A few links Dime Quarterly Bryan Feldman 510 Mailing List |
Among Datsun-heads the first generation 510 is occasionally referred to as the "two five killer." It's a well-earned sobriquet: many believe the old TransAm under 2.5 liter racing series died because the 510 was so dominant that no other manufacturer's car of the era could compete. It's certainly true that in short order the formerly dominant Alfas and BMWs were sent packing. The 510 was so good that it's still winning races today in North America's amateur racing series. But the 510 is more than a car with a great racing history. It's also a landmark car in automotive history. The 510, with its Datsun siblings the compact pickup truck and the 240Z, demonstrated conclusively that the Japanese could build great cars. In an era of huge American iron and expensive, temperamental Euro imports, the Japanese threesome combined good styling, solid engineering and great prices to set the automotive community on its ear. The 510 arrived on these shores with Macpherson struts in the front and semi-trailing arm independent suspension in the rear. The engine had an overhead cam aluminum head bolted to an iron block. Front disks and rear drums performed the stopping chores. In 1972 all this came with a price tag of about $2,500. I know, because that's what I paid for my yellow two-door when I left the army that summer. My 510s are profiled elsewhere on these pages. Here are a few links and a couple of friends' cars. |
| Denny
Stevison's Scoville 510 Denny's 1969 510 was built by Jack Scoville, a Nissan dealer in Oregon (and 1969 SCCA National Champ in a 2.0 liter Datsun roadster). The intent was to race in the 2.5 Trans Am series in the early '70's. The Trans Am series was dropped before the car was ready. The car was raced for a number of years by both Jack and son Jeff in SCCA's B sedan class (top photo). When Jeff got a 200SX from Nissan it was sold to Sterling Kelly in Columbia, MO. Kelly raced the car for 3 or 4 seasons (second photo from top) then sold it to a group of 510 racers in St Louis, MO. The car was one car of a five 510 stable. Eventually it became a donor to a tube frame 510, when it surrendered all of the fiber glass panels and most of the high quality drive train parts. Denny picked up the car as a total basket case in 1990 and began a total restoration. The car was media blasted inside, outside, and underside. It was then sent to the frame shop to get the front unibody pulled back to square. The left front corner of the frame was pushed back .75" and up nearly an inch. When the frame guy was done it came out within 2mm of specs. It had a new radiator support installed during this work. The rear sheet metal was totally trashed. It took a couple of months to find a left rear quarter and a rear tail panel. The right quarter was not available anywhere, so Denny combined pieces from a four-door and a two door to create the panel. The restored beauty now lives in Eau Claire, WI. Denny plans to race it in Midwestern Coucnil and SCCA Central Division events.
Eric Peterson's Canadian 510 Like Denny's car, Eric's 1969 510 has spent its entire life as a road racer -- neither was ever licensed for the street. Eric's car was bult in Canada and carries a Canadian racing association registration number. Details about its early years are a little sketchy, but Thunder bay, Ontario, racer Scotty Bell ran it for over a decade until he retired from racing at the age of 70 a couple of years ago. Eric bought the car from Scotty and has conducted an extensive chassis, engine and transmission rehab. He will campaign it this summer in Council and SCCA events with his current 1800 cc motor. An FIA two liter is in the works. |
Top photo: Eric's 510 in its current paint scheme. Bottom photo: Canadian Scotty Bell campaigned it for years. |
