1968 DATSUN 510
#37 BOB FINN & RON HARRIS
Bob Finn purchased this 1968 Datsun 510, chassis PL510-023047, off a used car dealer lot in Santa Barbara in 1972. The turquoise two-door 510 was brought straight to Competition Street and Rally (CSR) Racing, a shop Finn ran out of Chuck’s Shell Service in Santa Maria. It was stripped and built with the purposes to go racing in the SCCA Under 2.5 liter Trans-Am Series. All the parts utilized were purchased from Brock Racing Enterprises in El Segundo, California. Mac Tilton of the BRE team performed the machining on the motor and consulted with Finn on the suspension geometry. The car’s roll cage was constructed by a local good friend and welder, Fred Kenik. The car was sponsored by Bob Nolan Datsun and Chuck’s Shell Service of Santa Maria, California. The #37 car was painted orange, ran silver Minilite wheels, and wore its signature CSR Racing meatball on the rear quarter panels.
Once the build was complete, the car was raced by Bob Finn and close friend, Ron Harris, in the final two races of the 1972 Under 2.5L Trans-Am season. Crew chief duties were assigned to Harold Everett of Vandenberg Village. Unfortunately 1972 saw the end of the Under 2.5L Trans-Am Series, but that did not stop Finn and Harris from continuing to race the car. They would compete throughout the 1970’s in B-Sedan both regionally and nationally with numerous first place finishes, often beating out factory race teams.
Throughout its career, the car would race at Riverside International Raceway, Willow Springs International Raceway, Laguna Seca Raceway, Sears Point, Portland International Raceway, Ontario Motor Speedway and compete against the likes of John Morton, Horst Kwech, Harry Theodoracopoulos, Bobby Allison, Walt Maas, Dave Madison, Corky Bell, Norm Balzer, Pat Daily, and many others. The car was acquired by Bill Johnston in 1979, who would race it for the next 33 years. Bill Johnston shared driving duties with friend Steve Dragus, who was best known for the building engines for famous American drag racer, Don “The Snake” Prudhomme. The highlight of their career in the old 510 was a first in class finish in the last SCCA Cal Club endurance race of the 1980’s, which took place during Thanksgiving of 1989.
