissan absorbed Prince.................. The Nissan L-series 4 & 6 make very good use of their theoretically inferior layouts, and very high efficiency can be obtained from the heads with a little extra work. In stock form, the non-crossflow layout has its advantages; one of which is fast warm-up ( always good for the longevity of an engine ). Production costs are also lower than a crossflow design, especially at the casting stage. Nissan developed a crossflow head for the L-series engine primarily to use it in racing and rallying. This was the "LY" head, which was a two-valve, single overhead cam two-valve design with a hemispherical combustion chamber. The spark plugs were located on the exhaust side of the head. A specially-plumbed inlet manifold design was used to aid fast warm-up and efficient cooling. There was an aftermarket crossflow head design for both the L-series 4 and 6 cylinder engines, which was made by a company called "O.S.Giken". Their TC24-B1 design for the L-series 6 was a 24-valve, twin cam hemi design with the spark plugs located centrally in the top of the engine. This was a very complicated affair and was rather expensive, as has been noted! A special front timing case casting was necessary, as were special pistons and other ancillaries. Price was very expensive! The S20 twin cam ( derived from the Prince GR8 race engine ) was first used in the PGC10 Skyline GT-R, from late 1968. When this engine was offered in the PS30 and PS30-SB ( Fairlady Z432 and Z432-R ) in 1969, the car was described by Nissan in its sales PR as a "Fairlady Z with a Skyline GT-R engine". This design was also a 24-valve twin cam hemi, with spark plugs at the top of the hemispherical combustion chambers. No parts from the S20 engine are interchangeable with the L-series 4 or 6. Really its all just down to costs and ease of production / use. "Our" L-6 engines are actually pretty darned good at almost everything they need to do, and that's one of the main reasons why a crossflow design was not offered in the mass-market by Nissan until much later. Personally, I love the Nissan L-series engines. However, a nice LY28 or TC24-B1 would do very nicely too thank you:classic: Alan T.

Ah, Mr 26ounce is starting to get very close................. zerozero - that's "AISAN" not 'asian' cast on the side of the carb bodies ( It wasn't only Hitachi that licensed the Skinners Union patent for Japan........... ). Aircleaner box is not original ( at least not original colour ). Who's going to take the crown? Alan T. ( sorry to be so cryptic, but I'm three sheets to the wind and its time for bed ).

Thanks Mike! Alan T.

I'm not getting enough of one and I can't afford the other. Alan T.

Hi all, Well today was a 'bumper' day in more than one way. I had a good conflab with the guys who should know, and we are quite certain now that the metal G-Nose story is bunkum. Five genuine ZG owners and a whole bunch of other Japanese early Z fanatics all thought that the story was apocryphal - so we are now in need of further evidence to the contrary. As previously mentioned, the only parts of the Factory G-Nose that were made of metal are as follows: *Bumper brackets ( moulded into the Urethane front bumper ) *Upper panel mating bracket ( moulded as above ) *Front number plate bracket *Bonnet hinges *Bonnet hinge torsion bars ( different to 'normal' type ) *Headlamp cover garnish ( stainless steel ) The rest is either made of expanded Urethane ( front bumper ), ABS-type plastic moulding ( in white ) for the headlamp pods and the bonnet extension / upper panel, or woven mat glass-reinforced plastic ( GRP / FRP ) for the lower panel. I took quite a few photos of original cars and I'll post them in the Gallery when I get back to London. Went to the old Nissan factory at Zama today to see their collection of old race cars, rally cars, pre-production prototypes and other historically-important cars. There were more than 400 cars in a huge warehouse, and only natural light from the skylights in the roof ( the electrics are temporarily off ). It was almost too bloody dark to take photos! Since the Zama plant ceased production, Nissan have been planning what to do with the site ( its massive ) and have all sorts of interesting things going on there. At the moment its a kind of activity centre and used-car sales and service operation mixed with some press and PR activities. The collection of old cars is very difficult to get to see ( invitation only ) but Nissan DO now seem to have plans to build a proper museum to house them, and are working on the details. They have already got a location sorted. This is good news I think, but probably something like ten years late in comparison with Japan's other big brands............ Again, I'll post some pics when I get back to London. Cuong, I can't believe you've bought a BNR32! You jammy bugger. The Mrs won't let me have one. Looks like you are going to be getting some R32-related books, mags and bumph from me in the near future. It needs a good home. I'll say hello to Mr Sugamura in Jimbocho for you ( haven't been over that way yet ). Gav, I'm much too old and ugly to appear in photos that involve young ladies ( or even older ladies ). It would put you off your food for days.....................:classic: All the best, Alan T.

