Why did you buy a Z?

[GarageRatt13]

I thought it would be kinda cool to hear everyones story on why they bought a Z and what got you interested in them.

 

For me it was when I was in school as a kid I used to go to the mall after school with my friends and play Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune. I saw the Devil Z and I instantly fell in love with the car because of its style and pure driving experiance. After that i had to own one and now i have two .

[lester]

I always wanted a Mustang as a kid.. I searched and searched for a 65-73 Mustang, but obviously living in Ohio, and only being 8 years old I couldn't find any that were in the budget or worth fixing. My dad was the one who got me into them. His first car was a z, and he told me how great of a car they were, and it went from there. I bought my z when i was 8 years old and have been restoring it sense. I am now 20. I have gotten my dad back in to z's as well, he now owns one that I found for him and talked him into buying. I have also parted out 2 on my own just last summer. At one point last year we had 4 z's. I guess were just a Z family. Long story short, I love my z, and glad it is my first car over a Mustang. I wouldn't change a thing!

Edited April 18, 2012 by lester

[Josh280z]

It was a complete fluke, I was looking for a cool car with a 5 speed. Looked for ages, then I was out drinking one night. I happened across my current car in complete disarray, turns out it was my friend's friend and I bought the car through him. I've been working on it for several years, haven't looked back. I never regret buying it. I look forward to when I get an s30 though.

[BluDestiny]

My friend had blown his motor in his families 280zx 2+2. it was taking up space in his driveway. At the time I had just learned to drive and he knew I wanted a nissan of somekind. He gave it to me for free.

 

After doing plenty of research I thought the coolest thing would be an early s30 that didn't need to be smogged ( after failing several times with my friends 280zx). Bought a 260z in fantastic condition and DD'd that for about 2 years, then threw in a semi built L28 with cam webers etc... lost the fun in it since it constantly gave me problems.

 

Last summer I crashed my friends 280zx, and bought a coupe shell and swapping everything over and did more mods to the suspension. Sold my 260z that was cool, fun, better looking, and more valuable to fund the 280zx.

 

Eventually I'm going to go back to a s30, early 240z and do it right when I have the time and money.

[kiwi303]

I like the long nose look, my great uncle had a 280zx once for a while before he died, and I've like the RX7 and Supras that are more common here.

 

I was shopping around for a project car and it was a toss up on whether I found a 924, 944, 928, supra, RX7 or Z/ZX first for the best price.

 

I got the '79 ZX with no engine, a dual exhaust with v8 crosspipe fitted and a box of misc swap parts including prototype SBF mounts and engine bits. All for $350. back in 2008. It is still in the hay shed at my mothers farm in NZ with an Aussie Ford Cleveland block and 302 crank from a Falcon/Fairmont plus various parts like 2bbl intake and air cleaner, 17x7 Boyd Coddington (sp) billet alloys and new front lower arms with poly bushings.

 

I'm in China so can't work on it currently. but when I get back, I'll still have my toy to wrench on.

[Owen C.]

I was just about out of highschool and I had a list of cars I was looking for. A mopar a-body, karman gia or oval window beetle and a s30. It was kind of a convoluted list but I wanted something different but not so obscure id never find parts. I was looking up chevy corvair spyders at school and I found a 72, s30 for sale in Tucson, az for 800 bucks. It was mine and on my trailer home 9 hours later. I later sold it to a friend of mines dad so I knocked his sister up and he gave it back to me as a "wedding" present...and these are the days of our lives.

[MazerRackham]

My last got was a sloshbox, and reeked of exhaust. My mechanic half assed a couple of the job on the car so the v-belts would screech at high speed (top speed was like 70 mph LOL.) When I started dating my girlfriend I couldn't bear picking her up in that thing so I did what I could to sell it. Got rid of it for a decent price. 1500, and used that money towards a not too bad 280z. I got lucky that it was the best of the bunch (out of the 240s, 260s and 280s IMHO) but unlucky in year. Its a 1976 so I don't look forward to moving to California and having it smogged. I began my search for a new vehicle with a 280z because of the Russ Chimes music videos.

Edited April 18, 2012 by MazerRackham

[SleeperZ]

I loved the look from the first time I saw a 240Z. Then when I got into autocrossing in college, I met a fellow with a yellow 240 running a stroker with triple Mikunis in prepared or modified class, and fell in love with the sound and look all over again. As soon as I got a real job, I got my 280Z.

[Vintage-TechZ]

I loved the look from the first time I saw a 240Z. Then when I got into autocrossing in college, I met a fellow with a yellow 240 running a stroker with triple Mikunis in prepared or modified class, and fell in love with the sound and look all over again. As soon as I got a real job, I got my 280Z.

 

I love these stories..............

