Datsun 510 Nr. 55

[CurtEgerer]

RGrp/S Reg member Scott Hansen had his new race car at the Elkhart Lake Historics this past weekend. Looked great out there Scott, despite some brake issues and having not raced the car before!

Is that fryardds 'co-driving' past Siebkens?

RA 2014 Scott1.jpg

RA 2014 Scott 2.jpg

RA 2014 Scott 3.jpg

[JBQuick]

I dig it Curt ! Any money shots of the motor ?

[t6dpilot]

Curt, I have to say from the heart it was great that you guys came out to enthusiastically support a fellow member. It meant a lot to me and helped the lap times for sure. You guys are the best!

[matt911]

Wow, great looking Datsun Scott. That must be a fun ride.
Is it a period race car or recently built?. It looks period perfect either way..

[Frank Beck]

Traitor.







What's it like racing a major appliance?

[MikeM]

Very cool Scott....
"Traitor", now that's funny

[t6dpilot]

Traitor. What's it like racing a major appliance?

Yah, yoo funny guy, Meestah Beck! It is like racing a refrigerator, isn't it?

Still, pretty damn fun. $$ per smile ratio is pretty low with a well prepared 510. All in all, not bad for a driver coming out of a 14 year "retirement" and a car that hadn't been raced in 4 years. It is very well prepped given the fact it was done 20 years ago with current technology back then. A few planned updates and I am sure I can shave 7 or 8 seconds off my best times from last weekend.

[Frank Beck]

Scott, you know I'm just bustin your chops...
It's always nice to see foreign cars out there.

I still find it amusing that no one has ramped up the 356 game. Between the ancient technology and ancient drivers (lol- love those guys; all friends but for crying out loud let's get some new blood in there!) those cars are nowhere near their potential. If I had a customer who could drive and HAD a large budget we could really shake this class up.

[t6dpilot]

Yeah Frank, I know, I know... Foreign cars - funny. So I have one of the one of the two requirements you need to field a hot 356 and it ain't a large budget. I see that the minty fresh triple nickel is up for sale again. Buyer not happy with it...?

So the 510 was acquired and built back in the late 80's/early 90's and started running KC region SCCA races (according to my records). The guy that the builder bought it from actually sought me out and introduced himself at the track. Neat stuff. Anyway, about 4 years later, he started running other Midwest events with VSCDA. Mostly Topeka, Hallett, Blackhawk, and one Road America. Last race was 2010 at Blackhawk. The guy that built the car was a man of means (and loved the BRE 510 that Morton won the '71 B Sedan championship with). He went to painstaking lengths to replicate that build and paint scheme. That attention to detail is what attracted me to the car. So many cars lose that vintage period correctness in an effort to go faster and be safer. It was pretty darn good right out of the box. All I did was to change the engine, diff, and trans oils; replaced worn out CV's and used spark plugs, and up date the harness. Bled and checked brakes, new tires, and the car was ready to rock.

Resulting from the weekend, we are going to make some updates to brakes first, then start putting the car on a diet - it is somewhere around 2100 lbs. That is too heavy for a 1.8L car. Then suspension upgrades to more modern technology. I bet with not much effort, this can be a 2:45 car at Road America. The hot 2.0L 911's are running :38 to :40's. And, of course, Mr. Beck is way lower than that. But still, :45 is not too bad around there for a small bore car.

[Frank Beck]

Change fluids and a nut and bolt: doesn't get any better than that!