DatsunDoc

I believe 1970 with that font for the numbers

The first SCCA National Championship for Nissan/Datsun in 1967

Mike Agnifilo's 510. Very much a race car and a well driven fast one at that.

There's a good article and pics on the history of Bob Sharp's racing adventures in this month's Vintage Motorsports.

That's Summit Point turn 4 (the Chute) and that an actual Datsun racer (Datsun 2000) in the middle of the picture!

I believe that car belongs to Bob Burgess. 200sx Turbo L18 with FIA head. The car originally ran in IMSA.

Your welcome. I thought some folks here would enjoy some of the "pre-Z" Datsun history. Here's the ex-Sharp 1967 CP 2000 as it looks today (SVRA 2012 Glen) and Bob signing the dash during the 2011 SVRA Watkins Glen weekend. Photos by Rich Booth and Ron Freudenheim. BTW- Bill Wessel owns and is still racing Joe's last Datsun 1600 in SCCA. He came in 3rd this year in FP!

The GP car is Bob Sharp driving and it's a 1964 SPL-310 1500 roadster. He prepared and drove this car in 1964 and set track records for GP at Lime Rock, Watkins Glen, VIR and Bridgehampton in 1964. He won the NE divisional championship and went to the first runoffs at Riverside in 1964 where he DNF'd. The 1600 was run in FP but didn't come out until 1966. Bob won the FP national championship in the 1600 in 1967. The CP car is Bob Sharp driving his 1967 SRL-311 Datsun 2000. The 2000 came out in late 1967. The 2000 was classed in CP with Mikuni carbs and later was run in DP with SU carbs, especially after the 240Z showed up in CP in 1970. Hope this helps. Mike

Here's a couple of Sharp's earliest Datsuns

Greg, That is hilarious! Man your quick.. ;-) MIKE

Les is on the road picking up cars and parts. He was at my house in Virginia this week. I imagine it will be a week or so until he's back in the shop. Mike

Not a vintage photograph, but a photo showing some of the great vintage Zs that showed up at the Glen in September can be seen here: http://www.thespeedclick.com/tsc-2011_datsun-nissan_group.shtml

The Z on Ebay is not the Electramotive car. It belongs to Mike Murphy and it was at the SVRA Vintage races at the Glen Sept 11. He won the All Datsun race. In the Runoffs picture above the Z on the 5th row (white and red hood) is Bob Leitzinger in his 1975 280Z. Bob was also at the Glen Sept 11th racing his Datsun 510 and Lotus Elan.

"Carl, depending on the club you may be able to use it but per SVRA rules this is not allowed. Interestingly SVRA gr6 (big bore cars) are allowed alternate transmissions, including Jericos, with a weight penalty, but not gr8 (zcars). One of their many gr6-gr8 double standards." This is incorrect, you can use an alternate production based transmission in group 8 SVRA (+75 lbs.)

"Mike, define "close ratio 5 speed". Strictly related to Nissan transmissions, there's only the OEM stuff (which I delved on) or comp boxes - which are rarer than hen's teeth and replacement parts are even harder to come by." I'm not talking about a specific transmission here. 5 closer ratios will always be better than 4 for a peaky engine. I have used the various Nissan transmissions in the past. I'm currently using a T5 based transmission because it's the best for my particular class, car, budget etc. My point is that the original question can't be answered without weighing the total goal of the effort. This will be governed by your sanctioning body rules, class rules, engine power band, your budget and the track where you race on a given weekend. The guy who considers how all these things work together will be the fast one. Sometimes it's easy to lose track of the total goal and that can affect the best choice for engine modifications, tranny and rear to use. Good luck. See you at the track. Mike

If you have a serious engine it's going to have a narrow power band so a close ratio 5-speed is always better than a 4 speed. If you go crazy on your engine and your not prepared to have a transmission to take advantage of it you will not go faster. You might be better off with a engine that is happier at a wider rpm range. Building a successful race car is about getting all the pieces working together really well. This is true of the engine and the entire car. A "trick" piece here or there doesn't do it. It's about maximizing the package. Mike

I have raced with both E31 and E88. Once fully modified for a race engine there is no difference in the two IMO. If you are going to be racing in CP with a 2400cc engine be careful about trying to go too big on the valves as shrouding by the cylinder may cause more problems than advantages of the big valves. Mike

Please do post them.

Gnosez, That's my Z. Nice meeting you at the races. I've driven the old course a couple of times with the race car. It's a bit hard on the car because I have no fan, racing clutch/tranny etc. I needed to save my clutch for the weekend this year so I skipped it. This is a great vintage race event that the town embraces and I highly recommend it for drivers or spectators. Datsun is the featured marque for 2011 so put it on your calendars. There should be some special Datsun race cars showing up for the event. Mike

Never had that problem on my CP 240Z with stock calipers. Mike

I tend to agree with Jon. If your going to the expense and effort of a new cam and rockers, get the grind that is best for the application and replace springs and seals too. As far as Cam Techniques goes, yes, he made cams for Sharp and yes they do a good job. I have used him for several cams and have been very happy. Not sure what options he has for street cars. Mike

Greg, I'd be careful here. I'm not convinced that's a legal modification and not that much weight loss unless it was thin CF type piece. Mike

You can also contact Les at Classic Datsun Motorsports for spoilers. He has parts made from the original BRE molds: http://classicdatsun.com/ You can email me directly at DatsunDoc (at) aol.com for specific questions about car preparation. Most of the BRE and Sharp modification can be replicated in preparing a car for vintage racing. I encourage you to keep your car to CP specs and come out and have some fun! A period legal CP 240Z can be fast and competitive. We have to keep the CP Porsches and Loti honest! Mike

I race a vintage 240Z in CP group 8 with SVRA. First off, no fiberglass. You can go to the SVRA website and look at car specific preparation rules. They are looking for period correct air dams and spoilers and stock brakes in CP. Modifications beyond that and they will move you up to BP or AP. Mike Unger

I race in vintage (CP) and it's actually even worse than IT on brakes. The car is faster down the straights and you have to slow more for the corners since the tires aren't as good. Turning drums and rotors isn't an option IMO. You can't afford the reduction in mass and they crack. Aluminum helps dissipate the heat better than solid iron drums. That's why they designed them that way. The lack of new drums is very disappointing to hear. Mike Unger