HS30-H

The driveline vibration problem only occurred in the (Works) PZR race cars - not on the road cars - and at prolonged high RPM, especially at Fuji Speedway. I think it could have been cured pretty easily with a few small modifications to driveline installed angles (trans output, diff input), engine and transmission mounts. There was nothing fundamentally wrong with the S20, FS5C71-A & R192 combination (it was perfectly OK in the GT-Rs) so I think it was just a body harmonic issue that could have been cured with a little more race-specific parts development. But the political issues going on between the ex-Prince and Nissan factions meant that there was not much momentum behind the race development of the S20-engined Z cars. The S20 continued to be developed, refined and improved in the Works GT-Rs and the ex-Prince guys were concentrating on the planning of the two-door 'Hard Top' KPGC10 which would be hitting the market in the latter half of 1970 and the race track soon after. They really didn't want to give the PZR the attention it needed, and with Nissan developing the L24-engined variants for a serious campaign in international rallying to start in late 1970 too the writing was on the wall anyway.

I'm not sure the spec was that firmly fixed. I've seen a lot of the Portuguese market cars wearing them and Entreposto certainly optioned their cars up through their great leverage with Nissan, so likely a lot of their cars got them. Always exceptions to the rule, I guess. And the change in European lighting regulations (minimum height) certainly made a mess... More on topic: It's interesting that much of the refinement work on the HLS30Q is framed as 'Stability' (especially in cross-winds) and 'Safety' (in control), when in effect it is making a sports-oriented car even more 'sporty'.

'Entreposto' HLS30 walkaround:

Kats, We are very privileged to be able to see 'Maruhi' (Secret) factory internal documentation such as this. Thank you! This was the testing that Takei san was involved in, yes? I see the name Takahashi on the report too. Datsun Netherlands was clearly a great influence on all this as Nissan's European base. I had heard in the past that Nissan had a lot of feedback coming from Datsun Netherlands with regard to product refinement and development, and Nissan took it seriously. Lots of sightings in period of mysterious Japanese cars on Japanese temporary-export 'Carnet' plates whizzing around on European roads. Some of them full of electronic measuring instruments and men with clipboards taking notes... For me, the 'Entreposto' Portuguese market 240Zs were the prettiest and nicest-equipped of all the Export market versions.

Sean, To nitpick: There's a huge difference between Nissan 'Works' and Nissan 'Sports Option/Race Option'. By their very nature, proper 'Works' parts were not usually for sale to the general public and were quite different than the equivalent 'Sports Opt.' bits. It might seem like a minor point of order, but the parts concerned - especially in the case of exhaust manifolds - were quite radically different in shape, material and construction. Your Street-Sport item will be based on one of the 'Sports Option'/Datsun Competition retail items.

Kats, I don't want to clutter up your thread with a big off-topic diversion. There was a recent thread here (now much edited and revised, and even with some of the photos I posted in reply subsequently cut-and-pasted back into the first post, a habit which makes nonsense of much of what we do here) in which I attempted to answer some of the same questions: It's impossible to answer such questions without going into the complex interdepartmental politics at play (ex-Prince Murayama/Ogikubo vs Nissan Oppama et al) and the conflicting interests, power struggle and growing pains that soundtracked it all. Nissan and Prince were only a few short years on from their (forced) merger, and basically the ex-Prince guys were never really happy that *their* blue-blooded race-derived engine was being used in an S30-series car in the first place. A lot of what we observe was simply a function of that... In trying to undrestand the 432 and 432-R (especially the 432-R) I always find it helpful to look to Nissan's clear inspiration: The Porsche 911S and the 911T/R and 911R. The 911R in particular was a big reference point for Nissan when they created the 432-R, and there are many parallels. I sometimes hear - and read - people talking about the 432 and 432-R as though they were some kind of failure because "Nissan gave up after making just 420 or so". I don't think I've ever heard the same thing about cars such as the 911R, 911RS or 911RSR, and that's hopefully because people understand a little more about the reasons for their existence and their context. These are homologation specials that we are talking about here. Cars created and sold to the general public with the specific purpose of legalising them - along with many of the parts they used - for race use in certain categories. The 432 was created to qualify for sports car racing's 'G.T.' class and the 432-R was created to qualify for sports cars racing's 'Prototype' class. The minimum requirement for the Prototype class was for 25 cars of the same specification to be manufactured, which Nissan satisfied with the 432-R just as Porsche had done with the 911R. Nissan - like Porsche - never had any great intention (let alone the capacity for production or projected sales...) of churning out thousands of such cars. Rather than looking at production totals for the 432/432-R as "only" 420-odd I'd say that - all things considered - the whole thing was a success as a halo model, as an exercise in homologation and racing/rallying and an important step in becoming a world class auto maker and I'm actually surprised that they managed to sell as many as they did. Once the 432-R had been created, and had won, it had served its purpose as far as Nissan were concerned. The parts, specs and knowledge lived on through 1970 in domestic circuit racing and through to the end of 1971 in international rallying (the FIA outlawing the 432-R's legacy parts for the 1972 international season). 'Job done'.

