15th Annual Datslocos Show & Shine

For the past 15 years, Geno and the Datslocos crew have held a Datsun show and swapmeet in Northern California. They started with a simple neighborhood BBQ, but as word spread the show grew, and for the past several years it's been held in a mall parking lot in Manteca.

This year, some late-season rain threatened to keep people and their cars home, but a shift in the weather made for a dry and cloudy morning. I didn't get a count, but it looked like around 150 cars and trucks showed up, along with lots of vendors of both swap meet goods and new products for our classics.

 I brought the 510 of course, and filled the bed of my truck with a bunch of Datsun parts I've been hoarding for way too long. Most of my time was spent either talking to people about my car or selling parts, but I got a chance to sneak away and get some video of the show:

I also took a few pictures to share:

The 510 and the C20- I should really add some stripes to the truck to match the car!

My trailer full of junk

Miata powered. There was at least one vehicle at the show with the entire Miata chassis underneath- can't remember if it was this one though.

Fun fact: the hood on this car came with my 510! When I saw this car without a matching hood I knew they belonged together.

Right hand drive, lots of rare parts, and a perfect stance.

Datsun 510 + S2000 engine = super fun track car!

The Sunny pickup (or ute) was sold with only minor changes for over 30 years! This one has rectangular headlights, which makes it an 80s model if I'm not mistaken.

Everyone seems to know about 510s, but Datsun made a TON of other models through the 70s. This 710 (called a Violet outside the US) got a lot of attention at the show.

As usual, the Datslocos crew got judging handled quickly and did the awards ceremony early, leaving everyone free to either continue hanging out or pack up and hit the road before our luck with the weather ran out.  We chose the latter, loaded up the car and remaining parts, and were home by 2 just as the rain came back!

Couple of Updates to the Datsun 510

I made a couple of videos this week- just quick updates about a few project cars around the house and swapping some super-stretched tires off the rear of the 510.

Golden Week Kyusha Festival - Classic Japanese Car Show in the Bay Area

Northern California has an amazing car culture, but we just don't have enough shows of our own - especially when it comes to imports. Hopefully that's coming to an end with excellent shows such as this one! 

Held in Richmond at the Craneway Pavillion- an old Ford assembly warehouse overlooking the San Francisco Bay- the venue looked almost as good as the cars loaded in and around it.  This show was open to Japanese cars up to 1985, and ended up with a good variety to walk around and look at. Several vendors were set up as well, offering suspension, wheels, and other accessories to check out.

As usual I spent more time talking to people than taking pictures, but I still managed to grab a few:

Obviously, Datsun 510s dominated the show, but there were plenty of other makes and models to see.

Some cars that were too new to enter the show parked outside and showed off too:

This show was very well-organized- show up, get parked, hang out, and roll out by 4.  We made it back to Sacramento with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend- bonus!

Fingers crossed this show continues next year and beyond- there was room for expansion and I'm sure word will spread!