After seeing pics of Lou's first pro car, I thought I would post a pic of my first car....the car was IMACCULATE...and won several "cleanest car" awards...this shot is in the last year, after being beat on by every damn Miata on the track....I was "going NASCAR" and using stickers to hide body damage from week to week while I chased the championship....



:drive:

...some more...







A little "low tech" compared to the present vehicle...but that car NEVER BROKE...just ran and ran and ran....I loved it....

Nice. I learned to drive a manual in a Datsun 510. Then, I saw Paul Newmans old one at a vintage event some time later. Neat cars.

Me too :drive:
I'm very fond of the 510's to this day

i dig them and the old toyota corallas that were like them.

...yeah, driving the manual trans in the Datsun was quite a bit different than the Camaro with the T56 with the Pro5 shifter.... .....the shift gates in the Datsun were so far apart, you just threw your arm in the GENERAL DIRECTION of the gear you wanted and she shifted gear....

...the first few times I drove the Camaro in competition, I was in HELL trying to hit ANY gear with any consistancy.... :drive:

My first manual was a John Deere ...

This is what I am afraid of! So far almost everyone with a 4th gen has mis-shifted from 3rd to 2nd instead of 3rd to 4th (if I remember what that common mistake is) and blown up their rear ends!

Technically, mine was a 11 hp Lawn tractor (JC Penny brand that we traded for a microwave or something about a hundred years ago). I started driving that in 5th grade.

...yeah...I don't like the way it feels to much...I have to mentally tell myself to do it "incorrectly" to do it right..

For example...coming up the hill into turn 2 a Sears Point when downshifting from 4th to 3rd....it feels like, and I have to THINK like, I am shifting back into FIRST gear to prevent going into 5th....so far, it has worked....but I DREAD the day when I actually stuff it into first all the way from 4th....

Shifting from 4th to 5th and back to 4th again going into turn 1 a Thunderhill is another one that feels "IFFY" at best....and I know a couple of Corvette guys who have gone 5th to 2nd in that turn and lunched a motor or two there....

Fear that awesome L20 power! Love the old Datsuns.

Hey Randy....nice to see you keep the same colors and look! What year are we talking about you racing that?

I only use 3rd and 4th gear a the track and I think it is rather effortless going back and forth between the two without thinking too hard. All I have is the Hurst Billet Plus kit. 3-4-3-4-3-4-3-4! Bang-bang-bang-bang! :drive:

...yeah....I tried to keep a "Team Mackintosh" approach to the color scheme...

That last year was in 2002....I led the points the WHOLE DAMN YEAR and in the last race screwed up by being "too conservative" and lost the championship by 6 points....

We DO have a lot of hills and elevation changes in our local tracks....Sears Point and Laguna are the MOST in the country I do believe....so we can go into some "different" gears than most...I use 3rd through 5th regularly.....

Hills? I don't understand...

How does that compare to a corn field?

...well we DO have Thunderhill....could be considered a "field" if it wasn't the two "hills" that we run up...

Laguna, they say is like dropping off a 7 or 8 story building....

Cool Car... I love the old Datsun's. I was going to build a 240Z or 260Z. I bought a 260 in good shape and started to work on it.....then came marriage and I sold the project unfinished.

I still love to drive the old Z cars. My close friend as a couple and one is an all original 280 that just needs repainted.

Randy, almost forgot to compliment you on your first car. What a beautifully crafted race car! Kudos my friend!

About T-Hill: I think our flat-lander buds would be comforted by the flat sections and the presence of livestock (and occasional pheasant)!
In NASA we run the bypass instead of T5 and that is more of a "jump" than a hill!

Thanks, Julie....the pics are taken with a REALLY crappy camera I had at the time...the car was A TON nicer looking up close than those pics suggest.....

I hope SCCA doesn't ever run the bypass....it has become MY PERSONAL PARKING SPOT when the car dies on the track....

very cool randy, I've always had a thing for the 510's. Like Pauls Newmans 510

heres a 510 for you guys

http://www.pro-touring.com/forum_main.htm

I grew up with my mom driving a 300ZX (Z31)... and one of my best friends driving a 280ZX... his dad collected and restored them... he had a 240Z as well, and another friend's brother also had a 240Z... They're all great cars and fun to drive, but for some reason, I've always thought there was something cool about a 510... never driven one, but I'd love to one day.

The 510 was incredibly advanced for its day.....Independent Rear Suspension......etc.....REALLY cool to drive..... :drive:

I also have owned a couple of 510's back in the day. Fun car to drive and nearly indestructible. I still have a spoiler from it out in my parts shed.

Sheesh..... I need to clean out that shed

Datsun 510 web pages

...yeah...that is the BEST 510 website.....my car was on there a few times...

the 510 is one of my dream project cars that i believe i've spent the most time researching about.

actually, the #46 BRE Datsun 510 is my wallpaper on my computer currently.

i wonder what it is about that lil box that's so appealing.

I still have a race fender, door, and hood all painted for the car and ready to go...buyer of the car didn't want them since they all needed some repair...since they are all painted and lettered, I was thinking of mounting them on my wall in the garage after the remodel is done!

THE BOX ROX!

:drive:

I would LOVE to have/make a BRE car....lots of dough to do that however....