Youngins: How'd you end up with a Z?

[LowCarbZ]

Spawned by the "How old are we" thread.

 

How'd so many young 20 somethings end up with cars 10+ years older than them? Post your age and your reasons for your Datsun purchase.

 

At 24 for me the Datsun has just always been that realisitic dream car. I've always been the definition of a "car guy". I can tell you what car is behind me at night based on the headlights and what's approaching based on taillights. I've always worked on my own vehicles and when I was a kid as soon as I could walk I never left the house without a hot wheels car clenched tightly in each fist.

 

Combine that with the stories my parents used to tell me about the 240Z they owned way back when. Dad was always avid about how well it handled and few cars he'd driven compared.

 

I've always fawned over such vintage cars as the 68-69 Camaro of course the 66 Cobra, Chevelles, a Sunbeam Tiger is high on the list, maybe even a 70 Monte Carlo with the 454. But few cars ever seemed realistic due to the price point and the cost of putting fuel through them alone would bankrupt you.

 

So recently I found myself wanting to stray away from the lifted Jeeps for toys. I've owned and modified a few of them. Having raced motocross for over a decade I desperately wanted to pick up a crotch rocket (the Honda RC51 in particular *drool*).

 

But being that I didn't want to be selfish (or dead) I opted to pick up a sports/fun car so the girlfriend (who I own a house with) and I could take off on weekends together. The search criteria was pretty simple. It had to be 2dr, manual, RWD and not unrealistic on fuel. So this killed the muscle car idea. In my search I looked at newer 240SX's all of which were rotted or had the crap driven out of them along with many other cars. I then tried to hunt down a Datsun. And lucky me the timing was right and I came across the one I bought.

 

Now a good friend of mine is shopping for a street bike again for spring and there's a good deal on a RC51 for me. I'm really biting my tongue to keep from buying it hahaha.

[CArFAn]

I'm 19. Got the 73' 240z when i was 17. I got it because it was 100$ and i knew that it was something that i would like working on and driving everyday.

Pre-smog, light, rwd, good mpg, cheap parts, great z community(well some), very easy to work on, and mines is down right sexy.

[jasper]

I was 19, she was 4yrs old.

('74 early 260)

It was love at first sight. In 1981 she hit a pole.(RIP)

In 2007, I'm back in the saddle again. ME>>> 50yrs old come march.

[MJLamberson]

Im 17 now, 18 in april for what its worth, But I bought my first Z when I was 16. I loved cars, But I didnt know anything about them really. I spent a summer working as a lifeguard to earn money for my first car, I only had 800 bucks by the time I started shopping. I had no idea what a Z was, had never seen one or anything that I remember.

 

Searching on craigs looking at any car that was priced 1,000 or less I saw one, a rusty old s30, I had to have one, I didnt know what engine, or, well, anything, but I had to get my hands on one of those cars. Honestly it was love at first sight. well I did a lot of googling and such and learned more and more about them which only made my decision to buy one more solid, despite the fact that he people I knew knew about cars told me not to get one as a first car.

 

Found one for 800 bucks, it was auto but I knew that could be changed, Best day of my life, the guy ended up giving it to me for 700 although I didnt try to talk him down any.

 

I remember my first "repair" on the car was changing the fuel line connections, and man did I feel accomplished, I sure have come a long way, and so has my car.

 

Ah, man, I could write a book about all the details about getting that Z, the fights with my parents, The hard time I had saving the money I earned. I honestly made an envelope with pictures of Zs on it for my money so everytime I wanted to spend my money I had to look at what I was saving for.

[rturbo 930]

I wanted one for a few reasons.

 

1) Parents had one when I was a kid, and still do.

2) Austin's (240hoke) car.

3) Cost/fun factor. Low cost, lots of fun.

4) I wanted something I could get my hands dirty on (and I did).

 

Of course, now I just want to drive the damn thing, and conveniently, it's in a few hundred pieces.

 

I have my eye on a nice original 240z (or two!... ok probably not) that I'm going to try to buy this summer... plans for it? Driving. Lots of it. Who knows if I'll actually be able to afford it though.

[Challenger]

I bought my first datsun when I was 10. It was a Datsun Pickup. A family friend was going to help me "fix it up". As I started to work on it some I found out it was expensive when your that age and I wanted something cool that I could put money into... say a sports car.

 

Ended up friends of ours had bought a 78 280z 2+2 from the autoshow new and then let it sit for 11 years in their street. Gave it to another friend of ours who got it running and sold it to me when I was ~11. Bought it for $800 which was almost my entire lifes savings at the time.

 

I just turned 18 a couple weeks ago and its almost done (havent driven it faster than 35mph or past the school parking lot across the street). 7 years is such a long time to put all your money into something and really see no fruits. Once its done Im sure it will be worth all the work and money... it better be.

[MJLamberson]

I bought my first datsun when I was 10. It was a Datsun Pickup. A family friend was going to help me "fix it up". As I started to work on it some I found out it was expensive when your that age and I wanted something cool that I could put money into... say a sports car.

 

Ended up friends of ours had bought a 78 280z 2+2 from the autoshow new and then let it sit for 11 years in their street. Gave it to another friend of ours who got it running and sold it to me when I was ~11. Bought it for $800 which was almost my entire lifes savings at the time.

 

I just turned 18 a couple weeks ago and its almost done!!

 

Buying a car at 11! dang you got a nice head start, lol.

[LowCarbZ]

One thing i've learned from owning and working on the Datsun and many Jeeps; apparently i'm a glutton for punishment

[jknc90]

I'm 18, I bought my first z ($400 of saved up $$$) when I was 14 as a project to have done by the time i got my license. I knew nothing at all about the z car, I'd never even heard of a datsun That car turned out to be more rust and bondo than car. I later (summer before junior year, 16 or so) found another '72 in Pinehurst for $1600 (more savings).

 

It was awesome, bone stock but awesome lol. I drove it everyday junior year. The summer between junior and senior year I swapped the motor from the first car into the 2nd one because it was built up and I wanted some more power. Well, I got the "While I'm at it" bug and I've almost got it back on the road after a little over a year in hibernation.

 

Looking back, I've gotten discouraged and thought about selling it a couple of times. But I always knew that if I did, I would regret it. I can't wait to get it back on the road. Even if it isn't anywhere near as nice or fast as most of the cars here, it's mine and I love it.

[rturbo 930]

One thing i've learned from owning and working on the Datsun and many Jeeps; apparently i'm a glutton for punishment

You should see my Z's and my Jeep... more rust than you can imagine...

[blue72]

I'm 25.

 

I bought mine with a couple of goals in mind.

1: It had to be old enough to be smog exempt, but new enough to have some technological innovations like power disk brakes.

2: I had never owned a sports car and I just plain wanted one.

3: It had to be affordable to purchase and modify (okay, passably enough to delude myself at least)

 

My decision was between a new project car, or a pair of Edelbrock 60499 cylinder heads for my 454. I was a long distance from my other project car at the time, and I was jonesing for some wrenching.

 

I don't recall ever having seen a 240Z in person before I started searching craigslist for one. I did know it was a two seater sports car from the early seventies with power disk brakes up front, light weight, had independent rear suspension and thanks to HybridZ I found out how infinitely modifyable they are.

 

That was all I needed. The 2K that would have gone into some heads for my other project instead was my original budget for the car I'm coming close to completing now, and is the first car I purchased with my own hard earned cash. I'm sure my roommate/landlord at the time didn't actually suspect I'd tow home a $900 non-running old car out of the blue one day. I don't think anyone suspected I'd take on such a large project while going to school full-time and working 40+ hours a week.

 

I'm glad now that I didn't go with one of my other choices at the time, a '68-'72 Nova or an EG hatchback.

[80LS1T]

Well I'm 26 now but I've had mine since I was 17. When my father passed away when I was 17 it was willed to me. It's a California car so ZERO rust. At first I thought about just restoring it.........then I saw the infamous Darius 240Z video of him doing a burn out at like 60mph! I knew then that I had to have a fast car. Now I haven't gone nearly as extreme as him but I still absolutly love driving my car. It really makes me feel good when I'm parked next to my buddies 69' Camaro and I get more comments about my car than his!(and his car is beautiful!). This is by far the nicest and most mature car community that I have run across in my 10+ years of wrenching on cars!

 

Guy

[Kevin.pk]

I'm 23.

 

My sister's ex boyfriend at the time had a 280zx. I saw it. I liked it. I looked up old datsuns and found the s30. I immediately fell in love. Then i found out about dropping v8's in their light chassis.... I fell in love some more.

 

I got my 76 280 for $4000 at 16. It had fresh paint, nice white interior, and the stock 6. I drove it for about 8 months while upgrading the suspension and cleaning up the engine bay with much help solely from this website. I read A LOT more than I posted(still do). Then I proceeded to wrap it around a pole during a storm.

 

Within 7 months I picked up my second 280z, a 1978. This one was in no where near the shape the first one was. Purchased it for $500 and essentially tore it down to nothing. Put on all the suspension from the first one and did all the body work and painted it. Then it sat for 4 years while I was at college where I read more and more on hybridz since the car was 4 hours away. I finished school, got home, and threw a V8 in it. That 16 year old's pipe dream of a v8 powered Z car came to fruition last September when I first got to drive it on public roads.

[attworth]

I got my first 280ZX when I was 14. I mowed a lot of lawns to buy that 600$ rat trap. My dad helped me out with it and taught me a lot. I ended up selling it for 1200$, which I used to rebuild the motor in my Husky 125. I sold that for 1500$, and bought my second Z (77) when I was 15 for 600$. I could never get it running right, and my dad's job was real demanding at the time. I sold it for $1200 as a down payment for a 98 Nissan Sentra.

 

August of 06, I was 17 and my dad passed away. I received a big sum of money, and used about half of it for college, and the other half for an 88 turbo 300ZX in my dad's honor (we always thought a turbo car would be fun.) Oct. 14th it was totaled in a t-bone accident (not my fault.)

 

07 I bought an NA 87 car to swap all the good parts from my 88T into. I took it to the dealer to have the Tbelt changed, they put it on wrong apparently and ended up bending two valves upon first startup. I ended up selling it to my brother shortly thereafter.

 

Last summer I bought my 81 ZX for 550$ to start a new project in my dad's honor. I find it fitting that I'm back in nearly the exact same car as the one that my dad and I got started on. I find that it's a lot easier for me to do something if I do it for somebody else. He was always a mopar guy, so he hated my first Nissan. It didn't take long for him to fall in love with it. These days when I work on it, I know he'd be proud of the work I've done and would bend over backwards to help me with this project.

[91_4x4runner]

19 now.. Got my '78 280Z last year around this time...

 

I have no real idea why I chose the Z. I paid 800 bucks for a rust bucket. The car has a classic styling that you don't see on the road often. I'm probably about 4-5K in the hole now, including the car...

 

But when I get it running, it'll have all new struts/springs, discs on all fours, some pretty nice Rota RBR's and be in excellent mechanical shape. Then, the body will break and I'll transfer it to another Z.

[X64v]

Mine was my dad's car. He bought it (a '73) back in '79 or '80, drove it until '89, then it was parked. I grew up with it on jack stands in the back yard, always playing racecar driver in it, pretending to shift and steer. Once I was old enough I got it running again on my own, so my dad gave it to me. I've put 40k miles on it in 3.5 years (I just turned 20).

[Daeron]

I am 28 years old.

