Slick Pete.

Is the Rad expansion bottle meant to have this hole at the top?? So when its full it will trickle out down to the road.??

In the middle of the repairs I grabbed the camera and took a couple of pics to let you all see how frantic it can all get. James is checking on what needs doing with the officials. Paul is starting front end repairs during which he got a cut from broken headlight glass. No serious but bad enough to need the attention (later) of the Medical unit Doctor. Jimmer is round the back end with a LARGE crowbar. Noel is crouched down on the laptop checking all is still well with the engine. As soon as I snapped these two pics I got back to wrapping Gaffa tape over the damage to cover sharp edges etc. A scrutineering requirment to be allowed back out.

James has one fitted.... as I do. Bob has a stripped/cut out steel one. We all run polycarb windows in them. All of them liftable with one hand. Most of my weight loss is documented in previous threads... somewhere on the forum.

Its no coincidence that the vast majority of 300ZX owners in motorsport start with a slicktop. Its the lightest model in the range. Way back in 2005 I weighed a standard NA Manual Slicktop. It weighed 1420kg as driven on to a weighbridge. Fuel around 1/3 tank. This was pretty much what Brian Long listed in his book. After a fair amount of stripping which was partially documented in a thread at the time I got the weight down to 1320kg. This was with my original red slicktop. When I built the current orange and black car I did some more weight loss but never went back to get it weighed So in its present spec I weighed it today. It weighed 1270KG. There was over half a tank of fuel so Im sure I could get that down to nearer 1250. There is a little more to be saved by stripping out the doors and using Polycarb windows but that final reduction is a bridge too far for me and quite expensive. So......1260KG say witth 1/3 tank fuel. It will be interesting to see how that compares with Bob and James's cars.

So now Donington is over its just time to bump this thread. Its the last round of the season. Today it looks like both drivers will be there . The drivers and/or me will keep you up to date with any news etc.

Maybe that is to be expected in a club that until very recently had no heritage or history of Motorsport. In truth neither James or Bob had much idea when they turned up at Cadwell park in April 2012 fortheir first Time Attack. I certainly didnt and its quite funny now to think that there was only me as an extra pair of hands betwwen BOTH drivers. Well 18 months later Team Bob and Team Jaffa have grown and matured. It has been a VERY steep and VERY expensive learning curve. Throughout the time I have tried in my "event reports" to inform and educate anyone who is interested. Both James and Bob have assisted in these reports.. It is really pleasing to see that we do now have a regular nucleus of club members who show an interest, and its helpful that we have our own forum area to use too.

I dont know about the general opinion I only know what my opinion is................................... Very 20th century and well past their "sell by" date.:thumbdown: IMO...IMO...IMO. Leaves room..... Quickly!!

I know its very hard for you guys n gals who werent there to judge what has happened but trust me "tap" is not a word that fits the event.

The cars dont look as great as they did at the start of the season. They are both looking "well used" and "battle scarred". Going past on the track tho they look cool. It was James's turn for "eventful" And several other cars/teams too!!! Yes indeed it IS Noel.. aka Noz. Doing what he does best.:yes: Noz has been working quietly on "Team Jaffa " for a bit now.

The warm up went without incident for Bob and afterwards we had a visit from Dan Turner of Advanced Motorsport to fine tune the Traction Control system which he had sorted during the week before with a new control unit. This has been problematic all season but fingers crossed its all fixed and set up now although there are already plans in place to modify /alter/improve the pick up s for next season. That a techie snippet that I will return to later in the year. James/Jaffa will be along as he said to let you know about his day so I will just carry on with the "Team Bob" report, which in the main was drama free and successful. Main issues to contend with in the pits were a leaking exhaust system(fixed by a new bracket n bolt, and a "mystery" coolant/brake fluid issue. We finally tied this down to a cracked neck on the overflow bottle which only leaked when the bottle was fullish and on RH bends due to surge. Bobs coolant is nearly all coolant with very little water and has a slippy feel to it so our inital exploration of a brake fluid leak wasnt as silly as they might seem to you people sitting at home reading about it. On a hot car... with the clock ticking... and a driver looking on it sometmes isnt immediately obvious to see what the problem really is let alone make a decision what do do about it. And at the same time fuel top ups. Wheel checks and other fluid checks need to be done and ticked off the list. Concerns over driver safety and the possibilty of trashing a £50K car dont make it any easier to do the right thing in the heat of the moment. It was during this work that I felt my decision to bring Paul in to the team was truly vindicated. He is a real asset and has adapted instantly to working with Bob n me. In fact I coulnt have managed without his help and Im hoping he will be at Brands with us for the final round. Late morning practise and the first real point scoring session after lunch saw Bob driving competently but not highly placed in class. So it was all down to the final session.................. We could tell from the pit wall that Bob was on a mission with this session and nded up third in the RWD class . Another trip to the podium. We soon got packed up and loaded after a pretty successful day all round. Ben a Europspec is going to look at the coolant loss/leak before Brands and hopefully nothing serious is amiss. The car sounds like it has a minor/medium exhaust manifold/turbo flange leak but that will just have to stay like it for the final event. Bob will no doubt pop along on to this tread to fill you in with any extra detail and let you know what its really like out there on the "black stuff"

So Sat 14 saw the Club challenge Time attack cars assemble at Donington. Bob had been there overnigt and by the time new team member Paul and me arrived just after 8 there were only a couple of little jobs to do before a 9.05 warmup seesion. The track was wet and looked pretty greasy so Bob decided to go out on the wets.:yes: Luckily for Paul n me the car was aready sat on its wets from arrival off the trailer. Without the pro classes there was planty of room in the pit garages to set up tools n tyres etc.:thumbup1: We were sharing a garage with Jason Bird and his Evo who is looked after by Ben and his Europspec team. Jaffa was in the next garage with Jimmer in attendance and another mystery man who just sat on a stool with a laptop???:whistling: So the scene was set for the day................ Pics....

