Filed under: 510,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on November 22, 2024
This Datsun 510 vintage race car is for sale by our client and current owner. It has genuine racing provenance, a fresh engine and spares package. Details and photos below. Please contact Rob Fuller for pricing: rob@zcargarage.com or call 408-452-0350
History: Sold new to Paul White in Yakima Washington and immediately built into a race car. The car went through various owners over the years and raced SCCA throughout the Pacific Northwest and as far East as RoadAmerica. Included is a list of 9 previous owners and some race result sheets dating into the 1970’s. Current owners purchased the car from Mary (Liford) Wheaton through Jim Froula of RacecraftNW who did a pre race prep in early 2023. Raced a total of 6 times, most recently at Laps For Laguna in May 2024.
Status of the car:
Engine is out undergoing a full refresh with Dave Rebello.
All new Aramid oil and water lines with black anodized hose ends
Engine compartment detailed and painted
Interior of the car disassembled, cleaned and painted
Fresh AGM battery mid 2023
Fresh front brake rotors and pads
Front and rear suspension arms fitted with spherical bearings
Elite gearbox with 1 race weekend
Currently has a 4:38 rear end installed, but there are spare 4:10 and 3:90 rears
New CV joints mid 2023
2 spare sets of AR Libre style wheels (3 total sets) all with current race tires with less than 5 heat cycles.
spare starter, alternator and various hoses, belts bushings, ignition parts
Short shifter, removed from the Elite box.
More photos in the gallery below
Z Car Garage has maintained and performed race-preparation on this 510 since July 2023. We have enjoyed racing with the current owner/client in B-Sedan at vintage events throughout Northern California, including Laguna Seca, Sonoma Raceway and Thunderhill courses: CSRG Charity Challenge David Love Vintage Races
WE LOVE RACING! On October 4-6 we attended the Velocity Invitational at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage had a blast racing and supporting clients in Group 7 (1968 – 1978 IMSA GT Cars), Group 8 (ALMS) and Group 5 (B-Sedan). This vintage racing event was just as fun for spectators with a friendly, immersive vibe. Enjoy our report from the weekend with photos and in-car video of the action.
The Corky Bell Trans Am 510 (Group 5)
Famed engineer and race car driver Corky Bell ran this Datsun 510 in the early 70’s Trans Am series. Z Car Garage restored it back to its former glory with Trans Am livery and Corky drove it for the first time in 52 years at Velocity. It was a mad thrash to get the 510 prepared for the event and we will dedicate a separate blog post to the restoration and Corky’s story. Here are a few photos of the car during the revival:
It was surreal watching Corky drive his race car decades after he campaigned it in the Trans Am series. With a few sessions he qualified and completed the feature race with fellow B-Sedans in Group 5. Corky improved his lap times from 2:30s to a 2:07s and at 83 years of age he really inspired us all. Enjoy these on-track photos of Corky behind the wheel of his U2.5L Trans Am Datsun 510:
CORKY: The weekend at Sonoma will remain one of the treasures of my life. Without the time, effort, and expense made by Rob and Meghan Fuller, plus an enormous effort made by their craftsmen; Josh and Cooper, none of this would have happened. I think it is reasonable and correct to suggest that the restoration of that car and letting me drive it once again was the kindest thing anyone has ever done for me, save Mary answering Yes when I asked her to marry me.
Enjoy this video of Corky Bell racing in Group 5 at the Velocity Invitational with in-car, paddock action and some great commentary from Rob at the end…
It was an emotional weekend filled with joy for the ZCG crew and Corky’s family. His daughter Stephanie:
Such a privilege to see my Dad race his last Datsun 510 yesterday and today. He stopped racing when I was 4. Seeing him race and enjoy something he loved so much made me cry. More than once. HUGE shout out and even bigger Thank you to Rob & Meghan Fuller at Z Car Garage in San Jose for making this a reality. They rescued the car from a field and fully restored it. Such a big full circle moment for Dad. Can you imagine getting back in a race car after 5 decades? So proud and amazed by him.
Icing on the cake…Corky’s Datsun 510 joined the ranks of greatness in Velocity Invitational’s 2025 promotional photo shoot! More photos in the gallery below.
Racing With Group 7 IMSA
Photo by Chris Constantine
Group 7’s IMSA cars were dominated by big-power Porsche 911 RSRs. Rob Fuller ran the #49 Joel Anderson IMSA GTU Datsun 240Z and battled for P1/2 against Martin Lauber (red 911 #64) and Chet Taylor (blue 911 #55).
Rob fought hard, mixing it up with the two Porsche 911s but the feature race sadly ended with a collision. The Joel Anderson IMSA GTU will be rebuilt and it will return, faster than ever.
