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Dime, Quarterly: Tell us about yourself.
Derek Young: I am a 30 year old mechanical engineer working at a biotech automation company in the San Francisco bay area. I live in the city with my (very understanding) girlfriend and 3 cars, one of which is a 1972 4-door Datsun 510. Previous to San Francisco, I spent 10 years in Vancouver, where I attended school and then worked in the film industry building props. That job involved a lot of fast paced mechanical design and CNC machining. I am also a former Battlebots robot fighting champion.
DQ: How did you get into 510s?
DY: My family has always been into Datsuns and Nissans. For instance, my dad has owned a 1970 240Z since new. The car survived an engine fire when I was driving it as a 16 year old, and then went on to become a vintage race car that my brother and dad campaigned in the VARAC series back east. My father also had a 610 stage rally car that he built in 1980 and then promptly rolled in a ditch. He held onto the engine for 20 years, and now the block from that car lives on in my 510.
DQ: So you knew about 510’s from an early age.
DY: Actually, growing up in Ontario Canada I can't even recall ever seeing one on the street as a kid, but my most distant memories were from trips in the late 80s to the SCCA runoffs at Road Atlanta where these fast boxy sedans really caught my eleven year old eye. It wasn't until I was in university in British Columbia that I saw one on the street and fell in love. I even still have a picture of that first car I saw parked outside the house I was living in. I bought one a few months later and have owned a total of three 510s over the past 9 years.
DQ: Tell us about this car.
DY: I bought this one in the spring of 2003. I saw it on eBay and, after extensive talks with the owner, purchased it at the reserve price of $2500, which is a steal nowadays. I flew from Vancouver to Oakland to pick it up, and was happy to see that all the promised parts were there: Ground Control coilovers front and rear, camber plates and an L16 engine with some nice work already done (mild cam, A87 head, MSD, electronic ignition). And, unlike so many other 510s, all the trim was there and everything worked, even the dome light. That being said, while the previous owner spent a lot of money on go-fast bits, he had no qualms with the super rough body and paint, including some of the worst Bondo I had ever seen. The custom plate should have been a hint; it spelled out "BUHKET". Gladly, though, it was truly rust free and the good parts were there, so I was happy with my starting point.
DQ: What were your first impressions driving it?
DY: Actually, it was a little disappointing. Even though the handling was razor sharp, it was brutally slow. Zero to sixty took something like 15 second, which was probably caused by a burned exhaust valve I discovered later. Even so, the car made the 2 day trip back to BC and I got down to the business of tearing out everything I didn't want and then began the long process of lavishing it with time and money.
DQ: What were your objectives?
DY: Initially I wanted a super clean JDM semi-granny look street sleeper that would also be a competitive street-prepared autocross/hillclimb car. But my focus changed when I decided to enter the car in the Targa Newfoundland. Then it became much more purposeful and ended up as a tough looking tarmac rally racer that kept all the stainless trim, had all metal body work, JDM marker lights, and fender mirrors.
DQ: What tuning style would you describe this car as? (ex. old-school, street racer, autocrosser, etc.)
DY: It’s a JDM look rally car with North American DIY insides.
DQ: Who helped you build this car?
DY: While I did the lion's share of the really custom stuff, a lot of people have had their hands on this car. A big thanks goes to my long time friend Steve Masters, who did all the tricky body work and painted it for me back in 2004/5. Troy Ermish built the motor recently, and Impact Engineering in San Jose did the roll cage. I had a few of my mechanically minded (but not necessarily car guy) friends help out nearing the end of my pre-Targa prep, which was a huge help. I had a lets-work-on-the-car barbeque a couple weekends before it was shipped. It was amazing to see how much got done with three people working instead of just myself. Oh, I also can't forget to thank my friends who let me use their garage space. In Vancouver I was doing all the work in my underground parking garage (the whole EFI conversion and rear cross member removal and installation happened there), but my current apartment won't allow it. So without my friends lending space, I'd have nowhere to work on it myself.