Hi Mike, I don't know how I managed to do it - but I somehow started a new thread on the "Early 2+2's" subject when I actually meant to continue the original thread started by ZEDRALLY. Maybe I'm just being cack-handed while I'm in Kinko's and pressed the wrong button ( I throught I pressed the NEW REPLY button......... ). It's these Japanese keyboards y'see............. Any chance to shift this thread and tack it back onto the original Early 2+2's thread? It'll make much more sense that way. Cheers, Alan T.

Hi all, Just calling in from a local Kinko's in Tokyo ( can't keep away, can I? )..................... Coincidentally, I've been swanning around in a 73 ZG today ( belonging to fellow Club S30 member Mr Watanabe - its the white one in my Gallery pics ). I took some photos and I'll post them when I get back to London. Mr W's been very nice to me all day and we had a great laugh. He's got a very dry sense of humour which I really like. I took the opportunity to put my 'hand up the Fairlady's skirt' ( if you see what I mean ) and can confirm that, apart from the extra ducting on the 73 model which my 72 model does not have, Mr Watanabe's car has exactly the same structure as mine. That means: ABS plastic headlamp cones, expanded urethane foam bumper with integrally-cast bumper irons and metal mounting section for the upper panel mating surface, fibreglass lower panel ( woven mat type - not strand ) and the upper panel / bonnet extension made from either ABS or GRP that is gel-coated on both sides and has fillets moulded into the underside for strengthening. It really is exactly like the one on my car, except for the extra ducting ( which was to help the cooling on cars that were being equipped with air-con, after the ZG models that were fitted with coolers had overheating problems. The Factory made the 'mark 2' G-Noses with the ducts at the end of 72. I can confirm that the ducts ARE indeed made from GRP / FRP / Fibreglass or whatever you call it in your locality, and its woven mat just like the panel its bolted to. The woven side is face down, so you can't see it in most photos, and its thin enough to look like metal until you touch it. Quality is absolutely top notch. I'm going to a club meeting at Nissan's old Zama factory tomorrow ( Sunday ) and there should be a few more genuine ZG models in attendance. I'll take as many shots as possible. We are supposed to be getting to see Nissan's own collection of old race cars - which should be fun. The Japanese SP / SR owners club should also be in attendance. Mike - your acquired G-nose panels look like top-notch replicas. The shape looks just right, and I would guess that it may well be a Japanese-made set. Only the Japanese 5-piece kits look as good as that ( from what I've seen ). You did well. Good stuff! Don't forget that you need the special bonnet hinges too, though. The guys tell me that there are still some specialists with some stock over here.................. Just a last thought about the "Yeti"............. From what I've seen of both replica AND genuine ZG panels that have been dismounted from cars - they quite often show surface rust marks on them from where they are rubbing through to bare metal on the panels that they are attached to. Kind of a Turin Shroud type of situation. Makes it look like rusty fibreglass............... but its fibreglass just the same. I'll take a straw poll amongst ZG owners and other experts tomorrow as to whether a metal G-nose ever existed. If I hear any inkling that it even MIGHT have existed then I'll eat my Urethane front bumper with steel bumper irons still attached. Pass the Ketchup..................:classic: Alan T.