122 replies to this topic

[Martyn Hey]

This may be an extreme long shot, but on this Forum you never know...
Can anyone tell me the colour schemes of the 2 Prince Skylines that ran in the 1966 Bathurst 500, (for a slot racing project to give some - ahem - competition for Minis and Cortinas!). The drivers were Carl Kennedy/Doug Stewart in car no. 38; and Jack Murray/Bill Ford car no.15.
I've only come across b/w shots in the Chevron Bathurst book and brief glimpses in b/w from the DVD set of the race; wondered in particular if the Kennedy/Stewart car may be blue with red/white stripes and red headlight covers? Only saying this because I saw a shot on the web somewhere of a blue racing GT model in a Japanese museum, and thought it may be a standard race livery? Anyone attend back in 1966 with a fantastic memory, or a colour reference for either car?

[ellrosso]

Bit surprised no-one has taken this one up. Have you tried to research whether any of the original drivers are still about? Pretty sure at least 2 aren't but Ray Bell may know more.

[Catalina Park]

There is a real lack of colour photos of the 66 race for some reason. It took ages to find more than one colour photo of the winning Mini.

[seldo]

Having driven some of them from new, as far as I recall, they only came in one colour - a dirty grey/pale-khaki sort of colour...Stripes may have been a way of sexing them up a bit...
In fact, I seem to recall spinning one in the rather narrow confines of New Beach Rd "esses" at Rushcutters Bay...
They had a very limited "opposite lock"...

Edited by seldo, 06 August 2011 - 12:42.

[Ray Bell]

I would have called it a beige, David...

But you're right, it did have a bit of grey in it.

[wagons46]

A hard color to describe in words as proven by the 66 program which calls #38 Kennedy/Stewart car BROWN and #39 Murray/McLachlan car GREEN. These would have been taken from the entry form so even the entrants could not agree.

My 2 bobs worth.....Yes a light gey/biege and somehow I'm thinking Orange for the striping etc., rather than red.

[Lee Nicolle]

Having driven some of them from new, as far as I recall, they only came in one colour - a dirty grey/pale-khaki sort of colour...Stripes may have been a way of sexing them up a bit...
In fact, I seem to recall spinning one in the rather narrow confines of New Beach Rd "esses" at Rushcutters Bay...
They had a very limited "opposite lock"...

i have seen a pastel white one, a bluey grey one and a red one. But wether they were all early ones is a different story. They went for about 3 years from memory. Very quick car in their day.

[Ian G]

Yeah,we had a few GT's in the Datsun Car Club,there was Red,White as well as that crappy Beige/Brown colour.They were rust buckets thou.,a couple of members lived down the Manly/Dee Why area and both had rust in the sills & guards within a couple of years but the initial damage may have occured on the ship from Japan. I bought & sold several in the early 70's but take away the Webbers and they were a fairly ordinary car. When they started putting Nissan badges on them they had a GTA & GTB model,one continued with the Webbers while the other had a twin barrel,smarties used to remove the Webbers & fit the single carbie so when buying at auction or sight unseen you had to be very careful.

Prince Register

Edited by Ian G, 07 August 2011 - 05:37.

[seldo]

i have seen a pastel white one, a bluey grey one and a red one. But wether they were all early ones is a different story. They went for about 3 years from memory. Very quick car in their day.

Now that you mention it Lee - yes - I'm sure you are correct - they did come in the colours you mention, but they were only 4 colours available, however for some reason the vast majority were the beigie/greyie/khakhi colour

Edited by seldo, 07 August 2011 - 02:25.

[cheapracer]

This may be an extreme long shot, but on this Forum you never know...
Can anyone tell me the colour schemes of the 2 Prince Skylines that ran in the 1966 Bathurst 500,

I saw them on TV, they were black and white with some grey.

[Martyn Hey]

A hard color to describe in words as proven by the 66 program which calls #38 Kennedy/Stewart car BROWN and #39 Murray/McLachlan car GREEN. These would have been taken from the entry form so even the entrants could not agree.

