HS30-H

Questions like this are instances where the term '432-R' needs to be refined into 'street' and 'race' specifications. 432-Rs sold to private customers for registration and street use had differences from those sold for pure race use. In some respects it's wiser to treat 432-Rs on a case-by-case basis. Who is a "prig" and who isn't depends very much on your own viewpoint. You might like to take a peep in the mirror at your own "azz" occasionally.

The '#68' car was a factory race car, and the photos we are looking at are PERIOD photos from January 1970. Terashima san's car was a privateer race car, it went through several owners, was race-prepped and modified over many seasons (eventually ending up with a Grande Nose and N3020 overfenders) and the photos were are looking at now are RECENT. When Terashima san first got it, and when I first saw it, it had been fitted with a big alloy tank containing a JAF-sanctioned bladder conforming to regulations of its later racing years. Nothing like it had when it was first built and raced. Just because we can observe something on Terashima san's car today - and the hole-drilled dieting is a good example - it doesn't mean that it was originally like that, or that it had anything to do with Works team practices. External fuel tank venting was mandatory. Factors to be taken into account were fuel-slosh in cornering and venting away from heat sources. Obviously you don't want fuel vapour inside the cabin of the car either. Roll-over situations also.

They also call it: "... a competition-prepped version of the early 240Z..." Don't think they've quite got their head around how all this works.

Mr Richard Hell (and his Voidoids) told me in 1977 that I belonged to The Blank Generation. But I can take it or leave it each time... Hey. Never too old to meme. They are just captioned stills, after all. About those "faster" comments: Yes, they'll keep coming. And my daily driver diseasel Audi - all two tonnes, heated leather, tow hitch and Bang and Olufsen of it - would probably show any 432-R the way around a race track too. But so what? Those 'my car would...' guys are missing the point so far that they aren't even on the same map.

That's an E10.

Except that they didn't. It was nothing to do with Nissan. Haller and Schuller had got hold of an ex-Works circuit race car from South Africa (where it had been left behind by the Works team in 1973 with the intention of allowing a pair of local drivers to compete in remaining rounds of the Springbok Series, only for the series to be cancelled due to the Oil Crisis...) but it was not authorised by Nissan and they had no direct factory support. And Nissan were not happy that privateers were entering an ex-Works car at such a prestigious race. The car just wasn't suitable and, in Le Mans 24hrs terms, Hallers team was a shoestring effort. Easy for you to say now, but this was a period where such races did have participants who were - let's face it - out of their depth. Haller and his team had an opportunity (they only just squeaked into the starting line-up through the non-participation of other qualifying cars) and they took it. They were attempting to punch above their weight, but hampered by lack of replacement/spare parts and - ultimately - full knowledge of the details of the car. This was a rather special piece of equipment, but they had not built it and they had only limited knowledge and limited spare parts. They were doing as best they could manage. Despite their troubles, they were classified as finishers in '75. This allowed them a smooth entry to the '76 race, with the car rebuilt/refreshed, but still - inevitably - a lack of spares and running on a limited budget. It was to end in tragedy.

Terashima san's car. It's a 432-R. Hence the tailgate prop instead of a gas strut. It has one vent exiting on the top side of the RH rear quarter, and one vent exiting on the LH side of the rear panel. Both face to the rear of the car.

What car are you talking about?

Haller and his team had serious diff troubles throughout the race in '75. That's why you see the car with its back end in the air in the pits in so many photos. It delayed them greatly. As mentioned, the car was already well used when they got it and - reportedly - they didn't have all that much in the way of spares come with it when they acquired it.

That's from the diff... Side-exit exhaust, not rear exit. The car was running on Nissan ECGI electronic fuel injection, and was already tired before starting the race. In late 'endurance' race spec the Works team tended to run the engines purposely rich (to help it to last) and loose, with a driver-controlled engine oil replenishment system. Haller and his team 'inherited' this spec from the car's Works circuit race history, but without necessarily having the full knowledge of the ECGI system or many spare parts to use with it. All things considered, with the later photos of the car in the '75 Le Mans 24hrs race having been taken after 20+ hours of racing, it is not surprising that it was exhibiting the evidence of heavy breathing from all orifices...

You haven't even mentioned the funky external hinges. I am disappoint.

It's not 'construction'. It's deconstruction. Adding lightness. Stress testing and/or torsional rigidity was probably the last thing on the shop boy's mind when his boss told him to get some weight out of the bodyshell. All that is - of course - nothing to do with Nissan. It was done by a privateer owner when the car was no longer this years' race car. And frankly, I've seen worse...

You're welcome.

Stick-on lead wheel weights with extra security of duct tape over the top? Pretty standard racer habit, even today.

Are you looking at the 432-R's standard tailgate prop?

Don't abuse it.

Mandatory fuel tank vent. Required by the regulations.

You've just quoted a link which contains at least three photos of the car in question. The All Japan Suzuka 300km meeting was spread over two days, with qualifying and supporting events on the 17th and the big race and a supporting card on the 18th. So the 432-R practiced & qualified on the 17th and raced on the 18th. Nissan press photos:

It's not much use if you don't know what part(s) are right and what part(s) are wrong. Bad data is like a virus, and if other people repeat your bad data along with the good then that bad data eventually gets set in stone... The first post in this thread is a prime example, isn't it?

Except the Works competition department had cars well before October 1969, and had been consulting on the very fabric of the car before it went into production. Why the obsession? Are you trying to prove something to somebody somewhere?

I would suggest caution advisory when using the JAF online resources. Especially English-translated sections. Lots of mistakes there. JAF's official records are second to none, but they are not reflected in the available online content.

Murayama, like Oppama, Yatabe and Fukurohe, was a test track. Are we counting running on a test track as some kind of 'competition' use now? In any case, I think you'll find that the S30-series Z was on the Oppama test course before Murayama. See what I mean about endless hair-splitting? It might be fun for a while, but it doesn't really get resolved.

There was also a 4.3km lap format.