NZeder's Datsun 260z Build Thread

[nzeder]

Thanks for clearing that up and I understand your point you are doing a good thing with HMC and V8 muscle cars have always been a popular car in Australia and NZ. The production based racing I always think of is in EU and Japan/Asia. Given I was living in Asia as a young child in the early 70's most of the cars I grew up with were Japanese or English/Euro. Australian or American cars where just not around in the numbers when I was young in Asia.

So my era is different (a 70's born gen xer) and I guess that is why 70's cars are my thing and under 3l given the 70's fuel crisis etc

[Kiwiboss]

Thanks for clearing that up and I understand your point you are doing a good thing with HMC and V8 muscle cars have always been a popular car in Australia and NZ. The production based racing I always think of is in EU and Japan/Asia. Given I was living in Asia as a young child in the early 70's most of the cars I grew up with were Japanese or English/Euro. Australian or American cars where just not around in the numbers when I was young in Asia.

So my era is different (a 70's born gen xer) and I guess that is why 70's cars are my thing and under 3l given the 70's fuel crisis etc

Sure Mike we all grew up in different eras and this is what drives us to have different vehicles of interest, the most popular saloon racing was USA(off-course) England, South Africa(somewhat), Australian and NZ and that was about it although im sure some on here will state otherwise but im talking about the "main country's" that ran Saloon class's period, they/we all ran under FIA group 2 and 5 and even American Trans Am started out under FIA and then went onto there own thing(hence why there cars have removed bumpers, headlights, door glass, etc but must be refitted under HMC rules) and really the era HMC reflects is that 67 to 73/4 period but using T&C rules we allowed big bore saloons up to 12/77 and thats also why Escorts, early BMW's, Minis, Capris fit our HMC grid, it represents the era of our Motorsport history. Off-course the whole Japanese performance car thing really only got started in the early/mid 70's mainly for the American market and that's why you don't see much Japanese stuff in that early(67 to 72/3) period.Even in NZ it was end of that big banger/Sports Sedan era around 78 that Shell Sport became the class under MSNZ featuring many Japanese cars but still saloons and not 2 seater production Sports cars.

Currently with the "miss mash" of class's thought out the world countries like Australia, USA have cauterized there historic groups according to how they ran in the era, and/or outside that how the "Manufacturer" designated each vehicle if those vehicles didn't race in that country period, so it is general accepted that a 2 door 2 seater car is a Sports Car that is production based(even if the manufacture calls it a GT, early Porsche is one example) and a 2 and 4 door cars with 4 seats are a Saloon car production based and thats how most set up there class's(USA anyway) and that's why all must still have production manufactured body work and not what one may have been used in a given year in a particular country of origin, EG Japan or Asia for instances, but one can always go and race at historic events in Japan/Asian countries that accept their particular period race car class of there era(joking off-course).

Anyway thats just touching the surface and i could go on forever in finite detail but hopefully i've spelt out the general idea? and like i said at some smaller events these 2 groups will race together and at larger events race apart, not the end of the world and don't go of track with your build Mike, you're still doing it right.

PS: Bowell Nagaris were a Australian made production based Sports car(100 or more made to fit the criteria, Bowell made 600 i believe)that came fitted with engines from 186 Holdens to 351 Ford Clevelands and weighted about 900KG, ugly lookin think but someone originally wanted to build one for HMC hence why we now have an Eligibility list

Dale M