My 2 bobs worth.....Yes a light gey/biege and somehow I'm thinking Orange for the striping etc., rather than red.

Thanks for the info you've managed to recall guys, much appreciated - we all thinking mushroom grey?
Can I ask why you think orange stripe in particular

[Martyn Hey]

In the book / DVD the Jack Murray car looks darker, so could have been dark green.
I've spotted a few colour shots of Skyline GTs from 1967; two-toned cars, green with white top and white/cream with red/blue tops.
But like to be 'period-correct' for 1966.

[275 GTB-4]

Now that you mention it Lee - yes - I'm sure you are correct - they did come in the colours you mention, but they were only 4 colours available, however for some reason the vast majority were the beigie/greyie/khakhi colour

[Ian G]

In the book / DVD the Jack Murray car looks darker, so could have been dark green.
I've spotted a few colour shots of Skyline GTs from 1967; two-toned cars, green with white top and white/cream with red/blue tops.
But like to be 'period-correct' for 1966.

I was going to suggest that,1967,apparently they were the 4 cylinder models,not the GT,i was sure they ran the GT's there one year but it appears my memory is playing tricks again.
http://www.uniquecar...thurst_1967.htm

Edited by Ian G, 07 August 2011 - 22:32.

[Lee Nicolle]

I actually saw a red one on the road yesterday, deep dark red and just a nice seemingly unrestored [but clean] car out for a Sunday drive.

[2Bob]

Autopics has a few photos - nearly all B & W though. This one in the same year at Surfers:

http://www.autopics....c.html?cache=no

A bit off topic I guess but I hit one that spun in front of me on the third corner (Southern Loop at Mallala) on the first lap of my first ever race in 1968. I can't remember the colour it was though!

Edited by 2Bob, 07 August 2011 - 23:15.

[Ian G]

Autopics has a few photos - nearly all B & W though. This one in the same year at Surfers:

http://www.autopics....c.html?cache=no

A bit off topic I guess but I hit one that spun in front of me on the third corner (Southern Loop at Mallala) on the first lap of my first ever race in 1968. I can't remember the colour it was though!

Yeah,66714 & 66715 for 1966,i remember them now,two tone with the roof a different colour and very gangly around the corners.

Prince 1966


Prince/Datsun Magazine Clips.

Edited by Ian G, 08 August 2011 - 00:18.

[DJH]

I recall when they appeared on the Bathurst entry list, great things were expected of them. They had triple Webers !!
On paper very fast, but, in reality they were flops.
Yes I recall light grey/ marone roof.

[Team Result]

Seems to be some confusion, here.
Did the Skyline GT-B (triple-webered 6cyl engine) version actually race at Bathurst? Or was it the normal Skyline with 1.5 litre 4cyl engine?

The Unique Cars results page for 1966 calls the two entered NSU Prince 1500s! (freudian slip due to similarity in name to NSU Sports Prinz?). In 1967 there is a single entry for the same driver pairing as 1966 in a Prince Skyline, which is now in Class C, but this could simply be due to a $61 or more increase in retail price of the same model.

If it was a six cylinder 2-litre GT-B, it's finishing position amongst Hillman Arrows, etc indicates it must have had some serious problems! The GT-B, as well as the high-powered engine, had disc/alloy drums, LSD & big fuel tank fitted as standard equipment.
http://www.earlydatsun.com/prince.html

Some side-on pix from Bathurst would help confirm which model ran in which years as the GT badges & extra 8 inches in bonnet length of the GT-B should be noticeable.

Edited by Team Result, 08 August 2011 - 01:51.

[wagons46]

The 2 entries in 1966 were Prince Skyline 1500's and both DNF'd in Class B

2 more entered in 1967 as 1965 model Prince Skyline GT's ,one DNF and the other 113 laps 34th in ClassC.

Edited by wagons46, 08 August 2011 - 01:53.

[Team Result]

The 2 entries in 1966 were Prince Skyline 1500's and both DNF'd in Class B

2 more entered in 1967 as 1965 model Prince Skyline GT's ,one DNF and the other 113 laps 34th in ClassC.

Thanks for clearing that up, wagons46. What is your source?

