Our car - 1972 Datsun 240z

History

We started our Tarmac Rally journey in 2004 with a 1964 Elfin Clubman. After 3 attempts at Classic Adelaide in the car we learnt many things but mostly that we should be doing this in a car that is more suited to rally.  And has a roof.  And a windscreen. And doors would be nice too. At the time in Classic the fast cars were either 911s or V8 muscle cars but Escorts and Datsuns were popular budget choices and after much thought we set out to find a 240 or a 1600 that was either rally ready or a good base to start from.  We skipped 2007 while saving budget and looking for a suitable car and in early 2008 a reliable daily driver 240 popped up in Melbourne so we grabbed it and road tripped home.

First Build - 2008

Once we had the car home we realised we had about 9 months to turn this road car into a rally car. Getting into the strip down revealed more rust than we had expected (old Datsun, who knew?) so the preparation centred on fixing the rust, installing a cage and getting the bodywork ready for new paint.

Other work included upgraded brakes and a suspension refresh and all the safety gear required for a rally (seats, harnesses, fire, trip meter etc).

The budget didn't include any performance upgrades so we headed off to Classic Adelaide 2008 with the same running gear that was in the road car as purchased, stock L28 motor and carbs, standard gearbox and open diff with the only concession to performance was new air cleaners and a set of 15x7 Superlites with Advan semi slicks.

The work all paid off and we finished the first event with no issues and a reasonable result and collected our first "plate" for successfully completing every stage within the target time, something we hadn't done in 3 years in the Elfin.

Current Spec

Engine - L28 Nissan, bored and stroked to just under 3 litre, N42 head with ported runners, beehive springs and titanium retainers. Still running standard crank and rods and off the shelf pistons (budget friendly).

Induction - Triple Mikuni 44mm dual throat carbs, Harada manifold, SW Motorsport headers and exhaust by Fat Mikes Hotrod shop.

Brakes - 6 piston Wilwood front with vented rotors, 4 piston Wilwood rear with vented rotors.  Polymatrix pads. Twin master cylinder with bias bar adjustment, hydraulic handbrake.

Wheels - 16x7 Performance Superlite alloys, 205 50 16 Yokohama Advan AO50 tyres.

Suspension - Techno Toy Tuning struts and arms, Koni shocks and Eibach springs.

Aero - BRE style front dam and rear spoiler