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We later wrapped the block off plates in 3M “bargain-fiber” that we had left over from our dash. Read about the custom made dash here in “The Sheet Metal Wisperer”.
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To finish off the driver's side block off plate, John Kuchta created a small vent to satisfy another SCTA rule. This rule states, “All enclosed driver compartments shall be equipped with a forward pointing fresh air intake… directed towards the driver… to carry away fumes.”
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Photos courtesy of Big Tom
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I’d later find out that Nissan offered one year of the Silvia with fender mirrors and a factory block off plate to delete the mirrors. However, finding a pair of factory block off plates before Speed Week would be near impossible. Again, ain’t nobody got time fo dat!
With the side and rear windows sorted, all that remained was the front windshield. As we mentioned earlier, the front windshield didn’t need to be replaced but that didn’t mean that it could go untouched to satisfy the SCTA rules. The SCTA rule book states that, “on front and rear windows, retaining tabs or straps are required over 175 MPH.”
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To make our friends in tech inspection happy, two lower window tabs were constructed using a 1″ wide, flat piece of aluminum. To attach the tabs to the body, a hole was drilled in one end. Before the tabs could be installed though, each tab needed to be bent at a slight angle to complement the angle between the body and the front windshield. This was done by mounting each tab in a vice, heating it with a propane torch, and then giving it a subtle bit of encouragement with a hammer.
Once the tabs were at the appropriate angle, a rivnut was installed into a hole in the body to allow the tab to be bolted in place with a 10-32 stainless steel button head allen. As a finishing touch, a small piece of adhesive backed foam was placed in between the window and tab.
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“Killing two birds with one stone” is always nice. This is especially true when you’re just a few weeks away from race day and all the members of your team are undergoing a zombie transformation from lack of sleep and proper nutrition. In addition to the window tab rule, there is an additional rule which states that, “roof rails are required when the existing class record is over 200 MPH.”
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This is where “killing two birds with one stone” comes into play. Starting from a piece of 1/8″ thick angle aluminum, John Kuchta proceeded to fab up a pair of roof rails which would also serve as our upper window retainers. To do this, John first trimmed the angle aluminum down to ¾” tall on a band saw so that it would meet the maximum height requirement.