Yep I have pics and info to post up later. It was a long day. Even longer for you of course.

Errrr If you buy a 99 spec bumper today plus two lights from Nissan it will set you back over £500 with the vat. No decent bodyshop is going to paint it in Pearl 3 stage finish and fit it for under £200 And he states that there is an invoice for over £700 So tell me what makes him (the previous owner ) an idiot for fitting one of the best fitting high quality bumpers available for the car. The owner I have spent the day with at Donington did the same modification at virtually that price and he deffo isnt an idiot

I went to Nissans Parts Distribution Centre on Magna Park Lutterworth today as an invited guest. Took employees as passengers on a trip up the site and back. There was a Litchfield GTR there too!! Also Drift Rides supplied by Mitch from Drift Garage and one of his drift gang. We were all made very welcome and fed and watered as part of it . We got some nice Car Care gift packs too. the warehouse is huuuuuuge!!!!

And I wont go in to the detail of how Znut knows this intimate info:innocent: :lol::lol::lol:

You are welcome mate. as a subscribed member you now have a say in how this club is run etc like the rest of us. We only has "approved" traders on here. That approval is granted by the committee who act on behalf of the members. Its one of the strengths of the club. You are right of course that there is a lot of cheap and nasty fibreglass stuff out there.

Dave/Car Mad doesnt do "nasty stuff". Thats why he can trade on this forum. If his stuff was sh**t we would have voted him off the forum a long time ago.

Thanks!! I will have a look. Does it need to be from a manwell or do auto ones do the job too???

You got a pic of one??? I might have one in my box of ECU stuff but I have no idea what it looks like as I dont have stuff like that on my car.

Just over £250 fitted!!! No Im not lucky... ALL my small self employed guys who have helped me with the three houses I have are the same. They work hard. dont charge a lot and do exactly what they say Plumber. Electrician. Roofer and general builder. Same story at Ikea today. Help quickly offered on gettig a mattress on a trolley and taken to the delivery point for delivery tomorrow. I have been told the driver will ring before he is due to check there is somebody in. I bet he will too. My Vectra is booked in for a service and MOT on Monday. I have used the same garage/MOT tester for over 10 years. I just know john will be ready for the car at 8.45 like he says and it WILL be MOTd and seviced . If there is a problem he will ring me like he has done in the past.

Yes. Plenty of people and companies do....... Here are some examples.............. 1. Sunday at Traxx. i bought a large toolbox on the trade stand of a Sealey distributor. Too big to lift back to my car on my own. The salesman had already said he would come with me to help. Then the boss chipped in... " There is a sack truck in the van" He fetched it and the salesmanwheeled it all the way to my car. Outstanding service. 2. I am helping my daughter re-do her bedroom at her house. We bought a carpet from Carpet Right We were told it would be in the shop on Thursday. After lunch my daughter rang to check. Salesman explained that the lorry was due with them around 4.00pm and he would call back to confirm....4.45. Call back to tell her it was in. Due to be fitted on Monday. He said he would call in the morning to confirm a time.... which he did. and also advised that the fitter would ring an hour before he came to confirm he was on his way.... which he did. Arrived. Fitted. Hoovered up and asked her if everything was OK... which it was. Later in the day the store manager rang to check if everything had been done to her satisfaction... which it was. More top class service. And my solicitor who has been helping me and my daughter sort out some financial/housing stuff due to a terminated relationship(hers) has done everything he said at the price he quoted in a prompt and efficient manner.. His final letter always ends with I trust everything is to your satifaction ... do not hesitate to contact me... etc. And thats why I use him all the time for my housing portfolio etc. For every poor firm there is alway another one who does perform in the way you would wish... The trick is finding them:thumbup1:

Ok an extra one will be good. im hoping we dont have to change the bl**ding things anyway.:whistling: Im confident I have all the rest covered along with what Bob brings in the RV.:thumbup:

Yep its on the SATURDAY At Donington. So rather than be bored with 3 days at JAE spend a few hours ar Donington. Its a full day of varied racing Time Attack is just a smalll part of it. Bob, James and the rest of the club class will be there.:clap: The only thing missing is the pro guys who went to Silverstone last Sunday as part of the Traxx show

LOL!!! Where did you appear from??? You always bring your toolbox! But dont clutter the RV up with uneccessary cr*p like BBqs and mountain bikes!:thumbdown: If we are inside the pit garages we wont need the gazebo either? ALL the tools are already in my NEW toolbox. Paul is coming round to check all is in order.:tt2: I have fixed the plug socket now and its attached to my favourite T bar handle and long extension. I will put some spare coilpacks in !!:thumbup1:

Thanks guys for all the money saving suggestions. im on it today Maybe I can glue a piece of coilpack rubber in to the socket. I have planty of spare coilpacks The time Attack Pits is NOT a place where you want a plug chage/inspection to go wrong!!!:innocent: