NTM Chassis History |
Original text by Steve Bush |
Steve Norcross built two Mark III's. Later, Chuck Uliniski completed one additional Mark III. The chassis of the Mark III was a complete fiberglass monocoque this time, with no rear aluminum sub-frame. Instead, the rear suspension and engine mounts were carried on the fiberglass tub. It was a totally new car, much smaller than the Mark II. The body presented a totally new look, reflecting the "slab side" design seen on Can Am cars of the time. The track was 44 inches front and rear, with a 75 inch wheelbase. According to Tabin, "the whole concept of the Mark III was to keep frontal area to an absolute minimum. The Mark II was a much better handling car and a dream to drive while the Mark III was much faster on the straights but unpredictable in the turns." Tabin used the words "scary" and "twitchy" in describing the Mark III's handling.
1972 NTM Chassis #2, the next "factory car", was completed April 1, 1972. The car used the by now familiar Honda S-800 engine coupled to a Webster 5 speed. The roll bar was symmetrical with two braces. The radiator was rear mounted over the transaxle. The original body color was red with a gray tub, and carried the number 30. This car was taken to the SCCA Runoffs at Road Atlanta in 1972, but did not qualify. The car was wrecked badly in the left front, due to vibrations caused by misalignment of the rear drive shafts. The handling was worse than the Mark II's, but the Mark III was faster. At that time, the car was geared for a 145 MPH top speed, and had no trouble reaching top RPM in 5th gear.
The car's track was then increased from 44" to 46"front and rear by adding 1" spacers at each wheel on the "factory car" to improve handling. A 1 ½" addition was made to increase the width of the tub between the wheels on both sides. A new wider body was made and it was painted white.
1973 On August 11, 1973, Tabin qualified his Mark III at the Watkins Glen National with a 1:37.8. He then set a new DSR lap record of 1:30.4 (96.69 MPH). William Green, Historian of Watkins Glen International, confirmed that this record still stands for the "pre chicane" course, and that the NTM is still listed in the Watkins Glen record books. Later, after the track added a "no chicane" option, Michael Weir broke Tabin's record in 1985, in his Weir III with a lap of 1:29.48.
1975 Chuck Ulinski became the owner of Chassis #2 in 1975, purchasing it from NTM.
1977 In 1977, Ulinski sold it to Harry Stewart of Nevada City, California. Stewart, a Datsun car dealer, removed the S-800 engine and Webster transaxle, with the intention of installing a Datsun engine to race the car in C Sports Racing. The engine was sold to Norm Hart, a San Francisco area DSR builder and racer. The engine was used in Hart's Honda/Elva. About a year later, seeing that the engine bay was an impossible fit for the Datsun engine, Stewart sold the car to Dick Steihert of Spring Valley, California.
1987 In May, 1987 Steihert sold the car, without engine or transaxle, to Steve
Bush of San Marcos, California.
Steve Bush of San Marcos, California restored this car to the "wider"
configuration. Bush was even able to use the original S-800 engine, repurchased
from Norm Hart.
1993 Bush sold the Mark III in April of 1993, to Dave Dexter. Dexter sold the car to Ken Cottrell of Lilburn, Georgia.
1995 In June 1995, Doug White of Winston-Salem acquired the car from Cottrell.
One of the other Mark III's was completed with an asymmetrical roll bar with one brace. Butch Moses now owns this car.
Another Mark III was destroyed in a fire in a barn, according to Moses. Moses removed parts from this car. This was the third Mark III built by N.T. Manufacturing and never completed by N.T. Manufacturing of NTM Sportsracing.
Rob Henley of Charlotte, North Carolina, owns a third Mark III, (Chassis #?), built in approximately 1980 by Chip Haddock. According to Moses, this car "is much heavier than the original NTMs". Presently, the chassis and suspension are for sale. Henley is keeping the narrow body for a SCCA DSR project.