Walter Mitty Historic Races

[HS30-H]

Originally posted by 26th-Z

I met Mike Cammarata with his "Macau" 240Z. Check him out on IZCC http://www.zhome.com/Z history/Macau 240Z The car is very well prepared and he is still looking for that nose piece. He mentioned something peculiar about his Mikuni / Solex carburetors in that they do NOT have a serial number engraved on the top cover. Supposedly, they are 44mm throats rather than the typical 40mm? What do you experts know? Mike told me the car was purchased in Guam along with a ton of factory competition parts. It is not a factory prepared group 4 car, and although it was entered in the 1971 Macau Grand Prix (gridded 16th, thus his "16" car number), it did not finish. We did talk about the odd nose piece and the chassis shows evidence of it's mounting, but Mike has all but given up finding it. The car does have a great number of factory competition parts. Very nice.

Hi 26th-Z,

I'm very pleased that you have seen the car and posted some photos. I thought this story was going to be set in stone in Z history without any chance of outside input......

I had some contact with Mike Cammarata a few years ago regarding this car. I spotted it from the zhome article and attempted some research on it, as I found some of the zhome article to be pretty far fetched and somewhat speculative. Above all, I thought it seemed to include a lot of exaggeration by "Jack Pray" that was being taken as gospel truth.

Mike Cammarata was very pleasant to converse with, but at that time didn't seem to know much about the Japanese side of the story other than what he had been told. Maybe things have taken a step further since then?

I told him that it was EXTREMELY unlikely that this car was ever modified by the "Works" race department at Oppama, or even at Omori. The article makes it sound as though the parts fitted to the car back in the early Seventies were genuine "Works" parts, and that the car was - in effect - a full Group 4 FIA 'Works' spec car with all the bells and whistles. In fact, full 'Works' style modifications would certainly never have been performed on a 'customer' car ( especially an Export-spec car that was sold through a dealership to American service personnel ) as there was at that time no system for such a service within Nissan. Even the regional Nissan SCCN teams and top privateer racers and their teams were using hand-me-down stuff for the first couple of seasons of Japanese domestic racing. It should also be remembered that full 'Works' Nissan Z cars of that period had bodyshells that were built specifically for use as racecars, and were fairly different to the road cars in many areas.

It seemed to me that most of the special parts on the car were the over-the-counter Nissan 'Sports Option' parts that were available at the time through certain dealerships, and through the Sport Corner dealership at Omori in particular. These are extremely interesting and very nice to see still fitted to the car that they were originally purchased for, but they are NOT full 'Works' competition parts, and the bodyshell itself is that of a standard road car. I also noticed some modern modifications to the car - so its lost some of its originality, possibly due to necessity in conforming with modern race safety regulations?

The car is ( still ) being misdescribed in the zhome article, even though the likelihood of it being anything more than a very interesting locally-created privateer race car was put to rest quite some time ago. The Macau nose was certainly NOT anything to do with Nissan's Oppama race workshops or the Omori site, and was much more likely to have been a local garage confection ( at that time I was told that Jack Pray was stationed in Okinawa, and not Guam ). Despite searching through Japanese domestic race reports for the 1969 through 1975 period, I have yet to see evidence of a non-Japanese driver entering a first-generation Z in a race in Japan during that period, other than a couple of very interesting exceptions. Neither of these exceptions tally with the car and driver in question...........

I have the Japanese race reports from the relevant Macau GP support races, and they simply mention that a privateer Z qualified but failed to get to the end of the race. Sadly there are no further details and no pictures. You can bet that if the car had been Works-connected in any way they would have had a little more to say about it.

What's this about the Mikunis on the car? The earliest 40PHH and 44PHH models had their part number and model designation on a sticker attached to the main body, rather than any stamp or casting mark. Has he got 40mm or 44mm carbs? What is he measuring? I had a guy tell me that he had "48mm" Mikunis once, but he turned out to be measuring the body bore size on the inlet side.............. Mikuni PHH carbs changed in many details over the years, but the 'Works' and semi-Works teams never used any special carburettor castings that I am aware of. They are more likely to be the normal Sports Option kit from that period.

Cheers!

Alan T.

[Steve Parmley]

Great pictures. Here is a GTP shot I took when the cars weren't "Historic " yet. http://www.classiczcars.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=3413&password=&sort=7&thecat=500

I went to the Balanced Performance website from one of your photos and linked to the Georgia Z club. Does anyone have more photos or info on this IMSA Z?

