Shasta '98 Report - My picture page is HERE

First off, let me give some background : The '98 Mt Shasta All-Datsun meet was an event in which ANY Datsun/Nissan owner is invited to attend. It's held at Mt. Shasta, in northern California, U.S.A. This year it included a track day at Thunderhill Raceway Park, which is in Willows, CA, about 2hrs south of Mt. Shasta. Some people mentioned here will only be recognizable to people on the bluebirds (510) mailing list.

PREFACE : I drove to the event in a '95 Mustang GT, as my DOHC V-6 510 project isn't done (ETA three or four months yet), but had an arrangement with a friend (Chris Vondracek) to share his 510 all weekend (Picture1)- I use his car with my wheels/tires (Chris has 14" wheels, I have 15x7's with 205/50-15's). His car also has a mild 2.2L, with SU's slapped on at the last minute when the F.I. didn't get sorted in time. Also the usual suspension mods, although no slotted rear x-member.

Wednesday, July 8 : Met fellow "dimer" Gary Savage (Picture2) at about noon. Grabbed a quick lunch and was on the road about 1-ish. We made pretty good time, although Gary inadvertently ran over a wetsuit (well, it WAS a wetsuit), and damaged his front spoiler - what a way to start w weekend. Our average speed had Gary's 510 turning about 4300RPM's in 5th (The GT was turning a screaming 2300rpm), which also had the funny (to me) side effect of the 5.0 GT getting 24mpg to Gary's 21.5mpg for one stretch. Needless to say, Gary's track gearing isn't optimal for mileage - but his car also has more power than the GT.We pulled in to Jim's Diner in Willow's at 6:28 - the dinner was scheduled to start at 6:30!

Thursday, July 9. THUNDERHILL : This event was officially labeled a high-performance driver school. We used an abbreviated portion of the track (about 2mi instead of 3). The concept for the beginning is to have one instructor for every five cars - the instructor leading so the following five cars can learn the correct line around the course. There were two "run groups". Run group 1 consisting of the less experienced drivers, and group 2 the experienced racers and autocrossers. They way it turned out (since me and Chris were sharing a car), had me (who had all of ONE autocross and no track time, and in an unfamiliar car) in GROUP 2! Oh Joy! And WHO turns out to be my instructor? GARY SAVAGE (The other end of the experience spectrum from me)! This is not looking like an ego-boosting time here . . . Each run group got 30mins track time, then would pull off for the next group's 30 mins.

The event was to have the instructor lead one lap, with the five cars following - after one lap, the first car behind the instructor passing the instructor on the next lap, (to be observed), and so on for all five cars. I was the second car of five. Once on the track, we do one warm-up lap, then Gary and the first car TAKE OFF! I'm at 9/10's (and Chris' car turns out to have non-linear steering - very weird and disconcerting, but I learn to adjust somewhat), and by turn five (of nine) I can hardly SEE Gary! After that car passes Gary, he slows enough for me to catch up (almost stopped, I am sure), he somehow manages to drive slow enough for me to keep up, and I managed to make a few laps on this first run without incident.

The next runs for me were largely uneventful, save for me having the time of my life, although getting passed frequently. I managed to get faster (laps were not timed, but I was pulling more RPM's everywhere). In my run group, I was faster than only a wagon - even at that, it had equivalent power - I was ALL over him in the turns, but could do nothing with him on the straight (the only allowed passing area), he was nice enough to slow on the straight to allow me to pass. At least I shouldn't have this problem next year . . .

Chris' car developed a minor hiccup just before the last session, so the last turn for group 2 I decided to be a passenger in Dennis Hale's IT-prepped 240Z. THAT was almost as much fun as driving! What a a BLAST! THAT car hooked up much better than Chris' 510 (as expected), and he could run in places where the 510 wouldn't. Better than any theme park ride (Disney, six flags, etc), with the sounds, smell and feel of racing - and with Dennis driving, I was finally able to experience the PASSING of several cars! Worth every penny and then some. It looks like Thunderhill may be available next year, and I REALLY hope so.

