Doehring

Zvoiture, you are right and as I said in todays fast cars crash and "oh ****" get together. But in the 240 you normally have time to react or you had been absolutely beyond your limits - exept the **** comes from outside of your possibilities like a tractor coming out a side way: Brake ..... "oh ****"..bang. Rolf

Having seen the cars in the Link I would say that in our rallies the special stages are more similar to the Pikes Peak Hill Climb. European professional rallye drivers like Michelle Mouton, Ari Vatanen or the german Walter Roehrl were very successful there in their Audi Sports Quattros or the improved Peugeot works rally cars. The big difference is that Pikes Peak is a race and the drivers have enough time for training and learning the line. In a WRC rallye you normally don't have that possibilities: The Co supports or even replaces the drivers memory. It's teamwork. On the other hand some special stages are the same in different events or they are repeated for years in the same event (like many at Rallye Monte Carlo) and so the experience of driver and Co. is improved every time and leads to better results - but sometimes you are too fast then. Rolf

Guus, great pictures. Can you explain to me how you insert the pictures into your reply ? By the way, I asked Mike G. for the Avatar after having failed 2 times. Can you try it for me, please. I've sent you the pic some days ago. Thanks. Rolf

Guus, you are a treasure Rolf

Thanks Mike, can you scan the picture and send it ? What's about our british friends, do you have pics from the start in London ? Rolf

Mike is a boobmeter what we here call "Popometer". This means the driver has to have the feeling what the car is starting to do ( to understeer, to slip or to turn or ...) in his back. Todays professional WRC drivers say that's already too late. When you feel it, it's over. The cars are too fast nowadays and you have to think far ahead. You have to know the car and you have to have an excellent co-driver withj an even better "prayer book". Bur: In a 30 years old 240 Z the "popmeter" still is a good thing Rolf

Dan, I'm happy I could give you some useful infos. If you want to know more, don't hesitate to ask us. I still love that sport. I started with 16 as Co and finished at about 30 when my boss asked me to stop dangerous sports. In between I stayed in contact with the scene and started collecting 1:43 model cars that took part at World Rallye Championship + Paris-Dakar cars +Z/ZX in all scales. Must be about 1500 now. My garage will become a museum one day when I'm retiered. As sport I started sailing, but I also took some advanced driving lessons called " security training". When I became 50 a friend from the old days asked me to be Co at a classic event , the Alpin Rallye (Rallye ds Alpes) in Switzerland and France in his Ferrari 250 SWB. I couldn't resist and we finished 5th out of about 100. I got infected again but I wanted to drive myself together with my wife that drove rallies herself in those early days. For about 25 years I drive Z and ZXs and I already restored a 280 ZX 2+2 that I gave to my wife as a birthday present. So what else to choose but a classic Z ?! It#s really a great car for classic rallye events. It's fast, durable, has a n acceptable handling even being a "nose bear" (= understeering) and it's quite rare here. Did you see mine at sportZmagazine or in my gallery here ? At the moment I'm working on my 2nd Z. Rolf.

Hi, the C-driver is the chief-organisator outside and on board. At first it is his job to study the regulations that sometimes are slightly different at each event. He has to know all the signals at the start of the stages and at their ends.He also has to look after the stop watches to be in time on time controls. If there are average speed sections the co-driver has to compare the driven distance to the time you spent for that distance and than he has to give advice to slow down or to speed up until the drive is in time. For classic rallies this can be done by using time/distance tables or one of the now very rare Halda speedpilots. I modern rallye cars we use computerised digital equipments. The so called "prayer book" is done by the driver and the co-driver together. When a special stage is known before the event it is possible to have training there, sometimes only at limited speeds, sometimes flat out. I the first run the co- driver writesn down the curves and their character and the exact distance between them. The driver adds his estimated speed or the gear to use: " 660m flat out hairpin right 2nd gear opens into straight 200m bump 3rd gear (take right side of the road) 120 m slight left 4th gear 50 m into 90 degree right 3rd gear , from outside !!! mud inside take middle of the road ....130m tar changing into gravel ..." and so on. Sections between special stage s are normally descipt in the road book by distances between crossings and where to go there. Normally the road book also gives advice how much time you have for that section. Just as a hint the co-driver transforms that into an average speed to have a better feeling in between. If the section is descipt on or as a map, the co-driver has to lead the driver by that map and in time. That's a little more detailed extract of the co-drivers job. It is up to the driver to trust in his co. That's as Fred said team work. The best teams are able to go a 10 miles twisty gravel road up and down the hills at night and in dense fog nearly exactly as fast as at a clear day ! It's amazing how very few accidents happen at this extreme motorsport. Rolf

Rogersz, a friend of mine favours Koni, but at the moment Konis are difficult to get. The Konis are adjustable (see the other discussion here on adjustable Tokikos, you can transfer that on Konis but to adjust Konis is not as easy). I had Konis in my 300ZXTurbo and one rear became weak. At first I thought I had always a brise from the side, the car felt slightly drunken. Here I changed to Bilstein, very good ! My 240 Z has Tokikos, as I mentioned, that I got from MSA. Good luck Rolf