We have in-car video from Rob in the Joel Anderson IMSA GTU 240Z and Group 7 with livestream footage and paddock action. Volume up and enjoy!
You can also see the full-length, in-car footage on Saturday and Sunday. Catch the Sunday livestream HERE and watch more of Rob’s racing adventures on his YouTube Channel.
Datsun + Porsche History
Photo by Josh Corwin
In 1981, Joel Anderson, Casey Mollett (280ZX) and Cary Eisenlohr’s Porsche were all pitted together at Sears Point. We had a unique opportunity to re-enact this historical moment at the Velocity Invitational, 44 years later!
Historic B & C Sedan
Photo by Alex Trang
Historic B&C Sedan partnered with Velocity Invitational to gather a collection of 30+ real historic B and C sedan cars for the Velocity Invitational! Thirteen cars among them have real Trans Am Under 2L and Two-Five Challenge history. This was the largest gathering of real historic sedans since the 2010 Monterey Historics. Amongst the real Trans Am cars were the Alfas of Horst Kweck, Gaston Andrey, Jon Norman, Charlie Thieriot, Dave Burns; BMW 2002s of Carl Fredericks, Jeff Kline; Porsche 911 of Walt Maas; Datsun 510s of Corky Bell and Bob Finn.
Z Car Garage Trackside Race Support Services
ROB: ZCG provided trackside support for 4 cars in the B-Sedan field and it was exciting to watch. Noah kicked ass in his Bluebird finishing 3rd and 5th in the second race. It was intense, glorious and fun. Kelvin drove the Dragonetti car until Sunday pm when brother Kenny took wheel, making it to 8th from the back. Corky went from 2:34s to 2:07 and Tom returned in fighting form with his freshly restored Balzer 510.
#72 Tom Dockery
We have helped Tom build and prepare his Ex-Norm Balzer/Koobation 510 for several years. Unfortunately the car was wrecked at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage rebuilt the 510, making a triumphant return to this year’s Velocity event with a cool period-correct livery change.
TOM: The Velocity weekend was truly magical in so many ways. The car came together perfectly in the end with the support of the ZCG team. I also want to give a special thanks to William, of William’s Autobody and John at Landmark Grafix. I’m thrilled with the new mid-70s-inspired livery and graphics. The race weekend was incredibly memorable. Not only was it the debut of the rebuilt Balzer 510, but my whole family—Matt, Sarah, Nick, Lucy, and my brother Jon—was there to experience it. I felt great, and the time spent with Corky Bell made it even more special. We shared many stories, and I got the chance to share my insights about Sonoma Raceway with him.
The racing itself was fantastic. I felt fast and in control, and the car stayed safe throughout. Sunday’s finale was especially exciting, as a group of four of us were joined by Jensen Button and Glen Chow in the last few laps. Racing alongside people I trusted not to make reckless moves for a better finish added to the fun. A big thank you goes to Dave Stone and Glenn Chou for their efforts in filling the grid with such high-quality TA and B-Sedan cars. Their hard work made this weekend possible.
We have in-car video from Tom Dockery in the Ex-Norm Balzer B-Sedan Datsun 510, volume up and enjoy!
#9 Noah’s Bluebird Coupe
Noah’s Bluebird Coupe in action:
Enjo this in-car video from Noah’s Bluebird with livestream and paddock action:
#64 Kelvin Tse
Kelvin is a steady ZCG trackside support client, running the Ex-Ted Gruner 510.
Kelvin and Kenny shared the Dragonetti car over the weekend
KENNY: The 911 that I was driving didn’t run on Friday or Saturday. Kelvin was driving the Dragonetti on those days. Saturday was the qualifying race. Kelvin was stuck in a lot of traffic but he was trying to make his way through it to get a clean lap. However, he hit a patch of oil exiting the carousel which caused him to spin. After the spin, the car wouldn’t start and all of the cars that he had cleared earlier passed him back. He finally got the car restarted, but by that time the session was almost over and never got a clean lap. He ended up qualifying 20th.
Sunday morning, we thought the 911 might be able to run the race- so we gridded and started the race. We had a good start, but the car started to have issues in turn 2 so I shut it down and brought it in. After that I was pretty bummed that I had only able to drive two turns during the event! At that point, Kelvin, being the awesome brother that is he, offered to let me drive the feature race- which I jumped at the chance to do! The feature race was fun. I started 20th and was able to get to 8th place by the middle of the first lap. The Dragonetti was working great and eventually made it up to 5th place behind my friend Cary Einsenlohr in a 911. I was super stoked to get to 5th after starting from 20th. The car ran great and it salvaged an otherwise frustrating weekend in the 911.
