Auto News 5

Peter Brock is strapped to his racing seat by a five-point harness. In the gutted cockpit, he's surrounded by a geeky paradise of analog gauges and rocker switches poking out of a black-crinkle instrument panel and center console that look like they belong in an old-school race car. (Actually, the material comes from a pickup truck bedliner that he cut to fit.) The Datsun 510 sedan is painted a silvery shade of green that blends seamlessly with the majestic firs and pine trees that dominate the landscape around Brock's home near Seattle. The camouflage will come in handy if any cops are around, because, at the moment, Brock is hammering the throttle hard enough to break loose the rear wheels in third gear. But how, you ask, does a puny Datsun four-banger spin the tires at 4000 rpm? It doesn't. Which is why Brock fitted the sedan with a small-block Chevy V-8 and dubbed the sleeper Datzilla.