A complete newbie needs complete advice, please

Hi, having once played (or tried to play!) GPL when it first came out, I've never forgotten what a fascinating experience it was.
I'd like to consider racing sims with my new computer, but I am a COMPLETE beginner. I know almost nothing about computer terminology or technology.
My wife's offering me a new laptop, so firstly...what spec. do I need for it if I'm to enjoy a good playing experience?
Secondly, do I need a steering wheel/pedal setup and will they work with a laptop?
Thirdly, my interest is entirely in older cars, preferably pre 1967. Is anything available or projected?
Especially is there anything projected for really old stuff? Truly historic racing like ERAs, Frazer-Nashes, and yes, Invictas?

Many thanks in anticipation for your patience with an old vintage-loving Luddite!
Cheers,
Invicta

Welcome Invicta
Well first, nobody uses nicknames here, so it would be cool if you could edit your profile with your real name

About your laptop, almost any recent laptop would be powerfull enough to run most recent racing sims correctly. With any dual core processor, 2 giga (or more) of RAM and a good graphic card ( the ATI HD4850 card is probably the best price/performance choice today) it will be ok. The graphic card is the most important part for gaming.

Yes you will need a steering wheel, at least if you want to race online. Keyboard or gamepads aren't precise enough for simracing. The most popular steering wheel is the Logitech G25, I own one, it's really cool

I'm afraid there are not a lot of sims or mod reproducing pre 1967 racing. All I can think is the 1965 F1 mod for GPL and the Mercedes W196 (1955) mod for rFactor. There are also F1 1966 and 1969 mods on GPL, a 1970 World Sportscar mod on rFactor that may interest you.

Hello, many thanks for your reply. I can now go to the shop with something to tell them.
Because of cost I will have to stay with the keyboard or a stick for a while, but I'm not interested in online racing because my connection is so slow and later I will be living on a boat with no internet at all!

Shame about the lack of really early cars. I wish I knew how to "model" them on a computer. All my modelmaking is done from wood and resin on a workbench. I could make very accurate models if someone could scan them and animate them.

Cheers,
Martin