MikeB
Well-Known Forum User
Well finally bought a 240, after a lot of searching I took AndyM's green car OKJ.
So there'll be a few dumb questions from a Z Newbie along the way, so please bear with me
Generally I use my classics in various forms of motorsport, my main background being hillclimbing, which coming from Northern Ireland is all done on closed public roads. Used to do it pretty seriously with a Jedi Suzuki GSXR single seater ( 220hp pulling 290Kg) , in both the NI Championship and the occasional British event as well at the likes of Harewood, Loton Park & Doune
Here's a pic of one of our hills, Garron Point on the Antrim Coast
Got out of single seaters in 2002 and decided to try my hand as Historics for a while. I bought a 1967 Alfa Giulia GTV, which had be professionally restored and had a lot of trick stuff on it. I'd intended to do Classic road rallies in it, Retro type events, but once I saw how good it was I decided I couldn't hurl it down a lane in the dead of night and abuse it, so it ended up as a 190hp lightweight hillclimb car and can be found running on the Midland hills today with its curent owner
Having had fun developing it, I decided I really did want to do some rallying, so I bought a 1972 Lancia Fulvia HF 1600. It was a really brilliant little rally car, superb suspension and road holding, you could really push it on over the bumpy Irish tarmac. The events were non stage events, but had "special tests" using estate roads and farm lanes, as well as a good old Bawlz Out night road rally, great fun.
I even did the occasional hillclimb in it, I had it tuned to Gp4 spec so it wasn't too sluggish and even made a British Championship Run Off....due to two of the top contenders breaking down in practice
I generally do all my own mechanical and suspension work, I leave the welding and painting to the experts, but my skills were tested when I got tempted by a 911 !!
My friend was emigrating and had a half finished project of a 1971 911 T which came with an S spec 2.2 litre engine. It was too good a deal to miss, the rolling shell was all finished and I just had to do the engine install, so right up my street. But in the end it took 2 years to finish, and just about broke the bank and my will to live on the way. It was done as a replica of the first 911 ST rally cars, which were built to the same T chassis/S engine spec, and I finally got to give it a run at Craigantlet, before selling it on.
So that was me up to 2010. I had a Z on my short list for the next car, but stuck to my first choice for rallying a BMW 2002tii, which seemed a good choice, but unfortunately due to the economy in Eire nearly all the Retro style rallies had stopped and have been replaced with Lanes events, which really are turning into Escort-fests and you need to take the car to stage prep standards, which I wasn't going to do with a genuine tii.
So I've decided just to have a car for fun and the occasional sprint or hill and this time the Z seemed to fit the bill, I just love the sound of the straight 6 and am looking forward to seeing how a 240 preforms.
No doubt there will be a lot of tinkering and tweeking along the way, so as I say please bear with any newbie-daft questions
Cheers
Michael Beattie
So there'll be a few dumb questions from a Z Newbie along the way, so please bear with me
Generally I use my classics in various forms of motorsport, my main background being hillclimbing, which coming from Northern Ireland is all done on closed public roads. Used to do it pretty seriously with a Jedi Suzuki GSXR single seater ( 220hp pulling 290Kg) , in both the NI Championship and the occasional British event as well at the likes of Harewood, Loton Park & Doune
Here's a pic of one of our hills, Garron Point on the Antrim Coast
Got out of single seaters in 2002 and decided to try my hand as Historics for a while. I bought a 1967 Alfa Giulia GTV, which had be professionally restored and had a lot of trick stuff on it. I'd intended to do Classic road rallies in it, Retro type events, but once I saw how good it was I decided I couldn't hurl it down a lane in the dead of night and abuse it, so it ended up as a 190hp lightweight hillclimb car and can be found running on the Midland hills today with its curent owner
Having had fun developing it, I decided I really did want to do some rallying, so I bought a 1972 Lancia Fulvia HF 1600. It was a really brilliant little rally car, superb suspension and road holding, you could really push it on over the bumpy Irish tarmac. The events were non stage events, but had "special tests" using estate roads and farm lanes, as well as a good old Bawlz Out night road rally, great fun.
I even did the occasional hillclimb in it, I had it tuned to Gp4 spec so it wasn't too sluggish and even made a British Championship Run Off....due to two of the top contenders breaking down in practice
I generally do all my own mechanical and suspension work, I leave the welding and painting to the experts, but my skills were tested when I got tempted by a 911 !!
My friend was emigrating and had a half finished project of a 1971 911 T which came with an S spec 2.2 litre engine. It was too good a deal to miss, the rolling shell was all finished and I just had to do the engine install, so right up my street. But in the end it took 2 years to finish, and just about broke the bank and my will to live on the way. It was done as a replica of the first 911 ST rally cars, which were built to the same T chassis/S engine spec, and I finally got to give it a run at Craigantlet, before selling it on.
So that was me up to 2010. I had a Z on my short list for the next car, but stuck to my first choice for rallying a BMW 2002tii, which seemed a good choice, but unfortunately due to the economy in Eire nearly all the Retro style rallies had stopped and have been replaced with Lanes events, which really are turning into Escort-fests and you need to take the car to stage prep standards, which I wasn't going to do with a genuine tii.
So I've decided just to have a car for fun and the occasional sprint or hill and this time the Z seemed to fit the bill, I just love the sound of the straight 6 and am looking forward to seeing how a 240 preforms.
No doubt there will be a lot of tinkering and tweeking along the way, so as I say please bear with any newbie-daft questions
Cheers
Michael Beattie
