tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4482465300406776642012-01-26T20:06:44.305+02:00In honor, dedication and thanks to my brother.Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.comBlogger621100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-67036474626551356442012-01-26T20:06:00.000+02:002012-01-26T20:06:44.314+02:00

With January already fast approaching the end, the same cannot be said about the amount of work 'Mr Datsun' has been doing throughout this entire month. As I alluded to in the previous months blog post, the modifications done to the old SSS to now resemble the 2-door 1970 BRE Datsun is something remarkable.  A lot of work was done in order to finish it in time so as to be part of a car display

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-91913875300177890762011-12-26T19:08:00.000+02:002011-12-26T19:08:41.305+02:00

Tis that time of the season and some much needed time we can now dedicate to our families and loved ones.  Unfortunately those loved ones also include our race cars for they shall not be neglected, ever.  As December slowly comes to an end and businesses and people start their holiday journeys, some still prefer to keep the nose to the grinding wheel until the very last minute in preparation for

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-41669151703007995452011-11-17T16:44:00.000+02:002011-11-17T16:44:01.360+02:00

What a season, what a year, what can I say. Well for a start, I thoroughly enjoyed ever bit of this past seasons racing never once having any regrets or maybe we should have done something differently or maybe we could have tried something differently.  Nope, none of that.  What we set out to do we did and what we wanted to achieve we achieved.  Better than that in this day and age is asking a

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-24702135336246212802011-10-26T17:00:00.000+02:002011-10-26T17:00:44.199+02:00

After nearly 2 month since our last race the classic boys were rearing to go.  A healthy field of entries were received and made it one of the biggest for the season.  Meanwhile behind the scenes changes were in place since the East London away trip.  Due to the length of the St Georges circuit, we had to use a five speed gearbox for the long straight of almost 1.8Km.  This was something I had

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-70294964527738166012011-10-02T21:09:00.000+02:002011-10-02T21:09:49.824+02:00

Rather late than never but I forgot entirely about this blog due to all the excitement we had at East London. This trip was planned close on to 9 or 10 months ago and it all finally came to a head on 27th August  2011 at the Prince Georges Circuit in East London, better know as East London GP track. Both our cars required that our ratios be changed as all calculations showed that we would both

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-53566919335618828752011-08-09T09:32:00.000+02:002011-08-09T09:32:49.335+02:00

Murphy's law, if you plan something it probably won't happen, if you don't it probably will.  As many would already know by now, this month sees the Ford & Friends tour taking place at the East London Grand Prix circuit this year and one I definitely don't want to miss this opportunity as it may not happen again.  As such, I sacrificed the club races of the 23rd July as well as the 06th August in

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-73969234303285516072011-07-05T09:41:00.000+02:002011-07-05T09:41:43.962+02:00

Another month has passed since the last race and again the Datsun's threw everything they could to torment us, but give up we didn't.  Probably the easiest part was the overhauling and replacement of the gearbox on the 140Z, simple and straight forward.  Then Mr Datsun decided that as I had done a good job on destroying the cylinder head on the SSS it would be far easier to fix the Datti.  That

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-23929860433405108922011-06-08T12:13:00.000+02:002011-06-08T12:13:50.624+02:00

Another month had now past and the 4th June was now upon us.  The Datti has until now been parked awaiting re parts and I simply did not have the funds to repair the engine, only to then strip have to strip it again and to then put the new race parts in and instead decide to give it a miss.  My boet was not having any of this and more or less sort of forced me to drive the SSS while we wait for

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-2361476583665056842011-05-02T21:10:00.000+02:002011-05-02T21:10:21.900+02:00

Well since the last update I can confirm that the camshaft was indeed stripped and that having eventually stripped the motor it was soon discovered the reason why the motor would not turn.  Overnight the engine had obviously cooled and at some time the valve seat had dislodged itself and fell out preventing the valve from closing and as a result prevented the engine from turning.  So, we replaced

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-3562884873296626752011-03-20T21:51:00.000+02:002011-03-21T11:18:12.841+02:00

It seems such a long time since we both raced with the 2011 season finally getting underway, yet it was only the beginning February that we had a taste of things to come.  I think we both had high expectations and anticipations but for illogical reasons it all came to naught at the start of it all.  The 140Z was not entered and did not race for a number of reasons.  Upon closer inspection it was

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-75267162479801886642011-02-08T14:35:00.000+02:002011-02-08T21:48:30.165+02:00

