What is the story with the 1200 SSS? I'm trying to make a replica one but I am having difficulty finding any solid information.
- Where abouts were they made?
- How many were made?
- How did they differ from stock?
- Does anyone have any photos of one?
Thanks Will

Hey Southern Man,
The person you want to hear from is Stirlingmac as he can answer your question with all the detail you want. I'll have a bash at getting you started though. The SSS was a NZ effort backed by NZ Datsun. It was only done to the sedan which got 2x Dellorto 40's, extractors and a cam and 12" mags. A tacho went into the console in front of the gear stick. The predominate colour I remember was red with big black bonnet stripes. Some of the information that I have given you may be correct but as I spent my first year at Otago in Arana sucking Speights you'll understand! Whats the body on yours like? I knew a BMX guy who had a replica SSS in Alexandra - keep an eye out for it as she was a minter.

Wow, another otago Arana man, This is a very small world! I'm at Arana sipping speights myself at this very moment!
Yeah my 1974 sedan is in mint condition generally, only problem is that multi coloured carpet getting a wee bit threadbare in parts.
I bought it off a friend's Mum 2 days before I came down to uni, drove it by myself from Nelson in 9 hours with only a stop in ChCh for gas!
Anyway the owner before my friend's mum had had it for 24 years.
I'm afraid it's not as good now as when i bought it for NZ$300. I've lost two of the original wheel trims, this is part of the motivation for the replica SSS. It's getting on towards 120,000 miles but still going strong.
Rust is nowhere near structural with paint chips the main culprits. I've invested in new gas shocks at the front which set me back as much as the whole car!
I've done the stripes, I'm not quite sure how I knew? But I'll have to stick with the original bright green for the meantime.
The mags are going to almost be the trickiest bit I think. No one in Dunedin has any 2nd hand mags that will fit my Datsun in either 12" or 13"
Thanks alot for the info, it's enough to keep me busy for a while
Will

Hey Will, Teretonga is on to it, but a few more bits of trivia for you. The brains behind the 1200 SSS was Dennis Marwood, he is still racing though in an Alfa these days. He owns Autoquip Marketing in Auckland . He can be a bit of a grumpy bugger to talk to sometimes too so be warned. The dellortos were hung of a locally made manifold which Dennis still sells and had Coby extractors. The cam was a rally spec 270" from the Datsun Competition range though they probably bought one and had it copied!!! The air box is a fabricated piece in a similar style to the factory GX item. The wheels were 12" jelly beans made in Palmerston North by a company called Ward Wheels,it changed it's name to Aldic 10 yrs ago but I am not sure if they are still around. I have a set of wheels and a brand new 1 in the box. I know of more if you really want some but you are limited in your choice of tyres. All the cars I've seen had deep dish steering wheels that tended to crack through the spokes so they are getting hard to find. The stripes were limited to the bonnet and bootlid and were 2 flat black rectangles nothing too flash. These cars were very successful in the endurance races in the 70s and I have a super rare brochure showing a SSS cornering hard at Pukekohe Raceway and it's handling and performance bing praised by it's drivers Mark Petch and Frank Radisich ( Yes Pauls Father !!) I also have a sales brochure for them which I hope to be able to add to this site soon. The 120Y SSS had identical running gear and many were robbed to build 1200SSSs because they were more popular. As far as how many were built is a mystery to me maybe Dennis can tell you. Also the SSS had a huge for it's day boot spoiler which was almost upright and I would love to find one to take a mould off. The SSS didn't get any special build plates etc so they are very easy to fake. The sad thing is because they were built from locally assembled cars many of them have rusted away and the rest have been thrashed in competition so good ones are bloody hard to find.

You will find info about the 120Y SSS in this article posted in performance car magazine in 1998

Keep it sideways,

Pedro Branco









<small>[ Edited by pfbranco on 2002/5/30 23:51:34 ]</small>

Wow a 107 mph out of a 120Y, what would a 1200 do then?! Those Dellortos look very impressive. Does any one have any idea of what a pair of those would cost along with the cam and extractors? No one in Dunedin deals with things like that, only 'chips' and other assorted 'performance enhancing' gear!
Will

Hey Will - told you stirlingmac would have the facts! I know someone in Invercargill with a set of 12" Wards - they used to be mine but I left them on a coupe I sold. The buyer isn't using them anymore and I can't remember if he dropped them back in my shed or not. Either way they would be dirt cheap to get if you're interested. I've got a couple of spare Dello 40's and an assortment ofcams sitting in the same shed but I'm just stuck over here in Sydders at the mo. I would suggest that you contact the Otago Sports Car Club, or the Southland Sports Car Club, or the Eastern Southland Sports Car Club, or one of the Canterbury clubs or even Nelson Bays regarding getting a couple of 40's and a manifold. They were used on lots of things and they always seem to be lying around. You'll also need a set of extractors so the carbs will fit - I think Genie still sell a set? Cams are about $80 to get reground. I wish I had a 1200 when I was at Uni - my girlfriends Renault was a little fragile! Look after your twelvie (watch out for roof-surfing scarvies!) and think very hard if you ever are tempted to sell it. It'll be the best car you ever owned. Stirlingmac - I picked up an ex-rally coupe with a grafted -on rear straight up and down spoiler. I always thought it was a 180B SSS one but it might be the one you're looking for? Dang I miss my cars right now - I'm off with lump_a_charcoal to help him get a coupe from Canberra on Sunday but it's just not the same as having your own collection! You guys keep me inspired.

I'd love to get those 12" wards if you can email me some contact details I'll probably be down in Invers in 2 weeks, after exams finish. On the local topic, just drove back from Oamaru to Dunedin, 70 miles in 1hr and 5mins. Going up the Kilmog is so much easier without a load!
I can't wait to see how those dello's would pull!
Yeah i've had some doubts about the little Datsun, but I justify it with the fact that it's my hobby. It's not hard to be the best car i've owned, before the Datto was a 1980 Honda Accord Auto, it was my grandparents car and suffered from chronic understeer. And then another auto Honda, a Prelude. It suffered from me thrashing it to the point of chronic understeer (ah the days of my misspent youth!)
Finally I saw the light, when my great uncle started doing up his 72 coupe it had rechromed wards and a beautiful paintjob.
I'm talking my little brother into trying to find one as well. At his school there is a guy that has a 1200 with a 2 litre skyline engine. The datto bug is definitely back!

I've emailed the guy with the Wards - he had some 40's too off a 120YSSS. Will let you know when I hear from him.

Thanks alot for all your help teretonga and stirling, I might set up my own 1200 SSS site under geocities if I ever get the time. It should be a good holiday if it all works out, don't know what I'll tell my parents about reclaiming their garage, butI'll think of something
Cheers
Will