Myself, my father, and my brother have been preparing/"resto-modding" a 1973 Datsun 240Z specifically to run in autocross since the summer of 2013. It's not an all out race car and I think we have created a unique blend of "show" and "go. We have strived to keep to a classic style with select choices for modernization. Form is definitely following function in the right places. However, because of the later '77 280Z L28E drivetrain swap, we couldn't run in a Street Touring class. So, we resigned ourselves to running in B Street Prepared or in the local "Street Tire" PAX based classes. Due to a love of the car and it's original shape and style, high costs (Hoosiers get expensive with three drivers), and trying to keep the car street legal/tolerable, we figured we would never be competitive in the overall results or championship standings. If that was our objective we would have started with a different car.
Then, early this year, along came news from the SCCA of the provisional HC classes. Upon reading the rules and crunching some numbers from the previous year's events with the HCS PAX numbers, we knew immediately it was a perfect fit added a new level to our autocross experience. I have had some personal victories here and there but this was the first time I thought I could be "in the hunt" for the championship.
So, in the end, we all had a fantastic season with SCCA's Old Dominion Region. My brother, running in his first full year of autocross, after prying him away from mud truck racing, came away with 1st place in Novice class at every single event. I believe there were around 8-15 novices at each event and there was stiff competition and fast cars. One of the new Shelby GT350s was a close second place on three occasions, so this was not just a token victory. In the "Open" or overall results, I was able to collect my first ever FTD (Fastest Time of the Day in raw time) and a claimed a total of four 1st place overall (PAX) finishes. That includes this past Sunday's season finale which allowed me to win my first SCCA Regional Championship. It was a very close season and it literally came down to the last runs of the last event. I eeked out the win and took the title by just 0.182 seconds.
We love our 240Z and we chose it because we love the car and knew it would be fun to autocross, would get some deserving attention, and would certainly be worth something if we ever need to sell it (that'll never happen). Now, after three years, literally thousands of hours of work (mostly my father's as he's retired), a sizeable amount of cash, plenty of father-son heated debates about all sorts setup choices and the like, and more than a couple of incorrect choices and part failures, we now have a very beautiful, very fast, "streetable", autocross car. It is exactly what we wanted in the beginning and we are so happy it has a home in the HCS class. The championship certainly is a good bonus though.
Here's a link to video of one of my runs from this past Sunday's autocross: Run #2
I say all of that to say: Thank you SCCA for the creation of the Heritage Classic classes and please drop the provisional title and make them a permanent part of the SCCA rule book.