Jim,
I'm surprised you and Myles seem to have ended up on opposite sides of
this. Myles is usually the one grousing about how the chunky little
sedans get no respect. ;=) It will vary greatly from club to club. It
just so happens that several clubs have cutoff dates for production
cars that fall before 1968. Myles and I race with CSRG, which has a
cutoff of 1967. It used to be 1965, same as HMSA. If and when CSRG moves
the cutoff date to 1972 or so, I guarantee you there will be Datsun 510s
showing up. We have a butt-ugly, horrible-sounding SAAB that shows up,
so a nicely turned out 510 would be an improvement. ;=)
The thing about cutoff dates has been raised before. What many of the
vintage racing clubs are trying to create is a snapshot in time of what
many consider to be the Golden Age of Motor Racing, which they think
falls between 1950 and 1965. This was an age when privateers and home
built specials actually stood a chance. This was the time when people
actually did drive to the track and compete for money in the family car.
After this time period, the big money interests relegated all that to a
sideshow in the amateur ranks. There will always be cars that are
considered "not quite vintage". Standards vary.
I for one, would love to see an under 2 liter challenge for true, historic
Trans-Am cars like the BRE Datsuns and the Alfas. I'm afraid there just
aren't enough of them available like the big bore cars.
Jim Froula wrote:
>
> > Driving a LOTUS does take you a step higher in the snob appeal league,
> > however. Although most of my Ferrari friends are embarassed to have the
> > LOTUS guys even bus their tables....so you're still haven't MADE IT yet!!!
> > But your a darn site closer than if you had a 510 or Sprite (sorry Datsun
> and
> > AH/MG drivers!!...but sometimes the truth hurts)!!
> >
> > OK...spam away again...
> >
> > Myles H. Kitchen
> > 1965 LOTUS Cortina Mk1 #128
>
> Okay, since you asked for it. If the objective is a cost effective, fast,
> easy to drive car with a good supply of parts, then why not a Datsun 510?
> You might start by PLEASE explaining the huge resistance to Datsuns in
> vintage racing. Is it the "racing heritage" thing? I no it can't be
> design/engineering, can it? Or maybe the fact they never had a bright red
> factory color?
> I own a '68 510 as well as a Lotus Escort MkI. I have also experienced
> the pain and agony of friends at the track working on their more exotic
> marques. The guys that seem to make the biggest deal out of the stigma are
> also the guys who pay people to bring their car to the track, work on it for
> them and make their lunch. Believe me, I'm all for that treatment. But I
> don't think they appreciate the overall package of the car (or cars) they
> have chosen.
> I'm not prejudice because of where a car came from. Or is that the big
> deal? I do know the Ford is going to take ALOT more effort to be as fast as
> the Datsun (but that's why I bought it, I like the challenge).
>
> For the beginner, I vote for a Datsun 510.
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