Mike, did you look at vintagerally.com ? I have the feeling that SCCA is starting something on rallying and you can become an "early bird" when things go on. Looking at the post to "Events there is some encouraging reply from the US. You are entering the business ! Rolf

I had problems with KYB at the front. 2years ago I switched to normal Tokykos and I#m happy with those at front and rear Rolf

Benn, look 3 posts upwards to the link to zhome.com. Perhaps the tips there will help you Rolf

Hey, looking through vintagerally. com I saw there will be a great event in NorthAm in Sept.2002, the TARGA NEWFOUNDLAND. I also saw a pic of Rick Hintz Rallye Z that is also shown in our photo gallery. Move on Rolf

Mike and all other, there is something going on in Northamerica. See vintagerally.com there is the proposal for an SCCA Historic Class Regulation that includes the early Z. Rolf

EricB, before I forget it, when I got my 3 sk-double-carbs on my engine I had problems when driving. The car didn't accelerate smoothly but jumped like a donky. Looking at zhome.com, Index of techn. articles, Intake system I found an article "Get rid of the jerk". I did like proposed and since then the car drives fine! Rolf

Hi all, if you measure anything at the end of the exhaust you may have a good result in total but one carb may be too lean and the other too fat, but in the average it's fine.It's like putting your toe in very hot water and your hands on ice, your " central region" feels fine (that's statistics). If you have 3 Webers or similar the problem will increase. My solution: I work with 2 colourtunes (for better comparison) and a Synchrotester. At first I synchronise my 3 carbs and then I work on cylinder by cylinder with the colourtunes. The result is quite good but not final because the idleing engine is fattening during that proceedure and high revs are not allowed by colourtune to get the plugs free. So when I finished the 1st procedure I drive the car for a while and do the whole procedure again and drive the car once more.After that drive I do the finetuning by looking at each spark and their colour indicating too fat or too lean. With the result I'm happy. The procedure takes time but makes fun at the same time when you feel the result when driving. Rolf

Zedrallye, I just wanted to send a copy of the Homologation to Alan Thomasas a "thank you" for a 280ZX picture he sent me. Now I saw he already has it and I have find something else. But that's why I just have it in front of me: The Homologation for the 240 Z is signed by the Japan Automobile Federation and has the F.I.A, (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) Recognition No. 3023. It has 45 pages where you can find all the goodies that were homologated by Datsun/Nissan in accordance with Appendix J to the international sporting code for Group 3 and 4 in the seventies. I think you can get it from your national motorsports association (if it's a member to FIA) or from Nissan or Nismo or the japanese federation. I got mine from the nat.german sportsauthority and it is specially marked so that pages can't be changed. Try to get it, it's full of technical help what's allowed, also for historic rallying or racing with our Zs. Guus' bumper is at page 18. Rolf

Guus, you are right. I get old and start to mix things that I have anywhere in my mind, for instance Mike's hint on amazon that I mixed with ebay, sorry. Nevertheless, the PAL/Secam problem is the same. Rolf

Guus, you are the light in my stupid working day! Did you also make pictures from the action? Is the Frattaroli car the silver/yellow one we can see at - I think it is - the british mjp-page with that wonderfully prepared engine? Congratulation ! Rolf

Friends, this is an interesting thread. There are some price recommendation lists here in Europe for oldtimers. In a german list the 240 Z's value increased within 1 year for a top car (original and a little better than new) from 10k to 13 k $ and the increase is still going on. In a british list I already saw a higher price. Compared to other oldtimers that's not much and so the Z is still affordable, but in % of value the Z had a better add in value than Ferraris . Perhaps because we don't have much 240s here in Europe and the supply-demand-ratio is already pro Z. As some of you said before, it will take some time in the US but looking from outside at the developments in ebay I have the feeling that good Zs are becoming more and more expensive in the US, too. If the "break even" is already reached, I don't know and it is depending in how much you invested and/or how good you served the car. Rolf

Hallo Guus, great picture showing Shakar Mehta besides your car. Who is the other person, is it you? I'm urgently waiting for your pictures. Super ! Rolf

Guus, we are talking about the same video. I like the part witj the Fairlady Roadsters in Monte Carlo very miuch because up to now I saw only a few pictures in some of the books that I listed for you. Mike gave me the advice to look at ebay. Thanks Mike, but unfortunately the TV systems (PAL or SECAM) in the US and here in Europe (exept france, I think) are so different that I can't watch an US video. I have to try wether a conversion via an H8 Video camera tape could work. Guus, have you been to Ypern and did you make some pictures? Rolf

Ron, what do you mean by "it's not cheap" ? Can you give us an imagination of the price you ask or at least a price range ? Rolf