[wagons46]

Thanks for clearing that up, wagons46. What is your source?

The original programmes.

[Ian G]

The original programmes.

The OP must be wondering what happened to a simple question but thanks for clearing that up,i was sure the 6 pot GT competed at Bathurst as i was a member of the newly formed Datsun CC and i still remember them talking about their lack of performance on the Mountain.

[DJH]

We always referred to them as Prince Skyline GT's. Six cylinder engine and a very long bonnet. They're the only ones I remember competing at Bathurst. I think you'll find they were the GT versions entered.

Edited by DJH, 08 August 2011 - 06:54.

[Martyn Hey]

Great to flesh out the details of the Skylines story guys. I have all 3 editions of the Chevron 'Australia's Greatest Motor Race' Bathurst books* and the results seem to confirm they were Skyline 1500s in '66, and GTs in '67. The book from 1989 has a photo of car 38; this is the one I may livery; a beigey/grey, white numbers on black circles. Another detail maybe someone can help me with - the 66 car/s were apparently entered by Wheelmar Motors/Distributors. Anyone have more background info on this company; I've trawled through old copies of RCN, Motor Manual etc but can't seem to find any ads/references. Interested generally in who/how was involved in importing Skylines before they became Datsuns.

* A new edition due, now its been over 50 years since the first race at Phillip Island???

[Lee Nicolle]

Seems to be some confusion, here.
Did the Skyline GT-B (triple-webered 6cyl engine) version actually race at Bathurst? Or was it the normal Skyline with 1.5 litre 4cyl engine?

The Unique Cars results page for 1966 calls the two entered NSU Prince 1500s! (freudian slip due to similarity in name to NSU Sports Prinz?). In 1967 there is a single entry for the same driver pairing as 1966 in a Prince Skyline, which is now in Class C, but this could simply be due to a $61 or more increase in retail price of the same model.

If it was a six cylinder 2-litre GT-B, it's finishing position amongst Hillman Arrows, etc indicates it must have had some serious problems! The GT-B, as well as the high-powered engine, had disc/alloy drums, LSD & big fuel tank fitted as standard equipment.
http://www.earlydatsun.com/prince.html

Some side-on pix from Bathurst would help confirm which model ran in which years as the GT badges & extra 8 inches in bonnet length of the GT-B should be noticeable.

Looking through that the body styling is realy inspired by Chevs, the 57 looks a lot like a 57 Chev as does the 59 that looks a lo like a Biscayne.
Also it says that the Skyline GTs had triple 40mm Webers. They were Solexs, or at least on the cars we got here

[Ian G]

Looking through that the body styling is realy inspired by Chevs, the 57 looks a lot like a 57 Chev as does the 59 that looks a lo like a Biscayne.
Also it says that the Skyline GTs had triple 40mm Webers. They were Solexs, or at least on the cars we got here

I think you will find they were Webers Lee although Nissan may have changed that somewhere along the line,the 2000 Sports were Jap. Solex's.A lot in Sydney/Brisbane had the Weber's removed/stolen and the manifold/carbie off a GTA or Glorias fitted,perhaps Solex's were fitted after market to those cars.
I read somewhere where Prince sent a couple of Motors to Italy to be fitted/jetted by the factory,similar to the Charger many years later.

Edited by Ian G, 09 August 2011 - 00:14.

[wagons46]

I think you will find they were Webers Lee although Nissan may have changed that somewhere along the line,the 2000 Sports were Jap. Solex's.A lot in Sydney/Brisbane had the Weber's removed/stolen and the manifold/carbie off a GTA or Glorias fitted,perhaps Solex's were fitted after market to those cars.

Glass's Dealers Guide Model Identification 1962-1970 states "3 Weber carburettors" for the 1966 (Aug '65) Skyline A200 GT.

Edited by wagons46, 09 August 2011 - 00:55.

[Team Result]

Martin et al,
Probably didn't expect such a long thread based on such an innocuous question - such is TNF!
To drag it out a bit longer, I would like to know more about the Skyline GT's lacklustre performance at Bathurst in 1967.

