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

[OustedFairlady]

22 here. Bought my first Z at 18. Fugly faded green/primer 76 Z. Sold it after buying a 350Z, and now, 7 Z cars later, I have a '71. It was my first real car, since I'd been driving an SUV for a few years when I got the 280Z.

 

These things are my Corvette, if you catch my drift. Some guys collect Corvettes, or GM F-bodys, or what have you. I collect/keep Zs. Right now, one Z. So there you are.

[omgtofu]

was 23 last year, had owned a 240sx for ~5 years. originally wanted any pre-75 car within reach to byapass smog here in CA. had the best idea ever, get a Z. found it on c-list needing some work for 1600.

[Easy Does It]

In my upper 20s.

I saw a clean Z in my early teens, though it was the nicest car I had even seen. As I grew older, I took interest in motorsports and I realized how deep motorsports run in Z's history.

 

I also appreciate the fact the Zs have always been most affordable real sports cars, yet deliver the performance of the car's twice it's value.

 

So now I am able to afford em, so I got myself couple, few of em

[JZ33]

Im 21 now, but Ive always loved classic Japanese cars, and cars in general. I was saving to FINALLY get an old Z but then my friend was selling his RX7 (FC) so I felt bad and bought it... I didnt love it like I would love a Z so i put it up for sale or trade and traded for my 280Z, even though it was in worse condition. I have since brought her back to beautiful life and love driving and working on her. All of my other cars have bothered me with their little issues but i love all the little quirks with my Z. Not going to lie though... my first Z love was the wangan midnight Devil Z...

[cd1105]

I was 19 when i bought mine... i wanted an rx-7 fd or nissan skyline earlier(14-17) like all teens fascinated with japanese imports. One day i had money to buy my first car and my friend show me the car and said, any1 before 75 had no smog and i could drop whatever motor i wanted in there.Since then i was hooked. My mom had a non turbo Zx until i was about 5(then she got a maxima, then pathfinder), and my dad owned a 280z when he met my mom.So i was like might as well keep it nissan and i bought my 260z...i just turned 21 in march....

[jdizzy204]

I bought my first when i was 19. My uncle had an orange 74.5 260z sitting in my grandparents driveway for as long as i could remember. I fell in love with the car after spending almost everyday of my childhood running around that car.

[robmurt90]

Never seen a Datsun before or even knew they existed till I was 17 and working in a garage, one came in for inspection, which of course, failed b/c of rust and other issues. My father picked it up for $300 and ended up fixing it up for my younger brother. I checked them out on line and fell in love with the idea of a V8 swap. Couple years later (after I completely forgotting and got over the V8 S30S), a guy my mom knew wanted help to sell his car because he wasn't very technology savvy. So I drove over to his house to take pictures and get all the information, he opens the garage and what's inside? A 1971 240z with the 350/350 swap in it. I instantly fell in Love, he was looking for $8000, i was able to coax him down to $5000 and I picked her up the next day. Drove this for a few months, till unfortunately after a monent of stupidity in a rain storm, rapped it around a telephone pole doing 60. Was able to limp home (some how) and in to the garage. Instantly on the search for a new body (and a good excuse to tell the parents.) Found a shell about 500 miles away and went and picked it up for a few hundred bucks. Have been modifying it for the last 2 years and it's finally almost ready for the road today. Trust me, after 2 years and over $15000 I don't think I'll be making any stupid moves with this one. Haha, I'll just sit it in the garage and look at it every couple hours. They are a thing of beauty, and with 400hp under your right foot ready to push a ~2200lb car anywhich way you want it, a force to be reckoned with. Learned my lesson with the first one, have to respect the car and not let it get to your head.

[Two80z4me]

18, bought my z at 16, I had been auto-crossing my saab 900 turbo for a while, but wanted something much sportier, japanese and old. So naturally I went for the Z series, I knew a neighbor who had the coolest old 280z so I hunted around till I found a steal of a deal on one with a new motor/trans and a clean body, $1800 for 90,000 original body miles and 30,000 motor/trans. We're at about 111,000 body now and 51,000 miles on a newly built turbo motor and megasquirt. Its been a street car, daily driver, track car all at once.

