Information on the 1932 Datsun build - and any
other recent car-related stuff - has been moved to my
Penny Ante Racing site.
I'm a big fan of cars. I suppose it is the techie/nerd factor....complicated things that you can take apart and put back together are very nifty toys. The fact that fewer and fewer peoplein the world have the ability to do so anymore adds to the cool factor. This fondness for cars is not limited to a specific type of car. The biologist in me likes gas-sipping hybrids, spouts specifications for thetzero and roots for the guys from NEDRA to break new records. My luddite side makes me fond of old 1960s and 1970s muscle cars.Aesthetically, you can't beat customs and streetrods. Here's a little illustrated glossary that I threw together to explain some common streetrodding terms. My new automotive hobby, though, is autocrossing my Geo Storm. (Autocrossing is also called Solo II). 
The object of an autocross competition is to drive as quickly as possible through a twisty course of traffic cones set up in a parking lot. Your run is timed and compared to other runs by people with similar cars (i.e. carsin the same class.) The fastest person through the course wins their class.That doesn't sound difficult, but it is actually very challenging. Motorsports author Henry Watts says, "In autocross you are facing turns four times as often as a formula-car driver turning a record lap on a roadrace course." You can a rough idea what that feels like by watching this in car video from Andy McKee at the 2004 Nationals for ProSolo. My autocross results * - This course was significantly modified on site at the event
In england, there is an even more difficult form of driving than autocross.They call it "autotest". Here's a video of someone in action at an autotest. By the way, it looks like the car they are driving is a westfield, which is a gorgeous little kit car clone of the legendary lotus seven. Lotus sevens and their replicashave tiny engines - many are even powered by motorcycle engines - but the cars are so small that these mini-powerplants still give supercar-level performance. According to the guys from Top Gear, the latest version from Caterhamdoes 0-60 in 3.1 seconds.
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