boyblunda

I would have to support rocketdog's comments in this matter. A good supplier of outdoor and climbing equipment will have webbing and buckle options that are flexible, strong and versatile. It might be easy to think that the capabilities of the products used in climbing might far exceed any perception of what might be required for a car, but if you are involved in a collision you will want whatever is secured to a your rear luggage shelf to remain secured. Climbing gear is designed for that very task. Spend the minimal extra money and enjoy the sense of security it brings. I have harped on about this in previous threads, but I do have concerns about second hand safety gear of unknown history being used to restrain objects or humans in collisions. In the event of an accident, you will never regret having spent the money to preserve your personal safety.

Nice clip Chris - gives some indication of the length of the track and the variation in altitude. The audio track gives a nice sound from your car. Good stuff. Regards Dave

Just to chime in, Chris meant to say that the event run in October is 1000 kilometres or approximately 620 miles long and is THE event on the annual Australian motorsport calendar. The track has a significant variation in elevation and is over 6 kilometres long - see wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathurst_1000. Chris and Peter are both to be congratulated for both the quality of preparation and presentation of their fine vehicles and for the commitment and planning they have to participating in this event at what must be a leading contender for the Mecca of Australian Motorsport venues. Well done guys.

My 76 2+2 has what I think to be the original fixed belts while my 77 has retracting belts. No doubt the retractable belts are easier to access and to operate but my personal opinion is that the fixed belts are a better fit and provide better protection PROVIDED that they are properly adjusted. The general caution I apply to any seat belt discussion is that anyone with original belts in their car needs to carefully consider the integrity of those belts. Any belts with any signs of wear or damage on the webbing should be retired / replaced. I am about to replace my 76 belts with a four point harness which is more comfortable and a far better fit than the original. However, should I not have been thinking about the four point harness option, then I would prefer to replace them with new fixed belts. FWIW

My final post to clarify my contribution: Wikapedia "The WRC was formed from well-known and popular international rallies, most of which had previously been part of the European Rally Championship and/or the International Championship for Manufacturers, and the series was first contested in 1973." The World Rally Championship began in 1973 and did include on the 1973 calendar all of the events that had been run as a part of the Manufacturers Championship in 1972. All subsequent references I can find to the World Rally Championship only refer to results from 1973 onwards with no recognition of those makes that won the manufacturer's championship in the previous three years. As an additional note, a similar situation evolved in the Drivers Championship which did not start until 1979. However, there was a drivers cup run in the previous two years for which the worthy winners, Sandro Munari and Marku Alen, are given little recognition in WRC history. On the matter of 4WD vehicles, I had an impression that they were not allowed to compete in the WRC until the early 1980's when the Audi Quattro turned world rallying on its head. I also made a mistake when I quoted the history of results for North American drivers when in fact I should have said USA drivers. Walter Boyce was a Canadian driver when a he won the WRC 1973 Press On Regardless rally. Sorry to have hijacked the thread away from the achievements of Gene Henderson who, from my reading, was a talented driver of exceptional achievements in a variety of vehicles.

Read a Wikapedia post (FWIW) which said : "The FIA International Championship for Manufacturers (IMC) was a rally series culminating in a champion manufacturer. The championship was run from 1970 to 1972 and it was replaced by the FIA World Rally Championship in 1973." and "All the nine rallies of the 1972 IMC season were part of the 1973 World Rally Championship season." There might be some conjecture over the veracity of the last sentence in that I have not found any reference to the 1972 events being included in the 1973 WRC, but whatever does emerge, there is no doubting that a Jeep driven by Gene Henderson won the 1972 Press On Regardless in what was the world premiere manufacturers rally series of the day.

I see. The article says "It was not supposed to happen. A truck wins a World Rally event. Nobody expected such a thing, much less believed it when they heard that a Jeep® Wagoneer, driven by a Dearborn, Mich., cop was the first American car to win an F.I.A. World Rally Championship event. It happened in 1972 at the Press-On-Regardless (POR) rally in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan" If it was 1972 then it was not a World Rally Championship event, but rather the fore runner of what was to become a WRC event. Would not be the first time that a journalist did not get it quite right and then prints something that is a little misleading. However, loved the video clips and thought that anyone who can drive a Jeep like that certainly would have had his hands full. Outstanding.

