History: Fairlady Special Models

So in order to talk about what a 70's Japaneses tuner owned car would look like, we need to look at the Japan market cars, and the three special models that all kind of roll into one look. First of all, the 240z was referred to as the Fairlady Z. That would be your standard 240z with a 2.0l Inline 6.

First, the Fairlady ZG.

In order for the Fairlady to be competitive in Group 4 GT Style racing some body modifications had to be made. In order for the changes to be race legal, they had to be on the street car as well. The "G-Nose" with it's extended nose and headlight covers were much more aerodynamic than the open air scoop on the standard 240z. We'll be addressing that with some home made engineering later. The Rivet on wide-body flares were purely cosmetic on the street car, but the race models had the body and wheel liners trimmed to allow for proper race wheels and tires almost three times as wide as the stock 14" tires. The engine remained the same, as most race teams had race legal engines they wanted to use.

Fairlady Z432.

The Z432 was a special edition created by using the 2.0l S20 from a Skyline GT-R making about 160hp. The 432 stood for "Four valves per cylinder, Three carb's and Two camshafts. Used S20's sell for $10-15k.

Fairlady 432Z-R

Looked the same as the car above, but only in a darker shade of orange and only with black hoods.

The 432Z-R is a VERY rare and VERY special model. Only 30 were made and only 20 still exist due to crashes. The 432Z-R was a competition only car made for and only sold to licensed race teams. Made for Rally circuits, the engine was the same S20, but tuned to whatever the race teams needed. Weight was heavily reduced, using thinner sheet metal and Lexan windows that kept curb weight below 2000lbs. Roll bar style cage was standard. No power brakes, because rally car's didn't need them. The most hardcore factory Z ever made.


So, what do we need? Depending on our wheel and tire choice, we pull the ZG flares and mirrors. 432Z wing. Lower chin spoiler, but not the G-Nose. Those black wheels are aftermarket, but I'll be talking about those tomorrow. In the end, we paint it all white, with black flares and we get this.