Alan Thomas . . . is that you?

[Ed]

Very interesting. Alan I'm afraid to ask but how many Datsuns do you have in your paddock?

I wonder if Nissan Sport would do a translation on those articles, hint, hint, cough, cough.

If I ever go to London I would love to visit.

[26th-Z]

Congrats, Alan!

[HS30-H]

Alan I'm afraid to ask but how many Datsuns do you have in your paddock?

None at all Ed. They are all Nissans....... :classic:

If you ever find yourself in London, you would be most welcome to visit, of course. Goes without saying.

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone, but I have to say the coverage of myself and my cars is nothing compared to the pages in issue no.118 covering Kevin and Gary's ex-Works cars. I hope you all realise just how special and historic those two cars are. The owners of the cars are not limelight-seekers by any stretch of the imagination, and for Nostalgic Hero to get the 'scoop' was a bit of an achievement really.

I was very happy to be able to help arrange the whole thing, and the satisfaction of seeing the two cars ( as well as Kevin's yellow car - a car with over 30 years of continuous competition behind it, by the way - and not forgetting Gary's Nissan 240RS too ) finally given a really good article with great detail photos and explanations was great for me. We had a great time on the shoots and the whole thing went off quite well, so I was relieved. I think the article did the cars justice, although I'd have liked them to have used more of the period shots of the cars in action that I supplied them with - but you can't have everything.

It would be nice if some of the English language car magazines would dedicate some space to a proper historically accurate, informative and visually appealing article like Nostalgic Hero managed with Kevin and Gary's cars.

Alan T.

[sakijo]

Alan & Lachlan,

Sorry, but I`m tied to a dial-up connection at the time, so I don`t hit the site as often as I like. Right now, I`m in Japan on a ADSL connection, so I can be on a bit more. Going back to Hawaii today . . . vacation is over. Looking forward to cable connection soon. I just happened to come across the NH 119 at the local bookshop and guess what . . . Agree with you, Alan, I wish English magazines would give more press to these fine cars.

[Gav240z]

Hi Alan, those articles look great. I'm hoping Lachlan can help me get a copy of each. Particularly love the old works rally cars. Are the owners in the process of returning them to what they were like back in the day? Ie: putting all the sponsorship back on them and the driving fog lights up front etc..?

They look great!

[nwcubsman]

Hi Alan,

I must say that seeing the pix has been a real treat. Thanks for posting them. I admire you (not for the car, that goes without saying) for your historical work and knowledge of these cars I love so much. Having some recognition is well deserved.

Cheers!

[Alfadog]

I just got my copy. What a great issue. I'd love to be able to read some of it as I've recently become interested in Daihatsu's history.

Anyway, I hate to be off-topic but I didn't think it really needed a whole new topic just for this. In the back pages we have coverage of two 'Western' events that I thought people might like to see. Attached!

Car looks great Alan! The period tyres really do set it off.

[veritech-z]

It looks like I'll be finding myself in London in August (my wife has family getting married there, and evidently we rated an invite), if I see you driving around I'll be sure and give you a wave!

[EricB]

Alan,

Congrats on the article, but what happened to fitting these wheels on one of yours cars? no dice?

-e

[HS30-H]

Alan,

Congrats on the article, but what happened to fitting these wheels on one of yours cars? no dice?

-e

Eric,

Those wheels are now on the KPGC10, with new road-legal Avon ZZR tyres. Had a slight drama with the ride height ( it was very low, having been set for use with slicks ) but that is now resolved.

It looks like I'll be finding myself in London in August (my wife has family getting married there, and evidently we rated an invite), if I see you driving around I'll be sure and give you a wave!

Max, you'll need to be looking out for a silver Audi A4 Avant Quattro ;-)

But seriously, contact me nearer August and we might be able to arrange for you to see my cars in London? The 432R-replica might even be running by then ( famous last words ).

Hi Alan, those articles look great. I'm hoping Lachlan can help me get a copy of each. Particularly love the old works rally cars. Are the owners in the process of returning them to what they were like back in the day? Ie: putting all the sponsorship back on them and the driving fog lights up front etc..?

Gav,

Kevin's car ( the '71 RAC car ) is nearing the end of a major restoration, and is being put back to its '71 RAC spec and livery. Kevin is taking this down to some intricate detail, including the replication of a UV-sensitive paint daub applied by the scrutineers at the start of the rally. His attention to detail is stunning. He's missing one Koito spotlamp, which is proving very difficult to get hold of. They were originally made by Koito as aircraft parts, and even Koito in Japan have come up with nothing so far. I know an old guy who has a set, but he is proving to be difficult to persuade to part with them.

Gary's car ( the '73 RAC car ) is a family heirloom and is something of a 'rolling resto' at this point. It has wonderful patina and it would be a shame to pull it apart at this point. Gary did some work on it in 2006 and it might be on the road again in 2007. Myself and Kevin have been trying to help Gary source some missing works parts for it, and this should help things along somewhat.

Cheers,

Alan T.

[HS30-H]

Anyway, I hate to be off-topic but I didn't think it really needed a whole new topic just for this. In the back pages we have coverage of two 'Western' events that I thought people might like to see. Attached!

Lachlan,

Did I mention to you that Masuda san ( Editor-in-Chief of Nostalgic Hero ) was talking to me about your contribution? He was very happy that you had gone to the trouble of contacting the magazine and reported what was going on in your homeland. He's looking forward to more. Nice job.

There's a lesson for us all there somewhere. We probably need to be more proactive.

Alan T.

[MikeW]

But seriously, contact me nearer August and we might be able to arrange for you to see my cars in London? The 432R-replica might even be running by then ( famous last words ).

Wow; I might have to visit again to see that. I'll buy lunch this time.

Seriously, I'm glad to see that you made it into the magazine.