71 Japan GrandPrix (kenji tohira) replica

[philUK]

I love the look of this car, and having decided to keep my 240z I have decided to try to transform it into a Japanesque racer.

(hope no-one minds me posting this pic)

Does anyone have any more pics of this style car, I have seen the le mans cars.

Having to keep the cost as low as possible though, I can't keep it as authentic as I would like, I would just like to capture the style of the cars. To this end I have sourced some headlight covers (unfortunately without chrome) from the US and found bolt-on flares are available from MJP in the UK. Has anyone seen these, are they any good?

I'm now looking for a suitable airdam/spoiler and cannot decide between the commonly used (in japan) un-vented one, or a vented one like Motosports sells...Can the lemans style ones be sourced?

I'd also like to know whether these cars make use of fibreglass panels much? I myself am thinking of changing to fibreglass bonnet and wings (fenders).. again any opinions?

Sorry for the broad nature of this post, just trying to get as much info as possible at the moment!

Thanks all!

PhilUK

[HS30-H]

Hi Phil,

You may have already noted the wave of apathy that greeted your post. That picture you put up was captured from one of my own posts some time ago, so I can tell you that not many people out there are all that well informed about the Japanese race career of the S30-series Z car, much less even seem to care!

I have plenty more pics of the Japanese circuit race cars, and particularly of the "Works" circuit race cars. However, I'm not going to start putting them up here as its probably not the best thing to do. I would suggest that you start to build your own little archive of photos and start hunting down Japanese books and magazines on the subject. You will find a fair bit on the web if you are brave enough to investigate the Japanese sites. Don't expect to find them all in one place, as they are relatively rare images.

In answer to your questions, I would honestly have to say that you will have to try to be as accurate as possible if you want to make your car look even a half faithful replica of the real thing. The headlamp covers without the stainless trim will not really cut it ( unless you paint them body colour and make them look like they are off a BRE car ) and I have no idea about the shape or quality of the GRP flares that Mike at MJP here in the UK sells. However, I would imagine that they are sourced from the USA. The closest thing to the "real thing" is still available in Japan, and some companies in the USA sell copies of them. You might like to look up "Classic Datsun Motorsports" who are based in the USA and sell probably the best replicas outside Japan. I am sure that you would probably prefer to try to get stuff from the USA rather than Japan.

With regard to "air dams" and spoilers - you will find that the Japanese racers experimented with many many different types. The different regional squads of "Works" supported racers all had their own theories and ideas about the best way to execute this item, and even different cars in the same team had differing spoilers. They even started blocking off the radiator openings and leaving small ducts for cooling / induction. The Le Mans cars ( actually, it was only ONE car that ran in 1975 and ONE car that ran in 1976 - and they were both the SAME car ) were fitted with the ZG-type Group 4 aerodynamic body parts. The "Type B" version was used in the case of that particular car, with the extra large 3-piece rear spoiler, extra-wide "overfenders", "G" Nose and the bigger "Type B" front spoiler. If you are hoping to replicate the 1971 Japan GP race car driven by Tohira ( a full "Works" spec. SCCN car ) then the Le Mans car is the wrong thing to be looking at, as they were two different things. The proper aerodynamic bodied cars were a bit later.

Most of the Circuit Racing "Works" SCCN cars were running with GRP Bonnets ( "hoods" ) and Tailgates, with Acrylic in all windows except the front screen. There were a few cars built with GRP doors, but these were outlawed in the regulations for the 1972 season. The front Wings ( "fenders" ) were almost always steel on the "Works" cars.

A lot of the period feel from these Japanese racers comes from wheel and tyre choice. In a quest for more grip with limited tyre technology, they got fatter and fatter. Do not underestimate the width of wheel and tyre that it takes to fill up one of those "overfender" arches. Black or gunmetal coloured wheels are a must-do. Also remember that the factory cut and rewelded the rear wheelarch lips for clearance ( which you might not want to do ).

Lastly, as I hinted at above, this kind of style has a limited appeal to the General Public and is much misunderstood. It will drastically affect the resale value of your car. If you are into it enough then you will not care ( personally, I love the fact that many people do not know what it all means - it makes it "your" secret, and only the cognescenti will appreciate it ) but if you want to turn the car back into money then it is something to think about.

