OlderThanMe Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 So I've been planning a race car based off of an L6 plaform for a while now. I was thinking of a Prince R380 replica. Prince was eventually bought by Nissan and designed the L series engine. How cool would it be to buiild a replica that had a nice high compression L20A/L24 mated to some kind of transaxle? The original had the GR8 engine which was the pre-cursor to the S20 engine. The S20 is similar to the L series but had a crossflow DOHC cylinder head among other things... Tony_D/HLS30-H/others would know much more than I know in that area. Anyway that has been something going through my head for the last couple years... I love the body too. Has a *slight* resemblence to the Z that came after it. A kit car could probably even use a lot of Z suspension pieces to make it more affordable to build. Or even slap in a 400hp+ L28 based turbo motor. For somethig like this I'd prefer a smaller displacement engine screaming it's head off at high RPMs... Opinions/ideas?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 Here is a video of one on NHK (A Japanese news channel) with what I am guessing is the old driver. LINK Another interesting vid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjhines Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcRyNPzqP1A The look on that man's face while he blips the throttle says volumes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CArFAn Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I thought he wanted to shed a tear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.INSANE Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I love the sound of the S20, Although I believe the sound still has a lot to do with the fact that it has those Mikuni's and those crazy headers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buZy Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcRyNPzqP1A The look on that man's face while he blips the throttle says volumes. Very Cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted January 31, 2008 Author Share Posted January 31, 2008 A N/A 3.2 L6 with triples about 8 inches behind your head would be quite nice... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bschiltz Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 A N/A 3.2 L6 with triples about 8 inches behind your head would be quite nice... Best sound system you could put in a car. Ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 Best sound system you could put in a car. Ever. Agreed. I was thinking of using either a high performance VW-based Mendeola tranny or using some Porsche transaxle(Boxter, 944, 914?). Suspension would probably be double control arms with coilovers blah blah... The main thing I'd want to do is make the body look as close as possible as I'm not really concerned about keeping the under-pinnings original but I really like the body shape. I don't know if a Z windshield would look right, might be too wide. I'd probably take the chance to clean up the aerodynamics with a mild air-dam and maybe a little spoiler on the hatch/engine cover. The Prince R381 was powered by a 5.5 liter Chevy motor... hehe. I still prefer the N/A tripple weber'd (or ITB'd) L6 for the SUPERIOR sound qualities that it offers. BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPAPAPAPAPAP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS30-H Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 So I've been planning a race car based off of an L6 plaform for a while now. Do you mean "planning" as in "this is a serious project", or "planning" as in "I have been eating far too much cheese before going to bed"? Prince was eventually bought by Nissan and designed the L series engine. Incorrect. The Nissan 'L-gata' engine module was designed in-house at Nissan ( project chief was Mr Hiroshi Iida ) during 1964 and early 1965, and was first used in the H130 model 'Cedric Special Six' which was launched in October 1965, featuring the L20 six. So, design of the L-series range of engines was started a full two years before the Japanese government forced the merger of Prince Motor Co. with Nissan...... The S20 is similar to the L series but had a crossflow DOHC cylinder head among other things. The only major similarity is the fact that the S20 and Nissan's L6 engine were both six cylinder inline engines. I don't see any other similarities really...... ? I love the body too. Has a *slight* resemblence to the Z that came after it. That'll be the cheese. Can be strong stuff. Here is a video of one on NHK (A Japanese news channel) with what I am guessing is the old driver. NHK is Japan's state-owned television and radio network, not a "news channel". The gentlemen in the YouTube clip ( snipped from the NHK 'Project X Challengers' TV series episode called 'The Last Prince' ) are Mr Yasuo AOJI - Prince racing team manager, and Mr Shinichiro SAKURAI - often known as 'Mr Skyline', and responsible for overseeing design and engineering of Prince and subsequently Nissan's race activities, as well as production models. The car in the clip is - ironically - a replica, built by Sakurai san's company 'S&S Engineering'. The main thing I'd want to do is make the body look as close as possible as I'm not really concerned about keeping the under-pinnings original but I really like the body shape..........I'd probably take the chance to clean up the aerodynamics with a mild air-dam and maybe a little spoiler on the hatch/engine cover. Now you've really lost me. What's the point of making a car that looks like something - or at least using it as your inspiration - and then changing the looks so drastically? Seems to me that you might as well start with a clean sheet of paper. The very first Prince R380 was actually based on a Brabham BT8 open-topped sports racing car. Seems to me that you could start out with a BT8 replica or a replica of a Lotus sports racer of the same period' date=' and modify [i']that[/i] rather than starting from scratch. But what class / series would this fantasy machine race in, and why would you stick a whacking great long, tall & heavy Nissan L6 in the middle of it?! Maybe I'm not eating enough cheese, but I can't see it.......... Alan T. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OlderThanMe Posted February 1, 2008 Author Share Posted February 1, 2008 I've bitten the HybridZ, non-purist, block of cheese. Be it rotten or not... Planning as in when I gather all the parts I'll start drawing up plans and gathering specific tools to do the job. When I get my z finished in about 2-3 years then I'll be ready to start building with the parts that I have around/gathered. I guess it would just carry the styling of the R380 over into the new design utilizing modern suspension, chassis, and driveline componets. My Z will look ~something~ like a Z when I'm done... but the bodywork and underpinnings are my expression of what I enjoy as a high performance automobile. Not really going for an exact replica, but rather something to use for my own pleasure and enjoyment. I guess it is like art where I can express myself in a certain manner and not feel bad about deviating from a certain "exactness" to an original. Choice of the L6: Well, 1. They are laying around all over the place and are easy to get parts for. 2: They can go pretty well for the amount of money put into them. 3: Easily modified(decent aftermarket) and I already have a lot of related parts laying around. 4: The great sound of a tripple carbed L6 right behind my head gives me chills... Thanks for the information Alan! BTW... I did live in Japan for 18 months when I was a kid and I remember watching some of the kids programs on NHK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boy from Oz Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 I watched an R380 in an endurance race in Australia around 65-68. The same race was won one year by a Ferrari 250LM. I thought how similar in appearance the two were. It was the era when rear-engined car were taking over in motorsport. Anyway, I wondered if there were any replica 250LMs about that might get you started and here is what I found. http://www.madabout-kitcars.com/kitcar/kitcar_details.php?284 Looks more like a R380 than a 250LM if you ask me. If I can find a photo of the R380 that raced in Oz I'll post it. (ed) Shows how age can muddle things. I've tracked down a couple of photos. It turns out that a Mk3 R380 raced here in Oct 1969. http://www.autopics.com.au/cache/list-319public__0-1.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G.I.jonas Posted February 2, 2008 Share Posted February 2, 2008 Sounds like a sweet project to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted February 4, 2008 Share Posted February 4, 2008 http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=zoRfGDTLcgA heres a similar video posted, but with a z instead, just to keep this thread afloat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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