1970 Nissan Fairlady Z432

[THarrison351]

The first generation “FairladyZ” S30, also known as Datsun 240Z or “Z-car”, was rolled out in December 1969 and won a big market not only in Japan but in North America and other countries. This model was manufactured for nine years as a representative car of Nissan all over the world and its global sales was over 520,000 units, the best number on record for sport cars of a single model. This car is the high performance Model “Z432” on which “S20” engine of an inline 6-cylinder 4-valve DOHC and 160HP is mounted. This engine is same as that of the first generation Skyline 2000GT-R (PGC10). “432” comes from the engine configuration of S20, i.e. “4 valves, 3 carburetors, and 2 camshafts.” The standard equipment included LSD (limited slip differential) and luxurious magnesium wheels appropriate for the flagship model. The sticker price was 1.85 million yen (aprox $5,200 USD) that was almost double of the basic Z-car. (Nissan Heritage Collection)

Upon further study I found this engine has only 8 more rated HP, but 15 lb-ft less torque than the standard 2.4 liter inline six. It also has a much higher redline, possibly as much as 1500 RPM. The performance numbers I've found don't seem to justify the cost. 0.2 second faster 0-60 MPH 0.5 second faster 0-100 MPH and 0.9 second faster in the 1/4 mile.

About two years ago, M2 Machines released a nice version of this and both Gary and I showed pictures of it in the "What diecast did you get today" thread. This diecast however represents taking the "Z432" a step further. This one used a third generation 2.6 liter RB26DETT engine from the R32 Nissan Skyline GT-R. This engine develops 276 hp and 260 lb-ft of torque. However, there is one big error. They forgot the turbos! It's got a nice pair of headers and the manifold for the intercooler is there, but nothing else. Oh well? They also replaced the stock seats with racing seats and added a six-point roll bar. Finally the luxurious magnesium wheels were replaced with what looks like Superlite aluminum wheels. Kind of a Minilite knock off. All I did was some paint detailing and polishing, along with the white paint on the lens pins. The only other change I made was the brake, which you can barely see were installed incorrectly. They had the disc brakes on the back and the drum brakes on the front. easy to swap once the wheels were off.

Before:

After:

[Gramps46]

I appreciate the research into the history of this car and the presentation of your upgraded model.  Well done.

[randyc]

Nice!  I had the Fujimi curbside plastic of this one.  I think I've sold it.   But occasionally, I still run across the stock 240Z wheels that were in the kit in my parts stashes.  Very nice addition to your collection.