No sooner had the Zwartkops event finished and the next one was again upon us in Cape Town, home of the Killarney raceway which celebrated it's 50th anniversary. This weekend turned out to be a good one after all for both Datsuns yet once again. The 140Z was as ready as ever with only a need to change worn brake pads. As for the power-plant, not much attention was required there at all. The

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-17499319251770478582011-01-30T08:29:00.000+02:002011-01-31T22:33:43.906+02:00

The 140Z has made inroads at almost every event it has taken part in and has made many sit up and take note so much so that 3 official letters from motoring authorities were eventually requested and obtained to confirm the 140Z's legality and conformance to the pre-77 rulings. That done it was now time to take the 140Z up to Zwartkops, a track it has to date never competed on. The trip up from CT

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-62633094940030902092011-01-02T22:40:00.000+02:002011-01-03T20:59:02.148+02:00

Well it's not quite time for racing just yet but hey, it's as good a time to start getting ready and preparing for the season that lies ahead. A lot of work still lies ahead and many mechanical decisions still need to be made for the championship ahead but the one decision that has been made so far was to send the 1200 'boxie' down to Cape Town for the historic weekend in February. For obvious

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-42617468240482141222010-11-15T21:23:00.000+02:002010-11-15T23:12:19.991+02:00

And so the final race of the 2010 season dawned upon me and I found myself somewhat exited, somewhat apprehensive all at the same time. The outcome no longer mattered after all, all I really wanted was to just enjoy the last race, finish both heats without any unnecessary damage and end the season on a positive note. As such then I feel I have reached such desires and was only too happy to have

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-13425285382837242762010-10-25T14:01:00.000+02:002010-10-27T20:43:22.969+02:00

To say this last weekends racing was frustrating is putting it mildly. All weather station predictions were that rain was on the cards for Friday and for whatever reason it never once even looked like rain at all. To some degree even that was frustrating as one now wondered if the predicted clear for Saturday would perhaps now have rain. Anyway at least that was something of which we had no

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-41874315814895112062010-10-17T13:51:00.000+02:002010-10-17T18:44:48.507+02:00

The itch was just too much, the in between waiting had become too long, the want almost a must. Besides, I was not sure which way the rules would go for 2011 especially the 'replica' rules and decided to look at another Datti in the interim, this time a 4-door 'boxie' all while the dust settled. The car was a HRCR 3rd overall championship car for 2008 and I always had one eye on the track and

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-3894510511639403302010-09-05T21:44:00.000+02:002010-09-05T22:29:16.242+02:00

This weekend was like the break of a long drought for me in particular having last completed a full race since the beginning of June. Once again a lot of hard work was done by my boet to get the Datti back up to competition level. The 140Z had a full spanner check since the PE race and a general check in all critical departments as per usual. Not having the chance to do a previous run of the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-71914809165033664592010-08-16T20:20:00.000+02:002010-08-16T22:28:52.959+02:00

The long and much awaited 'Ford & Friends Festival' eventually arrived and many made the journey up to to the 'friendly city' by car and in convoy. We departed in the early hours of Thursday morning and duly arrived just after lunchtime. By late that afternoon we had off-loaded both our cars and unpacked the cars finally covering them for the night where after we settled into a festive mood at

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-31770369351107310842010-06-29T10:18:00.000+02:002010-07-06T19:35:21.100+02:00

The bad day at the office continued but it did get better before it got worse. As I mentioned in my previous blog I eventually narrowed my mis-fire down to being the rev counter and as such from there on it should have been a walk in the park to fix. (Ha Ha). A new rev counter (bigger and better and more expensive) was ordered and duly fitted in the week after the last race of 6 June. All other

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-17634553592400865012010-06-06T20:23:00.000+02:002010-06-29T15:38:40.047+02:00

It was bound to happen at some point in time. By all counts literally everything has always gone without any major hassle on almost every race day that I've competed in. Well, this one was different. Quite a bit of trick work was done on the Datti between the last race and this one done on 5 June. Nothing out of the ordinary was done either and merely included implementation of a multi spark

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-4455245471754087502010-05-09T18:46:00.000+02:002010-06-29T15:39:17.932+02:00

Perhaps this is a good time to pay homage to someone who not only puts his money where his mouth is but actually delivers the goods and undoubtedly deserves more credit than is actually given. Not only did he choose to drop the compression ratio of his race car by a substantial margin so as to improve the reliability of his 4-cylinder engine, as well as to duly comply with breakout rule

