Kindred Philosophy - S30 Owners (+ generational Z family)

[zredbaron]

I've always wanted to see a philosophy thread on HybridZ.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how unique and quirky the Datsun following tends to be... and even more so how much we have in common despite are differences in backgrounds, etc.

 

There are a lot of generalizations that can be made about people drawn to American muscle cars, German performance and luxury, etc. In my experience Z owners tend to be very smart individuals relative to the general population as well as automotive enthusiast groups. (Clearly we have fine taste.)

 

This could go a number of philosophical directions, about kindred human passions, the living spirit of Mr. K, the brand of Datsun's emergence after WW2's bombs, the commonality between Z owners.... you could even present an esoteric possibility such as Z owners' souls tend to come from the same quadrant of the galaxy or something about how HybridZ [sometimes] epitomizes focused, collaborative human achievements.

 

All are of interest to me... but rather than lay my interests and thoughts out, I'd like to ask if others have had any similar observations and have pondered their implications or meaning?

[SleeperZ]

My attraction to the Z is more instinctual; I've loved the way it looks since I saw a brand-new one in 1973.  I work as an engineer and I have that sort of mind where I appreciate how well the Z does was it was designed to do, and how everyone has a take on how to make it do better, while still keeping it's amazingly simple good looks.

[Me.Dean_Yates]

I see it as this,

 

I had watched Wangan Midnight some years back after buying my first Z on the recommendation of the older guy I had purchased it from, he was a cool dude, probably mid to late 50s, his name was Chip. Anyway, I watched this anime series and thought, okay yeah that’s cool but also kind of corny with the whole “The car chooses its driver” and “the car talks to me” thing, but I noticed that the more I drove my car the more I noticed every little nuance, the more I FELT the the car. It was an amazing feeling. I’ve driven a few cars in the past, I even had a 77 Corolla 4 door that was a lot of fun to drive, but nothing really matched the way a z felt. I started to really think at that time that these cars really do have personalities of their own, and it takes certain people to really appreciate exactly what a z can do, to know how to push it’s limits, and how to really DRIVE it. In my opinion, z cars have unique personalities, and the people who love them have a matching personality. I can’t say that’s the same for other cars. I believe this understanding, whether known or subconscious, is what brings z drivers together. 

Edited April 17, 2018 by Me.Dean_Yates

[Michael]

This site began (now over 18 years ago!) as an antidote to “purism”.  Purism is a zealous affection for one particular brand or model, to the exclusion of all others, where one regards said brand as being inviolable, and any introduction of alternative components is “impure”.  In particular, in the late 1990s, the V8 swap was first becoming systematized, and this site was built as a home for persons interested in such a swap, without facing taunts and vitriol of detractors.  Later, we realized that it’s all too easy to become clannish and insular about the V8 swap itself, and so, all sorts of variants came to be welcomed.  Technology and tastes moved on.  Today, perusal of sub-forums immediately shows that the most popular thing is the turbo, quite often on a straight-6, whether from the original S30, another Datsun/Nissan, or an entirely different brand.

 

Mechanics aren’t known for being philosophers, but to the extent that there is a prevailing philosophy, I’d summarize it as being an easy-going minimalism and openness to alternatives.  The easy-going part, means that there’s no stark loyalty to any brand, year, national-origin or technology.  If it works, use it.  The minimalism means that the best approach is the simplest.  Why add complexity for complexity’s sake, let alone, for mere appearances?  The openness combines the aforementioned two.  If upon completing a swap, there comes to be a demonstrably better way of doing things, the old gets yanked, and the new attempted; unless of course one grows tired of too much tinkering, and has the maturity to accept things as they are.

 

Some of the most venerable members on this Forum have died.  Others have lost interest, faded away, or just gone silent.  I miss them, and I miss those heady early days, when seemingly by the hour there were new, insightful, stimulating posts – the repository of knowledge growing.  Forums themselves have changed.  Now there’s you-tube and facebook… online guides and quicky updates.  Who has time anymore, to craft lengthy and detailed essays?

 

My own car has now been in various stages of incompletion and completion, for some 20 years.  I’ve often lost motivation, and honestly, haven’t had much of it over the past couple of years.  But this stasis and somnolence are not permanent.  I look forward to renewed garage-sessions… and maybe even a recrudescence of spirited posting on this forum.

[seattlejester]

I think part of the reason I spend so much time here is that I enjoy the spirit of the board. 

 

The "there is no best" rule comes to mind. There really isn't, depending on your geographic location, your skill level, your support group, the best is highly variable. Throw in things like the activity and we find a different "best" emerges for each one and at that point there is no best. I think once you grasp that you realize on the other hand, there is no worst, something really might be an option for someone given their walk in life. You apply that to real life and to hate a group of people or to blindly follow another just isn't an option.

 

I love the ridiculously intricate discussions we can have. I even enjoy it when people argue even with me. Maybe not in the moment, as it is hard to look at where someone is coming from, to peel back the red or to calm your heart rate when someone points out you are wrong or has a vastly different opinion, but I think being able to calm down and maybe adopt someone else's perspective for a moment is something I learned on this board and am deeply thankful for.  Also you have to realize when people argue with you it means they care, maybe not for you, but they care about the topic enough to take a moment out of their day to point something out. Sometimes it isn't welcome for sure, but I think in the context of the forum where we refer to the FSM, diagrams, charts, tables, and manuals I appreciate that there are people who care who take the time to interject and even spend the time to back up their opinion whether I agree with it or not. Just knowing that there are people who aren't just mindless dolls puts a smile on my face as silly as that may be.