It all started in 1972. My family had just moved to Bell, California. I was in third grade and used to see these little Datsuns flying around the neighborhood. They were lowered with racing stripes and fast. I thought they were cool little cars. So in 1975 I was walking home and I saw a '69 Army green 510 come by; vrrroom. I said, man that thing was going fast, then all of a sudden it makes a left turn up my street. I said, no way, and started booking over there. It belonged to the guy that just moved in five houses down. So I came up to the guy and said, man that car is cool. He asked if I knew what this is and I said yeah it's a Datsun 510.
His dad had an Austin Healey with a Ford 289 so they were always wrenching. He said "next time we're working do you want to come on over and help?" I said, sure. So that next Saturday I went over and it was awesome. I helped out and learned a lot; that first hands-on experience was the spark.
It wasn't until my senior year in high school that I got my first 510. I dug working on it. All I had was a vise, a file, a drill and a handsaw but I could make all kinds of stuff for it. After high school I went to Cal State Long Beach in the Industrial Design program.
I met Tod Kaneko in 1982 when I was a freshman at CSULB. At that time I had my license suspended for street racing. I got six tickets in a week. Ouch. So I had to ride my bike the 21 miles one-way to school or take the bus. I was on the bus one day and I see this bitchin 510 blast by, just screaming. It pulled into the school parking lot. Man, I missed my first three classes walking the lot looking for that Datsun.
I found his car and put a note on it; he never called me. So I saw it again and figured he was a Monday, Wednesday, Friday student so I waited at the school entrance and sure enough he rolled in and I ran him down ... said "Yo, I'm Mario and I'm into 510s." He was shy, nervous, low key and I was hyper, flying off the hook. He said, "uhh, okay but I gotta go to class." I said fine I'll walk you to class. He told me about his 11-second, 2.3-liter turbo four Pinto, motorcycles all kinds of stuff. I got to know him, did some work for him and we're good friends now 23 years later and we both still roll dimes.
Anyway, my materials teacher had a student, Matt Wise, who had just opened a race shop, Patrick Racing in Gardena and he asked my teacher if he knew someone in the program that was into cars and interested in a part-time job. We did work for some guy named Rahal; I didn't know who he was back then. We also did stuff for the Andrettis and I knew that name. We did a lot of road racing stuff but not drag racing, which by that time was my gig.
In about '92 when the Honda thing was starting to blow up Matt closed the shop. I went to DP Racing in Huntington Beach. Don Oldenberg was a big 510 guy. When I was at CSULB we toured a composite manufacturing facility. When we pulled in I saw this 510 on a trailer and snuck out from the tour and ran down the block and ogled that 510. That was the first time I met Don. I learned a lot from Matt and Don and use those lessons everyday.
I busted out on my own in 1992. I had a mobile turbo system service. I rolled a Mazda RX-7 and loaded my band saw, welder, grinder and the necessities and built turbo kits on the road. I did the system on Phil Lee's MR2 which was featured in Turbo. Later he wanted us to open a shop together. I said no. He said he knew of a building that was just $800 ... 1,700 feet for $800 bucks. I said okay.
I must have turbo'd 100 Hondas. I turbo'd Archie Medrano's car and he was faster than anyone else. (Archie held the fastest Honda title when it was in the 11-second range.) He was on top for a little while but he was cheap. He didn't want to upgrade turbos, intercoolers; upgrade everything and the guys stepping up passed him by.
Little by little we started making money and buying better and better equipment. I got a better band saw, sold the old one. I also got a $7,000 welder for $2,500 from a guy who had never plugged the thing in. I keep learning about welding. That's how TSR Fabrications (Toe Speed Racing) keeps growing.
I am an artist at the core; drawing, painting stuff like that. I put the same expectations into my welding; always getting better. My ultimate goal is to weld like a robot; that kind of exactness, that kind of consistency. Some new technology comes out and I am all over it. But for advice I always go to the old timers. They always have some tricks up their sleeves.
When it comes to equipment I am a diehard tool-a-holic. I love good tools; old aircraft stuff to new software. I am always cruising swap meets for hidden gems. Take my welding helmet, it will trip people out. Only old timers know this lens was made by Bausch & Lomb and is the same lens that was on Neil Armstrong's visor when he walked on the moon. It's called Cool Blue and I got from a guy who used it for 45 years. People that know what this is always want to buy it. You can see everything. It is almost like welding without a shade. The smaller lens setup was $200 in 1972!
The 510 Phenomenon
There is something about a square box like the 510; its proportions, its sharp edges. Cars go round, cars go square, they go in and out of style to the mainstream. But 510 enthusiasts have never wavered. We just had a big swap meet at the Nissan building and 800 people and 110 510s showed up. It was mad; parts, cars, parts cars, everything was for sale.