We know (mostly from that early datsun website) that the GTs with all the good bits were sold in sufficient numbers to be homologated to race in the Japan Grand Prix, which was for Sports Cars. Later, two models wer offered, with the GT-A model coming equipped with just a single carburettor engine (straight out of the Gloria?)
and no std LSD, big fuel tank, etc.

As Cortina GT500s had been outlawed from running at Bathurst the year before, I am wondering what criteria (aside from being on sale in Australian showrooms) were used to determine Bathurst eligibility in 1967. Could the two Princes entered have been GT-A models??

Two other questions!
Was Skyline Curve at Bathurst named after these cars?
Did the second car crash near there in 1967 or retire for mechanical reasons?

[Ian G]

A bit of a worry,i used to know Prince GT Info. backwards in the 1970's.IIRC they were the the Webered variety that ran in 1967,also all the early GT's in Oz. were the GTB type model with triple carbs,the GTA version came later.A couple i drove only had a 4 speed box,whether the 5 speed had been removed or the early ones were 4 speed i'm not sure. Anyway i'm happy to be corrected but if the 1967 Bathurst cars were 1965 models they were probaly the triple carby GTB type..Not sure when the LSD models turned up in Oz.Skyline at Bathurst of course is named after the vista when you crest the Mountain and goes back to the early days of the circuit.

Edited by Ian G, 09 August 2011 - 01:36.

[Lee Nicolle]

Glass's Dealers Guide Model Identification 1962-1970 states "3 Weber carburettors" for the 1966 (Aug '65) Skyline A200 GT.

Most of the ill informed have called any sidedraft 2bbl a Weber.Delorto's also are referred to as webers, regularly! My only experience with Skylines is a rallycar in the early 70s and that defenitly had Solex's. As did most similar Jap hotties as they were made in Japan, not Italy. I hear the same about twin cam Celicas, they have twin Webers, sorry Solex.

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 09 August 2011 - 04:10.

[Ian G]

Most of the ill informed have called any sidedraft 2bbl a Weber.Delorto's also are referred to as webers, regularly! My only experience with Skylines is a rallycar in the early 70s and that defenitly had Solex's. As did most similar Jap hotties as they were made in Japan, not Italy. I hear the same about twin cam Celicas, they have twin Webers, sorry Solex.

Not that it matters but they were definitly Webers,your not thinking of the 240K Datsun by chance,they were rallied in Oz.and the fully imported ones were also called Skylines,also there was a triple Solex conversion for them and the 240Z.
In Sydney at least Prince GT's in the late 60's were probaly,along with the Falcon GT's the most likely car to get stolen,you couldn't park them on the street.The Webers were taken & the rest dumped or set fire to,so plenty of mechanical parts available at wreckers considering the small volume of sales.Funny story,i had one parked on my drive whilst i waited to sell it,another car was parked behind it so it couldn't move,i was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a noise and looked out the window,a guy was leaning in the engine bay with the bonnet on his back & his mate was underneath trying to unbolt the carbs without a light of any kind so i guess they had done it before.

[wagons46]

Glass's Dealers Guide Model Identification 1962-1970 states "3 Weber carburettors" for the 1966 (Aug '65) Skyline A200 GT.

Glass's also list engine capacity, comp ratio, bore and stroke, wheelbase, o/length, width, tranmission, body style and horsepower (not that we mention H/P on this forum), so I would think they did their homework on this. I wouldn't be as supportive of their valuations though.

" 1967 (Feb) GT A introduced with 106 Bhp engine and 4 speed gearbox. GT B introduced with 5 speed gearbox and LSD. June GT A and GT B continue with Nissan on boot lid"

[Ray Bell]

Yes, they were Webers... no question of that...

And Cortina GT500s didn't really get excluded, but they convinced the ARDC that they had to increase the 'homologation' numbers so that nobody could ever again build a 125-car run so specialised.

The number went to 500 for the following year, IIRC.