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-12830626243209579212010-04-05T22:04:00.000+02:002010-04-06T22:51:01.279+02:00

Well it was race time again (27th March) however this time round the 140Z was not to be a part of it due to some race parts still being awaited from the USA. The 140Z has demonstrated beyond all doubt that a well prepared and tuned 4-cylinder can put in times that will make any opposition stand up and take note. What has equally been demonstrated is that you can only do so much to a 4-cylinder

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-20853698174508442912010-02-08T19:50:00.000+02:002010-02-09T23:18:36.358+02:00

The start to the 2010 race season proved to be a rather expensive one to begin with for the Datti 1400GX. It all started going pear shaped from the airport on the Thursday night already but that was completely out of my control and I had to put it behind me albeit R2000 later. The commencement of the new season was now in full swing and I had to get some practice under the belt after nearly a

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-40768072299308773062009-12-06T18:54:00.000+02:002009-12-07T21:06:44.317+02:00

Well after a long wait and preparation it was game on. You may recall that I had posted a video of a lap of Kyalami as well as references to a website in which a full lap description was available. I used this as reference and guide to a track that most of the Cape Town guys who traveled to the 9-Hour retro race had never ever raced on and I believe that to degree it helped at least some.On the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-36616120347898175212009-09-28T18:33:00.000+02:002009-09-29T23:25:00.416+02:00

Wesbank racing is the BIG league in racing and to be chosen to be a part of the huge event which also includes Production cars, VW Polo Cup, Formula VW is always a privilege to be a part of. Saturday 26th September 2009 was no exception and the Mighty Datsuns were there as always. Due to the large number of championship events it was impossible to afford everyone equal track time and to a degree

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-50176486687385083402009-09-06T18:04:00.000+02:002009-09-10T20:58:41.128+02:00

Can you believe it, our last race was 2 month ago thereby most certainly making my arms somewhat rusty and lethargic. Well it finally came about and now it was time to to again don the race overalls, helmet and boots. In the interim the 1400 Datti again underwent surgery as you may recall it ran a bearing at the last race meeting on practice day. While at it we thought we may as well sort the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-44021442076461505892009-05-03T12:20:00.000+02:002009-05-03T15:23:22.479+02:00

My car spent a while in the panel shop (Cape Motor Repairs) and was restored to it previously looking shape and colour. Magnificent job I must admit. More amazingly was the time in which it was accomplished and then finally being returned to Martin's Auto Repairs on the Tuesday evening before the race. Martin rolled up his sleeves on the Wednesday (voting day) and put all the bits and pieces back

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-25496523251209965952009-02-09T20:02:00.005+02:002009-02-09T20:27:20.692+02:00

Well it's been a long time since the last race of December 2008 and the wait had become almost unbearable. It finally arrived for me on the 6th February and boy was I eager. The arm joints needed some loosening up and the racing skills honed for the start of the 2009 season. Well during the off season absolutely nothing was really done to the Datti other than to repair the cylinder head which

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-5303268416592793022008-12-13T20:51:00.004+02:002008-12-13T21:34:32.229+02:00

December 6th was the last race of the season to be held at the big K and the 'classic car' brigade was afforded an extra race which of course counted for no points as the championship had already finished. This therefore gave some of the old classic die-hards and thoroughbred racers another chance to 'do it one more time'.Martin had already decided long prior to the race that he would be sitting

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-69888975276930869112008-11-17T17:32:00.012+02:002008-11-24T18:19:03.560+02:00

The last race of the championship for 2008 was held last weekend (15 November 2008) and what a race day day it turned out to be.Well, that is for everyone else that raced. Friday was a limited day for 'classics' and due to the schedule, and understandably so. We were only afforded 1 practice round at 16h00 with a qualifying round scheduled for 17h15. As per usual, every nut an bolt was again

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-14623416126267890712008-10-06T18:39:00.007+02:002008-10-07T20:44:12.810+02:00

Glorious sunshine beamed down upon Killarney and the race fraternity this past weekend bringing some welcome relief to the rain drenched Cape. Spectators were plentiful and racing was good. During the previous event of September and now (October) a little refreshing was done to the Datti 1400 GX and clearly the times were proof of that as she constantly ran 1:33's throughout the day even allowing

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-90346901133976526592008-09-08T16:23:00.008+02:002008-09-09T14:51:15.266+02:00