Catch Kenny racing in Group 5 via livestream: HERE and watch the feature race HERE
Porsche 997 GT3 Cup (Group 8)
This very special Porsche is the 2006 FIA European GT3 Championship winning car that was driven by Sean Edwards. It is a 997 GT3 Cup S Prototype and our client Kenny Tse raced it in the Legends of Endurance group at the Rolex.
As Kenny mentioned above, the 911 fought us with oiling issues, but we will resolve them for the next season.
Exotic cars
There was no shortage of rare and exotic cars from well-known and upcoming supercar marques. More photos in the gallery below!
Privateer Spirit
The Historic B and C Sedan race was one of the most exciting run groups and Race car driver/Datsun Historian Glenn Chiou raced his Ex-Bob Finn U2.5L Trans-Am Datsun 510:
We also provided dyno tuning services for the fresh Rebello L18 with Solex/Mikuni 44phh induction and BRE intake:
It’s worth noting that not unlike privateers of the period, Glenn builds his race cars, maintains and manages racing efforts himself. Not an easy task so we applaud his work ethic. Glenn builds some beautiful Datsuns and we thank him for organizing the Historic B&C Sean group to keep the spirit of Trans Am racing alive.
A Fan-Friendly Race Event
Formerly known as the Sonoma Speed Festival (2019), the Velocity Invitational re-imagined the vintage race experience with a Goodwood-inspired vibe that we enjoyed at the 2022 Velocity Invitational. One of the best experiences for spectators is the paddock and organizers made access to drivers and their machines seamless. Fans could get up close and personal with race cars without the typical ropes or 45-foot RVs in the way:
ROB: “First time running at Sonoma for us with VI, since we missed the inaugural event in 2019. Jeff O’Neill ‘s event is first class and reminds us of what the Rolex RMMR. So much excitement in the air…when you drive in people would be everywhere. Thanks to Jeff, Ryan Turri and Ardelle Lind for accommodating our needs.”
If you want to see action from the event in its entirety, check out Goodwood’s live streaming coverage of Day one and Day Two. Huge thanks to Meghan Fuller for capturing photos/videos for ZCG. More photos in the gallery below from from Alex Trang, Chris Constantine and Nick Dockery
ZCG Race Crew
Huge shoutout to the Z Car Garage race crew including Josh, Meghan, Nick and Cooper. We are grateful for your support, keeping us safe and on the track!
Racing into 2025!
Thank you Velocity Invitational for an incredible event. We look forward to running with you again. Join us for the 2025 race season and stay tuned for our CSRG Finale report from Thunderhill. LONG LIVE THE Z!
Our client Randy Jaffe is selling this 1971 Datsun 510 B-Sedan Race Car. Extensive racing history over a period of forty years at tracks such as Road Atlanta, Mid-Ohio, Sebring, Watkins Glen, Nelson Ledges, Summit Point, and Savannah. Raced at Laguna Seca with the legendary John Morton behind the wheel in 2020. Dyno tuned and prepared by Z Car Garage.
Price: $95,000
Additional photos, video and details please visit our FOR SALE page
The third annual Laps for Laguna vintage racing event will be on May 31-June 2. This event is created by the Laguna Seca Raceway Foundation and Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) to raise money for charity. It is an open sound event with multiple races for each race group, charity rides and more. We had a blast at last year’s Laps for Laguna, see our race report HERE.
Join us for the 2024 race season! See the full race schedule below and LONG LIVE THE Z! The next event will be Laps For Laguna on May 31 at Laguna Seca Raceway:
Filed under: 240z,510,Events,Racing
by Alvin G @ 5:10 pm on February 20, 2024
On March 15-17, Classic Sports Racing Group (CSRG) is hosting the David Love Vintage races at Sonoma Raceway. Z Car Garage will be racing and supporting several client’s Datsun 510 race cars running in the B-Sedan Group. Spectators are FREE, so come out and enjoy a weekend filled with competition, camaraderie and plenty of Alfas, BMWs and Datsuns sharing the track.
Z Car Garage Races Ands Supports Six Datsun 510s!
It is our pleasure to bring more enthusiasts into the world of vintage racing. Our services do include full race support and car-preparation to help make client’s race days seamless and worry-free so they can focus on driving. One of our specialties is dyno tuning. Before a race weekend we confirm that your car is running well and make necessary adjustments while on the chassis dyno.
Video of two Datsun 510 B-Sedans (Rob and Tom), Enjoy the sweet L-series music!
Here is a preview of the Z Car Garage clients running at the David Love Vintage races:
#7 Rob Fuller
ZCG owner Rob Fuller, Bay Area Datsun Dealers car
#7 Kelvin Tse
#64 Kenny Tse
#8 Gabe Rothman
#25 Jeff Rothman
Gabe’s father Jeff is racing his B-Sedan Datsun 510:
