Archive for January, 2011

Rest in Peace; Mr. Sakurai – Father of Skyline.

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January 21, 2011
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On the 17th of January, 2011.  Mr. Sakurai passed away of heart failure aged 81.  Were it not for this man, who knows what the Skyline range would have ended up as or with.  He was primarily responsible for the Skyline pre and post merger with Nissan.

桜井 眞一郎 （さくらい しんいちろう、1929年4月3日 - 2011年1月17日）

Hired by Prince Motor Company in 1951, he was part of the Skyline range and development from it’s very inception all the way through post merger to it’s more modern shapes (R30/31), post that he became head of the design and development area of Nissan, known as Autech.

Outside of his Skyline children.  Mr. Sakurai was also involved in the development of the “R” series of race cars of the 60′s and 70′s, known as the R380, R381, R382  & R383.  It was likely this involvement that set the Skyline on the path from family sedan to sports sedan with the desire to take the sedan to the race track and the later fitting of the S20 engine and huge successes of the Skyline on the track.

-Michael

: Automotive History, Inspiration

Automotive History; Citroen in Australia’s Great Race

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January 21, 2011
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Since the early 1990′s, “the Great Race” has been less than great, a mere raindrop of it’s previous lake like form.  For you see, back in the early days a multitude of classes, manufacturers, cars and cultures were allowed to race against each-other.  Though the race nowadays (and for some time) has been at Mt. Panorama in Bathurst, it’s origins and indeed it’s first three runnings took place at Phillip Island under the name of the “Armstrong 500″.  In 1962 you could find these lovely Citroens, racing against Studebaker Larks and other such steeds.

Citroen's taking off at the grid.

Though initially left eating the dust of the competitors, a Citroen went on to take 3rd in Class A, behind a Studebaker Lark, a Zephyr but ahead of a Valiant.   (more…)

: Automotive History

Cars for Sale; 1966 Nissan Cedric on TM

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January 19, 2011
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It’s quite amazing what will sometimes pop up on trademe.  In this instance it’s a 1966 130-series Cedric.

1966 Nissan Cedric

Not the prettiest of cars and certainly not in mint condition but as any Cedric aficionado will tell you, it’s not an easy one to come across.  The 1966 was the very first of the 130-series which received three face-lifts in it’s tenure.  What sets the “Mark I” apart aesthetically from the rest of the 130 variants, are the block like tail-lamps that sit far to each side, as shown in the next photo…

(more…)

: Cars for Sale

YAJ browsing: FJ20ET Skyline/Silvia HKS PFC F-CON

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January 16, 2011
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In the days before standalone engine management systems really came into their own, piggyback systems were The Big Thing. Marketed as (deep breath) “a plug-in fuel management system designed to supplement and refine the OEM fuel curve to maintain a proper air/fuel mixture when increasing boost pressure in turbocharged applications”, HKS’ F-CON series was one of the more popular choices to come out of Japan during the ’80s and ’90s.

HKS Programed (sic) Fuel Computer.

From what I can gather, the F-CON simply hooked into the standard ECU injector signal and modified it to allow for increased fueling at higher boost levels, not unlike some of the more esoteric “boost enrichment solenoid” DIY kits of the late ’90s. Further fine-tuning of the ‘map’ could be achieved through use of a plug-in hand controller.

This particular F-CON is for the DR30 and US12 FJ20ET, and doesn’t come with the piggyback harness nor boost sensor (which are both necessities given the age of the product). As a result, the start price is an incredulously low 2011 yen.

I could almost be tempted to buy it for squid (for bonus points in the “authentik ’80s mods” category) but without a harness it’s pretty much useless other than for trinket value.

And besides, I’ve already got a Link G4…

DR30 US12 FJ20ET HKS F-CON (body only) for sale on Yahoo! Auctions Japan »

: YAJ - Yahoo! Auctions Japan

External Projects; Rocky Auto, SC L28改 3.1L S30Z

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January 16, 2011
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Shared by Mr. D. Carbonare on SpeedHunters, taken at the Tokyo Auto Salon.  Aesthetically this S30Z looks pretty…    ….average to poor.

I’m no fan of the TE37V and their ability to make stylish cars bland.  The bonnet in carbon would be alright, had they not added the god awful American muscle-look raised section, purposeful or not.  I’m also not a fan of that manner of air dam, it’s especially evident from the angle this photo is taken on that it seems more to distort the front end shape of a beautiful car than it does improve it.

Super-charged L-series

What IS awesome about the car, the L28改 3.1L stroker motor with super-charger attached.  I’m quite keen to find out what kind of numbers the car makes, you can read in the SH article itself that it’s estimated to be around 400hp.  Given what other awesome L-series I’ve seen in G-Works, I can imagine this being quite likely indeed.

-Michael

: External Projects
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