Anyone know what the early Z rally cars were using for the timekeeping, distance measuring when they ran the Africa rallys?  I see a lot of TAG Heuer kits in Porsches, was curious if Seiko made something for Datsun or Toyota.

For timekeeping, the usual 'Works' kit was a pair of HEUER (pre-TAG) clocks: A 'Master-Time' 8 day clock and a 'Monte-Carlo' stopwatch. Some of the more serious navigators would have their own preferred/maintained sets, and positioning/mounting was also subject to individual navigator preference whenever changes were possible before an event.

The usual HEUER Master-Time & Monte-Carlo pair was quite expensive at the time (they still are...) and very tempting for a thief when the cars were in Parc Ferme. There are stories of some sets going missing...  

 

For distance measuring, the usual Works kit was a pair of HALDA Tripmasters connected individually to the front wheels by drive cables which ran through the centre of each hub spindle, exiting the hub casting at the back of the strut via a hard tube. Having two Halda drives operating individually allowed the navigator to take an average for increased accuracy. Positioning of the Haldas on the dash varied somewhat according to RHD or LHD layouts and feedback from navigators about their own preferences. On later Works 240Zs and 260Z, Halda Twinmasters were fitted for doubling-up on accuracy.

 

As can be seen, the early Works cars were usually fitted with the oscillator-driven Kanto Seiki 'Rally' stopwatch clocks too. 

Nothing made by SEIKO for these cars.

Yeah..  HALDA speedpilot tripmaster. i once had one and traded it... for a windscreen... long ago... stupid mistake huh? 

Ditto .... Sold my Halda stuff with car long time ago.   Wife did not like the sport / competition or the look of the drive cables on the car coming from the front hubs and curving around into the grill area.   Still have some of the gear sets to calibrate the mileage somewhere.

Thank you for posting, looks like I'll probably go with vintage not vintage and correct.

@HS30-H what can you tell about that steering wheel?

 

4 hours ago, HS30-H said:

 

 

 

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24 minutes ago, 7tooZ said:

@HS30-H what can you tell about that steering wheel?

Its an early Nissan Works version of the 'Datsun Compe' urethane-grip steering wheel made by Izumi.

The Works version was a larger diameter version of the Compe, and followed the same solid-spoke to perforated-spoke transition as seen in the OEM S30-series Z Izumi steering wheels.

 

Do you know the diameters of those wheels? I have used a 20 year old Momo that I like for size and grip but would like to find something that is more respectful to the early Z. The original is restored and tucked away for another day. 
 

I see Zstory has replicas

 

3 hours ago, 7tooZ said:

Do you know the diameters of those wheels? I have used a 20 year old Momo that I like for size and grip but would like to find something that is more respectful to the early Z. The original is restored and tucked away for another day. 
 

I see Zstory has replicas

The normal - Sports Option - 'Datsun Compe' steering wheel was usually 350mm diameter. I have a 1972 vintage version at that diameter.

The Nissan Works rally team version was slightly bigger diameter, usually around 370mm, although I have seen at least one that was just over 380mm.

 

I have no idea what ZStory are selling and I see no mention on their website. 

My typo err. I meant the Z store (MSA)

thanks for your information

Can thr 350 mm one be acquired anywhere?

7 hours ago, 7tooZ said:

Can thr 350 mm one be acquired anywhere?

AFAIK the aftermarket replicas (such as those sold by MSA) are 350mm dia or thereabouts.

On 8/17/2020 at 2:44 PM, HS30-H said:

 

 

Hi Alan,

Slightly off topic, but interesting, I am looking at the rev counter, did the works rally cars use these (though the grainly image looks like it only goes to 8000rpm):

I did bid on this on Yahoo a few years ago, but outbid.