Only if you worked for Nissan's sales and promotions department in 1969...

Kats, For quite a long time I've been trying to get people to understand that the first of those first works '240Z' race cars were still 432-Rs, but with LR24 engines installed. They might have been called '240Zs' for convenience (that's what Nissan was selling...) but they were still very much PZRs.

Gavin, You'll find that - in practice - you don't need to do anything with your rear brakes except make sure that they are working perfectly. Both the solid rotor and ventilated rotor MK63s are plug and play for street and mild sporting use and you don't need to worry about F/R bias. I have used both solid and ventilated MK63s on all my cars and can tell you from experience that unless you are going racing you don't really need to worry. The 13/16" rear cylinders were same size as those used stock on some of the C10-series Skylines, so parts are available but I wouldn't bother personally. If you get that serious about (period correct) brake performance you'd be fitting MK63s on the rear too, as per homologation... The TOPYs might need a thin shim type spacer between hub and wheel, as used on the C10-series Skylines:

Correct (S30 type) emblem on left. Incorrect (S130 type) emblem on right. The 432 going to auction has the incorrect, flatter profile (and plastic...) S130 type bonnet emblem.

Hello Ben, The pictured headrests are C10-series Skyline items. You can modify them to fit the Datsun Compe seat (by cutting off part of the metal stem and welding on a new - longer - section) but you can buy an acceptable replica/substitute for the original Datsun Compe style headrest from Kameari Engine Works in Japan. You can buy direct from Kameari in Japan by mail order.

Not only that but, considering comments made by the OP more than 16 months ago, it would seem wise to see the level of fit, finish and 'feel' before parting with money for something that is not necessarily going to be an accurate reproduction of the OEM items. Quote from Metalman5151 from further back in the thread:

You would probably want to confirm that the total length of the strut tube (and therefore the distance from the spring platform to the hub) was the same as that on the E7213s. But if they are the same, then - surely? - you're good to go, no?

The E7211 springs are paired with the E7213 struts because the spring lengths are matched to the (fixed) spring platforms on the struts. If you try to fit the E7211 springs onto stock struts - especially north American market struts - the ride height and geometry will be wrong. You could either cut and re-weld your spring platforms to suit the springs, or convert to adjustable platforms? The E7213 struts were hydraulic type and non-adjustable, so you can use any cartridge type insert that matches the springs.

Thread title changed to "White 432R", but still (clearly!) a 'normal' 432. Try again, Blue...

"White 240Z"? White 432, clearly...

Kats, A small correction if I may: What happened was that Nissan used the MK63-20S on its Works race cars right from the beginning, including the first official race entry for an S30-series Z when the Works 432-R entered the All Japan Suzuka 300km race on 18th January 1970 (that famous no.68 car used on so much of the 432-R specific literature). Nissan actually used the technique of 'back homologation' to legalise the calipers for race use. They applied for the evolution in June 1970, but backdated the amendment to be valid from 10th January 1970 - hence covering all the races they had already entered up to that point, including the 432-Rs first race:

Since MK63s have a reputation for flexing at extreme pressures, I can't imagine how you could engineer accurate lookalikes in alloy without changing the design enough to make them not look MK63s any more... You might as well buy the ENDLESS S4 MK63-replacements and paint them green, or just go AP and done with it.

