The Datsun 240Z has one of the most recognizable front ends in automotive history, and the grille sits right at the center of that identity. Plenty of Z owners stand at that empty opening with no idea where to start, and the number of directions you could take it doesn't make that any easier.
The market doesn't make any of this easy - it's worth saying first. Original grilles from the early 1970s are pretty fragile, and they're harder to track down in any decent shape. Reproductions range quite a bit in quality, and plenty of them aren't worth what's being asked. Mesh and billet alternatives give you more options for a custom look. But they do have real questions around fitment and airflow. Every path has trade-offs on the look and the performance side.
How it looks is only part of the story, though. The front opening also has a job - it feeds air to a radiator that's already being pushed hard in a car that's over 50 years old. A grille that looks great in photos can give you overheating problems on a hot day or during a hard drive - it's just the sort of situation you don't want to deal with in the middle of a trip. Grille decisions made purely on looks are, in my experience, one of the most common ways a build ends up with an overheating problem.
Everything covered here runs the full range, from period-correct stock replacements all the way to custom-fabricated pieces, so every Z owner comes away with a full picture of what each path actually takes. Authenticity, better airflow or a grille that looks just the way you've always had it in mind - whatever your priority happens to be, a worthwhile option exists for each goal.
Let's check out the grille options available for your Datsun 240Z!
Table of Contents
The Factory Grille and How It Changed
The Datsun 240Z came standard with a vertical bar grille straight from the factory. That same design carried through the entire production run from 1970 to 1973 - each model year's grille looks mostly the same as the last one. But get them side by side, and the differences between them are real, and they do matter.
Nissan actually made quite a few subtle changes to the grille design across those model years (the spacing, the finish and other trim details all changed from year to year in ways that are pretty easy to miss), and it's where plenty of buyers run into a problem. A grille that fits a 240Z doesn't automatically fit YOUR 240Z, and the wrong one is a common and avoidable mistake.
For restoration work, that difference between the model years does matter. A 1970 grille won't swap right into a 1972 car if you're going for a period-correct build - those two are not a direct fit. Get your production year locked down before you start shopping for parts, and make sure that you have the right paperwork to back it up. Owner forums, factory records and marque registries are all great places to confirm the finer points. The S30 community is always helpful when you need answers fast - you just have to know where to look.
More than fifty years on the road takes quite a toll on originality. Plenty of them have just gone missing over the decades as they changed hands. With that in mind, nail down a budget and put your options together.
Why Reproduction Grilles Make Sense for Restorations
Reproduction OEM grilles have been around for a reason - the originals are very hard to find in decent shape anymore, and the clean used ones that do pop up usually move fast at a premium price. For anyone who wants the car to look just the way it did when it rolled off the line, a reproduction is usually the most sensible path forward.
With that said, not all reproductions are created equal. Some drop right in and look the part. Others need a fair amount of coaxing to fit right into the opening. A bit of research on the manufacturer that you buy from can save you a headache, because a grille that's even slightly off will prove more frustrating than an empty opening.
Restorers usually have pretty strong opinions about this, and it's hard to argue with them. The 240Z went through a number of small trim changes over its production run, and the grille was one of the parts that changed from year to year. A reproduction made for a 1970 model won't necessarily fit a 1972 - even if the two look nearly identical in the photos.
A period-correct restoration is an all-or-nothing commitment - if everything isn't right, it tends to fall apart the second anyone looks at it. A car that reads as a Z from across a parking lot is a whole different matter from one that actually holds up under scrutiny. Model year accuracy is one of the details that can get lost in the weeds when everything else is coming together. But it's also what separates a restoration from a very convincing approximation.
A Honeycomb or Mesh Grille for Your 240Z
Honeycomb and fine mesh inserts are a great place to start if you want to move away from the factory look. These aftermarket grille styles drop right into the same opening as your factory grille and swap out the original slat design for a tighter, more uniform pattern. What you get on the front end is something that looks noticeably flatter, more deliberate - like it was meant to be there all along.
Owners go this way specifically because the insert does a great job of concealing the radiator, which gives the front of the car a much cleaner, more polished look - and without any bodywork. Airflow with a well-made insert isn't a concern because the open area of the screen is still more than large enough to let plenty of air through.
A honeycomb or mesh grille can look great on a 240Z. But there's a trade-off worth keeping in mind. If the rest of the car is all original, that modern grille pattern might look a little out of place. The bolder and more modern the design, the more it draws attention to itself - and at that point, the car stops feeling like one unified build and starts looking like a bunch of mismatched parts.
