1973 Fairlady Z - refurb and fix

they are a lot more expensive than Jesse
Not for everything.....

Kameari parts are cheaper, also cheaper direct with Kameari.
Fujitsubo is cheaper
Spirit Garage is better through Jesse.
OER through RHD makes more sense also.


There's a few offering the same service. you'll struggle to go wrong.
 

Robbie J

Club Member
Not for everything.....

Kameari parts are cheaper, also cheaper direct with Kameari.
Fujitsubo is cheaper
Spirit Garage is better through Jesse.
OER through RHD makes more sense also.


There's a few offering the same service. you'll struggle to go wrong.
likely more to it, need to check landed prices and the fun of dealing with a UK shipper paying import tax+fees
 

Faster Behr

Club Member
Amazing, thank you. I’ll stitch and print in A3. Hopefully I can use the camera app to translate some of the text and will have a go at labelling it!
 

Faster Behr

Club Member
I have been trying to find out more about the history of the Fairlady Z-L model primarliy for my own interest and in the hope of locating some images which represent how it would have looked from new. This is particularly important to me as I would like to make sure it is properly badged and has the right wheels and trim reinstated eventually. Unfortunately there seems to be very little out there online. I have found one opensource data sheet which suggests that production was from 1969 to late 1973 with 15076 units produced. I am unable to verify any of this of course. If this is accurate then this would make this car one of the later ones. I can't see the difference in trim levels or what the trim levels consisted of, apart from understanding this as a Deluxe model as confirmed by Albrecht. If anyone can point me towards more info then that would be marvellous.

Here's one image of what is said to be a ZL -

Fairlady Z-L.jpg

I am giddily looking forward to working on wiring issues tomorrow. Apparently it's going to be good weather too :D
 

Mr Tenno

Digital Officer
Staff member
Site Administrator
From the master himself:

'S30-S' model ( 'Fairlady Z' ) = 'S30' VIN prefix stamping on firewall and engine bay tag. This was the 'base', no-frills, entry-level Fairlady Z for the Japanese market. No carpet, no hubcaps, less shiny stuff and a 4-speed tranny. But could be optioned-up piece-by-piece if required.

'S30' model ( 'Fairlady Z-L' ) = This also had the 'S30' VIN prefix stamping on firewall and engine bay tag too. This was the 'Luxury' version Fairlady for the Japanese market, with all the bells and whistles, and five-speed as standard, and this too could be optioned-up as required.
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
I have been trying to find out more about the history of the Fairlady Z-L model primarliy for my own interest and in the hope of locating some images which represent how it would have looked from new. This is particularly important to me as I would like to make sure it is properly badged and has the right wheels and trim reinstated eventually. Unfortunately there seems to be very little out there online. I have found one opensource data sheet which suggests that production was from 1969 to late 1973 with 15076 units produced. I am unable to verify any of this of course. If this is accurate then this would make this car one of the later ones. I can't see the difference in trim levels or what the trim levels consisted of, apart from understanding this as a Deluxe model as confirmed by Albrecht. If anyone can point me towards more info then that would be marvellous.

The exact spec is something of a moving target. Essentially 'Fairlady Z' and 'Fairlady Z-L' models were available all the way through production from 1969 to 1978, with rolling minor changes landmarked by bigger and more dramatic changes. Some of these tied in with what was going on in other markets (like the switch in tail lamp and rear garnish which coincided with Export '260Z' models) and others were unique to Japanese models.

As I may have tried to get across in the previous thread, what really matters in pinning down the spec is the PRODUCTION DATE and the SUB VARIANT TYPE. You already know the sub variant type and the production year, but other details on the car - and possibly in some of the period Japanese paperwork, if you have it - can help you to pin down the production month pretty closely. I can help you with that.

But cool your heels. There's no One Stop Shop for telling you all about your car and - as you have already found - some of what is online in the English language is nonsense. It will take you time to get into the right mindset, time to learn what your car is telling you and time to tune out of the misinformation sources that will lead you up the garden path. It is a Japanese market model and they have their own little quirks and charms, so just take your time and build up the bigger picture steadily and surely.

I can provide detailed specs and reference photos for you when I have time but, like I said, there's no single injection of knowledge out there so you have to ask specific questions as and when they arise. At this stage you won't know what you don't know...

In the meantime, can you photograph the engine bay tag for me, and also have a peep up under the glovebox and see if there are any chalk markings under there? If there are, a photo would be good.
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
Marvellous, thanks. A few pictures - not sure if they will be very helpful? More of an update later..

View attachment 49563

Ah, so the FULL chassis number is actually 'S30-109459'..?

That makes a difference, as previously we only had 'S30-109XXX' to go on...

The cut-off for 1973 year production was 'S30-109290', with 1974 production year starting at 'S30-109291'.

So, this car is actually a very early 1974 production year example. Almost certainly January 1974, being just 168 S30-prefixed bodies into the 1974 manufacturing run.

Sadly the compliance code section of the engine bay tag is illegible. It would have helped pin down the spec more firmly, but it doesn't matter too much.
 
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Faster Behr

Club Member
I’ve spent the last couple of evenings working through the wiring issues, some more challenging than others. Almost everything in the dash is now fixed, as are the rear lights. I’ve replaced all dash bulbs and cleaned gauges. Both hazard and indicator relays have been renewed whilst I had good access. I’ve still got to rewire the harnesses for the front turn signal lamps and marker lamps and upgrade the headlamp wiring onto relays.

Elsewhere I’ve got the wipers to improve and fix the horn. For general body electrics that should almost be it.

The washer bottle came today from Zcardepot. It appears to be an excellent reproduction. Now to source some washer jets. The Rally clock continues to hum and keep me company.

I compared the kmh speedo from the car and the mph speedo that I had on hand with a view to “swapping in” the mph unit. The kmh is identical except that it has a large gauge red and black wire coming from a grommet in the rear. This plugs on to a small module fixed to the speedometer body. I’m struggling to think what this can be, does anyone have any idea?

19EE8E16-590B-4671-A138-ED28608F532E.jpeg

I’ve also found that the tacho has been wired direct to the coil with a “new” wire and the tacho doesn’t work. I read a few threads on tacho and coil wiring dramas last night so I need to sit down with those in more detail to work out what’s gone wrong and how to put it right.
 

Albrecht

Well-Known Forum User
I compared the kmh speedo from the car and the mph speedo that I had on hand with a view to “swapping in” the mph unit. The kmh is identical except that it has a large gauge red and black wire coming from a grommet in the rear. This plugs on to a small module fixed to the speedometer body. I’m struggling to think what this can be, does anyone have any idea?

Quite possibly a speed warning module, triggered above a pre-set speed. Just a reminder of the national speed limit really.

They can be disconnected with no ill effects, so deleting it will probably not be an issue.
 

Faster Behr

Club Member
I had figured that the additional wiring in the kmh Speedo was perhaps cruise control related or for a speed triggered emissions device, however I think it is linked to another device nestling in between the tacho and Speedo which may be a buzzer. And then I read this -

Speed Buzzer

Starting in 1972, all JDM speedometer came with speed switch for warning of excess velocity.

This might be correct. Unfortunately my command of Japanese is, er, not commanding. Perhaps Albrecht can shed some light please?

Here is the device. Apologies but getting a camera in through the tacho aperture is tricky:

E980BD97-F3A3-4574-9685-A556F1EBC826.jpeg
 

Mr Tenno

Digital Officer
Staff member
Site Administrator
If you've watched Initial D etc, you can hear the pinging warning noise in the background of some cars!
 
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