The S130 FAIRLADY Z is now rarely seen

On 10 December 2023, Automobile Club Japan held the Yaho Tenmangu Shrine Old Car Festival in Kunitachi, Tokyo, where around 190 famous cars, from pre-war cars to supercars, gathered. From this event, we spoke to the owner of Nissan’s second-generation S130 ‘Fairlady Z Turbo Z-T’, which is now a rare find.

Turbo version sold for a short time at the end of the S130’s life

The Nissan FAIRLADY Z has won numerous fans as one of Japan’s leading sports cars, but there are fewer opportunities to see the second-generation S130 and third-generation Z31 compared to the first-generation S30 and fifth-generation Z33 and later models. In the midst of all this, at the Yaho Tenmangu Shrine Old Car Festival, we had the opportunity to interview a veteran owner who has been driving an S130 FAIRLADY Z Turbo for a long time.

“The FAIRLADY Z was fully remodeled in 1978 into the second generation S130 model. There were two engine displacement systems, the 2000 cc Z and the 2800 cc 280Z, both with L-type inline six-cylinder engines. The styling was the traditional long nose, short deck, but the body size was increased to give more interior space, and both the two-seater and two-by-two models were more user-friendly.”

Kazuhiro Yoshino, who told us this at the outset, acquired his S130 in 1982, when he bought it new.

“In October 1982, the first turbocharged versions of the successive generation Fairlady Z, based on the 2000 cc Z and 280Z, were introduced in Japan and the US respectively, and although the timing was less than a year before the debut of the next model, the Z31, they were a big hit. The turbocharged FAIRLADY Zs introduced to the Japanese market were the 2000 Z, Z-L, Z-T, and Z-T bars, I was 25 at the time and chose the Z-T. I bought it because I wanted a sports car, and after 42 years of driving it, before I knew it, my car was what you would call a classic car.”

No major problems in 42 years, except for a clutch change

He uses a Nissan Juke as his footgear, while also making sure to drive his Fairlady Z Turbo once a week, but with a cumulative mileage of 59,000 km, it is a surprisingly low mileage car considering its age.

“I keep the car as it was when it was delivered in 1982, so by attending events like this, people can see it as it was when it was new. I’m probably the only person who owns a one-owner Fairlady Z Turbo from new anymore.”

We were curious about how they have been able to maintain it, so we asked them and this is how they responded.

“Inspection is the basis of the car, and I have maintained any areas of concern on a case-by-case basis. The engine is an L-type inline six-cylinder, so this is still manageable, but as expected, there are no interior or exterior parts. It used to be maintained at a Nissan Prince shop. They went to the trouble of ordering a maintenance manual and working out how to take it apart. The shop I now work with is also doing their best while juggling various things.”

The clutch went bad and had to be replaced once, but other than that there were no other major problems.

Mr Yoshino’s Fairlady Z Turbo will continue to take the gallery back in time to 1982 at events in the future.

translated by DeepL