[seldo]

A bit of a worry,i used to know Prince GT Info. backwards in the 1970's.IIRC they were the the Webered variety that ran in 1967,also all the early GT's in Oz. were the GTB type model with triple carbs,the GTA version came later.A couple i drove only had a 4 speed box,whether the 5 speed had been removed or the early ones were 4 speed i'm not sure. Anyway i'm happy to be corrected but if the 1967 Bathurst cars were 1965 models they were probaly the triple carby GTB type..Not sure when the LSD models turned up in Oz.Skyline at Bathurst of course is named after the vista when you crest the Mountain and goes back to the early days of the circuit.

I'm struggling with the memory a bit, but I seem to recall that the ones I drove had a strange gear-lever pattern - a dog-leg 1st maybe?

[seldo]

A bit of a worry,i used to know Prince GT Info. backwards in the 1970's.IIRC they were the the Webered variety that ran in 1967,also all the early GT's in Oz. were the GTB type model with triple carbs,the GTA version came later.A couple i drove only had a 4 speed box,whether the 5 speed had been removed or the early ones were 4 speed i'm not sure. Anyway i'm happy to be corrected but if the 1967 Bathurst cars were 1965 models they were probaly the triple carby GTB type..Not sure when the LSD models turned up in Oz.Skyline at Bathurst of course is named after the vista when you crest the Mountain and goes back to the early days of the circuit.

I'm struggling with the memory a bit, but I seem to recall that the ones I drove had a strange gear-lever pattern - a dog-leg 1st maybe?

[Lee Nicolle]

Not that it matters but they were definitly Webers,your not thinking of the 240K Datsun by chance,they were rallied in Oz.and the fully imported ones were also called Skylines,also there was a triple Solex conversion for them and the 240Z.
In Sydney at least Prince GT's in the late 60's were probaly,along with the Falcon GT's the most likely car to get stolen,you couldn't park them on the street.The Webers were taken & the rest dumped or set fire to,so plenty of mechanical parts available at wreckers considering the small volume of sales.Funny story,i had one parked on my drive whilst i waited to sell it,another car was parked behind it so it couldn't move,i was awoken in the early hours of the morning by a noise and looked out the window,a guy was leaning in the engine bay with the bonnet on his back & his mate was underneath trying to unbolt the carbs without a light of any kind so i guess they had done it before.

it was a Prince Skyline GT with Solex carbs which were the factory ones.Made in Japan.The engine was maintained by a servo/tuning shop I worked in occasionally to earn some extra money
Think about it, the Japanese motor industry then tried to do everything itself, so by fitting Italian carbs would be a huge loss of face. Personally I think the webers are better [I am used to them though] but there is not a lot in it.

As for Glasses guide, Red book etc they have more mistakes in them than Canberra has public servants.At one stage they had XU1 s listed as auto versions!

And David, I believe they were a dogleg first gear, though I am not sure they all had 5 speeds?

[redgts]

I recall a Prince racing at Amaroo in the 70"s, so i thought I would check out a few
old programs and I found in the 1973 Tasman race at the farm a
Prince Skyline is entered in the South Pacific Touring Car Series,
by Nick Ledingham.
It is described as " Prince Skyline T/C 1988 c.c , colour Ivory/Black".

[PS30-SB]

it was a Prince Skyline GT with Solex carbs which were the factory ones.Made in Japan.The engine was maintained by a servo/tuning shop I worked in occasionally to earn some extra money
Think about it, the Japanese motor industry then tried to do everything itself, so by fitting Italian carbs would be a huge loss of face. Personally I think the webers are better [I am used to them though] but there is not a lot in it.

"Factory" fitment for the Prince Skyline GT-B ( 'S54B-II' and 'S54B-III' models ) was three Weber 40DCOE-18s. It was the Prince Skyline GT-A which had the single downdraught carb. There's a little bit of confusion caused by the changeover from 'Prince' to 'Nissan' identity with the 1966 'Kyu-shu Gappei' ( forced merger ) between Prince and Nissan, brokered by the Japanese government, but the series and models should be easy to understand if you look back to the correct source ( Japan ....... ).