[26th-Z]

Hi Alan,

I was hoping you could tell me some more about the Mikuni / Solex carburetors on Mike's car. I highly suspect they are competition part # 99996-E1020 which would reference 16010-E4620, the Solex 44PHH. I didn't recognize the intake manifold either. But I did see a lovely transmission 32010-E4151 or 22055 depending on which parts listing is referenced.

Mike was very proud of his ride and remembered talking with you about the chassis. A quick look at the fabrication of the roll cage and rear deck indicates the shell started life as a road car. Mike was pretty convinced that his car was not "factory prepared". He seemed to think that the nose was fabricated by those who built the chassis. We briefly discussed fabricating a replica, but Mike thinks it was ugly to begin with and sees no point spending money to fabricate something that would look god-awful. Even though Mike does not know much of the Japanese side of the story, I was pleased to see it - finally after all our discussions!

Steve,

Try this site www.racingsportscars.com You may find the car from an old IMSA event. I have never seen it before.

[HS30-H]

Hi 26th-Z,

I'll have to dig out some photos of 44PHH Mikunis as fitted to Works cars then. They were pretty much exactly the same as those initially sold through Sport Corner and the Sports Option parts dealers, though. As I mentioned, the castings changed quite a lot and can be difficult to keep track of. Does he think there is something particularly special or different about them? I don't recall any specifics that would identify them as "Works" type or non-Works type, apart from some of the modified trumpets they used. The 16010-E4620 Sports Option part number seems to have been used through a fairly long period, and its hard to say what might have been different from one set to another at any particular period.

That transmission part number ( 32010-E4151 ) is that of the standard FS5C71A five-speed transmission ( 19T:6T ) as fitted to all Fairlady Z-L models from 1969 onwards, and as an optional extra on the Fairlady Z from 1969 onwards too. It was also fitted to the non-USA "Export" 240Z models of HS30 and HLS30 from the beginning of production until they switched to the "B" type box ( the "option" being the 4-speed ). As such it would not have been fitted to the car as it left the Factory ( presuming it was indeed essentially a USA / North American market model bought in Japan ). Did Mike mention that it had a close-ratio gear set? I would have thought there would be a good possibility of one of the close-ratio gear sets having been purchased and fitted, given the high spec of the rest of the Sports Option parts on the car, and other fabricated race-oriented bits. It would appear that the original owner spent quite a lot of money on Sports Option parts, so a close-ratio gear set would not be out of the question ( I wonder if he got some discount?:classic: ).

I'm glad that Mike does not believe the car to have been "Factory prepared" now. I think all the evidence points away from this. I'm fascinated by the story and the car's life and think its a great part of the history of the Z car. However, it seems a pity that the car is still being misrepresented at zhome.com after all the effort that has been made to track some of its true history. Are those Mike's words in the zhome write-up, or are they those of Carl Beck? The line "....is one of the earliest 240Z factory-built race cars still in existance today, and may be the only FIA car." is particularly disappointing. Its about time that was re-written.

No disrespect to the car or its owner intended. Its an interesting and probably unique car in many respects, but it does not need to have any false representation of genuine Works history attached to it.

I agree about the nose if that makes a difference; it looked like it was a fairly well-intended but somewhat inept attempt to streamline the car without paying attention to the race regulations ( and bumped it up into the 'wrong' class at Macau ). The Works were working on similar ideas around that time, but their efforts were always very methodically thought through and, it has to be said, very well engineered and fabricated.

Isn't it great that this car still exists!

All the best,

Alan T.

[26th-Z]

I didn't get into a very long discussion with Mike nor did I dip down on the wet pavement to look at the suspension. Our conversation was limited to the time it took to start raining again! I only noticed the unmistakable gearbox bell housing casting along with other bits - front damper, distributer / electronics, oil filter and cooler. The radiator appears hand fabricated. We discussed briefly, the upper suspension pick-up points and the stabilizer bar, but the conversation turned to that famous nose piece and how the original hood must have been shortened to accomodate the fit. Then we looked at various mounting holes drilled in the front end to install it. What I do remember about the casting plates on the tops of the carburetors was the Mikuni / Solex name only. No part number or other identification. Mike said he obtained new gaskets by sending a xerox copy of the old gaskets to a fellow in Japan for replacements and thus the 44mm.

With respect to the IZCC website, I suspect that the information was posted from a contributing writer as many of the other atricles are. Just wait until you see the brief I am going to write about Her Majesty the 26th when she is complete! :D

[ecp48]

26th-Z,

Thanks for the pictures. I was driving back home to Athens, GA from Raleigh, NC early Sunday morning and planned to go to the Mitty, but the weather convinced me to go on home. I flew in from LA on saturday, where I happened to fall into the MSA - West Coast Nationals the previous Sunday. Trip was not planned, but I will take whatever good comes out of "business" travel. Great show.