[Kali]

27 bought my car last year 2010 when i got back from afganistan. Ive always wanted a project car, and im prone to Nissans. I owned a 84 300zx for a month or tow till i craped out on me wrtie before i went to Iraq so i sold it. When i came back from Iraq i opt for the practical car and always kicked myself for it. While i was in Afganistan i did nothin but search for a new project car in my free time. So i found my car June 27th came back from Afaganistan July 4th and bought her on July 7th 2010 in Portland, OR. My intial plans were to swap in a RB26 then i did more and more research on the L28 and decided to go with that.

[Gollum]

DISCLAIMER: I have never and WILL NEVER condone any form of street racing. The most fun I've ever truly had is at the track, where it also happens to be a SAFE environment. And race admission is truly cheaper than speeding tickets and the hassle that goes with getting pulled over and dealing with cops)

My story is a tad different than most, but still runs in some of the same veins.

 

I'll be 24 in a little over a month, and as you can see from my join date, I was bit by the Z bug around 15. But here's how it all came about.

 

It all starts I guess with my brother. He was a true "born car guy" who would call out the names of cars while sitting in his car seat (how he ever had trouble reading books is beyond me...). Where he got it our parents never had a clue, because it just isn't there in the family. Our dad once owned a mustang... it was a 6 cylinder... (head nod of shame...). To think of our dad as a car guy is like thinking of Hitler as a school yard bully. My brother quickly became infatuated with mustangs after his love of exotics like lambo's wore off. Me being 5 years younger, had almost no choice in the matter. I was going to like cars, and I was going to spend hours every day playing with hot wheels with my big bro. To complete this background we sucked in a friend who was an only child and made him an honorary brother of ours. Plus, his dad owned an auto shop. COOL!!!! We spent many summer days wasted at his dad's shop with nothing better to do than watch his workers wrench and learn what we could.

 

Then our neighbor, a bit older than my brother, bought a del sol. This was around 97' I believe, which means I was about 10. He had a good job and nothing to spend his money on and knew almost nothing about how engines worked. But this guy had a good aptitude to figure things out and before long was installing things like "turbos" and "NOS". All new words to me. At the time I was day dreaming about owning an AC Cobra someday, as I'd made that my first real dream car. Boy did they look good to me, and as much as my brother tried to get me to like a traditional muscle car, I just wanted to like something "different". This said neighbor was quickly breaking things (surprise!) and we started a weekly ritual of tearing down his engine. As he figure more and more out I learned in the process and before long we were getting the car to make 10 second passes, with an amazing amount of stock parts in hind-sight. Because of this neighbor my "friend-brother" got into hondas and loved how simple it was to make good power and make them fast. He was and still is all about what a car can do in a street racing scenario when matched up against a complete unknown at any given speed. He didn't care that it was FWD, which never really sat right with me. Luckily he's seen the light and is now heavily into subies.

 

Moving on. So my brother at 16 never gets money together to be able to afford a mustang, and our friend of course buys a CRX as soon as he got a shot at a good deal. Within 6 months we were pulling his engine out to make room for a B16. I'm only 13-14 at this time getting to walk through my first hands on engine swap. Neat stuff I thought. By this time I'd decided that the only "modern" car I could stand was the Miata, a fact which I still haven't lived down among my brother and friend. But I figured a miata is small, light, and I could just change the motor out for something better if I wanted. By this time I'd already researched 5.0 swaps in miatas and loved the idea to death. Well, we get the CRX together and started taking it to the track, as well as racing just about everything we came across on the street (never a good idea, I do not CONDONE!). Since my friend's dad owned a shop, a euro shop at that, we'd often offer to run and get parts all across the bay area instead of having him pay to have it over-nighted. We figured hey, money for gas and food, hang out in a car all day? Sounds GREAT!

 

We clocked at least 25k on that car that first year. We'd been to so many friday night street races that we thought we were pretty awesome stuff since we'd never been ticket by a cop. With my friend at the helm I was his co-driver. Even to this day me and him can get in a car and it's like putting on an old jacket. We just know the way each of us drive and know exactly how to help the other out with an extra set of eyes and such. Keep in mind I'm still only 14-15 at this point and spent more time at races than I did doing school work (I was homeschooled through highschool, hence the free time). I got to see a lot of fast cars and how they really performed with the average joe behind the wheel. I was amazed to see so many muscle cars loosing races and it really put some things into perspective for me.