Good luck,

Alan T.

[Leeroy]

Gotta say, if you do go ahead and decide to transform your car into a jap street racer, send the pics 2 me!!! I'm thinking of making mine look very le mans-ish (its a 2+2, but I think that the long look with a gnose, flares, a wing and graphics will look cool [it'll also be very sporty + cruisy! All may kick me in the nuts now if they so desire....])...I think yours will look very drifter-ish (read: COOL, insane and yet sometimes purposeful).

Plz send me pics if it all goes ahead!

[Cuong Nguyen]

Hi Phil,

Great to see you are keeping the 240Z!

Alan has got it covered ... my suggestion if you want to replicate the look of the "works" race cars, or Japanese S30 race cars in general, the best thing to do is trying to source as many pictures that you can and see the kinds of alterations and details that they used to prepare their cars during those times.

If you are thinking of using "over fenders" you should think long and hard if you really want to get involved in cutting up your wheel wells, as this is a fairly major operation!

I too have gotten the itch to build a "period look" S30 racer myself (and in fact have promised myself that this will be the next thing on the plate) and I am working hard to save the money to fund the next project as well as "studying" the past racers.

Good luck and hope all goes well

I aggree with Alan, it is a shame that more people aren't interested in historical data of the S30 cars

[2ManyZs]

I think if some of us knew where to look there would be a lot of interest in the history of the Z's that raced abroad, not only the Japanese cars but also in Europe.

I know I have tried to search for info but usually end up with only the US history, which most of us already know about.

Alan, do you have any links you could share?

[carguyinok]

( I have plenty more pics of the Japanese circuit race cars, and particularly of the "Works" circuit race cars. However, I'm not going to start putting them up here as its probably not the best thing to do. )

Why not?

:sleepy:

We love our Z cars here and I think you could spark some new heat in some people that have just given up. Why keep the photos and storys locked away?

[Mike]

Post the picts... don't worry about the others..

[HS30-H]

Copyright problems.

Many of the photos that I have are taken from books and magazines. I also have some original prints from the photographers themselves, which were REALLY hard to get hold of.

Almost all of the images are copyrighted by the photographers or publishers, and I have to respect that if I am going to keep collecting them. Putting them up on the web without clearance is just not fair to the owners of the copyright, and especially to the photographers. Mike, I think you especially will know what I am talking about here?

That picture at the start of this thread is a classic case in point. I think PhilUK saved it from a previous post of mine in another thread. I really should not have posted it in the first place, as it is not mine to give out. However, its such an evocative shot that I could not resist it. Now its already being thrown around in cyberspace without the photographer getting any credit or payment. I feel guilty.

Having taken a few photos myself, I know how it feels to have someone pinch your images and not even give a credit - let alone pay you.

Thats why I don't think its fair to put 'em up. Hope that sounds fair to everyone. I don't think any of us would like to work and then not get paid.................

Regards,

Alan T.

[2ManyZs]

I understand about the pics Alan. Are there any Japanese web-sites with any pics that you could share with us?

[Mike]

It might be ok to put them up as long as you follow a few simple rules... giving credit where it's due and not charging for them. But, I could be wrong.

We have a copyright release from Nissan at this point. But, that's so we can re-print their microfiche and manuals.

[philUK]

Thanks for the great responses, I guess I'm going to have to get into a bit more research!

I think I went a bit over the top saying I wanted to create a replica, I just like the way that the japanese style their cars, not just old racers, but cars like the wangan midnight car (if there is a 'real' one?).. which looks incredible.

I think my car will have to 'evolve' over the next couple of years, as expenses allow!

with respect to links, here are a few I have found so far, and they seem to have good link sections too!

http://www5a.biglobe.ne.jp/~s30/13192749/

http://plaza.across.or.jp/~kazu-mac/index.html

http://www.sun-inet.or.jp/~akiras/240zg/z1.html

PS this forum always makes me so envious, both Alan and Cuong's cars are incredible.

PPS anyone know what the RB26 powered S30 cars go for in Japan when they are auctioned???

[dero]

im also going for the jdm look.......