DQ: What makes your car special in your eyes?
DY: It is an evolving manifestation of my concept of the ideal 510. I also think the selection of modifications and my thoroughness in carrying out each project make it unique. I don't like cutting corners or going with the lesser option on things and I think it is reflected in the car. It is also still very much a 510, and a classic one at that: revvy and L-series-powered.
DQ: What is your favorite part?
DY: The color. Actually the whole exterior of the car is just right in my opinion.
DQ: Who or what inspired the direction of modifications on this car?
DY: Aesthetically, the car has been through some changes recently that have been a direct result of me turning it into a rally car. Before that it was the Japanese-style modified 510s and other cars of the era that really played a big inspiration. Before I started down the rally path, I really wanted a set of 7.5x14" Work Equip 03s with slightly stretched tires to finish the modified Japanese look. Motor-wise, the L18 made its way into the car to keep it in street prepared class, and it ended up working well with the Targa Newfoundland rules. I decided to convert it to EFI because it makes sense to me, and I've never bothered to learn anything about carburetors. I ended up using Megasquirt and it has been a lot of fun and I love being able to tune and data log with a laptop.
DQ: What don't you like about this car?
DY: My clean California chrome bumper was mangled in a stupid traffic accident in the summer of 2006, and the current pitted, chrome painted rusty one just isn't cutting it.
DQ: What would you like to change?
DY: Not so much change, but improve. I want to go to a distributerless ignition system (Ford EDIS most likely), and get a pair of fiberglass bumpers chromed and installed. I would also like to pull the cheesy header that is on it and have something nice made up with an EGT sensor port. Then comes dyno tuning, which is something I wish I had gotten to sooner.
DQ: Anything else?
DY: I'd love to finally paint the inside of the car. Doing something really weird would be ideal here; my current idea is a black base then covered in paint pen graffiti writing.
DQ: What would you do to the car if money were no object?
DY: First off, some lightweight 13x7 wheels that could fit 235/45-13 V710 tires underneath for hill climbing, and then another couple sets of 205/60-13 Toyo RA-1s for tarmac rally. Having a second engine would be great, but this time a large displacement L for use at NASA rally sport events and have a hotter L18 built for Targa use (they require the use of "stock" blocks). Then a lightening program: lightweight hood and trunk, gut the rear doors and install plastic rear side windows. Far off in the future, big power from a modern engine would be nice, but I am sure even with the power it has now, it is more than capable of being put in a ditch, so we shall see if it lasts long enough to reach that point (cross fingers!)
DQ: What is your favorite place to drive this car?
DY: Newfoundland and Oregon. The SF bay area has some nice roads too, but they are too busy to drive very spiritedly. Once you've tasted real closed roads, not much else can compare.
DQ: What are the immediate racing plans for the car?
DY: 2008 will hopefully see the car in its first true stage rally: the all-tarmac NASA Idaho Rally in June, and then onto a season of hill climbs. I hope to make it to at least three this year, including Bible Creek, Larison Rock and Cascade Lakes. I also plan on lapping Laguna Seca in the winter/early spring, and then hitting other California circuits as time allows.
DQ: What about long-term plans?
DY: Longer term competition goals will be to make it to Rally Tennessee, which is the other pure tarmac rally on the NASA calendar. Dream rallies would be a return to Targa Newfoundland, or any of the other global Targas, and Rally Barbados. I've said it before that if I wrinkle the car up bad enough it will start racing on gravel, so I'm already putting a bright spin on a potential bad future situation.
DQ: Anything else you’d like to mention?
DY: Yes, a huge contributor to the building of this car–my long-time (10-years this October!) girlfriend Gillian. Without her help, the car wouldn't be what it is today. She's been consistently supportive of my hobby (even when I was building a motor in our studio apartment!) and appreciates the car for what it is–something I have created and am really proud of. She's also contributed nearly every birthday and Christmas to the upgrading and improving of the car. She really deserves a lot of credit, and her patience and understanding should stand as a shining example for all of womankind.
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