 

Then one night I saw a car I'd never seen the looks of before. I heard what was definitely a V8 rumble, but to my eyes it made me think "jag"... but I knew that couldn't be it. I look over at my friend and ask "what on earth is THAT?" and he explains that he was pretty sure it was a datsun, and mentioned he's heard of people putting V8's in them. I was hooked, then and there. The thing moved with such unction I was baffled. Guy came back to our launch area and spilled the beans. He'd just gotten it running that day, and still had rotting bald tires on the thing (explains the 3rd gear tire burning...). I was amazed at how fast it was for still being so stock of a chevy 350. I already had a serious distaste for chevy (most likely due to the people I'd met who were huge fans... mostly redneck types I didn't jive with and felt they didn't know squat). I already knew at this point though that if a chevy fits in it, so does a lot of other stuff. I knew at that point I had to learn all I could about these cars. I mean, 15 was right around the corner, and thus my driving permit. I had to figure out what I was going to buy, as it was certainly going to be a project.

 

To put things into perspective these was my thought process.

 

Used Miatas were horribly wimpy stock, and still commanded fairly high prices in 02'-04' when I was trying to figure out what I wanted as my first car.

Hondas were just not for me. As much fun as I'd had in them and around them, I really felt "called" to RWD, is the only way I could put it.

240SX's were still way overpriced for where I was at in life, and I really didn't like the crowd around them either.

The import tuner craze was already going very strong (which it wasn't really when my neighbor brought home a Del Sol) and Cops were going crazy pulling over any kit with a sticker on his honda's window. I wanted something that wouldn't stick out so much, and be less susceptible to cop's interests.

The more I looked, the more a Z car made sense.

 

So as soon as I get my license I'm scouting for a Z car. I found a really clean 80' ZX and I knew a V8 would fit in there just as well. Unfortunately I made a rushed purchase and overpaid for a car just to call it my own. This was right about the time the CA smog laws changed to a fixed date, and I was completely oblivious. I figured I'd buy it and work on the stock engine until it was smog testing exempt then through in a ford big block! Boy did those plans go down in flames... Not 6 months after I'd bought my '80 I found out about the new smog ruling and I was livid. I preferred the S30 anyways, so I just figured I'd have to find one down the road one day. By being on hybridZ I was already deathly afraid I might never find a S30 with minimal rust, and also feel it was worth the price. A huge part of the lure of the Z was that it was a good bit cheaper than my other options. But 2 ZX's later I found myself needing to replace a headgasket, and I figured that if I was going to pull the engine half apart, I might as well just look for a turbo engine right? I sold the idea to my parents and they let me talk them into putting the car in our side yard and going all the work myself. I'd (for the most part) paid for my own cars and car hobby at this point, and I think they were just glad my tastes were cheap, as my brother had already bought a 93' cobra at this point, and then soon afterwards had it stolen.

 

So I found myself a good donor car and got moving..... About a year later she fired up. Ironically I had the motor IN and READY in not long at all. Took me about a month to get them ready for the swap, but then rain came in. Covered the engines and left them all winter. Once the weather was good the swap went smooth (well, as smooth as it can when you're working on dirt). But a damn electrical problem kept me stumped for a long time. I lost momentum and just left it, and left it, and left it. I finally got motivated and got it running. And then sold it shortly after for the motor.... Because by that time I'd found a killer deal on a S30 finally, and it already had a L28ET! One of the best days of my life really.

 

Just a few months after acquiring my first S30 someone I didn't even know GAVE me a 81' ZX that drove home under it's own power. So I currently have two Z cars and have owned 5. I've had my permit since I was 15 and I've ONLY owned Z cars. When I first heard the name Datsun, I didn't even know it was Japanese, let alone vintage nissan. I've come from a completely self-taught background and really treasure what my Z's have taught me when it comes to working on vehicles. I'm such a fanatic now that if they're still dirt cheap when I have a daughter coming of age, her first car with undoubtedly be an old Datsun. She doesn't even have a say.

