i am now the proud owner of a 1969 dat 1000 coupe. it is a racing car already and thats what i'm gonna do with it. its fairly basic at the moment but i'm looking at all sorts of possibilities for improved production racing next year.

she is a bit rough, but the body is sound rustwise. has an a14 which i will give a freshen up, twin su's and a rear cage with a race seat and harness. it also has some accident damage in the front end.

does anyone (dodgeman i know you have some ) have

a grille
a front bumper
the front apron or whatever the panel under the bumper is

i'm not a millionare, and i know they're rare so i'm hoping someone will help out a brother in need

cheers guys

Welcome to the brotherhood!


You'll have to join the queue - I'm after a grille too... damned hard to get my mitts on one of those babies.

I have an 'average' bumper which needs re-chroming and straightening if you're interested.
It's not all that great, but it's something - I can take a photo if you want.

TC

I guess the bug must have bitten hard at Wakefield Park huh?

If you need any advice or questions answered regarding improved production, don't be afraid to ask. After building my car, I reckon I just about know the damn CAMS manual inside out and back to front.

A couple of questions for you though....

1. Does the car have a current CAMS log book?
2. Is the Roll cage steel or Alloy?
3. What Class was the car run in previously?

Have fun dude...hope to see you out there some time.

Mark.

yeah, the bug bit

i have raced a little, and a good mate of mine is turning his car into an improved production racer, which got me thinking. and i got the car really cheap.

i've definatley got questions! the cage is alloy, but has been previously logbooked. i think this means i can chase it up and the cage will be ok. can i add a front to the existing logbooked cage?

the car would not have raced in anything special, but used to have quite a strong motor and the brakes and suspension have had some attention, i'm just not sure to what extent.

so i really don't know how far i need to go and what class i want to race in if i'm just going to try it on a small budget for the time being. i thought about under 2lt with an SR20DE, or an A12ET. under 3lt with i destroked CA18DET, or just try with the a14 after a freshen up??? what's a nice entry level class to step into or are they all very competitive?

what else do i need? foam fuel cell? cams approved seat or harness? i'm just doing the sums atm.

The best budget build I have seen is Converted's coupe which you would have spied at Wakefield. Talk to him as he knows how to build a competitive car. I would also suggest that you retain the A14 and run it as it is at the moment. It's the simplest part of the race car to refresh once you have sussed out brakes and suspension. Oh and alloy cages have been banned for a reason - they do not hold up to the deformation a decent crash dishes out and tend to break - put in a steelie as soon as you can. Your goal should be to get as much track time as possible. Plenty of racers make the mistake of beginning a 'full noise' build and either not making it to the track or getting there and are then unable to afford to fix everything that breaks in a season and then you see the car up for sale. You have an excellent platform for a very fast car in the 1000 and you'll be grinning if you retain the A series.

I say, stick with the A-series as well. Great combo in a 1K. If your on a budget, reliabilty is an important ingredient to consider. The cash you will save on the power plant, you can invest in safety gear, brakes and suspension.....

I run a basically STD A14 in my racecar [with exception to induction and CAM] and i am currently doing 1:17's at Wakefield. I can hope to circulate quicker with a well sorted A-15. Aiming for sub 1:14's

Benny

cool, thanks for the tips. i think i'll be definately sticking with the a-14 then for now. my rough plan is get it a little better sorted and enter in a few club events during this year and get some track time up. i'm also playing around with a series injection. but my improved production motor and class theories may take a little more time to develop. keep the suggestions coming.

benny... what induction and cam and internals do you have. 1:17 aint bad, the budget L series 1600's on sunday were doing 1:15 - 1:16. its a good benchmark.

Its about 7 years since I put the CAM in. From memory it was known as a Datsun FAI 82 degree grind. Im sure someone can remember where these specs came from... pistons/crank/rods/rockers/valves and ports are all std. Double valve springs/twin 40"s and headers are the only upgrades. it revs at ~7600 - 7800 RPM on the track with any issue.

Benny

Stick with the A series....and stick with carbs for now....you have a good platform to go and get some experience. It's not all about horsepower....that was pretty evident on Sunday at Wakefield park.

Also, replace the cage with a steel one for safety's sake, you will be much better off. Also...weld the cage in, it will make the chassis stiffer.

What does the log book say as far as category? Is it logged as a 2e or 3J car?

Mark.

cool, i'm finding out from CAMS now.

with the cage, can i do it myself like Andrew dennis. and what do i have to do to make it CAMS approvable?

a14 it is! now i'll have to work out how to adjust that fron suspension now