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GRASSROOTS INFERNO - IT STINKS!! (V LONG)

To: datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net
Subject: GRASSROOTS INFERNO - IT STINKS!! (V LONG)
From: RoadsteRob@aol.com
Date: Mon, 3 Jul 2000 17:19:40 EDT
tomhouse@integrityonline.com wrote:-

<<Toby- Thank you for your thoughtless comments. I wrote the article that you
are speaking of. Apparently you know nothing about the literary world, 
editors,
or publishing.>> 

Tom, and apparently you know nothing of he first rule of the 'literary world' 
- that is that plagiarism (or Literary Theft) is unacceptable!! 

Listers - firstly thanks for those of you who pointed out that Mr 
Householders history of the BRE & Bob Sharp roadster racing was uncannily 
similar to the Register;'s web pages - thank you also to those who kindly dug 
deep and forwarded a copy. I have now had opportunity to read the article, 
which I must confess was tantamount to reading my own words.

The following comparison between the Register's website, published in late 
1999, and Mr H's article, published this month, gives a true reflection of 
the worst piece of plagiarism I have ever seen - What is equally 
unforgiveable is that there is no credit to the original contributors, the 
Register or indeed myself for the months and months of toil and research put 
together to produce these webpages, which are now proving so popular. 

I have given Mr H two opportunities to apologise, which he has not done. He 
has instead replied, trying to justify his every word, seemingly thinking 
that in roadster world there is "Nothing new under the sun" and that as far 
as roadster info goes anything will do. He also hides behind the the 
constraints of the editorial/publishing processes at GRM as well as seeking 
my empathy for the hard work he has put in, presumably, copying, pasting and 
editing down the content to suit the GRM word count. 

He also thinks we should be grateful that the roadster has such coverage - if 
he had taken out the mistakes and provided something groundbreaking I may 
have been grateful.

I now bring the story to the list and make no apologies for doing so. Please 
see for yourself below. I certainly welcome your comments. I have listed each 
paragraph side by side to give an easier comparison.

The Register's Website Article:-

BOB WAS ONLY ONE OF TWO DEALERSHIPS TO BE ENGAGED BY NISSAN TO SELL FACTORY 
APPROVED NON-NISSAN COMPETITION ITEMS FOR FITMENT TO THE ROADSTER AND, IN 
1967, IN HIS ROLE AS NISSAN'S COMPETITION CONSULTANT, HE WAS ASKED TO PRODUCE 
A COMPETITION PREPARATION MANUAL JOINTLY WITH THE COMPANY.

GRM Article

BOB OWNED ONE ONLY TWO DEALERSHIPS TO BE ENGAGED BY NISSaN TO SELL 
FACTORY-HYPHEN APPROVED, NON-NISSAN COMPETITION ITEMS FOR INSTALLATION ON THE 
ROADSTER. IN 1967 IN HIS ROLE AS NISSAN'S COMPETITION CONSULTANT, HE WAS 
ASKED TO PRODUCE A COMPETITION PREP MANUAL JOINTLY WITH NISSAN.

Website Article:-

THE 1600 WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE SCCA'S 'F' PRODUCTION CLASS. THE TEAM QUICKLY 
ENJOYED FURTHER DIVISIONAL SUCCESS AND, IN 1967, BOB WAS REWARDED WITH HIS 
FIRST NATIONAL SCCA CHAMPIONSHIP. MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR NISSAN, THIS WAS THEIR 
FIRST EVER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, THE FIRST OF 10 TO BE NOTCHED UP BY THE 
1600 & 2000 ROADSTER.

GRM Article

THE 1600 WAS ELIGIBLE FOR THE SCcA'S F PRODUCTION CLASS, WHERE IT RACED 
ALONGSIDE OTHER POPULAR SMALL-BORE SPORTS CARS OF THE DAY. THE TEAM QUICKLY 
ENJOYED FURTHER DIVISIONAL SUCCESS, AND IN 1967 BOB SHARP WAS REWARDED WITH 
HIS FIRST NATIONAL SCCA CHAMPIONSHIP. MORE IMPORTANTLY FOR NISSAN, SHARPS WIN 
MARKED THEIR FIRST-EVER NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP - THE FIRST OF 10 TO BE RACKED 
UP BY NISSAN BY THE 1600 & 2000 ROADSTERS.

Website Article:-

BOB CONTINUED TO RACE THE DATSUN 1600 SUCCESSFULLY IN 'F' PRODUCTION IN 1968 
AND 1969, WHILST ALSO CAMPAIGNING THE 2000 IN 'C' PRODUCTION.

GRM Article

BOB SHARP CONTINUED TO RACE THE 1600 SUCCESSFULLY IN F PRODUCTION IN 1968 AND 
1969, AT THE SAME TIME RACING THE 2000 IN C PRODUCTION CLASS.

Website Article:-

IN 1969, THE TEAM CAMPAIGNED THE LIGHTWEIGHT 2000 ROADSTER, OF WHICH LESS 
THAN 10 WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE LEFT JAPAN.  THE TEAM ENJOYED FURTHER 
VICTORIES, BUT IT WAS NOT UNTIL 1971 WHEN BOB SHARP AGAIN TOOK A NATIONAL 
CHAMPIONSHIP, HAVING LEFT THE ROADSTER BEHIND A FEW YEARS PREVIOUSLY TO 
CAMPAIGN THE 510 AND THE 240Z. CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS FOLLOWED, 
WITH BOTH MODELS.