The weather Gods were on our side this time around and glorious sunshine was bestowed upon all the racers for the past September event. The fence perimeters were filled with festooned spectators cheering their heroes on and applauding there achievements. This can only have been heaven. Then I realized no, wait a minute, this is Killarney, home to the Western Capes local racing fraternity and I

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-81717487695666655902008-08-02T20:39:00.011+02:002008-08-02T22:57:04.456+02:00

Yip it's August and you will not believe this quirk. There was NO DAMN RAIN. For 5 solid race meetings it threatened, it rained and was cold and terrible at times. The only month Classic Cars are given off and that I don't have to fly down to race.....bye bye rain. If only I still had any toys left in my cot!!I somehow still remember as a young boy watching the movie with my dad called "Le Mans".

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-50324554872905403262008-07-07T22:44:00.015+02:002008-07-23T22:20:20.634+02:00

Round 5 of the Classic Car racing was held on the 5th July in AGAIN miserable wet and cold conditions, not something I particularly aspire towards nor enjoy. Race officials have it on record as one of the worst race seasons in years and cannot recall such ongoing adverse weather conditions. As I stated early in the year (see February blog if you don't believe me) I would have to adapt to the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-30898304941257126052008-06-09T15:13:00.010+02:002008-06-09T16:42:32.397+02:00

Saturday 7th June came and yip you guessed it......it rained again. This time around I was not too perturbed at all. I had been watching the weather pattern since the Tuesday and this time however I had pretty accurate weather info which actually held up to be true. By 09h45 the rain had stopped, the skies had cleared and remained so for the rest of the entire days racing.Again we had no

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-26201563094137422008-05-19T22:30:00.014+02:002008-05-20T20:50:15.219+02:00

The month of May is a rather quiet one for us 'classic car' racers simply because there is no race for classic cars this month. Somewhat boring all said and done.Well OK, while there is no on-track work, there is quite a bit to do off-track to both the Datsuns (SSS and the GX Coupe). Firstly the SSS is rather tired and really needs a lot of work to get it back into full race trim. For one the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-2792628783799961312008-04-21T18:32:00.011+02:002008-04-22T15:57:25.137+02:00

It always happens. Every time I go down to Cape Town for a race event, you better believe it - it will rain. This past Saturday again lived up to expectation but my weather judgement, positive thinking and as always determination to get a dry race won the day over.However the Friday threw a few curve balls of its own and had its moments of 'patience testing' in which and I almost gave up and

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-5392396424032159982008-03-03T11:14:00.010+02:002008-04-08T17:22:32.667+02:00

In our favour and largely thanks to a brilliant race engine builder (Martin Richards) there was little or no work to be be done on either the SSS or the GX Coupe other than an all round spanner check. Due to a very full race program we (Classic Cars) were exempted from qualifying and grid positions were done by drawing positions from a hat. (We've now done our bit towards limiting the 'greenhouse

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-66457005410988214892008-02-12T16:58:00.005+02:002008-03-19T17:22:09.463+02:00

At last the 2008 season got underway. I must state from the very outset that it wasn't the greatest event one could have wished for, not because it had anything to do with the 'Historic Race Day' event itself but rather that the Cape weatherman had other ideas install. The Friday was hot with acceptable conditions and I managed to post an unofficial time of 1:32:9 during practice. The Saturday

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-74177527313533335022008-02-02T10:35:00.000+02:002008-02-02T22:39:59.346+02:00

It's February at last with the new 2008 season commencing on Saturday 9th. This was one of the longest waits in my life. My last un-official race was on 1st December 2007 and now more than two months have past by in the interim.During the off-season not much was accomplished racing wise although some changes were made and were inevitable. Just to wet the appetite for some of the regular

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-53411563275759890172008-01-07T09:10:00.000+02:002008-01-07T21:59:33.124+02:00

2008 has barely started and Martin has already laid down the gauntlet. From what I can gather he is determined to take the E out of SEX in the new year. He has stated that it is a 200 percent certainty that he will demonstrate this in the new season. Rumour has it that it's blood red but has nothing to do with being a 'period' this time.Here's waiting in anticipation about his new year antics

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-56292438046336186702007-12-14T06:24:00.000+02:002008-01-11T22:38:15.293+02:00

The racing season is now over and the two racing Datsuns have been laid to rest until the new season in 2008. In all due respect I honestly believe my brother Martin, deserves a thorough rest for all his efforts made and achievements accomplished during this last season. One can only expect, do and achieve so much in one season. Let me reflect back.Shortly after the start to the season, Martin