 

I was turning 16 in about a year and had mowed enough lawns to qualify for my dad's demands/requirements to get a car.

 

1)-Cash in hand for entire car price of choice.

2)-12 months Insurance in hand.

3)-Enough spare cash to cover emergency repairs and one full set of tires.

 

I always drew Ferrari's,Jag's and racing exotics.....but knew I'd probably never obtain the wealth for one. The Datsun S30 240-Z was to me, the sexiest lines for what I could swing. I researched everything I could find on them (pre-internet)....and decided I needed an early 70'.

 

Looked everywhere for months and then saw one on a flatbed trailer heading back into town......pulled a illegal u-turn on a four lane divided highway ,went through the ditch median...and chased it all the way to a Toyota dealership and inquired within. They sold it to me for sticker price- (original). The owner had traded it in towards a 4x4 Toy. Sr22 truck after his son died who had originally purchased it.

 

This would have been 1978... the car was 8 years old. I'll be 50 this November and still have it. But not for long...I no longer have the space to store it and it needs a big effort restore to be worth anything again. I fear the rust devils have gone too far to save her.....a once rust free early 70'. For-shame.

 

It did fuel me for much modding and fabrication skills at an early age though....and about 30+ restores over time...most all Z'z. Here is what she looked like by the time I was 19 and the 280-zx turbo was out. I had ZX turbo rims, Semi-blk. drip rails, color matched bumpers and door pulls, shaved headlight buckets, dual Vitaloni mirrors (oem maker for Lamborghini), Hella fogs,Blk. side marker light trim , bumperette delete, And custom one-off tail light lens, Recaro leather seats and matching Dino steering wheel and door panels... and my first engine swap. The 2.8 Et efi engine and five-speed. Euro bushings throughout larger front and rear swaybars...2.5" exhaust and dual slashed tips along with stainless steel dash and console bits..

[Leon]

When I was about 19, I told my dad that I wanted a project car. I really enjoyed working with my hands and cars were always a passion of mine. It runs through my blood, many members of both sides of the family had been machinists and engineers.

 

I had mentioned my notion to my dad casually and really didn't think much of it, not even about what kind of car I'd want. That summer, my dad tells me that he found two Porsche 944's for a good price, $900. I instantly got excited! However, the cars were sold before we had a chance to go out and look for them. For the rest of the summer, I trawled Craigslist for a cheap 944 since my summer job didn't allow for spending much. I loved the look of the car and through my research it seemed to be a fun, light and nimble car. By the end of the summer, I had checked out just one 944 which just didn't work out.

 

I went back to school, fantasizing about 944's of course, until the next summer came around. I was working and saving up so that I would be ready to jump on a 944 as soon as it popped up. Finally, I had found it, a black '87 944 advertised for $900. I offered the guy $700 and he said he'd take it. I told my dad and he was all for it, so we set out for the hour-long trek that weekend to check it out.

 

I called the owner and told him that we are on our way. The excitement was building mightily! We reach the house, and I spot the car with joy in my eyes as we pull into the driveway. We roll our windows down and say hello as the owner approaches. The reply was not what I expected, "hey, I just sold the car. Sorry." I see some guy walking to his truck with the pink slip in hand.

 

 

As quickly as we pulled in, we pull out of the driveway and drive an hour back home. As upset as I was, my dad helped me understand that it just wasn't meant to be, and as I've come to find out, he was right!

 

After my disappointment, I vowed to expand my search. Having only really looked at one 944 within the last year, I was a bit frustrated. This was partially due to not having a big budget and also my dad not having much time to come out and look at a car with me. So the search expanded, I'd look for 944s, 928s, even browsed the 924 listings from time-to-time, which did nothing but convince me not to get a 924. I thought about what I liked in the Porsches and expanded the search to "something with rear-wheel drive, a manual transmission and preferably with a hatchback". This included mostly MkIII Supras and Z-cars.

 

I noticed a trend in my searches, the Z-cars seemed to be the best car for the money within my criteria. Not knowing much about Z-cars, I didn't discriminate between 240Zs, 280Zs or ZXs, however the possibility of owning a 280Z or ZX was quickly decried by my father who declared them too heavy and a burden to have to smog. Thus my Z-car selection was whittled down to essentially just the 240Z, as I hadn't really known about the 260Z at the time.

 

I'd graze on Craigslist, multiple times a day. It was becoming a hobby, bordering on obsession!

 

Finally, there she was, a blue '71 240Z advertised for $800. I decided to drive down and check it out myself, as to not get held up by my dad. I made the 30 minute trip and met with the owner. He was also a young guy and he had a clean MkIII Supra Turbo in the garage! I checked the car out, it didn't run although it apparently did 6 months ago until "the rear carb started acting up", had a cracked headlight bucket so that the air dam sagged down to the ground, had rust holes in the rocker, dog legs and fender and was covered in dirt and cobwebs. Needless to say, I had second thoughts and decided to go home and sleep on it.

