mark belrose

The most pain free conversion - except for your wallet - http://www.wolfcreekracing.com/wcrcvhalfshaftaxlekit.doc Mark

Nice info at http://geocities.com/zgarage2001/borg.html Mark

Unfortunately the RV crapped out on me so I've got to get that taken care of first before getting the race car back on the track. The RV keeps my wife happy in the paddocks and I'm using the time tested equation: wife no happy = me no happy either (but at least she turns an almost blind eye to my racing expenditures - if she only knew). But I'm hoping to get to an event in a month or two. My tires are last season's, so I've also got $800 in new Hoosiers to look forward to. Other than that I think the car is ready to race. Look forward to seeing you out there. Mark

Hey Ron, I appreciate you not naming the source of motor/Mikunis/AREs - wouldn't want to get blamed for turning your project from "race car" into "BRE trailer queen." hehe.... Anyway, you've certainly done a superb job getting that car together faithfully, and it deserves the recognition its gotton. Ron, FYI my race car's going under the "knife" this weekend. Gonna knock out all of the old bondo and fix the front end where I apparently tapped another car during green flag. I feel sorta bad about removing the bondo. It's like removing some of the car's race heritage - fixing the crappy repair done in the mid '70's after a roll-over at Willow Springs. Mark '70 C Production 240Z restored privateer (modified a tad past original race config).

According to the Mikuni PHH Carburetor Service Manual, the optimal fuel pressure is 2.84-4.98 lb. I'd recommend getting that manual since it's a good reference for PHHs. I see them on ebay frequently for $10 or less. I've been using a cheap regulator from Summit for years with my Mikuni 50PHHs and have never had any problems. Mark Belrose '70 restored SCCA C Production 240Z

Enrique, you are the man :knockedou ... What you said about the ballast resistor got me thinking so I went back and rechecked all of the wiring. Everything looked good. Next, I reinstalled the old ignition switch and bypassed the ballast resistor to see what would happen. The car fired right up and kept running. FYI I've been running an Allison electronic ignition in conjunction with that resistor for years and never had any problem. Is there any definitive way to test whether the resistor is bad besides the car not running when it's broke? I put an ohm meter to it and could not get a reading between terminals - couldn't think of another way to test it. I also couldn't find anything in my repair manuals regarding testing the ballast - is there any pre-warning when one is going bad or do they just fail instantaneously?

After work I tried to start my car. It would only stay running as long as the starter was engaged. As soon as I'd release the key the engine would die. I checked the fuel and ignition systems - all ok. Finally I figured out that the car would remain running if I held the key half way between the "on" and "start" positions. So I ran back inside my work and grabbed some vice grips and clamped it to the key. Then I held the vice grips next to my left leg to keep the key in the necessary position as I drove home. It was a little tricky holding the tool in that position and a couple of times I engaged the starter and another couple of times I killed the engine. I'm sure the people following me thought I was a moron. Anyways I made it home and here the car sits. It looks to me that the back portion of the ignition switch is not serviceable. My guess is that one of the internal contacts broke or bent. Mark

In fairness to Motorsport, Sal left a message on my machine this morning stating they'd take the part back and refund my shipping both ways. He was aware of the potential problem with 1970's, which they've run into before with a few customers with early VINs. Mark

Thanks all for the information. One last question - if I hunt down a non-1970 assembly, can my existing ignition unit (the chrome part the key inserts into) be transferred to the newer assembly? I'm hoping to retain my key set. Otherwise, if I get an assembly at a salvage yard, I'd most likely have to get it rekeyed. Mark

Hi Bruce, looks like you have the same setup as I do, and that the new VB one you puchased is also too big to slide into the your bracket. I measure roughly 1.33" OD for the new switch where it slides into the bracket, vs 1.18" for the old one. The connectors are also the same between my two units, but that doesn't do me too much good considering the part itself is much too big to fit. I just wanted to confirm my car's setup was not unique, as the sales rep at Motorsport was basically telling me I didn't know what I was talking about because Nissan's application list must be correct for all years 1970-1983. Makes me mad I'll have to pay $40 for someone else's mistake. Mark

My ignition switch failed the other day on my 1970 240Z so I tromped down to the local Napa to get another back of switch. Their part differed from what I had on my car, being a larger diameter than mine and unable to slide into the pot metal bracket. So I ordered from Motorsport and ended up with the same part as what Napa had. Nissan shows the application to be good for all 1970 thru 1983 cars, but obviously that's not true since it doesn't fit mine. Now it looks like I'm out $40 since Motorsport doesn't accept returns on electrical. Needless to say I'm not happy:ermm: . Anyone have any knowledge of different ignition switch/bracket for very early Z's? Looks like I may have to purchase an entire assembly rather than just hunting around for an oddball back of switch. Thanks, Mark Belrose HLS30-7407