Too bad I wimped out on the Mitty, maybe next year.

ecp48

[Dtsnlvrs]

Very unusual to bring up such an old subject, but I was just informed thru the West Coast Z Racer Group that Mike has passed on and the car is now for sale.

[Carl Beck]

That is true. With Mike's passing the car is For Sale.

The current write up on the Z Car Home Page was originally done by Mike - and the current pictures were sent by a friend of Mike's that is trying to help Mike's widow sell the car.

http://zhome.com/History/MacauZ/macau240Z.htm

As Chris reports his conversation with Mike in 2004 -When it comes to Classic, Colletable and Special Interest Cars - - If it isn't documented -it's an interesting story. Mike never changed his written story - so it is as last submitted. Mike's story seems to be pretty much the same in an article by Vintage Motorsports Mar/Apr. 2008.

As Alan has written the results of his research - potential buyers should be referred to them here as well.

Any interested party can contact Rob Stewart via e-mail:

Rob Stewart rs58a6@bellsouth.net

FWIW,

Carl B.

Edited October 29, 2008 by Carl Beck
display Rob's e-mail address

[Tony D]

I ran across this car at the 95 Convention in Atlanta and took many photos at that time, it may have been another owner, not sure.

At that time it was stated that delivery was taken on Okinawa through the AAFEES distribution network, and that the parts on the car were indeed ordere through the sports option catalog available at the time. As with anything in Japan, many times the servicing dealer will install any parts sold, as part of the service provided. It is totally believable to me that in the timeframe given, especially on Okinawa quite a bit of preparation could have occurred locally before the customer actually ever saw the car in the first place.

Much like port-option A/C would be referred to by second or third owners as 'Factory Air', or an ARA unit on an early 70-73 Z would be referred to in the same manner by uninformed later owners.

We have a person in our car club here in SoCal that was on Okinawa at the same time, and took Local Delivery through the post exchange of his 240Z. Mikuinis and all. SU's were in a box in the back, many times they were just tossed to the bin or resold to locals for their 'secret tax-evasion upgrades' to the L20A's available locally. So this is totally believable to me, that more than just Mikuinis would have/could have been installed on a customer's car in this manner, giving the impression they were 'facory installed'.

Indeed, having since seen 'works' cars, there is a world of little differences that...even now through the fog of the years, did not stick out in my amazed agog combing of that car at the Atlanta Z-Con. It's nothing pernicious, just a bit of misinterpretation.

In any case, it still is a fine period example of what 'any' Z-Owner coudl put together from the Sports Option Catalog when the car was 'new off the showroom floor'...oh, were only today such options available!

[HS30-H]

Sad to hear that Mike Cammarata has passed away.......

Carl,

I notice that you have updated the page on zhome.com ( it actually says "as of 24th Nov. 2008"........ so perhaps a little bit of a typo there? ) and included the page from Vintage Motorsport magazine, which also contains some errors.

Since my first contact with Mike Cammarata about his car, I carried on with researching the car and driver on the Japanese side - and I have uncovered quite a lot of new data, including race reports and photos of the car in action. I'd be happy to make this available to anyone who buys the car, and wants to dig a bit deeper into the story. It's a very interesting story, and does not need to be embellished with exaggerations, misinformation and ill-informed guesses. It stands up on its own without any of that.

Alan T.

[Carl Beck]

Carl,

I notice that you have updated the page on zhome.com ( it actually says "as of 24th Nov. 2008"........ so perhaps a little bit of a typo there? ) and included the page from Vintage Motorsport magazine, which also contains some errors.

Hi Alan:

Yes - the "current pictures" including the picture of the VMS article were sent by Rob and I added them to the page, mostly so that he wouldn't have to e-mail large files to interested parties.

As a result of the original article on the Z Car Home Page - Bob Pinkowski, did hear from Ted Swanson. Ted was Lothar Stahlbergs mechanic and crewed for the races in 1971. Ted knew Jack Pray as well, and sent in some low resolution scan's, of Polaroid snapshots taken when Jack first brought the car back to the US. I'll add them as well.

FWIW,

Carl B.

[Vintage Racer]

Here is Rob's tribute to Mike as posted on the HSR and SVRA websites:

http://www.hsrrace.com/HSR/HSRHome.nsf/weblinks/EJEN-7GDGVB?OpenDocument

The date for next year's Mitty:

http://www.hsrrace.com/HSR/HSRHome.nsf/weblinks/EJEN-7JZT6P?OpenDocument