warps

Hey Paul Morgan Park Jun 2003 was the first one I attended (White MY02 Rex) when it pi$$ed down rain. Only recall 1 or 2 skylines on that day though . One day I'll get back to one of your track days, although these days I'm driving a dirty FWD shopping trolley

No need to explain who Nathan Quinn is. Very well known in rally circles. HAve you had a go at driving there yourself?

Rust and lack of spares. In standard trim they're nothing special to drive (were great in their day, but that was compared to drum braked XA Falcons and HQ Holdens). They respond well to the usual go-fast mods (cams, carbs, exhaust, suspension) and with those mods might only be a few seconds slower than a Toyota Aurion. Sarcasm aside, they are a cool classic, and becoming more sought after. As a daily drive, it will be "cool" but not the most quiet / comfortable / fast / safe / economical thing out there. If that matters not, and you want something with some character, then they are great. If you're after something that's more fun / better to drive than a later import skyline, then you might be disappointed. Sounds like you're in love, so you'll no doubt be happy. They are generally pretty tough cars, so pretty hard to kill. Then agaqin, 40 years of abuse, neglect or poor maintenance can take its toll on anything, so who knows?

Not really sure what your problem is. Most bonnet pins come with a plate for the pin to bear against, spreading the load. the plate is fairly thin, so you could try a thicker one to spread the load more. Is it a road registered car? Pretty sure that bonnet pins are illegal on the road unless you use the flush mount ones. Why don't you want to use the flush ones? They distribute the load pretty well.

My, my. Aren't we possessive all of a sudden?

What are you talking about, woman? Stop trying to hijack our thread

I think that's meant to be damage along the right hand side of the car (I bounced off that many walls, the right hand side of the car was completely black). I notice that body damage seems to be represented with shadows, but the body shape doesn't actually change. Wings, nosecones etc deform as you damage your car, but the main body doesn't seem to. My current 24h race has all of the cars bent and twisted at the front and back, thanks to them all running on slicks in the rain. Now it's pissing down again and they're all on full wets. Have yet to see any dry track at the Lemans 24h (although I'm only checking progress every couple of hrs through the day).

Mine lasted a dozen laps on the intermediates then went back in for wets and stayed that way. I started another 24h race this morning - had 5 or 6 goes at starting a completely new race and all started with rain. Eventually decided to stick with it and they were all on intermediates. After 8 laps, all the cars came in for race tyres, even though it was still raining. Now all the cars are spinning off on every corner, so I brought my driver in for intermediates. He went back out and blitzed the field (taking over a minute off everyone each lap becasue he actually stays on the track) but the game keeps wanting to bring him back in for slicks on every lap. Farking stupid game!!! Yes, my Toyota needed an oil change after the race (did an oil change and engine rebuild before the race started)

Hehe I'm about 8.5 hours in - great minds think alike, hey? Is yours a rainy race? Mine started with rain and hasn't changed. The Minolta can't use its huge power advantage in the wet, so unless I'm telling the driver to speed up, he drops pace and lets the others catch up. Hope I can build enough of a lead by tonight so that they can continue through the night without dropping a place. Yes - there's no way I could drive these cars at night - the headlights are awful - even worse with the rain. Seriously needs to be addressed if I'm even going to bother with any night races / stages (including rally) Edit: almost 10hrs in and all drivers pitted for intermediates. Guess that answers my question about variable weather.

That's as narrow minded a view as some of the stupid rules being bandied about. FWIW my jacked up soccer mum bus (Pathfinder) spends more time offroad than 90% of landcruisers and patrols ever will. This was a month after I got it - 20k each way on a coal mine site every day. Out there you need good lights and at the minimum a nudge bar, as you WILL be running over wildlife.

Old news dude - get with the program I found out about 10am yesterday But yeah - just go on a spending spree!!

Car trailers come under VSB01, which is for small trailers, defined as trailers less than 4.5 tonnes ATM. The big stuff is covered by a different document. Reading the legislation, it does say ALL WHEELS, which means that single axle trailer would probably suffice (not stipulated) - bit surprising, really. They'd have to use some ultra heavy duty axles, springs and tyres for the single axle trailer to work, so looks like in theory it is legit, and I can't imagine any business like that lasting very long if it blatantly flounted rules and regulations.