I don't understand all this "loss of face" talk ( it's so hackneyed anyway ). Prince were very happy to use Weber carburettors on their race ( and road ) cars and so were Nissan. The main reason for them ( along with Toyota, Isuzu and others ) switching over to Japanese manufactured Mikuni sidedraughts ( Solex patent designs, licensed and improved ) was poor supply. In fact, Nissan used Weber carbs ( 45DCOE-9s ) on the earliest versions of their S20-engined Skyline GT-R and Fairlady Z432-Rs race cars before switching to fuel injection, and at the same time the roadgoing ( homologation ) versions being sold in the showrooms were fitted with Triple 40PHH Mikuni-Solexes.

Here are some scans from the Japanese market brochure for the S54B-II model. Notice the 'dogleg' shift pattern and 40DCOE-18 carbs:

[seldo]

"Factory" fitment for the Prince Skyline GT-B ( 'S54B-II' and 'S54B-III' models ) was three Weber 40DCOE-18s. It was the Prince Skyline GT-A which had the single downdraught carb. There's a little bit of confusion caused by the changeover from 'Prince' to 'Nissan' identity with the 1966 'Kyu-shu Gappei' ( forced merger ) between Prince and Nissan, brokered by the Japanese government, but the series and models should be easy to understand if you look back to the correct source ( Japan ....... ).

I don't understand all this "loss of face" talk ( it's so hackneyed anyway ). Prince were very happy to use Weber carburettors on their race ( and road ) cars and so were Nissan. The main reason for them ( along with Toyota, Isuzu and others ) switching over to Japanese manufactured Mikuni sidedraughts ( Solex patent designs, licensed and improved ) was poor supply. In fact, Nissan used Weber carbs ( 45DCOE-9s ) on the earliest versions of their S20-engined Skyline GT-R and Fairlady Z432-Rs race cars before switching to fuel injection, and at the same time the roadgoing ( homologation ) versions being sold in the showrooms were fitted with Triple 40PHH Mikuni-Solexes.

Here are some scans from the Japanese market brochure for the S54B-II model. Notice the 'dogleg' shift pattern and 40DCOE-18 carbs:

Thanks! There you go - TNF comes through again!
I was sure the gear-shift pattern was very unusual...

[DJH]

All show and no go.
Maybe they needed Harry Firth over there.

[Ian G]

it was a Prince Skyline GT with Solex carbs which were the factory ones.Made in Japan.The engine was maintained by a servo/tuning shop I worked in occasionally to earn some extra money

Probaly a replacement for the originals Lee,as i said early i can only talk for Sydney/Brisbane but the Skyline carbs. were in great demand by Midnight Spares.

I recall a Prince racing at Amaroo in the 70"s, so i thought I would check out a few
old programs and I found in the 1973 Tasman race at the farm a
Prince Skyline is entered in the South Pacific Touring Car Series,
by Nick Ledingham.
It is described as " Prince Skyline T/C 1988 c.c , colour Ivory/Black".

Yeah,i remember that car,Nick was President of the NSSCC for a couple of years,IIRC he was Leo Geoghegan's Solicitor or had some business arrangement with him.There were several Skylines in the NSSCC in the early 1970's,they joined when the original Datsun CC closed after CAMS asked it to merge with the larger Datsun Drivers Club..

All show and no go.
Maybe they needed Harry Firth over there.

Yeah,they struggled in NSW club motorsport as well,there were probaly exceptions but they were slugs in hillclimbs. IIRC the drivers were blamed(or some of them) for the 1967 Bathurst event but it was more likely the car's lack of ability to go around a corner. There was a demand for the triple carb model from enthusiasts thou.,like Lotus Cortinas they were very easy to re-sell.

[seldo]

....Yeah,they struggled in NSW club motorsport as well,there were probably exceptions but they were slugs in hillclimbs. IIRC the drivers were blamed(or some of them) for the 1967 Bathurst event but it was more likely the car's lack of ability to go around a corner. There was a demand for the triple carb model from enthusiasts thou.,like Lotus Cortinas they were very easy to re-sell.