This type of insert works best on builds that are already moving in a modified or track-inspired direction. On a car that already has period-correct mods or a stripped-down interior, a mesh grille can pull the whole front end together in a way that the stock grille never does. These inserts are pretty easy to find through specialty retailers and through the Z community online.
Custom and Billet Grilles That Actually Fit
For some owners, nothing in any catalog will cut it. Custom is the only answer that makes any sense.
Fabricated aluminum and billet grilles are popular options for this build. Most builders lean toward custom when they want the whole front end to look like it was designed that way from the start - intentional, together and finished. A custom grille can also be built around fender flares, relocated hardware or anything else that's been modified up front - the sort of modification that would make a standard replacement grille fit awkwardly or just not fit at all.
That's also where options like our Skillard grille come in (designed specifically for the 240Z from day one, which means it fits the way that a factory part would) - like it was always supposed to be there. That precise fitment is nearly impossible to get out of a generic part, no matter how much you trim and fiddle with it.
The Z already comes with a strong foundation to build from, and the urge to make yours look different from every other one on the road is understandable. The front end tends to be the first place that anyone's eyes go, which makes a custom grille one of the more obvious ways to separate your build from the pack, and it doesn't have to be a dramatic swap to matter, either. A well-fitted grille in the right finish can pull the whole front end together - not a random jumble of parts. But something that was actually designed to look that way.
The Grille Delete for a Track Build
Some owners go even past a custom grille and pull the front grille panel off altogether. A grille delete is more or less what the name says - the front end is left wide open, with no grille whatsoever.
The main reason that owners do a grille delete is airflow. With no panel in the way, air can flow straight into the radiator without any restriction at all. For track builds and heavily modified engines that run hot under load, that extra airflow matters quite a bit. Some owners will even build a custom front end from scratch - which gives them total control over just where all that air ends up.
On the looks side, a grille delete gives the car a more aggressive look - something that works on a dedicated track build. The flip side is that it also takes away one of the most recognizable design elements that the 240Z has, and owners feel that the car is missing something without it.
It will depend on what the car is actually for. A street-driven Z gets more value out of a grille that holds onto some of the original character while still moving air the way it should. A dedicated race build is a different story - raw performance is the only priority and factory looks don't have a place on the checklist. It's worth being quite sure about where the build is headed before any cuts are made, because a grille delete is more or less a permanent change - it takes a fair amount of work to get it back to stock.
Looks Matter But So Does Airflow
The 240Z's engine depends on a steady flow of air to stay at a safe temperature, and the grille does a lot of work toward that goal. A grille that looks very sharp on a show car might not move enough air to cool the engine down when the car is driven hard or stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Mild weather and casual weekend drives are a whole different world from track days or bumper-to-bumper city traffic in the middle of July. The harder you push your car (and the hotter it gets), the more airflow your setup needs to stay ahead of the heat.
Quite a few 240Z owners run into this exact problem, and it goes the same way. They fall in love with a comb-style or body-colored grille and don't think about what the car will actually face out on the road - and then a few overheating episodes later they find themselves right back where they started.
For any car that sees some performance use, the amount of open area that a grille has is worth checking out. Aftermarket grilles put looks first and cut back on airflow to get that smoother finish - and for a dedicated show car, that trade-off is fine. The climate is worth a thought here as well, though. A grille that does fine in a cooler region can start to struggle once the temperatures push into the triple digits.
Build Your Dream Car
Stock, reproduction, mesh, custom or delete - all five of them are valid options, and the right one can depend on what you want out of the car. No single correct answer exists, only the one that fits your goals, your budget and how you plan to drive it. When you're still on the fence, the best place to start is to settle on your priorities first. Whichever one matters most to you (looks, cooling performance or originality) will mostly make the call for you, and the rest tends to fall into place from there.
The front end of a 240Z is one of the most recognizable shapes in the automotive world, and whatever direction you take it, it deserves some careful thought. A well-chosen nose piece can be one of the most rewarding parts of the entire build - and when it's done right, it does show.
The same level of care that goes into a grille choice should carry over into every other part of the project. Datsun Z cars (whether it's a 240Z, 260Z or 280Z) usually reward owners who take the time to find parts that actually fit the car and the vision behind it. We built Skillard.com around just that idea. Every part in our catalog is built specifically for Datsun Z cars, which means that you're not stuck trying to force something generic to work when a Z option already exists. From bumpers and aluminum door cards to center consoles, spoilers and more, our lineup covers just about every direction that a Z project can go.
Check us out at Skillard.com to browse everything we carry and find the pieces that will bring your build together.
