Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Forums




Username:  
Password:  
Log me on automatically each visit
Register 
It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 3:42 am
Welcome to the Connecticut Z Car Club Discussion Forums   
If you have trouble logging in or encounter any issues, please send an email to webmaster@ctzcc.com.

All times are UTC - 5 hours





Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 
  Print view Previous topic | Next topic 
Author Message
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 9:59 am 
Offline

Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:38 pm
Posts: 3411
Location: rhode island
I'm finaly starting to do this. I have a 79 coupe that I'm going to use, and it's almost stripped down to the bare bones. Of course, first I'm going to repair any body rot buy welding in new metal, and then start with a clean chassis. I want the bare minimum that is required to race, so no interior, except a seat, (maybe 2), and gauges. This is not for the street, allready have Z's for the street. So any input as to what to do, how to do it, and finally get on the track. Rules and regulation, what the car needs and don't need and so on. I'm going with an F54 flat top and N42 head, maybe a 4 barrel. I'm trying to go as cheap as possible, and use what I have. Of course I'm not afraid to buy what I really need. I also have hi-school students involved, and I'd like this to be fun for them as well. Also, how one gets sponsors. I have time, no rush, just want to talk racing on this page. Track, and oval, rally and ice racing are what I'm interested in, and maybe drag. Thanks for any input.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Mar 26, 2009 3:53 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:06 am
Posts: 205
Location: NY/CT
Hey Paul. These are just my humble opinions, but just a few ideas/thoughts.

1. IMHO, the 240z is the best Z to go racing with, as it's the lightest of the bunch

2. Do you intend to do wheel to wheel, or just have some fun track days? If you are going to go down the wheel-to-wheel route, the car prep rules will be strict ...and you will have to attend school, get a license, etc. I would say visit http://www.scca.org/hub.aspx?hub=1 to get a feel for the rules and regulations...and building a car for the IT class will be much more affordable than building for a production class. You will probably find a lot of good info at classiczcars.com and hybridz.org...as there are quite a few racers there. I recall seeing a thread about what the typical race weekend and season costs...it's a hefty amount to say the least :shock:

3. IMHO, I would say to build a car for track/school days, loosely based on SCCA IT rules. Here are a few organizations you can check out who run time trial and driver's ed events in the Northeast...you can even run with these guys in a street car:

http://www.cartct.com/time_trial.shtml
http://www.scda1.com/home
BMW club, etc., etc.

4. Hillclimbs are a possibility too...just need a roll bar from what I recall:
http://www.pahillclimb.org/
http://www.hillclimb.org/events/events.htm

5. You may want to consult with Vinny Bedini as he has extensive knowledge of prepping these cars for the track

I'm sure Clive may have some input, as he has run a couple of track events as well.

Hope that helps a bit.

Cheers,
Colin


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:37 pm 
Offline

Joined: Thu Oct 02, 2008 12:18 am
Posts: 131
dont get too into body specs of the different cars. eg weight, length..
the s30 body is pretty much the same from 240 to 280..
the 280 is heavier because of all the extra crap they put in it. eg emmission controls etc..
280 is longer because the bumper bars..
essentially its the same shell from 69 - 77.
i believe the mid to late Z's have stronger metal in the stress points. when nissan was racing and rallying the early 240's they quickly worked out where the problems were and fixed 'em. eg, strut towers...
personally the last Z you want is an early one.. 71 on is perfect..

i know for a fact that the first 240 rally cars we're infact the Z 432 shell..
it has heavier steel in the strees points and lighter steel were structually it wasnt important. the rally team works this out without a doubt when they pranged one :(
even at this early stage of the Z development they had no structual problems. diffs were the real probfor them till they realigned it from mid 71 onwards.. so one here will know the exact month.
even still you can fix this on an early one my installing a later diff mount and moustache bar....

so a bare early shell and a late shell is maybe 100lbs difference..


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Mar 31, 2009 9:50 pm 
Offline

Joined: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:38 pm
Posts: 3411
Location: rhode island
Thanks for the info guys! :D Well, if I had a spare 240 I would. I can't bring myself to take my nice 240 that I waited 20 years to finaly get and race it. I do have a spare 79 280zx. It's almost stripped, (windshield,side glass,and fuel pump is all that's left, and I do mean stripped,) and I will be thinking of weight with everything I do. I plan on the roll bar, racing seat with 6 point harness, fuel cell, lexan windshield, and I suppose plexiglass for the rear, (no hatch, just plastic.) This will be a race car only, I have my other Z's to enjoy and drive on the street. So, first thing is to build the car, and try out for the simple races, you know, start from the bottom and work my way up. This is just the beggining to my final fantasy. I haven't lived until I get on the race track. 8)


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 4 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron









Powered by phpBB © 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 phpBB Group
mile200 v1.0.1 designed by Team -Programming forum- .