The car is a 1971 2 door Datsun PL510.
It was originally contructed in 1988 as a GT4 class car and run in divisional
events in the Northeast. The car was then tubed during the winter
of 94-95 and was run in both Divisionals and Nationals in 95-96.
The car was sold in late 96 and sat in a barn in Maryland until October
1997. Todd acquired the car as a roller and set about refurbishing
it to go Road Racing in 1998. The car is a complete tubeframe car
that only utilizes a small portion of the original chassis from the a-pillars
thru the top down past the B&C pillars. Complete fiberglass front
box flared fenders, hood, door skins, deck lid and rear box flared fenders
are utilized.
The drivetrain consists of a long rod Datsun L16 1600cc motor with dual 44PHH Mikuni Sidedraft carburetors and is prepared to the limit for GT4 class racing with Carillo Rods, JE forged domed pistons, custom grind high lift cam and with all the Nissan Motorsports goodies that can be crammed into a 1600cc box! This combination (which will remain secret) is currently delivering 14:1 compression. The oiling system is comprised of a custom wet sump pan that uses an external pickup being pressurized by a 280ZX Turbo oil pump with a modified Nissan Motorsports external pickup pump cover. ARP Head Studs and ARP Main Studs are utilized. A Modine oil cooler that looks like it came from a P51 Mustang is used along with a 3 quart Accusump to make sure the motor always has plenty of oil. A custom crank triggered MSD ignition with selectable rev limiter takes care of the spark. The distributor is there only for the secondary spark, it does not do any timing and has no advance mechanism. The motor was dynoed at 185 horsepower by Jimmy Coleman @ Coleman Performance Engines.
The transmissions used are Nissan Motorsports Option 1 and Option 2 gear ratios. These tranny's are setup and maintained by Jason Jasensky of Bob Sharp Racing Fame. Jason also sets up the differentials and a selection of 3.70, 3.90, 4.11 and 4.38 ratio rears are used both locked and LSD. A very trick ULGC Tilton clutch and flywheel are used. The clutch and flywheel including clutch disc weighs a total of 10.8 Lbs! A Tilton Super Starter spins it all up.
The suspension is an interesting mix of custom built parts. The parts have been sourced from DP Engineering, Rallye Engineering, Tilton, Suspension Spring Specialists, Carrera, Koni, Afco Racing Products, Coleman, Speedway Engineering, Wilwood Brake components and others. It is completely adjustable and has many trick one-off components. Extensive use of Rod-ends and Spherical Bearings allow an amazing amount of adjustability and compliance.
The brakes utilize Coleman Vented rotors up front on custom hats with 200SX rotors in the rear. Wilwood calipers all around with a Coleman Hanging Dual Pedal Assembly with Tilton Brake Bias remote adjuster. These brakes are completely fade proof and truly awesome. They have excellent pedal compliance and don't require much to haul this car down in one big hurry. The front rotors and calipers are force cooled thru ducting in the front spoiler. Hawk Blue and Black pads are used.