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-86718396856199064432007-12-02T05:38:00.000+02:002007-12-16T21:43:10.527+02:00

It wasn't supposed to happen but it did. The December race was a non-championship race for the classic car drivers and I was not to originally attend. However due to my mishap at the Port Elizabeth races I decided, bugger it, 'just one more'.There was a practice session on the Friday and I managed a 1:33:1 which I was quite happy with. Just to give some perspective on race times, see the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-90380042267461709882007-11-19T06:14:00.000+02:002008-01-11T21:53:08.432+02:00

My supposed last race was to be the 3 Hour LUK Coastal challenge held in Port Elizabeth. Practice was held throughout Friday in cool and overcast weather conditions and my best time achieved with the Dati 1400 was only a 1:19:4.At the end of the day I made the decision to enter my 'Boet' Martin into the sprint races as well and he would then also share the 3 hour drive with me as our original

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-36003287289348632442007-11-05T05:04:00.000+02:002007-11-07T18:16:07.721+02:00

It did not come easy, but then victory without a battle is seldom sweet.Friday's practice on 2nd November at 11h45 produced enough work and effort alone. Early indications were that the head gasket was faulty and the decision to replace was made. After having done the replacement, enough water to float the Titanic was used to merely fill the radiator hoses. Something was wrong. A check into the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-35641315439888949472007-11-04T08:35:00.000+02:002007-11-08T15:10:13.567+02:00

This was the official last race of the season for classic cars and I was glad yet also in a way sad as I was just having so much fun and honestly I did not want it to end NOW. Friday's (2nd November) practice was scheduled for 11h45 and I went out and again tried my best realizing that I am now in class D for my last race of the season. To my amazement I managed a 1:32:6 on lap 5 (a class C time)

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-77792924563543702372007-10-08T06:10:00.000+02:002007-10-22T17:23:16.192+02:00

Sh1t!!! I don't know where to begin with the past weekend (06/10/2007) - Ecstasy or Disappointment? My previous Killarney race if you may recall (see Oops - Ouch - Damn) ended with some rather bent looking valves after the 1st lap of the second race. Well since then Martin repaired the damaged valves and while the head was off he made some further changes to the VE. Since then I also did the

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-10611292206286512532007-10-08T04:51:00.000+02:002007-10-24T20:38:11.923+02:00

The past weekend was the second last race of the current Western Province Classic Car championship and a lot was (and still is) at stake for many. Martin (this is my boet remember) pulled a few rabbits out of the bag for this event. On Fridays practice the SSS was on full song and every setting was (appeared) spot on. The times were brilliant and most encouraging. An evening 'braai' was enjoyed

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-32283992216870786572007-09-16T06:47:00.000+02:002007-09-30T21:07:19.018+02:00

The annual North vs South race competition was after some reshuffling scheduled for Zwartkops for the 15 September 2007. This is generally where the best of the best challenge their opposition to finally lay to rest any unsettled scores in a gentleman like manner.The Cape Town cars were loaded on the Wednesday before the race and one particular driver (Peter Sherman) was not able to fill the last

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-18948723920074319442007-09-08T06:37:00.000+02:002008-01-11T21:57:03.989+02:00

I recently read the article published in the 'Classic Car Africa' magazine of September 2007 (Pg 56) duly submitted by Peter du Toit, owner of the Zwartkops raceway in Pretoria West.Without taking the article to task or discrediting it in any way, let me say that in essence I agree with many of the proposals suggested but sincerely doubt whether it will ultimately be a viable or workable solution

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-27651510764103367702007-09-04T05:16:00.000+02:002007-09-07T08:23:17.319+02:00

See BIG Bang L20 Gets me again !!! before this article.Most people we've spoken to over the past weekend of 1st September have stated unreservedly that a touch of madness remains undiagnosed with Martin. I will keep this as brief as possible.Lets me see, the motor was again rebuilt (see the previous article to get up to speed) and was again taken to the track for testing. After the first 5 laps

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-34811824879836687072007-09-03T09:21:00.000+02:002007-09-08T18:34:37.676+02:00

Saturday 1st September 2007 - The Friday practice session was somewhat sacrificed in an attempt to help my 'boet' rebuild and refit his L20 motor. The weather wasn't exactly playing game either but I managed to get a few laps in during the last session of the day. Saturday morning we qualified at 09h00 and the weather was really best suited for ducks - wet and cold. So it was off with the slicks

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-11404141037295504812007-08-18T07:54:00.000+02:002007-08-24T13:45:01.270+02:00

See 'A New Set of RODS' before this article.Saturday 18th August 2007. Having discovered the original heat problem and satisfied that the problem was overcome with the new motor, Martin again stripped the 'Ol Faithful' L20 motor (moulded pistons and standard rods) and did the transplant of external components (carbs, branch, dry sump etc.) for the umpteenth time, hopefully this time for good.