 

My head was clearer the next day, and it just wasn't worth the $800. I decided to throw a number at the owner: $200, although it seemed outrageous even to me to offer that much money for a complete car. I called the owner that evening and explained my concerns to him. He was willing to go to $400 so I retorted with, "okay, sorry about taking your time, but I'm going to have to turn you down". He seemed surprised that I didn't take the offer, but said thanks, and I was back one my way to wandering around on Craislist.

 

I explained my decision to my girlfriend, and she was surprisingly adamant in telling me that "it's just $400, if it doesn't work out it's not a big loss". That girlfriend is now my fiancee . I excitedly called the owner back up and told him, "I'll take it for $400 and will be there shortly!" I drove down with my girlfriend, AAA card in hand, and filled out the paperwork for my first car purchase. The tow truck driver was enthusiastic about towing the Z. He hoisted it up onto his truck and his first question was, "you gonna put a 350 in it?"

 

I quickly hopped in my car and followed him, gazing proudly at my newfound joy. I got home just before the truck and prepared the driveway, making my mom, brother and sister curious. As the Z was being unloaded from the truck, my dad drives up the hill, exclaiming in a tone with a combination of surprise, doubt and excitement, "what the hell are you doing?"

 

Here it is the next morning, after the first wash:

 

 

That Z is gone now, but many of her parts still lay in my garage waiting to be used!

Edited April 18, 2012 by Leon

[luseboy]

When I started kindergarten, I went to a school near my house that had 2 entrances. We took the front entrance almost every day as it was more on the way. One day there was road work and we had to take the back way. I had recently become aware of cool cars, and had gotten a small die-cast of a 68 camaro ss. I loved the die cast and thought it was the coolest car ever. We stopped at a stop sign, about to turn into the back entrance and there in a driveway was a really clean (brown though) 240z. I was instantly interested in it, and proceeded to ask my dad about 5 billion questions. He told me that they were cool looking cars, but slow and shitty, and just not good cars. I would continue to watch it for many many years and would see one occasionally on the roads, always admiring them. When I was 15 going on 16, looking for my first car, I had been looking into what car I wanted. I went through a phase of looking for an old car (wanted a 77 trans am) and came across a 73 240z with a 350. I wanted it really badly and tried to convince my mom but she just wasn't having it. So I let it go and a few months later bought a 2003 mini cooper s, which I was very excited about. After a few weeks I had already figured out how everything worked, and was pretty comfortable working on the car (first car i ever worked on). I loved the car for about a year, modding it whenever I could, really happy to have it. Eventually I started finding build threads for old cars and thought it would be so cool to have a project car. I was only making about 50 bucks a week (enough for gas and lunch one day) so I had nowhere near the budget to build a car. After a few more months, work stepped up dramatically and I realized I could probably build a car. So I began the search. I decided to go with a pre '75 car to dodge smog laws. Went through a few ideas of what I wanted; 914, celica, corolla, 510, OG mini. I had written off Z cars since I wanted something really fast and fun, and my dad had always said that they were slow. My GF's dad set me straight. He told me about his friend who had a 240 with triples and stiffer sway bars (otherwise stock) and said it was the fastest car he'd driven, and the funnest. So I started looking into it, found this site, and started saving. After a month or so I got an L28 and started rebuilding it. Then a month after that, on my 18th birthday, me and my dad rented a trailer and drove about 3 hours to pick up my '73. It's been about 7 months since then, and I've gotten quite a bit done. I'm close to halfway done with my restoration. I've since set my dad straight, gotten overly excited at every Z I see, and put all my money towards the Z. The brown Z by my old school is still parked in the same spot, and still really clean. I've never seen it driven or talked to the owner, but it is definitley kept up, and super clean. My friend lives on the same street so I drive by it fairly frequently.

[thehelix112]

These stories are great.

 

My own, when I was 15 my dad told me that Datsun 1600s (510 in the US) were great little cars. I got more and more interested in them over time, and as soon as I got my license shortly after turning 18 I bought two of them, planning on making one a daily driver and one a project car. Well the daily driver I had trouble registering being a cut'n'shut car, and the project car got sent to paint jail (it's still sitting in my folks shed in undercoat 12 years later ). During this I got frustrated that I was driving a shitbox when I wanted another Datsun to drive.

 

My PhD supervisor mentioned that one of his friends was selling his 260Z. I said I didn't like the sausage look of them (almost all 260Zs in Oz are 2+2), and he assured me it wasn't a sausage car, so I went to look at it. His friend had restored it previously, but the paint was all crows-footed, and the engine was not running (blown head gasket).

