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for the Midwest.

Forums, meets, and a parts market for Nissan Z owners from Detroit and across the Midwest — S30 to the new Z. Built to survive Michigan winters, and proven every spring.

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The 7 Generations of Z

Five decades of factory figures, heritage, and tuning notes — plus a salt-belt inspection list for every chassis, and the club cars wearing it.

S30 — 240Z / 260Z / 280Z

1969–1978

The car that put a proper sports car within reach.

Figures for the 240Z (1970)

Power: 151hp
0–60: 8.0s
Top speed: 125mph
Weight: 2,300lb

Engine: L24 SOHC inline-six
Displacement: 2.4 L
Torque: 146 lb-ft
Gearbox: 4-speed manual
Layout: Front engine, rear-wheel drive

How it happened

Launched for 1970 and pushed hard in the US by Yutaka Katayama — “Mr. K” — the 240Z undercut European sports cars by thousands while offering an overhead-cam six, four-wheel independent suspension, and the novelty of starting reliably every morning. Yoshihiko Matsuo's long-hood, short-deck shape did the rest. It is the car every later Z gets measured against.

Worth knowing

Twin SU-type sidedraft carburetors on the 240Z and 260Z
Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection arrives with the 280Z in 1975
Four-wheel independent suspension — struts front and rear
Displacement grows 2.4 → 2.6 → 2.8 L across the run

What this chassis responds to

The most heavily modified Z there is. Triple sidedraft carbs (Weber or Mikuni) are the period-correct route; L28 stroker bottom ends push 3.0–3.1 L. Engine swaps are common and well documented. Suspension and brakes are the honest first spend — the chassis is fifty years old and the original brakes were sized for 151 hp.

Before you buy one in the salt belt

Rust decides the value of an S30 more than mileage or engine ever will.
Check floor pans, frame rails, the battery tray, and the doglegs ahead of the rear wheels.
Look hard at the rear hatch surround and the seams below the front and rear glass.
Panels are reproduced and available, but the bodywork labor will exceed what the car cost.