Michael,
Reading of your top speed run and some other posts about people returning
form Shasta reminded me of an email I received in early June.
The email came through my web site and I found it an entertaining read I
don't think the author is on the list he seems to have a few cousins but
then again who doesn't.
Anyway here it is, his final question is a bit funny "Where can I find
someone that really knows how fast they were." Maybe they are still as fast
as they were!
Ken Smart
67.5 SR20DE (still not going DOH!)
Sydney Australia
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The words on the SRL311 does not begin to do it justice. Yes, the fairlady
would only do 110-115mph. A good SRL311 was faster than a speeding Porsche.
The 2000 ruled D-production. The new 280Z got all the factory support, the
Porsche 911 got a bigger engine, so ... they moved the 2000 up to
C-production to race against the Porsche 911. They still won a few, but were
outclassed in money and sponsers.
I picked up my Datsun 2000 with around 12 miles on it. From day one there
was nothing that could keep up with it. At first I left everything alone and
the engine peaked (read pooped) out at 6200 rpm. There was just no point in
trying for the caution line at 6500 rpm because it would take forever. I
changed the timing from 4 degrees to 16 degrees BTDC and leaned on the pipe
delivering air from the air pump to the exhaust valves. This forced all of
the air pump air into the intake manifold...a mini supercharger. From that
time on the tach needle started falling at 4700 rpm and fell faster until I
chickened out. In slalom and hill climbs I used 7500 rpm as a red line
unless I needed a little bit more between corners without shifting and then
used 7800 rpm (less than 1/2 second difference). At 7500 rpm I was moving
about 65 in first, 92 in second, 115 in third, and easily pegged at 140+ in
forth. Only one time did I speed shift at 140mph into 5th. I left about 10
feet of rubber and raised the front wheels off the ground. From that time on
shifts to 5th were slow and deliberate losing 5 mph during the shift.
I ran on the road in Utah and Nevada against Corvettes, Mustangs, you name
it. From 100mph on they were no match. I could make them feel foolish for
trying to keep up with me. Imagine running your 427 vette at 110 with slow
acceleration and having an ugly Japanese tin can leave rubber when they
passed you and then slowed down and accelerated away and slowed down, etc.
until you got up to 130 mph only to have that ugly black sports car shift
into yet another gear and leave you like you were sitting still.
My cousin borrowed my car and lost his license after leaving a Jag XK12
behind then four police cars only to get found in a parking lot after
reaching town ahead of them.
My next car was a European spec Porsche 911 with 30% more HP than the US 1970
model. From 100 on, the Porsche could not hold a candle to the 2000 except
for cornering and stopping.
Another cousin bought a 1970 2000, made the same minor mod and was nearly as
fast as mine. Neither of us had any competition in class. People were
taking 2000's, modifying them, putting on webers and headers and running
close ratio boxes, etc and we beat all comers. The only vette that beat me
won his class in the 24 hours of Sebring the following weekend. That was on
a hill climb, he had racing slicks versus my street radials and he only beat
me by 15 hundredths of a second on the third timed run.
Since my speedometer only went to 140 and since I pulled away from Porsche
911s and vettes that claimed they were over 140, I never found out how fast I
was. Where can I find someone that really knows how fast they were.
Albert Lynn Clark
Albert Lynn Clark
allynnc@aol.com
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