Ron Carter

Hi Alan, Yes, the 432-R rear spoiler to be exact... Also, based on the rules for SCCA C Production rules I think the rear spoiler would have to be an item that was available for the 240Z and was homolgated from the Japanese market place, just like the 5spd transmission that was used by BRE from the european and Japanese marketplace. This was a production based class so adding aerodynamic enhancements that were not a option with or OEM for the car would be against the rules. I am sure that there are FIA papers for the 432-R spoiler to be used in competition. Just like there is FIA papers for the Roadster competition 5 Speed that was used in the BRE cars. The whole story about the front spook was based on providing brake ducting for the Roadster, then the Z (that just happened to help the aerodynamics of the car back then). I got my fiberglass parts for my Z from the same guy that is manufacturing parts for the Brocks, and it is the 432-R ribbed spoiler and not the later, non ribbed spoiler. I have compared it to a right hand drive 240Z with an original 432-R spoiler and it is exactly the same. Alan, I will speak to the Brocks and get this sorted out. Ron

Hi Guys, not that I want to get involved in this, however, my understanding is that the BRE 46 ran the Nissan (432) rear spoiler. Early and late photos of the BRE 46 car support this theory as it is a ribbed spoiler, there is no way to confirm or deny that their could be a slight height difference in the BRE product vs. the Nissan product. My car has the Nissan (432) unit, and so does Gerry Mason's original #3 BRE 240Z. I am sure that the Brock's in this case are not certain of the exact situation here. They remember it their way. Please keep in mind are talking about events that happened 40+ years ago, and quite frankly it is easy to mix this information up to some degree. I will be seeing Gayle and Peter in a couple of weeks and will talk to them about it. I am sure that they will correct the website as I know that they do their very best to be clear about what is, and is not correct. As we all know they have made a small correction already. Also keep in mind that Peter ran the race team, and although he was involved in all aspects of the car, I am sure he had one of the team members working directly on this and he had some (but not a lot) of involvement with this. My recollection is that there is a similar spoiler on the Shelby (Brock) Coupe which pre dates the Camero's rear spoiler. I know that Brock & Shelby had issues at high speed down the Mulsane <sp> Straight at Le Mans and as the story goes they went to a series of aerodynamic engineers and settled on this same type of rear spoiler design that you see on the Z. As for the original molds. Really there are no "original" molds, you can make X number of parts out of a single mold and then it has to be replaced. In this case I know that these molds have been used and replaced, as needed. Again, copies of the original molds have been made and are used currently. I also know who has these molds and who gets parts from them. I believe Les and the Brocks get them from the same guy. BRE Spooks are three pieces, the main unit with two fiberglassed covers for brake ducts. Most often the spook is sold without the fiberglass ducting. This unit is a Peter Brock design, and the idea comes from the front spoiler he designed made for the Roadster. I think it is important to clarify the historical significance of these items, but I do think that we as a group can be a little more polite, spirited debate is fine, but this thread reads like a championship prize fight. Let's ratchet this back a little and discuss this like gentlemen. I hope that this helps to clarify this. If anyone has a problem with what I have stated above please feel free to PM me and we can discuss this off line. thanks,

Very good point Chris, Nissan North America has been instumental in making this year's convention a very special event. Colin and his team at Nissan have gone way out of their way to make this a memorable event, and a special thanks is in order. If you (the attendees of the convention) see or meet Colin at the Convention, please be sure to thank him. Best, Ron

Thanks

Guys, thanks for your support and interest!

Thanks John, that is nice of you to say. The real comparison was at the Mitty this year, with the #3 BRE 240Z there. Gerry Mason, Jr. and Sr. were very complimentary, they thought that I did a great job recreating the #46 BRE Z car. From someone who owns the real deal, it was a very nice complement. Looking at the video that has been "aged" looks great, like the real deal. Of course we did not race/test it on the American Lemans Wheels. Other than that, It looks pretty darn good to me. I am looking forward to Tennessee and hope that I get to meet a bunch of you at Zcon. R

