gnosez

The dirty one is the 15 X 7 "sport" Panasport version I purchased in 2001 and had powder-coated last year. The others are much older and are Panasport "race" wheels that got the same treatment. This is what they looked like on the 006 car.

I believe one of the questions to determine if you're a Z-nut is: "Do you store parts under your bed?". With the corollary being: "No dear, I DID take a shower, I have no idea why you keep smelling gasoline".

The primary answer is weight. You take a 240 and turn it into a 280 which was heavier than a 240. The difference could be as much as 200 pounds and while you will need to meet the new minimum weight you get to locate it where it does the most good. The second reason is simple; you have an already sorted out car with a history at the tracks you will race (again) and all the suspension & drivetrain data needed to dial in the car, all for the cost of two corner valances, a front air dam and a set of taillights.

Carl - so they made the same changes that other teams did by cutting out the rear taillight panel of an already equipped 240 and installing later 280 versions. I'm thinking of doing the same thing over the winter by including 280 valances and the BSR chin spoiler. Here's a few pages from my archives, a purchase order and an R200 diff calculation sheet for the Camel GT Pace car. I don't have access to a scanner right now but will get some other pages done in the coming weeks.

Weld a 1/2 piece of bar stock to a section of flat or 1/2 inch stock which will be your handle. Measure the clearance before welding. Wrap handle if you like. Now you have a tool that is long and strong enough. If you have an outie and not an inie for a fill plug take a 17m wrench you can either put the other end in the cup of a small jack and use the hydraulic power of the jack or cut the end off the box end of wrench and insert a length of 1/2 or 3/4 pipe to leverage the wrench.

I think I'll pass on the PLN sauce question but I will look in to see if there were any DNFs in the first two years. As to renting out the GTU car, you're out of luck if you wanted to drive the #33 car as Bob crashed that at Road Atlanta when a rear tire blew doing over 150 mph. He rolled it at least twice if not three times, The #38 GTU car that Fitzy drove is privately owned and as far as I am aware it has not been run on the track in many, many years. If you had $$$$$$$ you might be able to buy it.

So if you had the chance to ask Bob Sharp just one question what would it be? Here's some general areas you might think about for your question: Racing in general BSR race car drivers (Fitzy, Sam, Paul, Walter, Paul, et al) Competition (other drivers) Managing a race team Interactions with other race teams Interactions with Datsun/Nissan/Nissan Comp/Coventry, etc I doubt Bob will remember technical details like what camber settings or cam profiles did you use in the 1985 300ZXT that Newman drove. I know I can't remember every detail of my set-up and my season ended 6 weeks ago. A few years back I asked Bob if he could only get to drive one of his race cars which one would it be and he never hesitated - "the GTU car with 15 inch rear rims", "I could put that car anywhere".

Very interesting take and right on as far as I'm concerned. Bob Sharp has voiced this opinion for many years and was shocked to learn that the 370 is actually slower than the 350Z. Just a minor correction: That's a 260 or 280 IMSA GTU race car not a '72.

Perhaps this will help you understand what they were trying to do without the aid of a wind tunnel....

Sorry for the late reply. The late John Coffey and I had several conversations regarding why the "C" pillar develops a crack with the leading reasons being (in no particular order): Age of the vehicle Usage (rough roads, track or autocross, etc.) Prior damage Addition of a full cage Addition of continuously seam welded BDP frame rails As Matsuo San stated the leaded connection between the rear quarter panel and the roof ( C-pillar) was done to ensure if anything cracked it would be this and not the windshield connection. Picture in your mind a failed A-pillar causing the windshield to fall back into the driver and passenger or fly off and crash into another vehicle. I can only imagine that these were considered along with the number of lawsuits Americans file each year and they decided to just lead that joint instead since Mr. K was very much against a different style door window trim design. He went on to say that under normal driving conditions it should not crack but then turned and gestured towards me and said "unless you drive like John". People install our frame rails for any number of reasons but I suspect that most do so because they have increased the HP/torque in a 40 to 48 year old unibody made to house a 150HP engine.

I made it to Hollins, VA, a 678 mile almost no hassle slog in 10 hours towing the race car. Depending on traffic tomorrow I should be there by mid-day. Looking forward to seeing everyone again.

A similar opening can be found on the race cars that run in the NASCAR series. They even have detachable covers to increase/decrease the opening. Much less drag. We ran the MSA type2 front spoiler for a few years with everything blocked off except for a 14 X 5 inch opening. We constructed a shroud that expanded as it got to the radiator. Once we moved in vintage racing, off it came (not period correct) so we are running with the mouth of a basking shark.

That loose hose looks to be just the end of what was likely connected to another hose that goes to the overflow outlet on the driver's side of the tank. Get it reconnected before driving the car again.

Normal for a stock R180 that came with the car and a 4-spd. A 3:90 ratio with a 5-spd would run around 3000@80mph if you happen to drive over the posted speed limit that is.

I have had the Arizona Z Car 12 pound flywheel in my street and race 240Zs for more than 10 years and love it.

Sitting in my garage after they decided to put on different wheels on the 280ZXTT. Has the BBS fan blade wheel covers to aid in cooling the brakes.

Either it's an actual race car that was entered and ran in a sanctioned event or it isn't (no log book). If the latter is the case then it means it isn't a vintage race car and my comment about the two in the back (BRE 510 and BSR 240/280/GT2) being the only real vintage race car is correct.

You misunderstand my post. While that sports car in the foreground is not a race car the two vehicles behind it are in fact historic race cars, so the photo does belong in this thread.

Conedodger - you're wrong regarding that picture you labeled as "not a race car" (it is very nice however). It's the two historic race cars behind that interesting blue Nissan - the BRE 510 and the BSR #33 240Z (the second 240 not the preproduction Z). Lumens - I agree that orange Z is very well put together but I'm not keen on anything other that water (drinking or cool suit related) in the cockpit of a race car.

This is what was done on the L-series race engines built by BSR. The radiator was tapped to run to the "T" fitting welded on the thermostat housing which was plumbed to an expansion tank which then had a line to an overflow bottle. The expansion tank has the pressure cap. The radiator tap, the thermostat T and the expansion tank are all positioned as high up as possible. I doubt you want to ruin your Z with these modifications and I show it only to illustrate how some folks tried to keep these engine from overheating.

Just my $.02 worth of wisdom regarding these ball sockets - keep them greased.

If you do decide to use the ST sway bars, you're absolutely correct on needing to off-set the bar about 3/8- 1/2 inch back using a spacer. I have had one on my 240 street car for more than 12 years and it as had those spacers installed from the beginning. I should be coming down for ZCON/Atlanta and hope to see you and your Z there.

The real question is how do you intent to drive your car? A rear sway bar is a great addition to a street car and larger fronts or rears will reduce body roll. Some of us racing Zs don't run rear bars and have larger fronts. As to a larger front bar causing some inner engine bay metal to detach from the engine bay frame rail, that will happen if you run the car hard and with sticky tires. It's why I added reinforcement plates. Remember that sway bars are just one part of your entire suspension set-up (shocks, bushings, springs, alignment, corner balancing, wheels, tires and tire pressure). Just adding a bar, front or rear will change how your car handles but in which direction is unknown unless you tell us more about your set-up. And how you attach the end links can alter the set-up (too tight on one side, over tight on both sides, too loose, etc.). Scales will tell you when you have it right.

When I suggested slotting the tops I had in mind that one would weld in the plates once one had enough money to do so. You would need some form of camber bushings (front and rear) to make that work but those are cheap as opposed to a full suspension upgrade. We ran -3 degrees using this method before welding in TTT plates and adjustable control arms. Granted this was a race car and overall looks were not important. Those done by Mark are very, very pretty. Nice work.

Coil-overs and then just slot the existing strut tower mounts if you want to save money. You can always add camber plates later. Driving around with more than 2 degrees of front negative camber may not be to your liking. It requires your full attention and both hands on the wheel.