its not a waste of time making a scarab handle, they handle well, i had one for 3 years and 30k worth of DAILY DRIVING, so i know i know what im talking about, and yes i think in a full Autox condition with a jtr z with equal or more hp and equal suspension and a equal to or better driver, the jtr car will have the advantage, not the win, but the advantage. it has NEVER been proven that the scarab cars have had a handling problem, and I can tell you for sure that they dont, and mine didnt have any kind of overheating problem either, with a flexalite engine driven fan and a backup electric fan that i never used, and it ran 13s all day with a tired four barrel 327 with cast manifolds and a four speed, and I was the KING OF IMPORT AND STREET RACING IN GENERAL for three years and more than one hundred seperate incidents with anyone that would dare play with fire.
heres what i ran suspension wise
energy suspension bushings
1" front sway bar
3/4 rear sway bar(later removed for traction)
adjustable coilovers in rear with eibach springs
275lb springs in the front, yes overkill, every bump made me kringe, but i could carve corners like a rat wearing sneakers ( i got that from greg kring), i had on throttle oversteer at my every wish, and i loved every moment of it, until i bent the frame from the tc rods to the floor, everything bent, hell yeah that fairlady 327 served me well and never saw a corner it didnt like, dont let people convince you that it wont handle, the straight six is not centered in the chassis either, and it corners well, now get back under it! I personally cant wait until the day I can say my turbo car will spank Fairlady 327, man oh man sometimes i miss that raw grunt