New guy - Orlando Auto Examiner with 1981 Datsun 200SX ITB race car

Hello everybody.

My name is Michael Block, and I am the Orlando Auto Examiner.

You may remember this Datsun 200SX ITB car on Craigslist. I just bought it last weekend... I have articles here and here.

I've done a few autocrosses and rallycrosses before, but I'm completely new to IT racing.

So I figured I'd join the community and hopefully gain some insight into getting this car up and running and ready for racing.

And if you look at the pictures I have in the article, I need all the help I can get :017:

I'm a n00b here, but not to car forums, so I know to do some searching before asking stupid questions.

So, a preemptive thanks for any help you all can offer... and I can't wait to participate in the discussions and start racing!

P.S. I'll post up links as soon as I have enough posts.

Edit: So maybe I am a forum n00b. Meant to post this in General Discussions. Can a mod move this please? My apologies.

E-mail me if you have any questions we are also local here in orlando and run mostly IT.

Welcome!!

Good to see you took the smart step of buying rather than building your first race car.

Now you need to find some school sessions in your area, get your novice log book and gear and get going!

There is the double school in savanna in February that two of our guys are going to. Possilby look to have all your stuff ready for that.

Thanks all for the welcome and advice.

I'll shoot you an email quadzjr.

I have a question already... how is rust tolerated in tech inspections and stuff like that? Being an old Datsun, this car has quite a fair share of it. Nothing structural, but there are several spots where it's more than just surface.

Welcome. I am far from an expert but I looked at the pictures you posted and will offer an opinion on what I saw of the rust. Fix it, doesn't have to be perfect but fix the major dents and at least sand/convert the rust and put some primer on it.

You will have plenty to do to get ready for school, the least of which is body work. Take the local guys up and get the cage inspected and make sure all of the safety stuff is done up front while you are getting the rest of the car operational.

THe Savannah school is probably the best value out there for a 2 days school. You will see 6+ hours of track time and the car will need to be rock solid mechanically.

Good luck and once again welcome, I still like old Datsuns for some strange reason......

Paul

Thanks Paul!

If I understand correctly, the car must also have glossy paint? It's just sanded down right now, so it's technically a flat color. So it will have to get painted pretty soon.

The hatch has the worst rust, followed closely by the passenger footwell. I can unfortunately see daylight peeking through both of them. But hopefully I can get some new metal welded in and treated to at least slow it down significantly.

I'll be able to get to it again the weekend after next, and I'll try starting it then to see what happens.

Also, the first post is updated with links now that I have 4 posts.

Wow, that is one ugly car! But I've subscribed to your RSS feed, I'm looking forward to watching the progress.

It has Kumho V710s on it, which were new in 2003? 2004? So someone was racing it. Does it have a logbook? When was it last raced?

MOST tech. guys around here go by the 50/50 rule on the bodies. (50 feet at 50 mph) Alot of guys/gals use spray-bombs for repairs. Some have even painted their whole car with them. So, don't sweat it about the repairs to the outer body.

Good luck & welcome to the madness....:eek:.........