I think that John Smiskol was the North American driver with the highest achievements in the World Rally Championship results of the past century - AND he got those results in a Z. WRC results for John Smiskol John Smiskol Career Statistics Country: United States Driver Birth Date: 11-Nov-50 First Rally: Unknown WRC Events: 1973 - 0 Career Results : Pos Event Co-Driver # Vehicle 8th. 1974 WRC Rideau Lakes Rally C. Smiskol #108 Nissan Fairlady (Z) 260Z 14th. 1974 WRC USA Press on Regardless Rally C. Smiskol #8 Nissan Fairlady (Z) 260Z 3rd. 1973 WRC USA Press on Regardless Rally C. Smiskol #105 Nissan Fairlady (Z) Some of this information has come up in the Forum some time ago and can be read in http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?18343-WRC-Placegetter-Smiskol-of-USA

I am not to sure about the accuracy of some of the statements in the article quoted here. I am not at home at the moment to check some of my references but a quick google search of the 1973 Press On Regardless World Rally Championship event results gave me : USA - POR 1. Boyce, Walter Toyota Corolla 2. Walker, Jim Volvo 142S 3. Smiskol, John Datsun 240Z (See additional info on John Smiskol in next post) 4. Buffum, John Ford Escort RS1600 5. Rodgers, John Datsun 1600SSS 6. Mucha, Robert Polski-Fiat 125p 7. Dodd, Bill Ford Capri 2600 8. Callon, Jim Datsun 510 9. Dorr, Steve Datsun 510 10. McLaren, Charles Datsun 510 From memory the best result Jeep achieved was in an East African Safari Rally where I think they gained three places in the top ten but please do not quote me on this. I do not think that any North American driver has won a World Rally Championship event. The WRC started in 1973. I am not wanting to denigrate the achievements of those mentioned above and I am happy to be advised that I am in error in my thoughts. I will post again once I have had time to check on a few things. Regards Dave

Have bought several items from him through ebay and have always got exactly what I signed up for with absolutely no problems. Shipping prices were high but I was pre warned about that through this forum. He is honest, efficient, reliable. With a little more leg work and research you can do better prices and I generally prefer to deal with MSA but I feel that you can also deal with Reddat with confidence. FWIW Dave

My most recent order was a matter of a little urgency for me as I required the parts for work in progress at a workshop - parts arrived in Western Australia four working days after placement of the order. OUTSTANDING. Thanks JON. All attended to most efficiently again. Great service.

I can understand the frustration that Alan and others feel about the perpetuation and promotion of incorrect or unbalanced information with regard to the history of the development of the Zed car. Other threads in this forum have gone to great lengths to accurately define and verify the circumstances surrounding the origin of the Zed and continue to do so. However, despite the investigation and publication of more reliable and accurate information on these matters, "modern" articles seem to continue to rely an old information from 40 years ago. This Australian article from 2008? barely preceded the publication of an Australian book discussed on http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,8390.msg83880.html#msg83880 - both continued with the delivery of the Goertz myth. Any search of threads in this and other forums would reveal that Alan has been open with his information, and supportive of accurate statements supported by references or sources for verification. He welcomes any challenge to his opinions and is willing to discuss and support or qualify any statement he makes. He is also quick to support others in their investigations. I do not think he needs to be excused for anything here but if there is a perceived tone of frustration in his response I can certainly understand why. Maybe we should scrutinise this article a little more critically and look at whether or not the comments that have been made are valid.

Well spotted Steve. This is a good buy. I have copies of both the CD and the Australian parts catalogue and find that I prefer the hard copy as a ready reference. The price on this item is very good value given that catalogues for RHD S30 on Australian Ebay have sold for $200 to $540 in the last four years.

H4Lights, that is an excellent chart depicting the beam patterns for lights. The quote you took from my post should have been written by myself as "the statutory differences lie in the operation and wiring of the lights". However, this legal definition ignores the functionality of the lenses and the patterns that match the relevant terms described in your chart. On my own car the upper larger lights are clear pencil beams for long range open road driving and the lower lights have a medium spread beam (as distinct from a fog beam) to illuminate the sides of the road and the insides of the bends in the roads. If drivers want a genuine fog beam they need to choose a lens that suits the shorter range pattern on your chart. People purchasing and mounting additional lights on their vehicles would do well to carefully consider their driving environments and purchase lights with lenses with light patterns from your chart that best suit them.

Hi Jan Links to some photos of my Zeds with additional lights mounted. Both Zeds, front view http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=1.jpg Black Zed with rectangular lights http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=2.jpg Gold Zed with horrible light mounting bar http://wazregister.com/membercars/daveb/images/imageviewer.php?filename=6.jpg Sorry about not having the skills to edit and upload photos properly. Tomohawk, I agree with your comments although the classic rally photos of the works BDA Escorts often show 4 driving lights with a two above , two under configuration. A lot of people mount driving lights in a less than best lighting position to preserve the lines and appearance of their car. Where I come from fog lights are those that can be switched on independently of the head lights while the parking lights are on. This stops the head lights from illuminating the fog and the additional lights get the light on the ground. Driving lights are wired into the light system to only be allowed to operate in conjunction with the high beam. A spotlight is a light that operates independently of the others eg a rear mounted reversing light on a rally car or even a roof mounted light for some other vehicles for non driving purposes - hunting, taxi drivers looking for street numbers etc. Jan, in the galleries I think I noticed both Jackhammer and 280Z turbo had lights mounted similar to those in the photo you posted. Regards Dave