Alan, Very good questions. There are a couple of items that are not correct on the car, some more obvious than others. Keep in mind that this is a tribute car that Nissan and BRE has graciously chosen to use as the "replacement" for the original car. As I am sure you know, I have never represented my car as the original. That being said, there are a number of safety relatated issues that had to be addressed. There needs to be a bulkhead between the driver and the fuel cell. The original car's fuel cell was installed directly in the spare tire well with no bulkhead. I have installed a current spare tire well, fuel cell, but there is a bulkhead that covers it that was not part of the original car. The Drivers seat has been upgraded as I have no illusion of being anywhere near as small as John Morton, and I wanted to be able to drive my own car. The dash has modern gauges because I did not want to risk such an investment on old antiquated gauges. All of the modifications that were made to the car from the original are modifications that would have been allowed if the car had continued to race. I did take a few liberties. I see what I did as a continuation of what the car would have become to some degree. Only I know what is and is not "correct" on the car. As far as parts I don't have, or might be looking for. After about 10 years I have all the original parts I think I need, not all of which are on the car. Some parts are in better condition than others, but I feel I have all the parts. Including a pretty large collection of spares, with the exception of one. The original red oil pressure warning light. The spring rate on my car is different than what was originally on the car. The car is set up to compete in US vintage events and conforms to those rules. This was the first time the car was driven on the track at speed and there were a few things that need to be done to my Z in order to make work a little better on the track. Although I will tell you the lap times between the 370Z T2 car and my Z were very similar. I have spoken to Peter Brock about what I have done to the car, and his opinion is that anything to make the car better than it was in the day is a good thing. He appreciates the accuracy, and effort that went into the building of my car and it goes, sounds and looks like the original, and he is very proud of that. Alan, you and I and a very short list of other Datsun experts would be able to tell that there are a small collection parts of the car that are not 100% correct on the car. Most notably the serial number. Thanks for your interest let me know if you have any other questions. Ron

See you guys in Tennesse in a few weeks, we will be there and at the track day. It should be great fun! Ron

As many of you know, there is an article coming out in Road & Track with my BRE Tribute car and the Stillen modified BRE 370Z. Road & Track has just released the video, and it is a good one! Enjoy! **

Interesting delima. From a historical standpoint this is the car, but really it has been rebodied now for the 3rd time. Hmm, I guess we will see how it does at auction. I am not sure that buyers are that effected by a rebodied car unless one of the previous bodies has been repaired and is claiming that it is the original. Bob Klemme sold his 67.5 2000 roadster Serial #4 race car for a very high price compared to most 67.5 Datsun 2000 roadsters. This car has documented racing history and carries the original frame but the car had been rebodied...Where does that stand in the scheme of things? Ron

Yep. Caught me looking before I had my cofee this morning

Proximity4, I agree with part of what you are saying, winning the (US) National Championship in 1970 & 71 (in C production) went a long way to prove that Nissan/ Datsun was building a quality product, and certainly helped sell Datsuns in the US. This was not Datsun's first National Championship. In 1969 Jack Scoville racing a Datsun Roadster won the D Production National championship, and Datsun had several "wins" prior to that. The BRE #46 was not destroyed 2 weeks after the photo you are referring to was taken, rather it was sold by Datsun USA to another racer, painted white and blue and was crashed in 1976 at Phoenix International raceway. I have photos from the log book of the car, and first hand information from an interview with the last owner of the car. I appreciate your interest in this piece of history, and hope that you continue to enjoy the great history of the BRE Datsun's in all their glory. Best, Ron

Paul, I am looking forward to it. Are you going to be at the track day?

Hi Jerry, I would welcome the opportunity to meet you. I think that Les will be there as well. Best, Ron

It's official, I will be there with my Z. Hope to see a few of you while I am there!!

Hi Kathy and Rick, I speak to Vinny periodically regarding parts etc. and have purchased stuff from him in the past. Good guy, very knowledgeable. Ron

Carl, I met the owner of this car (mr. W) and saw it over the weekend. He trailered it out to the track were we were racing. Since I am not in the market for the car, I did not give it any more than a cursory glance. I will say the car is all there. I did not look at or for rust related issues. The car needs restoration, and would be a good value depending on asking price. The owner does travel back east often and probably could transport it to the east coast. R

Hi Greg, I saw a posting on GRM regarding the ARRC sponsored by GRM at RA this year. Wish I could come back for that. I will be out at the 2010 Zcon, and at the track day, are you going to go? It was a pleasure to meet you and see you drive at RA! Ron

It was something to see these two cars together again, 40 years later...

Although both designs work okay a fully rolled lip on the outside of the air horn will make a significant difference as well. This is race car stuff and not really something you would notice as much on the street. We have seen crappy air horns create strange problems in the past that were simply solved by installing better air horns. We have seen a difference of as much as 5 HP and the loss of dead spots in the power curve on the dyno with the TWM style (fully rolled) air horn. http://www.twminduction.com/AirHorn/AirHorn-FR.html

The Aluminum lemans wheels would be nice, but Panasports do the job too. I would hate to damage something that I can't replace.

PM Sent.

Panasports for go, American LeMans for show

Guys we just got back from Spring Mountain Motorsports Park, with a few fun cars. Expect an article in Road & Track in September, it should be a good one. Here is a little video teaser:

while I agree with the theme, finned covers are not going to solve this problem, and finding out the cause is as important as fixing the problem. At the end of the day perhaps a crazy looking air intake on the car that feeds air down to the diff might work. Or a larger diff cover fabricated from old aluminum parts would be in order....