Hi Steve, sorry I don't remember seeing your earlier email. - most likely just being brain dead on my part. I do appreciate your offer. I never thought it would be that difficult locating only one wheel. I've seen a few sets for sale but am basically just trying to complete my set. Mark

I am looking for a single 14 x 6.5 Minilite to match the three I already have. They are the thicker ones that require longer wheel studs. Contact me at markbelrose@hotmail.com if you've got an extra one floating around in your garage. Mark '70 restored C Production 240Z

The head torque settings depend on whether you are using ARP lubricant or not. I tried to locate the webpage where I'd originally retrieved the torque settings for my ARP setup, but it seems its moved or unavailable. To the best of my recollection it showed 45 ft-lbs with ARP lube and approx. 65 ft-lbs using only oil. I may be off a few ft-lbs. Just make sure to use some kind of lubricant or your applied torque settings will have no meaning. I've occasionally applied considerably higher torque to my ARP studs because I'm running very high compression motors and need to avoid blowing head gaskets. However, in most cases I think this isn't a good idea if you wish to avoid overstretching them. Mark

On 14x7 Panasports w/S12Ws, I had to grind the calipers a bit to gain the needed clearance - not something I'd generally recommend. Mark

John Morton was there briefly signing autographs. He was pretty short of time but tried to spread himself around as best he could. Pete Brock was busy in the paddock and unfortunately couldn't get away. A friend of mine talked with him the next day and Pete mentioned he thought the 240Z was the one of the best race cars ever, continuing to win major events decades after its debut. Dan Haney was there in his nicely prepped 510 as was Bill Baker with his 240Z C Production race car. There were also two BMWs and an Alfa GTV, which Mark Davey arranged to show next to the Datsun race cars as those marques used to compete against each other.

I bought one of those pans a while back from Nissan Motosport for my C Production 240Z race car. They said they were NLA for 240Zs, so I went ahead and ordered one for a 260/280Z with the hope I could modify it to fit. They said I'd purchased the last new one available through Nissan in the country. Long story short, I had to bend it up on the front edge to fit my car. I tried it out at California Speedway, where in the past my front end got so light through turns 1 and 2 that I could steer the car with one finger. Now with the increased downforce, I need two fingers to steer the car through those turns.

I have to agree my setup is a little screwy. I can sit there for 10 minutes warming up and never see my oil temp gauge start registering while my water temp gets very hot (having no fan doesn't help). Once on the track my oil temp quickly gets up to where it needs to be. I have to time the warm up process so that at the end of the first lap before green flag, the oil temp is good. So I guess having multi-viscosity oil may help during the long warm up process. The Monterey Historics were great, with a large showing in the Datsun corral. A couple of them were unbelieveable, a 510 with a 300XZ turbo motor installed, and an early VIN 240Z with a Skyline turbo. The Grassroots Motorsports photographer got a nice shot with Bob Bondurant standing in front of my car. I'd like to somehow get a copy of that image. I also fell in love with one of the Lister Jaguars - I think I'll buy one with one of my spare millions.

Hey Ron. I've run 20-50 based on the recommendation of the guy from which I bought my original GT2 motor, which was also a dry sump configuration. Getting as hot as 260 degrees, I've even been tempted to run thicker viscosity oil except that the oil pressure has always been fine. I've heard as many opinions by racers regarding the best type of oil to use as there are cars on the track. I decided not to use synthetic as it gets a bit pricey changing out 12 quarts of oil come oil change time.

They're part of the dry sump system. The -12 vents the dry sump tank to the valve cover. The -10 then vents the valve cover to the vapor cannister which is mounted on the firewall. I seem to recall that we designed the entire plumbing system including pump, oil cooler and external filter, per the diagram in "How to Hotrod and Race Your Datsun". Since my tank is mounted in the rear right of the car, it required a buttload of stainless ($$$) to get it set up. Total oil capacity is 12 quarts. The tank is a Pederson and the pump is a Stock Car Products unit. Other details: I run a 1961 Corvette cross-flow aluminum radiator without a fan. Typically during races I see 185 degrees water temp and 240 degrees for the oil. During my last race at California Speedway where the track temperature was 110 degrees, my oil temperature hit 260 degrees although my pressure remained rock steady. I'm not running synthetic, just Valvoline Racing 20-50.

OK, I've finally got a a few pre and post-restoration photos of my race car posted within the member galleries. Enjoy...