> It must have been great kicking round El Segundo in those days - depending on
> when you were there, Pete Brock's BRE changed to 'Interpart' in January 1972.
> BRE operated from 137 Oregon Street, while Interpart opened up at 100 Oregon
> Street. Kirk Allegro, a BRE employee, raced a roadster with Interpart
> sponsorship in the mid-1970s, and I'm told that there were always racers
> turning up at
> the shop looking for the latest Datsun Comp or BRE parts.
Went by there on my way to (new AF assignment ) Hawaii in January '73.
Bought then new Mulholland springs, Konis and sway bars, actually from Pete
Brock, and arranged shipment to Hawaii. While Pete and I were talking a
short, slight, balding gentleman in a grey three piece suit walked in, set a
large Nissan parts box containing a 4 cylinder head on the counter and stood
quietly by while Pete and I talked.
It was only some time later, after seeing his picture in a book or magazine,
that I realized that this "older" gentleman was Dick Roberts. I don't think
any of us realize how small the Datsun/Nissan USA operation was during this
period. It's influence on the import market, more particularly on the
performance aspect of Japanese imports, was completely out of proportion
with the size of the company. The activities and contributions of the the
Brock and Bob Sharp groups certainly had a lot to do with that, too.
Yeah, it was fun playing with the cars then, and continues to be so. Or it
will for us if we ever get our place built.
FWIW,
Ron
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