Targa 2011 came around with the promise of new and exciting stages in Northland, starting at the Auckland Viaduct and eventually ending up the Hawkes Bay, the field for the main event and tour was once again over 100 cars.

Our second attempt at the main Targa event had us presenting the car not only with Buildlink as a new main sponsor but Cotec paints , Gamma Bracing, CRC and Auto Movements had joined the support team. The car started with a newly modified L28, courtesy of hard work and clever head work by Gary at the Cylinder Head Shop in Glenfield. Hitech in Drury had finished the job with a nice tune and some modifications to the fuel delivery. The power output of the car was up by around 40% over the old engine and with the extremely light flywheel and tiny Quartermaster clutch was a very willing unit reminiscent of a bike engine. The driveline continued with the same gearbox and driveshaft and we finally completed the R200 back end with a CV conversion.

Inlet modifications had come courtesy of Ronnie Lim at RSL and two shiny Pipercross pod filters from Alert Motorsport who also provided us with a very well made Setrab filter and fittings that took over from the original “1960’s fridge look” oil cooler. Another huge step forward was the change to some beautiful Pagid pads from Race Brakes that although absolutely rubbish when cold around town, when hot would really bite and pull the car up in half the distance of the old road pads.

All in all we were happy with the way the car presented for the event and by managing to keep my fingers from dancing away on Ebay, we purchased most of the gear off local businesses that were supporting motorsport and the club, generally with pricing reflecting the excellent exchange rates at the time.

The support crew was five in number, all but one were family members, we had two technicians, a spare navigator (in case of homicide) and two folk handling food, accommodation, crew and sponsor support.

Leaving the new Beaumont Quarter in Auckland our first stage through Waitakere was an absolute dream and although only 7 or 8 minutes long we passed or caught a number of cars, including the category 4 V8 powered SS Torana and various smaller capacity cars. We were only 5 seconds behind the first in category and 13th in classic so the possibility of finishing in the top 10 in classic and winning the category was finally a reality. I could not believe how good the car was and how responsive and balanced it felt, the new Federal tyres played their part and the car danced through the stage carrying a driver and co-driver with smiles as wide as their helmet openings. The brakes had to be tried to be believed and even though they were just the Hilux/300ZX setup that many 240Z road cars use, the pad upgrade had made a huge difference.

This was unfortunately to be almost the best result of the event, Stage 2 was again a time to enjoy the cars new found performance and we again finished well, only 5 seconds behind , the eventual category winner, Nick Coopers “well endowed” E55 Charger. Stage 3 and 4 were a “downhill” run to Marsden Cove service. When we removed her rocker cover 240ZED presented us with several displaced rockers, three cracked cam towers and a very blue and worn camshaft caked in burnt oil residue, the towers had all lifted off the head and we had consequently lost oil pressure. A phone call and a visit back to Gary at the Cylinder Head Shop, had new towers, some reground rockers and some emery paper to give the camshaft a tidy up. We reassembled the camshaft and rockers and started the car in complete darkness in the middle of a paddock, but we were back in for the next day and although late in, 240ZED sat in overnight Parc Ferme in Whangarei, ready for another run! Unfortunately missing at least two stages put us out of the running for overall event honours, as the regulations allow a competitor to drop only one stage a day without losing their position.

DAY TWO dawned with the Buildlink Z seeded well up the order because of yesterdays breakage, the engine no longer had the vitality of stage 1 and 2 and we continued with placings in mid field on stages 9,10 and 11 until on Stage 12, mid corner on a hard right hander, just a few metres from a bank the car appeared to move abruptly to the left mid corner. Next time we hit the brakes the car vibrated violently and we were left to find a parking spot safe from stage traffic to examine the damage. The car was sitting too low to establish the exact problem but looking at the front wheels pointing different directions we could only assume the worst. As we had no way of carrying out a repair we decided to coast out of stage, the steering self centred, as long as we didn’t run over 40km/hr, brake or go over a bump. Back at service at Whangarei we found a broken rose joint on the inner lower arm had been the culprit, the break had left the rose joint as a hook which had allowed us to drive out without the wheel parting company or bending the strut. Another “temporary” rose joint was sourced in Whangarei and we sourced another couple of higher quality items to wait for us in Auckland to be replaced the next day. Dropping down the field placed us in amongst some very fast modern cars and it was a great exercise hanging on their tail and checking their braking and lines, sufficient to say that the modern category seems to contain a lot more risk takers than the classics and that’s where most of the carnage lies. The end of day event at Springhill Farms was a day highlight and running down the airstrip in Drag mode was a blast giving us a chance to give some of our sponsors a ride down the ¼ mile and kick a bit of Evo and BMW butt. Live band, helicopters and fixed wing aerobatics, skeet shooting and great company made for a wonderful end to the day. Club member and racer, Anthony Baker had been working for us back in Auckland and had had a cam reground and waiting for us back in his home workshop in Auckland. Anthony and ex Z Club member Greg Gillespie gave my young service crew a lesson in cam timing whilst fitting the new cam and an extra lesson for me and crew member Jarred in keeping ones workshop tidy.

