I downloaded some mods for rFactor 1 but i can only play the mod and not the vehicles that were originally in the game. Is that normal with mods???
Your game has probably defaulted to the mod "league" which of course only shows its own cars. Go to Customize on the main menu, then click Player, then click Racing Series. You should see the original base game leagues as well as "All Cars and Tracks". If you click that one you should see your mod cars + the original cars.