 

I remember thinking, what a piece of crap, until I got in and sat in the drivers seat of the dead car in his driveway. Instantly I thought, actually, this is kinda cool. I loved the driving position, and the space, the steering wheel, the gauges, the long bonnet, everything. I bought it for $1000, and towed it home. 2 months later (I work slow) I'd replaced the head gasket, and gotten it registered. I daily drove the car for another few years, while collecting bits for a turbo conversion. I finished that conversion around 2005:

 

That thing was a hoot to drive, but my first expedition onto the track I forgot to check the oil, and a couple of corners with 0 oil pressure apparently doesn't do good things. The engine held together just fine, but a couple of track days later the pressure was dropping and dropping. Barely made 10psi oil pressure at 4500rpm. I remember that well because I drove it 3 hours home like that, thinking it'd blow up at any second.

 

Shortly thereafter I met my wife and moved to California, leaving the now-in-need-of-bearings turbo zed behind.

 

After a year or so here I got a stock 280Z, and have been working on it ever since:

 

Dave

Edited April 18, 2012 by thehelix112

[GarageRatt13]

These are some great stories guys! I think there is something different about us Z owners that other car owners dont have. We just have a sort of special bond with these cars that I havnt seen in any other car ive owned or seen anyone own. Everyday when I get in my Z I fall in love with it all over again.

[Josh280z]

Everyday when I get in my Z I fall in love with it all over again.

 

So true

[Tony D]

First one I saw was a gold 78 280Z owned by my little brother's friend the local lawyer's kid. I remember what I said when I saw it, walking back from my 62 VW Microbus: "I don't like it, the nose is too long!"

 

9 months later I was driving down Rte 58 in Okinawa in a newly-purchased 79 Toyota Carina GT and saw a 1975 Fairlady Z(S) on the lot.

 

Went to take a look, in "ZG Maroon" it was a one owner car with 98,000KM on it. Plastic Mats, and an elemental tinniness not there in the Lawyer Kid's 280Z. The car seemed far more elemental, less luxury, and more sporty. I fired it up and the 2 liter was ready to roll. I bought it by trading in my Carina and writing three post-dated checks for the next three pay days ($240 each...how appropriate!)

 

Now, it has to be said, in all honesty that I bought that car for $2400. There was another one just 1KM up the road at another lot. It was light silver, and was a 1971. It was for sale at the equivalent price of $3200. But it was a 71, meaning I needed to inspect it EVERY year. And why the hell did I want that car when the 75 had a two-year inspection left and was newer. And just as sharp looking.

 

Of course, I never looked under the hood. Nor did I pay attention to the badges on the grille or fenders. Hell, I didn't even realize the tachometer went to 10,000 rpms. Yeah, why would I want that old 71?

 

Hey, "Whats a Fairlady Z 432 anyway?"

 

[tibbs.james]

I had been at work for 6 months in my first real job and it was time to get a project car.

 

I was originally looking for an MA70 Supra and had trouble locating one that was complete or not wrecked, one afternoon my dad gets me to come over and he shows me the online auction with my Z31 pretty beat up and done 300,000kms with blown shocks a leaky manifold and brakes that didn't go.

 

However the body close enough for government work and it was complete and it ran, i figured for the ugliest car i had ever seen but i went along with my old man to take a look at him. As a 17year old kid i sat in it, drove it down the block and figured it for the coolest car i had ever been in.

 

I am now 23 and have only driven it for short periods during school, work, moving and getting married just recently.

 

Its pretty slow and only does 5.5 to 60mph but its the only one in town and it makes a good sound when you stamp on the party pedal. I won't be satisfied until it can take corners like my E30 Bimmer could.

[GarageRatt13]

Wow Tony D thats crazy that you passed up a Z 432!! I would kill for one of those! Its crazy to think back on stuff that we passed up because we didnt know any better

[josh817]

I wanted a two seated so I didn't have to be that guy who car pooled everyone around. Eventually I became the opposite, that guy who no one wanted to ride with, if they wanted to live. I'm still here aren't I?

[Trevor]

When I was 12 I had a newspaper route. I had to carry 65 papers on a bicycle every day through sun, wind, rain..... Other carriers would meet at a central "station" (my parents' house) to get their papers for adjacent routes.

My friend's dad had a green 260Z. On rainy days his dad would drive him around his route with the hatch up, sitting in the back, throwing plastic-baggied newspapers out the back onto his customer's driveways....seemed like a practical vehicle to me at the time.

[240zip]

best looking Japanese sports car that a tall person (6' 3") can fit in ... not to mention it's fun to beat the muscle cars on the curves.