And despite their seeming great potential on paper, they just never delivered. They didn't go and didn't handle (can't remember about brakes). They reminded me of the original Holden HQ SS with its 253 V8 that looked the goods on paper but was so underwhelming to drive.

[johnny yuma]

Looking through the specs (partly japanese) on the earlier post,the gearbox is described as 3 speeds and overdrive-thus the dogleg shift.The diff ratio is 4.444,the O/D
is .777,you end up with 3.45 ratio in 4th,too tall to climb Mountain Straight for a 1966 2 litre weighing 1070 kg even with 3 webers ,too tall for across the mountain,third (1:1) probably too low with 520x13 wheels for across the top,other gears useless except second in the cutting. As Bill Tuckey memorably said,you start building a Bathurst car with a relief map of the circuit and lots of gear options for the box.
Several Skylines have been seen in Group N (B), but no match for EH Holdens,or the best FJ-FCs.

[lyntonh]

P Arnull ..... Oran Park & Warwick Farm 1969

Edited by lyntonh, 14 February 2012 - 04:32.

[Ian G]

Looking through the specs (partly japanese) on the earlier post,the gearbox is described as 3 speeds and overdrive-thus the dogleg shift.The diff ratio is 4.444,the O/D
is .777,you end up with 3.45 ratio in 4th,too tall to climb Mountain Straight for a 1966 2 litre weighing 1070 kg even with 3 webers ,too tall for across the mountain,third (1:1) probably too low with 520x13 wheels for across the top,other gears useless except second in the cutting. As Bill Tuckey memorably said,you start building a Bathurst car with a relief map of the circuit and lots of gear options for the box.
Several Skylines have been seen in Group N (B), but no match for EH Holdens,or the best FJ-FCs.

Good points,i used to know all that Info. once. I notice a 1965 model for sale so maybe the Bathurst entries had the 5 speed CR box(i forget).I know one thing for sure that 4 speed box was on some Oz cars despite all the literature/spec sheets saying the GTB version had 5.
Thanks for taking the time to post the photos Lynton,this thread has sure jolted some memories.

1965 GTB for sale.

Edited by Ian G, 10 August 2011 - 04:25.

[Catalina Park]

Funny thing about the Japanese using Solex carbys, according to a lot of experts on the internet Solex was a Japanese company.

[Lee Nicolle]

Funny thing about the Japanese using Solex carbys, according to a lot of experts on the internet Solex was a Japanese company.

Solex carbs were/are made in Japan. hence my comments. It would be intersting to know if they all had Webers, or as the one I knew that had Solexs, complete with the same style air filter the lot. The main reason I remember those Solex carbs is that they were very limited [then] for tuning parts. Jets, airs and the like.As the engine had a hotter cam, more compression and the usual deal. Toyota pistons rings a bell?
While I am not certain, I feel that car was a dogleg first 5 speed.
I have no idea what year it was, it did become a bitsa to a degree as hitting the scenery damaged quite a few panels over a couple of years. The guy managed a crash shop which helped a lot!

[Lee Nicolle]

Good points,i used to know all that Info. once. I notice a 1965 model for sale so maybe the Bathurst entries had the 5 speed CR box(i forget).I know one thing for sure that 4 speed box was on some Oz cars despite all the literature/spec sheets saying the GTB version had 5.
Thanks for taking the time to post the photos Lynton,this thread has sure jolted some memories.

1965 GTB for sale.

There is a major Oops in that add. the pic with the blue engine bay is a Holden motor.

[Catalina Park]

Solex carbs were/are made in Japan. hence my comments. It would be intersting to know if they all had Webers, or as the one I knew that had Solexs, complete with the same style air filter the lot. The main reason I remember those Solex carbs is that they were very limited [then] for tuning parts. Jets, airs and the like.As the engine had a hotter cam, more compression and the usual deal. Toyota pistons rings a bell?
While I am not certain, I feel that car was a dogleg first 5 speed.
I have no idea what year it was, it did become a bitsa to a degree as hitting the scenery damaged quite a few panels over a couple of years. The guy managed a crash shop which helped a lot!

Solex carbys were made in Japan but not by Solex themselves.

Solex was a French company.