Thanks, but I'm OK for all that stuff. I'm more interested in original Nissan 'Sports Option', Datsun Competition and genuine Works parts...

Those are the recent repros. Not original Sumitomo. Generally speaking, originals will have makers name 'SUMITOMO' cast into them. The repro guys are not allowed to incorporate the Sumitomo name on their version...

I run MK63-20S vented type calipers on all my cars. I have a spare NOS pair new in their boxes, but don't really want to sell. I might - however - be tempted by an interesting trade. Have you got anything that you think I'd be interested in...?

Pop back to 1969 and tell Nissan what a big mistake they are making...

They should have been short discussions. What evidence is there of body coloured OEM front and rear spoilers on these cars?

I think you should be careful of reading too much into what you see. A 432 was displayed on the central rotating platform of the Nissan display (it was - in effect - the 'star' of the Nissan show stand) but there was a 432-R, very likely the same one that was moved onto the banked wall display, on display elsewhere on the large Nissan stand area. There was a Fairlady Z-L as well as a brace of other Nissan models on display too. Looking at photos of the show stand it is clear that they were moving cars around on the stand area through the 14 days of the show. Additionally, some of the photos we see published were from the press preview opening before the doors were opened to the general public, and some of the displays are not yet complete. I feel you still don't seem to be grasping what was actually happening there. The LR24 was the favoured racing engine for the HS30/HLS30 and the GR8C/GR8S was the favoured race engine for the PS30-SB. The first factory race and rally prepped versions of the HS30/HLS30 used what was essentially a 432-R bodyshell with an HS30/HLS30 chassis number. You might try an experiment tonight when you go to bed: Move your pillow and sleep 180 degrees from where you normally do, and see if you can have a dream where "the favoured race bodyshell for the LR24 engine was the PZR type". If it doesn't work on the first night, keep trying... Displayed "unintentionally"? Why would you describe it as unintentional? It may be rather incongruous in that race display context, but my feeling is that the car was placed there - indeed, was on display at all - most definitely with intent. Arch intent, perhaps. It's my personal belief (no more than that at this point) that we are glimpsing some evidence of the politicking and tug-o-war that was going on between Nissan Japan and Nissan Motors USA regarding the world debut of the new S30-series Z models and the pointedly-labelled 'Fairlady Z Export Model' Datsun 240Z in particular. I believe Yutaka Katayama did not want to have his thunder stolen by the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show display, and worked hard to arrange the press shows at the Pierre Hotel in New York and in Los Angeles in some reaction to that. Katayama simply didn't have a suitable large scale public Auto show in the USA to coincide with the dates of the Tokyo Motor Show, and I can't imagine him enjoying the fact that the new S30-series Z would go on display in Japan before he'd had a chance to show one in his market. There might also be a clue in the way that the 'Kaku U' North American Testing trip could be seen as turning into just as much a demonstration/ promotion tour for dealers as proper 'testing' (which was - in any case - being carried out in Japan). We know there was some late wrangling over the emblems/badging of that 'Fairlady Z Export Model', and that the 'Datsun' and '240Z' emblems were very late being finalised and productionised. Yet here was a 'Datsun 240Z' badged car - looking for all the world like the finished article - on display to the world in Tokyo whilst the car(s) that NMC USA had at its disposal for press and promotion were clearly unfinished and unbadged. Messages being sent? Some needling going on? I would not be surprised. Don't forget that on 18th October 1969 there was a Press Show at Nissan's Ginza, Tokyo HQ where all the models - including a PS30-SB Fairlady Z432-R and an HLS30 'Datsun 240Z' were on display, so Katayama had already been trumped by the time the the 1969 Tokyo Motor Show opened its doors to what would be over 1.5 million visitors...

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