26th-Z

Stephen, Although the front track is very narrow, the car has four wheels. Actually, the front suspension is quite ingenious. 75% of the weight is on the rear wheels but the underbody aerodynamics make a significan amount of down force. The Deltawing concept was originally proposed for the spec Indycar (the Dallara chassis was chosen). Development then went to Dan Gurney's All American Racing and from what I have read, Phil Remington was involved. Nissan, with their 1.6L turbo came late to the process. The transmission was custom built for the car. And the car is VERY light weight. The point of all this work was to demonstrate that a very small engine, using far less fuel, could compete with the larger cars. It was expected that the Deltawing would use less than half the number of tires used by other teams. It's a 'green car' concept which is why everyone is so interested in it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeltaWing Read more here. And now my comment about the driving I saw. I looked closely at three 'accidents' including the Deltawing shunt. In each case the overtaking driver was, IMO, at fault. I don't know about you guys, but when I did my driver training I was told that the overtaking driver is responsible for not hitting the slower car. I think every one of those drivers (including Allan McNish) should be penalized. You all may remember that Allan hit a red Ferrari last year also. My opinion of him and his driving skill just went down the tubes. Crash McNish!

"Built of the 1978 International car show..." http://www.theisca.com/ Read all about what inspired this creation.

I concur. The 1971 brochure you picked up, Fred, would have listed the export (HS30) Fairlady 240Z and ZL equipped with the 2.4 liter engine but not the home market S30 for the 1972 model year. Another source "know for sure" would be Brian Long with his publication; "Datsun Z - From Fairlady to 280Z", Veloce Publishing 1998. I would be willing to bet that the owner is not aware that his engine is the 2.0 liter and is assuming, (because 240Zs came with 2.4 liter engines - right?) that his car has a 2.4 liter. I wonder. It seems highly unlikely but would a Tokyo dealership in 1981 have an export 1977 version for sale?

Best of luck with the engine. I have known Eiji for years and I'm not surprised with your praise. Love your valve cover. Polish off the raised lettering :-)

Ahhh...(smile) and the Austin Healy Sprite made #5. I'll bet I've owned a dozen Sprites.

Profile on Bob Bondurant. Thought it would go best in this thread. http://www.sportscardigest.com/bob-bondurant-interview-and-profile/

Wow! You don't see many 2+2's and certainly not in THAT shape! Love the wheels.

In that pic, the lettering is all black.

You have it on the picture. Yuasa Battery Co. Ltd. / YUASA / + Yuasa - / and N50Z

The battery is black and the Yuasa lettering could be either yellow or white. All the rest of the lettering is black. The caps could be yellow but they would be covered by a black cover. You have a good picture to work with.

That type of washer prevents the screw from backing out. It would go between the screw head and the seat belt hook. I wasn't aware of the washer but it makes sense. Thanks for the pics, Mike.

Greg, Sorry, I have only three crappy pictures of the early type. There is another type, a longer hook which mounts on the door post but I have sometimes seen it mounted on the seat. These pictures show the very small seat hook which would be the earliest. The screw is typical of other interior locations - it is chrome with a domed phillips head cap and the head is tapered to fit in the tapered opening on the hook. It is a sheet metal screw and attaches to the seat back frame (which should have a hole for it). Sorry I can't be more descriptive. Chris

The front bumber bar is not "OEM". Looks like it didn't do any good. The headlight covers with the trim ring are "OEM", just not in the North American market. Love the Watanabes.

Roll bar steel specification, tube diameter and wall thickness would be specified as part of the General Competiton Rules, I believe. I would have to do some contemporary research, but back in the day (BRE and BSR) the racing sanctioning body (in this case, the SCCA) specified design and construction of required roll over protection. I recall those specifications for steel grade, tube diameter and wall thickness. A hole was required in the main hoop so that wall thickness could be measured and verified. This could be an interesting conversation given the level of engineering you are discussing.

Erkki, BRE Interpart is no longer in business. Just trying to help people who have parts from those days. If you are looking for a cam, try http://schneidercams.com/ I think Motorsports Auto sells them also. Chris

Andy, this is all I have.

Thanks Alan, ahhh the famous gloved hand...

That's the correct blanking plug for the parking light(s) hole in the console plate. It would be twice as wide as the switch opening for the defroster glass switch. Early, early Zs like mine with no defroster had a blanking plug just like cbuczesk shows but half the width. The defroster switch came in two versions - lit and unlit. The earliest version, I understand, were unlit, black, with one white dot in the on position. The lit ones were green, I believe. I can't seem to find a picture of the parking light switches. Would love to see one. We discussed this ad-nauseum way back when during conversations about the optional fog lights and the fog light switch. If you want to search through the archives. Good stuff. I wonder if the wiring for the parking light circuit is already in the wiring harness.

http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread44476.html The symbols describe the parking lights that would be activated 'P' either right or left side.

There is no such thing as a stock racing stripe on an American import HLS30. Side stripe kits (decal) were available as a factory option for Japanese domestic S30s and S30-S models. I suppose one could get them on a PS30 also. That stripe kit (stripes along the lower fender and door) was eventually made available in North America as part number K3110-00010, 11 and 12 in red, white and black respectively. I believe it is part of the 1972 model year listing of dealer installed 'options'. The only stripes that would be considered stock on an American import model, would be the black pearl or Zzzap stripes.

Mike, I just bought a Canon 60D and love it. It has the features of the 5 and 7Ds at far less the price. Although I have nothing against Nikon products, I agree with Arne's comments. I prefer the Canon products for about the same reasons; weight, feel, comfort. Most everything I shoot is hand-held in all sorts of lighting situations and the Speedlite flash features work well for me. I have a globe top attachment for the flash which is real nice for interiors. I like the image stabilization feature of my 200mm telephoto and went to a lower f-stop (1.8) for my 24mm wide angle. The wide angle is very nice for architectural and interior shots. I also have a general purpose - 55-105 zoom. For car shows, I like to use a star filter to emphasize the chrome dazzle.

Thanks for the Mirrachrome reference. I had never heard of that stuff before. Pricey isn't it?! Best of luck - let's see your finished work and thoughts.

I re-used my seat frames and bought both floors and rails from Charlie Osborne. Make sure you bolt the transmission crossmember in place to keep the floor pan alignment correct. Use the sway bar to align your frame rails. I paid about $800 five years ago for just the welding.

I wonder what they are dated. Your original wheels are / should be date stamped, Alex, with a date equal to or just prior to your build date. It would be nice to see pictures of the inside - silver?

There is just way too much documentation available about how the S30 was designed, the design process, who was involved, and at what time period to support anything like that rumor. Carroll Shelby was involved in a Toyota 2000GT racing program. Perhaps that's what these people are thinking about.