We stayed at home that night and re-joined DAY THREE start at Takanini VTNZ the next day, where because of the previous days failure we were seeded first, which although a little embarrassing it would give us a chance during the day to fit upgraded rose joints without dropping too far down the pack. The engine seemed to be back up to where we started but a new vibration under braking had reared its head and this was stopping us from running deep into corners. Initially I thought the vibration had come from some damage sustained the previous day and we persevered with poor handling and placings all day, waiting for a chance to get the car in the air and replace the rose joints and straighten the geometry out. The new joints were finally fitted at final service before Taupo overnight, no obvious damage could be found, alignment etc seemed ok and we bolted everything back up nice and tight ready for tomorrows battle.

Heading out on DAY FOUR for our tour along the Desert Road it was obvious the steering geometry was out after last nights replacements and we dropped into a garage on the outskirts of Turangi who despite having just opened for the day and with an obvious huge workload moved cars and machinery to slip the car over their pit and realigned the steering using the old mirrors and eyeball gear. It’s an indication of the support the event gets from those in the trade when they wouldn’t hear of taking a payment. We had solved the steering issue but it was soon clear in the following stages, the vibration lay elsewhere. I had simply run out of confidence in the handling and we were braking early to counter the vibration and again finishing well down the field. Taihape service we made the decision to spin up the front rotors that although they appeared to be running close to true when cold that may not have been the same once they were hot. We missed two stages whilst the only brake lathe in town sorted the rotors, yes no spares again, I know, I know, and we were back under way. The stages through Marton gave me back my confidence for a new attack tomorrow and the Buildink Zed was back at almost 100%, the driver however was running down around 85% after too many late nights and near misses. The lads had procured some plastic piping for brake ducts as it was clear the magic front pads had taken their toll by creating too much heat and the rotors had suffered. The brake ducts and rotor skim worked perfectly and the braking and vibration issues were finally gone!

Overnight in Palmy was relaxing as nothing had fallen off and we could attack the next DAY FIVE with a renewed vigour. There was plenty of carnage throughout the day and one of the funniest sights we had seen when the co-driver of the lime green Anglia #034 came crawling up the bank ahead of us with his “OK” board slowly rising out of the long grass. The car had slipped down the bank sideways and through a fence, they were to rejoin again relatively unscathed. We managed to make the Targa TV special by attempting to be innovative through “Cops Corner” using a go wide strategy before the gravel and trying to straight-line the corner. It wasn’t to be and although we lost 10 seconds undoing the mistake, the car was a the focus of TV cameras and we had achieved some added value for our sponsors. We also lost our front dam at speed during the last stages. In seemed to have little effect on speed or handling and the car and driver were finally back to the form of the first stages, we came in as 6th in classic in Stage 36 and once again 2nd in category. Our stage time was 5 seconds behind Alan in the Alert Zed and only 11 seconds behind the eventual Cat 2 winner. The last stage 37 the wide smiles were back as we busied ourselves attempting to “unlap” cars that had passed us on previous days.

The welcome in Havelock North was almost like an international event with a huge crowd in the main street and with the timing improvements, over the years that Peter Martin has been in charge, the top six cars were lined up beside each other after they crossed the finish line.

I thought finally running in a competitive car may have cured me of the Targa disease but I remain a Targaholic and our team is even more excited about future competition. I am of the opinion that a Zed will win the Classic or maybe a possible new Historic Competition one day and even though the categories have changed to a capacity based formula for next year and we are competing in Category 2, from which no doubt the classic winner will emerge, an L28 powered Zed will also take out a category win one day soon. The first two Targas we competed in with the car in mild tune had no breakages and even a category place but now we have turned the wick up it looks like a little more preparation and caution may be in order!

Our thanks go out to our sponsors of course who made entry possible and gained substantial exposure as the car seemed to be a camera magnet with its bold livery, the car featuring not only in the TV specials but in NZ Autocar, The Rodney Times, an article in the Te Awamutu Courier and two issues of NZ Classic Car

Targa remains the best value in NZ motorsport events and according to some overseas competitors and this year’s event winner, who should know, is one of the best events of its type in the world. Long may it run and prosper.