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Video

Against All Odds: Datsun BRE Racing

It must have seemed absurd at the time when BRE and Datsun decided to take on Alfa, BMW and the other more established sports sedan racing teams. Naturally there’s great film here from Road America, Riverside, and other iconic tracks, but the interview footage and shots from the shop and offices give a fantastic peek into the team and the challenge they faced.

From the grindhouse narration; John Morton and Mike Downs at the top of their game; and the atmosphere of the golden era of the Trans Am Series: this sure is fun to watch. The trackside bikinis don’t hurt either.

One of the great liveries of the 70s. Thanks for sending this in, Craig!

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Vintage Racing Advertising

124 MPH Under Riverside's Champion Bridge

Datsun Ad
via Chromjuwelen.

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Classic Sportscar For Sale

Accessibility

I always assumed that an open-wheeled racer would be leagues easier to maintain than a closed-wheel car. After all, there’s little or no bodywork to deal with: You can more immediately locate and diagnose a problem, you don’t have to spend additional maintenance hours removing body panels, and you don’t have to distort your arms in impossibly ornate ways to reach around things.

It’s all just there.

This 1975 Datsun 280Z currently available on eBay, though, makes me wonder if it’s all just in the setup. This looks just about as accessible as it can be. I don’t know if it conforms to any particular vintage regulations, but this looks almost as easy to work on as a Formula Ford of the same vintage.

Buy it Now at $45K, bidding is open until Sept. 22.

Categories
Video

Alfa, BMW, Fiat, Volvo.. Datsun?

Marvelous video of the SCCA 2.5 Trans America Challenge effort of the BRE Racing Datsuns. I’ve long been a fan of the Datsun 510, and this video only reinforces that sentiment.

Thanks for the heads up, Mandy!