JTZ23

OK John, Tom Holt and I will have to pick your brain this year. I held my own on power but was out classsed on handling, and Toby drove great. The Boxter will be very very fast next year in the hands of Eric S. Stock motor on the handling course and he put the hurt on Toby and I. I am running only 2 degrees of caster so I am thinking maybe just simply looking at this with shocks but also thinking double a arm front. Also, the temp was really hot this year and maybe the bias ply were not the ticket. Toby, Eric and Tom seem to think it wasn't. Hoosier told me not to jump from the bias tire yet as they made changes to the tire (soften side wall construction) and they seem to think the tire will be better. My initial thought is softer sidwall does not mean faster lap times. SO, clean sheet of paper................

Good to hear Leeds is OK. Ugly pics. A lot of bad things can happen when towing 3,000 plus miles. Tom is correct, the competition has increased with the addition of newer cars and talented drivers, time to step out of the box with the Z's development. Toby drove great and consistent and the new car on the block, Porsche Boxter, will definitly be a contender when placed in the hands of the Dr. 365 days to figure out how to spend our money.................. JT

That my friends is seriously impressive!!! My hats off to you Burton and your crew. Also, this is another testament to the amazing power Dave Rebello can build. Going on 40 and still breaking records, long live the Z JT

I finally figured out how to cut down the vids to a normal size. Courses at Nationals were terrific this year. http://www.vimeo.com/15109324 http://www.vimeo.com/15109210 JT

Well, I have to say it was a stressful Nationals. First of all I knew Toby was going to be tough not to mention everyone else in the class. When we unloaded the car on Wed. the battery died, then we had a really bad miss in the motor. We started chasing ignition first and replaced the 6 year old spark plugs. Next the starter gave up. Finally we found that the emulsion tubes in the carbs were HIGHLY corroded from old fuel and lack of use. I think she was telling me to drive her rather than leave her in the garage all the time. My BIG BIG thanks go out to Tom Holt for providing me new plugs ( New ones are on there way as soon as I am back from New Jersey this week) and many other FP drivers who pitched in to diagnose the problems and get the ole Z going as she should. That's why I love FP, just a good group of folks. So Rick sorry you could not make the show but, NO XP!!!!! You belong in FP!!! I will post a few vids as soon as I figure out how to edit them down. JT

I was just wondering if you could pull a few plug wires on the BMW I am sure Toby won't notice. :-) Tom is right this is one hell of a class this year. Actually I was wondering your thoughts of the advance design struts. Tom's probably tired of me complaining about mine but I am getting my rears back from being rebuilt twice. What are some options??

Greg, are you going to be there Saturday, my daughter and I are headed down to camp out Sat. JT

Wow, great input from everyone!! Thank you so much. Well is looks like what I expected, a rather expensive proposition for a weekend skip across the pond, which I hate because running Gurston or probably any hillclimb in the UK would awesome!! I had origionally thought of going with a 40' container and taking the truck, trailer and car for the trip since its an all out race car very simiar to Ben's. John Forsyth turned me on to the Ro/Ro but ouch that's scary as hell. Well I am still going to check out rates and report back to everyone. Maybe I'll hit the ole Florida lottery and get that chance of a life time. I still plan on going back to Gurston, hopefull next year. Which again I highly recommend to everyone because the event and people you will meet are class act. JT

Thanks for the input. I am going to check on some rates later this week. Hopefully I don't get sticker shock but I have a feeling it won't be cheep. JT

I am kicking around the idea of shipping my Z overseas to run a hillclimb. I met a fellow z guy in the UK a couple of years ago and while on business across the pond they happen to have a two day event at Gurston Downs http://www.gurstondown.org/ which I attanded. I camped out the weekend a met a ton of great people and the event was awesome. And, here I am thinking of shipping the Z over to run Gurston next year. So has anyone shipped a car overseas particularly from the Florida area. I know there is a roll on roll off ferry that leaves Jacksonville and lands in Salsbury which is about 30 minutes from Gurston. For all of you interested in Hillclimbs check out the web site. There are a couple of videos and the red, white and blue big flared Z is the guy I met. Thanks JT

Give em hell Greg!!! We're pulling for ya big time!!

John C, Now I know where Toby got his go fast advice from. You can stop giving it to him, he's fast enough!! Seriously he drove very well and he's a super nice guy to boot. I got a bit lucky this year so I am going to have to sharpen the ole skills to stay ahead of Toby and Mark and Tom and ........... Tom did a super job jumping into the Evo and turning quick times. I would assume it's not an easy car to drive really fast. Rick had some good runs as well, all in all I think the Z's made a good showing. But we can always use more in the class......

Plenty of Z Karma to be had, Good luck Greg, give em hell!! JT

I got a few vids so I will try to get them uploaded. Rick I think this was discussed earlier but have you changed cam timing any? JT

Well we got that ole P car and Evo this year. However the Evo did get me on Friday and I drove my but off. So, my Z will go through some changes in the coming year. Lower, spoilers and what ever I can bend the rules, I mean follow the rule book. Andy Craig, glad to see you hanging out there.

Tires are hoosier 22 x 10 x 16 same as most all the Z's. Wheels are 16 x 10 Bogarts. I have thought about going a little bigger but then I have to get into ring and pinion changes etc........ The gearing I have now is perfect for Autox. JT

Yep, $50K is what I heard as well. Indeed the information source, Mr. Wood, has been known to arrange the story for his amusement. Not sure my ole spring rate change worked this year. Seemed pretty good on the first day but not sure it was the right thing for the second day. Still scratching my head over it. Thinking of lowering the car......... JT

Thanks guy's. It was a big big surprise. Glad we can keep the Z's on top. However, I think Tom and I have some homework to do over the winter. Hey Tom, rumor has it from Grady that Jay is going to buy the 914-6, nothing confirmed. JT

Z's RULE!!!! It was a good year for the Z at the Solo II Nationals particularly ole blue. I was worried about the rain on Tuesday but ironically it allowed me to get enough lead to cover the hot run Fordahl had the next day. Weather permitting, I will be in Daytona for the autox on Thursday. I am in Toronto right now, headed to Philly tomorow and back to Tampa Wed. night. JT

Hey, just got back. Actually no vid's of the car at Nationals. There was a group there shooting and the video is 20 bucks. I think I am going to buy it. I do have some video from a local event but not from a good vantage point. If the video from Nationals look ok, I'll post it.

Not sure if you guy's have seen these but there are a couple of videos of this car "Janspeed Z" on this page. Its probably one of the fastest accelerating Z's I have seen. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=janspeed JT

Thanks Mark, The Z's made a good showing this year but if they keep that GT3 in the class then we are going to have to step it up a notch. I think we have to focus on suspension as the surface is Topeka is not a friend to HP. JT

Yep, just got back on the site after way to long. I don't think you got the videos I sent, they were probably to large. Don't know if you have seen these before but check out the youtube link http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=janspeed&search=Search If it does not work, go to youtube.com and type in Janspeed in the search. The Z on there is pretty awesome. Has to be the quickest Z I have ever seen. So what do you know about slide plate intakes? JT

Tom, that was a painful reminder of where the checking account went to, but pretty darn accurate. Still a hell of a lot cheaper than a GT3 but then again we don't have air conditioning. I hope all is well out in Texas, I sent you and Richard a link to a couple of Z's that are in the UK. Great videos. Looks like Richard is going XP with a 350Z motor. Sounded like he was going to need some major mods to get it in. JT