Can anyone confirm Who the driver is and what year?I'm told it's the 72 Mintex but the car spotlights suggest 71 to me? It looks like the hairpin on Olivers Mount.
Being a Withers car is it Roy Fidler?
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Who and when?
- Thread starter Rob Gaskin
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Can anyone confirm Who the driver is and what year?I'm told it's the 72 Mintex but the car spotlights suggest 71 to me? It looks like the hairpin on Olivers Mount.
Being a Withers car is it Roy Fidler?
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
It is indeed Roy Fidler and Barry Hughes on the '72 Mintex Rally (Feb. 26th & 27th) in the Withers Of Winsford-owned ex-Works 240Z wearing Cal Withers' personal plate 'KEJ 1'. I don't see them in the results for the rally, so I believe they retired and were 'Unclassified'.
The same car (ex-'TKS 33 SA 696') had first been used in the 1970 RAC Rally (John Bloxham & Norman Salt) and then went on to be used by Tony Fall & Mike Wood in the 1971 Welsh Rally, which they won outright. Fall then used it on the Castrol Rallypoint event (something of a car killer) and the 1971 Scottish Rally (retiring with a broken transmission) before Shekhar Mehta and Lofty Drews used it on the 1971 RAC Rally. So it was already fairly 'tired' by the time Withers took ownership...
Same car also wore Wither's 'CAL 1' personal plate occasionally:
The same car (ex-'TKS 33 SA 696') had first been used in the 1970 RAC Rally (John Bloxham & Norman Salt) and then went on to be used by Tony Fall & Mike Wood in the 1971 Welsh Rally, which they won outright. Fall then used it on the Castrol Rallypoint event (something of a car killer) and the 1971 Scottish Rally (retiring with a broken transmission) before Shekhar Mehta and Lofty Drews used it on the 1971 RAC Rally. So it was already fairly 'tired' by the time Withers took ownership...
Same car also wore Wither's 'CAL 1' personal plate occasionally:
MCBladeRun
Club Member
Looks like the car was put through its paces. Interesting exhaust set up.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
The added silencers an attempt to quieten things down over the original (Works) twin open-pipe system.
Here's the same car on the '72 Scottish Rally, just before Fidler and Hughes rolled it and sustained some fairly heavy roof and pillar damage:
Too busy atm to reply but thanks.
AD240Z
Club Member
Brilliant stuff . Thanks for posting .
it was a picture of a rally z , in one of my late dads books, that first got me into these cars in the first place. sent me off looking today (avoiding kitchen duties).
https://s30.world/galleries-rac-rally
Thanks Alan, you certainly 'know your onions' and know where to find them.
I couldn't find an Entry list for the '72 Mintex and thought because of the spotlight positioning than it was an earlier rally but now you've give me the history of the car I can understand why I thought that.
The 'works' cars are you charismatic.
I couldn't find an Entry list for the '72 Mintex and thought because of the spotlight positioning than it was an earlier rally but now you've give me the history of the car I can understand why I thought that.
The 'works' cars are you charismatic.
Superb find!
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Lots of mistakes in there, so use with caution and cross-reference with other sources where possible.
It also has a fair chunk of photos where the copyright belongs to me...
Alphabettispaghetti
Club Member
Are they're any pics of the none 'red' paint schemes?
Some great knowledge around.
Some great knowledge around.
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
I think the blue and white scheme on Kevin Videan's 'KEU 824K' (a number originally on his UK market 240Z, but 'transferred' onto an ex-Works, ex-Monte Carlo Rallye car) was one of the best:
Alphabettispaghetti
Club Member
Stupid question, is 'old Woking service station' the actual old woking service station, near Send?
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Yes, although it does not exist any more. It was the de-facto Nissan 'Competition Department' base in Europe from 1970 for a few years.
O.W.S.S. was a small, family-run business. An old-school petrol station and early Datsun dealership which took an interest in rallying the Datsun product (first of all with the 510) and which Nissan chose to act as base of operations for much of their European rallying activity of the period. O.W.S.S. provided Works team logistics, service and support starting from the 1970 RAC Rally.
Alphabettispaghetti
Club Member
Its physically still there though, the building?
Albrecht
Well-Known Forum User
Original buildings long gone.
Last time I was there it was a Peugeot dealership on the old site, in new buildings.
AD240Z
Club Member
There are a a fair few pictures of the same car ( and others ) here :https://www.motorsportimages.com/photos/?race_type_id=0&search=240z&p=1
Including damage :
https://motorsport-images.smartfram...zLz9yYWNlX3R5cGVfaWQ9MCZzZWFyY2g9MjQweiZwPTEy
https://www.motorsportimages.com/photo/1018943991-scottish-rally/1018943991/