We left Willows and headed to the KOA at Shasta, and as luck would have it, we pulled in at the same time as the MOFO group who couldn't make the racetrack event. Poor guys don't know what they missed - until we told them all about it! We had dinner, and I was allowed to drive a Roadster for the first time - thanks to Blaine Benson. These are a blast to drive - I didn't realize it was possible to have a good time AND be at legal speeds. Top down on a warm evening, a perfect setting, much different than a motorcycle, but just as fun. I gotta get me one now!

Friday, July 10 : Shasta. This day consisted of a rally (an untimed event where you're given a sheet with directions of where to drive, and questions that will be answered by various roads signs, etc), and a Gymkhana (This case using Super Soaker squirt guns to knock pop cans off of autocross cones). I went on the rally with Mike Spreadbury in his Turbo V-6 510. We did pretty well (ended up getting third place!). We also spotted a few neglected Datsuns along the way that we also stopped and looked at. ON MIKES CAR This was also the first extended ride for me in Mike's turbo car. This car is much like an airliner - the pull and sounds are amazingly similar! The turbo makes an audible WHOOSH sound and the car seamlessly pulls. It's also faster than it feels. We were beside another 510, and Mike nailed it - we screamed away from the other car, but going by seat of the pants, it didn't seem like we should have been pulling away so fast. Going by feel alone it seems like it needs another 50hp or so, but judging by the rate we pulled away from the other 510 I wouldn't think so. And my 510 will STILL be slower . . .

I was a passenger in the Gymkhana with Chris for a couple of runs - and that was pretty fun, but not entirely my cup of tea. I took time here to look at the cars, shoot some pictures, and meet new people. Had dinner with the group, and stayed up until 2:00a with the group in MOFO Meadows.

Saturday, July 11 : Shasta. Photo shoot and autocross. I ALMOST ran the GT in this event, but decided to run Chris's 510 instead. My first run was horrible, as Chris's weird steering was harder to compensate for on this much quicker event. My first run was a slow and out-of-control 50.1 secs (Gary Savage had fast time of day at 41.x secs). I decided to slow down and just see if I could be more controlled, and my second run was MUCH smoother and slower-feeling, although the shift knob came off on the first turn, and half way through the run I saw smoke from between the seats, but the car was functioning fine and it seemed like it might have been something caught on the exhaust, so I drove on - Turned out I had somehow set off the fire extinguisher that had been between the seats!! My time was 46.8! Well well, I think - I bet I can get down to 43-44secs with a little more speed - My third run WAS faster, up to the point of me center-punching a cone. I came to a complete stop, trying to avoid it, then continued on. I DID set the record for the longest cone drag (about 2/3 of the course length), an still ended up with a 47.4.

I went to the dinner and awards ceremony, where I discovered me and Mike got third in the rally, and in the raffle I won a cool black travel bag (a small duffel bag) with a Nissan logo on it.

I drove home solo Saturday night, as I had a family event Sunday afternoon. The trip back was uneventful, save for an EXTREMELY INTENSE 2-3 minutes where I came across a 88-ish white Mustang GT convertible which was what I'd call "moving right along". Let's just say I set a personal record at this time . . .

IN SUM : Very excellent time. More 510's than anything else (by about 10:1) The event was well organized, and almost everyone I met was friendly and happy to share experiences. Notable cars consisted of a TWO 510's with 17" wheels AND bluebird taillights(!!!) a 350 V-8 powered 510 (best autocross time was 49.x), a straight (L6) six powered 510 (same auto-x time as the V-8 car), two KA24 (2.4L F.I. four cylinder cars), Mike's turbo V-6, FOUR other 3.0L V-6 510's, a 510 turbo L6 wagon, and several immaculate Z's, Roadsters and 510's. I got pictures of many of them, but battery failure prevented me from getting ALL of them. WHAT A BLAST!! Thanks to everyone for making it so worthwhile.

Dave.