 

Before I turned three, I can remember riding around with my dad on sunday mornings when the rest of the family was in church (the old man is going to hell, heh) riding around in the Z (72 240) drinking chocolate milk and apparently (I have no recollection of this detail) going "vroom vroooom." My dad had moved to NC two months before my third B-day, and we followed him about a month after my B-day, so I was definitely 2+ years at the time.

 

So, that 72 was totalled by a ten point buck up in NC. My dad has since owned a 70, an 83 turbo, and an 86, all five speeds, all two seaters. My oldest brother had a 74 for a while as a teenager (at one point it was "mine" but it was a parts car by then) and an 82 for some time, youngest bro had an 86 for a while, and now my oldest and younger brothers co own a 240 racecar, and then tehres my uncle's cars. So Datsuns have been my lifeblood from before Day One.

 

So, I never had a car through high school because I didn't work enough, and I spent too much of my money on immediate funstuff to save for a vehicle. For graduation, my family all chipped in a few hundred bucks and got me a 92 Geo Storm hatchback. My reactions at the time were simultaneous: "They got me a CAR!!!" and "But its a GEO!!!" I loved that little Geo, but after a year it had gone through three timing belts, I had replaced the crank sprockets and woodruff key, and the sprockets and key had become worn again. 170K miles is, apparently, all a Geo has in it.

 

 

So, I was looking at saving some cash for a CRX or maybe a Mazda MX-3, or something along those lines, with a STICK shift instead of the godawful slushbox. I barely knew how to drive a stick at the time, but that never changes until you get your OWN car with a manual transmission.

 

Then, my baby showed up ON MY CORNER for $300. The guy two houses down was selling it to make back some money the owner owed him. It had a stripped out ignition switch (screwdriver key) and a four speed shift knob on it. I sat in it dickering with the shifter, and pushed it through the gears. Sure enough, no fif----WAIT A SECOND, its a FIVE speed!! okay, time to go see if I can borrow $100 from my dad.... Nothing since then has matched the excitement, anticipation, and sheer joy that I felt in the day or two between deciding to buy it, and actually owning it.

 

So, I figured I would finish this post off with another paragraph that begins "So."

[bobbyc]

26 now.....growing up we had a '71 xke.....i always got them confused when i was younger....when i started driving it was an easy choice. before i was 5 i had already been in 2 wrecks in Zs.....at the age of 26 i can tally up 3 total. in all 3 the cars were totaled...not like dented panel insurance totaled it...they were wheels missing, is that a z kinda totaled.

[ckolander]

Let's see, I'm 26, and I bought my 79 280ZX 2 years ago.

 

Growing up, my grandfather had 2 Z's, don't remember the years.

My uncle had 3, a 240, a 280, and an 81 280ZX.

My cousin had a 260.

 

Some of my favorite memories were us tearing around Hesperia, Victorville, and Phelan(where I lived with my Grandpa) in those cars. My grandfather sold all of his cars(27) before he moved to Arkansas and when he passed in 2006 I knew that I needed something to remember him by.

 

He was a grumpy old fart, but whenever we went out driving, he was the happiest man in the world. So I bought mine for $800, not running, and have had to put the rebuild on hold to take care of my kids. But it still sits there waiting for me to put some more money into it.....

[naviathan]

I'm 28 now, but I got my first Z in high school when I was 17. My father knew I needed another vehicle (sent my 65 chevy C10 end over end down a ditch). So he took me down to this sheister car lot and blew the sales guy off, walked me over to the side lot where the kept the "cars we just want gone". Of the 4 cars there the only viable options were a 1983 Toyota Celica GT with a 20R 4 cylinder and a black 1981 280ZX coupe automatic. I drove the Celica and it felt like it was too large and under powered. Drove the Z and it felt nimble, but a bit weak. Decided the Z was better looking and I could work on the weak part. $1000 off the lot and I was hooked on Z cars from then on out.