Brain Overrun Mythological One Car Does it All: Autocross, Track Day, Vintage Racing

Despite knowing better my brain has lasered in on the mythological one car does it all thing again.

In the current fleet I have the Datsun 1200 I've owned for 36 years and the F500. 

OK the Datsun is fun as hell to hoon around in and can do all three but it's gutless. Making it go faster makes it far less reliable and or maintenance intensive. I also have single seater fever.

OK run Formula 500; it cures single seater fever, but alas you can't track day it. 

OK I need  a sports racer, because that cures the single seat fever and can be used at track days. Yeah I did that with the D-sports racer, ferociously expensive and required a lot of maintenance. 

OK just get a less intense sports racer. Old Sports Renaults (precursor to Spec Racer Ford) can be had quite reasonable, they're not quite as fast as the F500 but probably close enough.

OK now all I need to do is sell the two other cars; the F500 I could part with no problem but the Datsun has huge sentimental value, I've sold it before and then ended up getting it back.

OK so I just need to move the seat in the Datsun to the center position and mount a Cosworth DFV in the trunk.

Now I just need to talk to my mother and find out how this whole Trust Fund thing works.

There is no cure for this is there?

The answer is Miata. At least that's my answer. 

The 31 yr old 1990 Miatas have been opened for some vintage racing. 

I guess in vintage racing it's not possible to swap to a more modern/powerful/reliable engine?

In reply to John Welsh :

I love Miatas, but they don't cure the single seat fever.

 No, but 90 Miata is probably reasonably quicker than the 1200 in terms of performance?  They're pretty light, and a 1600 with a header/exhaust, and I presume they'd let you run a stand alone, and I'd think it would scratch the itch?

Still, there's a reason Tom has had that car forever and a day - and, a Miata should be cheap enough to justify as a 3rd fun toy. 

I mean, my cars are an '83 E21, a '94 E36, and a '00 Miata, so 3 cars make perfect sense to me. 

In reply to z31maniac :

Actually with the Datsun I can run a more modern 2.0 engine (SR20 or CA18), as I run in a vintage GT class but that won't cure the single seat fever either. It will make the Datsun even more fun though.

In reply to OldGray320i :

At my local track with the 1500cc in the engine and driving the wheels off the thing I've managed a 2:54 flat, in a friends NA Miata where I didn't fit in the seat well (I'm skinny) I turned a 2:45 in about 3 laps......................Mmmm yeah, a Miata is faster. 

The problem with the Miata is it works so well.................my narrow track leaf sprung Datsun moves around on the suspension and tires in a rather alarming manner and that's why I like it.  

Bike powered go cart. Two stroke triple preferred. 

Not legal anywhere i know of, but it'll cure the fever permanently and quickly. 

And your wife wont kill you! (Cause it probably will....)

Tom1200 said:

OK so I just need to move the seat in the Datsun to the center position and mount a Cosworth DFV in the trunk.

Yep.

Something like this custom 550:

Or an Alfa Aerodinamica Spider:

In reply to j_tso :

There is someone who races a 550 at the vintage races I attend.................I think it's actually a real one, so ever so slightly out of my price range.

I'd rock that Alfa.

Formula V base car with extra motor  and tires / rims for the dirt , 

lots of parts around ,  

a single seater dune buggy would also be neat but probably not vintage legal....

Tom1200 said:

...OK so I just need to move the seat in the Datsun to the center position and mount a Cosworth DFV in the trunk...

I've owned six 1200s over the years. I almost put a turbo 13B with a transaxle in the back of one.

Back on-topic, a Lotus Seven would check all the boxes... if the passenger side is covered.

californiamilleghia said:

Formula V base car with extra motor  and tires / rims for the dirt , 

lots of parts around ,  

a single seater dune buggy would also be neat but probably not vintage legal....

If a Formula 550 is out of his price range the Formula Vee will be even more so. Old Formula Vees are getting really pricey right now with all the vintage racing going on. An older Formula 440 might fit the bill, but that would be hard to get into vintage racing and to me they look more like go karts than real race cars as do the 550s. I would love to find a vintage formula ford but those are stupid expensive now. 

In reply to Snowdoggie (Forum Supporter) :

So after 36 years we have $9000 in to the 1200. 

To date the I've got $6500 in the Formula 500

If I sold them both I'd likely end up with $10,000 to $15,000 to spend on the mythical one that car does it all.

kb58 said:

Tom1200 said:

...OK so I just need to move the seat in the Datsun to the center position and mount a Cosworth DFV in the trunk...

I've owned six 1200s over the years. I almost put a turbo 13B with a transaxle in the back of one.

Back on-topic, a Lotus Seven would check all the boxes... if the passenger side is covered.

1200s are great cars, I love driving mine but I can't escape the whole real race car thing.

I've always wanted a 7 or 7-esque car with a Datsun 1200 drivetrain (motor and gear box are light) A 7 would likely be close enough to a single seater for me. I've driven friend's Exocet at both autocross and track days and it's a blast. It's pretty nimble and you can chuck it around.

Now that you reminded me, yes, that combination did cross my mind, that an entire 1200 drivetrain all the way out to the hubs would make for a crazy light Seven, and be more reliable than the original bits. Also, you *do* know that there are other Datsun A-series engines that drop right in, right? In one of my last combinations, I used an A14 block and A15 crank, plus the Japanese head and sidedrafts. Drove it on the street all the time. California's changing smog laws eventually made it a no-go though, and I since went on to design and build Kimini and Midlana, but still have very fond thoughts of the 1200.

In reply to kb58 :

My race motor is an A15 with a GX head and 39mm Keihin flat slide carbs. I use a fairly mild cam so it only puts out 99hp to the wheels.  There is not much 1200 in the 1200; besides the A15, there is a 60 series 5 speed,  280ZX suspension & brakes on the front, a 510 wagon rear axle with a roadster limited slip diff and 240Z alloy drums. The track has been widened by 3" and the wheelbase increased by 1/2".