I can't see how you can legally carry 2 tonnes on the trailer (I assume that's what you're implying, or are we talking about ATM = 2 tonne) with only a single axle. When legislation states that you must have brakes on both axles on any trailer that is greater than 2000kg ATM, how do they achieve this with a single axle? Also, what tyres are they using? They would have to be rated at over 1000kg each, which is a pretty tall order. Talk to Chris Wedding (Car Trailers by Chris) - he builds car trailers for a living, and has sold to many of the Porsche cup guys, as well as rally guys (I have one). Expect to pay $6k for a 3 tonne ATM trailer (with the necessary bits and pieces to make it legal) but it is money well spent. I had buyers remorse when I picked up my trailer (only a 2 tonne model so cost me $5.5k with a few extras) but all of my fears were dispelled by the time I'd towed it 5km. It is the best towing, easiest to reverse trailer I've ever used and very well built. It's also light enough to manouvre in the driveway and garage by hand. There are cheaper ones out there, but I've seen some horror "cheap" trailers, so was more than happy to spend the money on a good one. I'm on the Gold coast so you're more than welcome to come and have a look at the trailer, and take it for a tow (with the rally car on the back, although a Civic is probably slightly lighter than a GTR )

Haha Touché

Boeing called. They want their wing back.

Dude. It's a Datsun. Rust was a factory option.

Whether or not you're using the flare nut spanners, it's always good to crack the fitting by lightly hitting the spanner with a hammer to loosen the nut. The impact force is usually enough to crack the fitting well before you start rounding the nut, as opposed to a constant load which won't free the threads. This has worked for me even on 35 year old datsuns and rotary mazdas, and even old british cars, so it does work. As for pedal feel, you will get slightly less pedal movement under heavy braking, but don't expect major difference in feel. If the pedal feels very different after fitting braided lines, then there is probably something wrong. specially if the pedal actually feels softer after you've finished.

See some people just bang on about putting this engine into that car and how fully sik it will be, while other people get out there and do it. Nice work on the LS1 R31 - top choice I reckon. Bet it didn't cost you $40k for the engine and will still eat Clevelands for breakfast. Also has the potential for easy 400RWHP if you so desire (not that there's a real need). Me Rikey Vely Much

Hehe haters gotta hate Longest "straight" is enough to get the Honda up to about 120 (limiter in 3rd) if I get the previous corner exit OK. Remember it's only got 120kW, and weighs well over 1000kg so certainly not a drag weapon (I peak out at about 175-180 down the straight at Lakeside). I'd say the faster AWD guys would possibly get up to 130 - 140 (total guess there). I have no idea how long the straight is, but that might give you a bit of an idea. Besides, it's not really a straight, but generally enough to let you keep it flat for the length of it. Here's a vid of an Evo running the course to show you the track. Any AWD on semis will do well out there, specially if you're not afraid to get it sliding a bit. The slower AWD's tend to drive within the friction limits (or go totally nuts and hang it sideways everywhere). I'd say a decently prepped emo, with experienced driver should shake up the top guys quite nicely. Pity about the R35 comment - I'd like to see one run. Maybe if I ever end up owning one it will make it out there.

Zing!

$100k on a Swift? That's dedicated!! There's a guy selling 3 IPRA Swifts on Ebay for $3250 - $5250 each, depending on spec. Any one of these would be perfect for the Willobank autocross track and a hell of a lot of fun. I reckon an R35 would be fantastic around here - they would put you into the 4WD category (along with any other specials, eg the Hyabusa powered buggies that ran there a few months ago) Over 2 tonne 4WD? I hope you're not talking about an R35. I know they're heavy boats, but didnt think they were that heavy They probably wont let it run with 4WD tyres tho.

You can double or triple enter cars. Hey, you could even have a go in the shopping trolley, but then you might catch FWD-itis. Not a very socially acceptable infliction to have around here

The next event is on Mar 20th. This is a dirt sprint, which uses the longer version of the track (the long-ish back straight for higher speeds). Lap times are about the same even though the track is slightly longer. I'm not sure if they will post supp regs on the site http://iwmac.org.au/?page_id=393 but you can get them emailed to you if anyone's interested. Might have to pull the finger out and enter this one.

Funny enough there are these fantastic inventions called thumbs. You know, keep the thumb on the button as you pull it up, the lever will go down when you release it. Too difficult? Then try this: Push the button in and hold it with duct tape (or whatever your preferred method). Drill a hole through the handle into the button (drom the top). Hole should be big enough to allow you to put a screw into the hole - to act as a dowel Keep screw in glovebox (or on a piece of string attached to the handbrake lever) When you want to drift, push in the button and insert screw to hold the button in there. Note screw should be tight enough int eh hole that it will hold itself in place, but generally the button spring will hold anything you put in there in place. I've had this mod on two of my forest drift cars (rally cars to normal people) and it works fine. Yes, the hyd handbrake works well, but if your stock handbrake is up to the task, then there's no reason not to use it.

Dude - do you even know what this is? Put an RB 20 into this one and I guarantee you'll knock about $5k off the value. Being 2 door means your mate's got a run of the mill jap import (dime a dozen). The Aus spec GTS 1 and GTS 2 were limited edition (only 200 of each made) by Nissan Vehicle Division. They were the hottest thing to wear a Nissan badge in Australia till the GTR came along. Fair enough these aren't the fastest Skyline ever built, but they are definitely valuable to collectors. I would think that $12k for a good example would be pretty well on the money.