[Dave Wisdom]

In 1974 my sister and her family moved to Canada from the UK and subsequently settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their first means of transport came in the shape of a red 1971 Datsun 510. It became 'one of the family', and as well as providing day to day transportation, completed regular journeys to California and on a couple of occasions, ventured further south to Mexico. It was a great little car and I often had the loan of it whilst visiting the family. It just seemed to go on forever, but as my sister's family grew, the need for a larger car became increasingly necessary and the 510 was eventually traded in for a 1979 Dodge Aspen station wagon. Sadly, the latter failed to live up to its Japanese predecessor's unblemished record of reliability and consequently spent the majority of its life in the local 'auto workshop'…
Therefore, I have something of a soft spot for the Datsun 510 and enjoyed having this opportunity at building a slot car version.

The model has been made using one of David Reinekes excellent resin bodyshells and is based upon the iconic Brock Racing Enterprises 510, as raced by John Morton in the under 2.5 litre Trans Am Challenge series back in 1971/72. The shell has been considerably lightened for racing purposes (2012 Pendleslot Pony Wars Trans Am event) and I've added my own windscreen wipers, door handles and bonnet release catches all of which are made from various bits of wire and etched metal found in my spare bits box. David's kits are supplied with a very decent resin interior, but to keep things light weight, I've made my own from plasticard and used a full length driver figure gathered from further 'body' parts from the spares box. I've also added John Mortons trade mark 'horn rimmed' spectacles (made from fuse wire) to the drivers face. The mechanical bits are combination of Penelope Pitlane 'Inline Comp' chassis; NSR EVO 21k motor; Slot.it crown and pinion.

Here is a nice period peice giving a little background to the car, driver and team;

Thanks for looking.

Dave

 

[Datto]

Very nice! They are quite handsome little cars! I was just singing the praises of the 510 on Facebook.

Did you fit an anglewinder or sidewinder in there?

 

[rmcclure]

That's very tidy work - lovely job and thanks for sharing it with us. Fascinating film too - nice find. Am I right in thinking that Paul Newman raced a Datsun in that series too?

Roger

 

[loosesalute]

Daves Datsun looks even better in the flesh.
Cheers,
Kev

 

[nino barlini]

Real beaultiful car Dave! I loved the interior and driver either!

Cheers!

Ricardo Bifulco

 

[Boomerang]

Beautiful model, Dave. I hope it won't suffer from racing...

 

[dreinecke]

Dave - Simply gorgeous!!! I love the extra detail and the chassis and interior work you've done. Top notch!!!

I love the story too! I actually have a Datsun story - when I was born at Elsworth AFB in S. Dakota, my parents purchased a brand new Datsun 410 Sedan. My dad says it was very quick and he "raced" it around, according to my mother. On my first birthday, they traded it on a brand-new, 1968 Chevelle. I'd not thought much about the Datsun other than some pictures I'd seen until going through a few of my mother's things last year. Inside was the brand new owner's manual and a dealer brochure, along with the original Bill of Sale for the Datusn. I'm keeping those!

I do race my 510's and Mr. Morton's may have reached the end of the line. The day after I managed to wire up my new routed track, I coerced my daughter to come down and run a few laps. She's a good driver, and she liked the Datsun, so she chose it.

Now is where I mention that there were no guardrails yet installed...It hit the floor, broke cracked the roof, knocked out the glass, and Victoria ran off, upset she'd broken one of my cars. I told her not to worry and I can repair or make another, but she hasn't been down to race with me since then.

May I nick the pictures for the website? You've done this car far more justice than I did!