Pedro Francisco Checo

Not Just a Car, but a Datsun

Pedro Checo was a car buff, but in particular he was a Datsun 510 buff. As a teenager he owned a 510, and as he got older he yearned for another. Three years ago, he finally bought a 1972 Datsun 510 and began rebuilding it. He had a feel for the innards of cars. He could fix anything.

He joined the Datsun 510 Club, for it was a car with a keen following, and his plan was to compete in drag races. He entered two races last year, but the car needed more power. So he installed a more potent engine and was scheduled to get the horsepower measured on Sept. 30 before returning to the drag strip. Now the car sits idle in the garage.

Mr. Checo, 35, who lived with Marmily Cabrera and their two children, Jasen, 6, and Julian 1, in Queens, was a vice president of investment operations for Fiduciary Trust. He also had a son, Franklin, 17, from an earlier relationship. He hated the name Pedro, and Ms. Cabrera called him Frank, his nickname. At work, though, they called him Pete. He was Pete by day and Frank by night.

Something about cars seems embedded in the Checo genes. Jasen has about 250 Matchbox cars, and every time his mother takes him to the toy store, he wants another. "It's fine with me," she said. "They're only $1."