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-38502963088655813582007-08-07T08:58:00.000+02:002007-08-24T13:47:18.907+02:00

See 'A new Race Car is born' before this article. The long awaited National race on 4th August finally arrived. It was a rather quiet run-up to the race as very little work had to be done on the Datsun 1400 Gx. A setting and slight adjustment of the carbs and a new set of front disc pads (although not even necessary) was about it. Due to the hectic and full race program scheduled for the weekend,

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-21323934625116823982007-08-06T10:45:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:47:53.854+02:00

Well as stated in an earlier blog, the reliability of the SSS just had to be taken a bit more seriously. And as it so happened the parts were ordered and were eventually received a month later. Lo and Behold, someone 'Oops'd' and a very expensive set of paper weights in the form of forged race pistons are now used at the office.Needless to say it was a very expensive lesson learned and not being

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-78998372538515772822007-07-27T08:00:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:47:23.536+02:00

Well the rest of July 2007 has been relatively quiet and I've had time to think back and ponder on the race that was. Although I believe I drove reasonably well given that I never once lost control, never over revved the motor or flat spotted any wheels during my run, and I managed to get down to a 1:39, I of course would really like getting a lot closer to Martin's times of 1:34's. (10 years of

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-40331796890689201212007-07-14T09:02:00.000+02:002008-01-11T21:52:31.869+02:00

THE MOST INCREDIBLE ADVENTURELet me try and keep this as brief as possible. On the 7th June 2007 I had to view a Dastun 1200 GX Coupe (in JHB) that I had been informed of for a well known Capetonian buyer. Photographs were taken and digitally sent down to Cape Town for further perusal thereof. I myself had to fly down the following day for the Killarney race that was being held on the 9th June.

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-8039230974713257672007-06-26T09:13:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:46:20.910+02:00

It must be said in favour of the Datsun that the motors the Japanese produced (in particular the L series) in there hey days were almost bullet proof as standard. When modifying these motors within reason, they still produced great reliability. In our case, no competition parts were ever used except maybe for the odd Nissan competition cylinder head gasket you could still lay your hands on (

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-22565600513646507622007-06-25T01:16:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:45:40.727+02:00

More than a year ago my brother (Martin) had the desire to transform the car into new colours. Discussions were had, thoughts were thrown about, how much would it cost and even more importantly, 'Is the timing right' for radical change?"Martin had a fascination for the late Peter Brock, owner of the BRE racing team, who pulverised all and sundry in the (USA) Trans Am series in the early 70's with

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-78965389915042054672007-06-25T00:49:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:45:03.275+02:00

An idea here, and an idea there, this was Martin scheming all the time and asking, "Where can I get another half a second from?" A race drivers 'nightmare' is inevitably encountered and the only (and cheapest) answer is 'I must simply try harder' the next race.Not a Friday that I can recall (yes I fly down from Johannesburg for every race event as well as visit my elderly folks) has Martin not

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-44051928009293952432007-06-24T08:02:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:44:06.433+02:00

Through continual trial, development and shear perseverance the Datsun SSS has ultimately become a force to be reckoned with, not only locally (Killarney) but it would appear throughout the country as well. Progress into class B (WPMC - Killarney) was therefore inevitable and was also duly recognised at an away race meeting held at the Wesbank Raceway (Johannesburg) in September of 2005. The

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-448246530040677664.post-23431370429159143122007-06-24T06:17:00.000+02:002007-08-20T21:43:29.343+02:00

Martin, has since I can remember always been actively involved in motor racing. His love and dedication to the sport of motor racing (both oval and circuit racing) as well as to his fellow competitors is exemplary and well known throughout the racing fraternity.I have come to learn and accept that he has a competative edge that is seldom matched, equaled or surpassed in that, what is good today

Datti-Brothershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00727768446511886161noreply@blogger.com0