GRM Article

IN 1969, THE TEAM CAMPAIGNED THE FACTORY LIGHTWEIGHT 2000 OF WHICH FEWER THAN 
10 EVER LEFT JAPAN. THE BOB SHARP TEAM ENJOYED FURYTHER VICTORIES IN LATER 
YEARS, WITH THEIR FOCUS MOVING TO THE 510 AND Z CAR. CONSECUTIVE NATIONAL 
CHAMPIONSHIPS FOLLOWED WITH BOTH MODELS.

Website Article:-

FRANK MONISE CAMPAIGNED THE 2000 ROADSTER IN THE SCCA 'D' PRODUCTION CLASS. 
THIS WAS BRE'S BEST SEASON WITH THE ROADSTER, CULMINATING IN A DIVISIONAL 
CHAMPIONSHIP FOR FRANK MONISE. 

GRM Article

BRE CAMPAIGNED TEAM CAMPAIGNED THE 2000 IN SCCA'S D PRODUCTION CLASS, 
CULMINATING IN A DIVISIONAL TITLE FOR FRANK MOMNISE IN 1969

Website Article:-

MID-WAY THROUGH THE SEASON THE LEAD DRIVER POSITION WAS TAKEN BY A YOUNG JOHN 
MORTON, WHILST THE SECOND ROADSTER WAS DRIVEN BY JOHN McCOMB.  FOR A PERIOD, 
MORTON'S CAR WAS SET UP FOR THE 'C' PRODUCTION CLASS, WITH THE MIKUNI SOLEX 
CARBS/CAM ARRANGEMENT, WHILST JOHN McCOMB'S CAR REMAINED IN 'D' 
PRODUCTION. THE TEAM ACHIEVED SOME SUCCESS WITH THE ROADSTERS, WHICH NOW 
INCORPORATED THE FOLLOWING FEATURES:-

GRM Article

MIDWAY THROUGH THAT SEASON, LEAD DRIVER JOHN MORTON TOOK THE TOP POSITION, 
WHILE A SECOND ROADSTER WAS DRIVEN BY JOHN McCOMB. MORTON'S CAR WAS SET UP 
WITH THE SOLEX CARBS AND CAM ARRANGEMENT TO RUN IN C PRODUCTION CLASS, WHILE 
McCOMB'S CAR REMAINED IN D PRODUCTION. BOTH ROADSTERS ACHIEVED SIMILAR 
SUCCESSES. THE MORTON AND McCOMB ROADSTERS INCORPORATED SEVERAL PERFORMANCE 
MODIFICATIONS;

Website Article:-

A FRONT AIR DAM, INCORPORATING SCOOPS CUNNINGLY DISGUISED AS BRAKE DUCTS, 
WHICH PETE BROCK MARKETED AS A SPOOK, (AN AMALGAM OF SPOILER & SCOOP). THE 
ROADSTER WAS THE FIRST CAR IN SCCA HISTORY TO FEATURE AN AIR DAM.  

GRM Article

A FRONT AIR DAM CLEVERLY DISGUISED AS BRAKE DUCTS (THESE WERE THE FIRST CARS 
IN SCCA HISTORY TO USE AN AIR DAM);

Website Article:-

AN OIL SPRAY BAR, WHICH LUBRICATED THE CAM FOLLOWERS AND WHICH PETE BROCK 
TERMED AN OIL COOLER. THE LEGALITY OF THIS HARDWARE WAS NOT KNOWN AT THE TIME 
SO THE TEAM PROTESTED AGAINST THEMSELVES (A FIRST IN SCCA HISTORY), TO ALLOW 
THE SCRUTINEERS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE SPRAY BAR WAS ACCEPTABLE. THE 
SCRUTINEERS AGREED, AND THE MODIFICATION REMAINED. THE NISSAN FACTORY 
INCORPORATED A SIMILAR SPRAY BAR INTO THE PRODUCTION 510 SHORTLY AFTER. 

GRM Article

AN OIL SPRAY BAR, WHICH LUBRICATED THE CAM FOLLOWERS (THE IDEA WAS LATER 
INCORPORATED BY NISSAN INTO IT'S 510 EFFORTS); 

Website Article:-

(THE COMPRESSION RATIO WAS INCREASED FROM A STOCK 9.5:1 TO 12.8:1). 

GRM Article

AND A COMPRESSION RATIO THAT WAS INCREASED FROM 9.5 TO 12.8:1

Website Article:-

VENOLIA FORGED DOMED PISTONS, PREVIOUSLY POPULAR IN DRAG RACING.

GRM Article

 WITH THE ADDITION OF VENOLIA FORGED DOMED PISTONS.

Website Article:-

WEIGHT SAVING FEATURES SUCH AS A BRITISH AIRCRAFT BATTERY, AND A HIGH-TECH 
PLASTIC CLUTCH SCATTER-SHIELD. 

GRM Article:-

WEIGHT-SAVING ITEMS, SUCH AS A BRITISH AIRCRAFT BATTERY AND A PLASTIC CLUTCH 
SCATTER SHIELD, WERE ALSO INCORPORATED

Website Article:-

A FULL TUBULAR ROLL CAGE, BUILT INTO THE TUB OF THE ROADSTER. 

GRM Article:-

WHILE A FULL ROLL CAGE WAS BUILT INTO THE TUB.

Mr H wishes to write further articles for GRM and other magazines - I suggest 
in future that he does his own research, instead of drawing on someone elses 
hard work and indeed their own words. This also applies to the words of those 
of you who have helped me with the Register's pages. I do my level best to 
credit everyone involved with the pages, both on the pages themselves and on 
the main credits page, and I am seriously hacked off that your words have 
been used without credit also. 

As you have probably guessed I am really unhappy and for those of you at GRM 
I seek an apology in your next issue as an absolute minimum.

Rob Beddington
<A HREF="http://www.datsun.org/fairlady/";>The Classic Fairlady Roadster 
Register</A> 

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