'71 Datsun 240Z

I picked up this car after it had along and hard life in the SCCA's Improved Touring class. Those who are familiar with this class know it is notorious for bumper-car driving techniques. As can be seen in the following photos, there wasn't a straight panel on the car. In addition, several were missing.

This is how the car looked when I brought it home. The rear quarter panels consisted of Bondo, duct tape, and many pop-rivets holding pieces of scrap metal in place. The rear panel below the bumper was left at the uphill turn at Lime Rock . Interesting color combination also.

Here, the removal of the twisted sheet metal begins. As can be seen the entire rear of the car needed to be removed. The square tube structure where the trunk floor should be is for a fuel cell.

A new rear panel was fabricated using a wood hammer-form to create the flanges for the taillights. I looked around a bit for a junk Z that I could cut the rear off and graft onto this car but couldn't find a suitable donor. With after-market rear quarter panels, there would have been almost as much work getting parts to line up.

Here, the new rear panel is in place and the separate top flange is positioned. Several small pieces where fabricated to join these panels to the new rear quarters.

A cage was constructed from 1" square tube to add some protection to the ATL fuel cell.

SCCA rules require the fuel cell be behind a sealed bulkhead. About the only way to do this in a hatchback style car like the 240Z is to cover the cell with a box. This frame was constructed from .050" thick 5052-H52 aluminum by brake-forming and TIG welding. A flat cover goes on top of this held in place with Dzus fasteners.

A few new tubes where added to the existing roll cage for a little extra margin of safety. The fuel cell enclosure can also be seen. TIG welding the cage in a small car like this turned out to be interesting. To weld the small diagonal tubes going toward the rear I had to come up from under the car through the fuel cell opening to reach them.

A photo the finished interior. Repainted, rewired, and a new Butler Built seat.

The finished project with Dupont base coat/clear coat finish, Panasport Lights and new Hoosier Road Race Radials. The car actually came out much better than I intended. The original plan was to "fix it up a bit" and go racing. In fact after my first Improved Touring race someone from the, new at the time, Volvo Historic Series convinced me the car was, in his words, "way too nice to get banged up" and got me to join the series.
This car has been competing in the Volvo Historic Series being sponsored by the Northern New Jersey Region of the SCCA. Future modifications will include a new E-Production specification motor and composite body panels.