Datsuns and Jaguars hit the streets in dream weekend for motoring enthusiasts
Datsuns and Jaguars hit the streets in dream weekend for motoring enthusiasts
A LOT TO LOVE: Phil Wilkins and his wife Julie Wilkins from Wodonga with their 1966 Datsun Fairlady. Picture: KYLIE ESLER
It's a weekend of dreams for motoring enthusiasts with Jaguars and Datsuns headed to the region.
Hundreds of Jaguars - from pre-war SS models to the I-pace - will be on show at Gateway Lakes for the 50th Jaguar National Rally.
Just south, the roads will be bumper-to-bumper with Datsuns for the 33rd Datsun Roadster Nationals in Wangaratta's Apex Park.
Datsun enthusiast Phil Wilkins still remembers the feeling of of longing he had seeing the old models drive past when he was a teenager.
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Roadsters were built from 1963 to 1970 with three models, 1500, 1600 and the high-performance 2000.
"I'm a little bit of a tragic," he said.
"I grew up with these cars around and could never afford one so I suppose the boy-racer in me suggested when opportunity arose I should join the club.
"They're of my era, I was a teenager in the 60s drooling over the Datsuns."
He may have loved them in his teens, but Mr Wilkins only bought his first Datsun decades later in his early 40s.
Mr Wilkins said the Datsun Roadster Nationals were a great chance to get back to 'grassroots' motoring.
"There's no power steering, no power brakes, everything is made metal, there's no computers - just good of fashioned seat of pants motoring," he said.
Mr Wilkins said there'd be something for everyone to see at the Apex Park display from 9am to noon.
"We'll see a full range of 60s and 70s restored Datsun roadsters in varying guises from original to modified," he said.
"There's also a vast range knowledge and experience amongst those who have done up their cars, so if anyone is wanting to talk shop it's a great time.
"The cars circulate across the North East from Friday, through to Saturday and Sunday going from Wangaratta to as far as Mansfield and Whitfield and back to Wangaratta."
The 50th Jaguar National Rally runs at Gateway Lakes in Wodonga from Friday through to Monday, while the Datsuns will be displayed at Apex Park on Saturday from 9am to noon.