 

 

 

Sure, part of me still wants an AC Cobra. And if I'm ever a millionaire maybe I'll consider buying one. But when will it ever get driven? I'd probably have a replica as well just so I could beat the living crap out of it like I drive my Z cars and not feel bad about it. But in reality, I'd rather have 5 S30's with different purposes with different engines than 1 ac cobra, fake or not. I've said it time and time again to people that just don't get it. "Z cars are like blank canvases. Why would a true gear head rather have a paint-by-numbers picture than a blank canvas? Because that's what the Z car is, one of the best blank canvases ever made by man and it's dirt cheap at that!"

 

The only problem I've had in my 10 years of having the Z bug, is that it's causing so many other itchings for 510's and old celicas. I never had this problem before Z cars. What the hell?!

 

 

Oh, and my brother warned me constantly "you buy an old car you're going to have old car problems" and his point was that I'd never get to enjoy the car because I'd always be fixing something. That owning an older car would make me tired of working on cars. Ironically, it's been the exact opposite. My cars have been ridiculously reliable for their state of condition and age. And also the more I work on them the more I learn and the more inclined I've become to actually work on my car just for the fun of it. Working on cars doesn't scare me like it used to, and while my brother is currently becoming a smog tech like my friend-brother, I'm the only of the three of us most likely to work on a car for the simple pleasure of it, not because I "have" to. God bless Z cars!

[xShodaimex]

I just turned 20 in april. During my junior year in HS, I asked my parents if i can get a project car to mess with, primarily learn off of. We came to an agreement that my limit would be 1000 bucks. At first I wanted a rx7 sa22c just like my step father had until we sold it when i was in junior high. He told me to get a datsun. I wasnt familiar with datsuns at the time, and saw on craigslist 2 280zx's for sale, both being a grand each. I called one of the guys and asked to meet with him to see the car. It was an 81 nonturbo 280zx. I loved it. My first car at age 17. I ended up getting a catback exhaust and front airdam on it with sideskirt, mud guards and a fresh metalic dark blue color on it back in 09. Sold the thing for 1800.

 

Last summer I bought a 74.5 260z for 1100. Drove it home, and started on it. Saved soem money for a 82 turbo 280z as a donor and paid 1750 for it. I love z's, Im a nissan guy.

[Owen C.]

I bought my z when I was a senior in highschool. I picked it up for 800 bucks and towed it home. I had it running the next day but it was burning oil so I rebuilt the motor (my first). Over about three years it was taken apart and.put together countless times and my plans changed for the car just as many. I ended up selling the car to my friends father and he was going to make a scarab clone. About ten years later I ask my girlfriend to marry me and she happened to be my friends sister. Her father had done nothing with the car so he gave it back to me as sort of a wedding present. You know what they say,"if you let something go and it comes back to you then it is truely yours."

[Fuzzydicerule]

Im 20, My dad had a 260 and a 280 back in the 70s, 260 was wrecked and the 280 was traded in before i was born.

 

Never really noticed them until my friend got one, granted it was a pile, but it got me interested. I had planned to get one a year ago, but i ended up getting another car, and then after i bought and sold a Mitsubishi Starion in april, i found the car i currently have, Paid 950 bucks and then found out the wiring was ****. Luckily, the chassis is "relatively" clean, and i should be able to get it actually driveable in the next couple of days.

[drive185mph]

I'm 21 bought the first one when I was 20, I bought it because the cars that are closer to our cohort are numb and heavy by comparison. They all have a hundred electronic ways to disconnect you from the driving experience, from the flow from corner to corner. Most of them lack any art in the lines of the body (80's). the engine bays are smaller and suspensions tend to be less adaptable. My second choices would have been a c-4 era vette, a supercharged swap Fiero, or a Porsche 944. none of the three combine the looks versatility and light weight like the z does.

 

I did some research and found the Z because it looks distinct and fantastic, with more digging I discovered the body weighs half of what the new camaro weighs and it's not just light it's balanced (another thing later cars don't tend to be) the engine bay is large enough to accommodate small ship engines. From a suspension stand point These cars are very adaptable to driving tasks, (touring to rally to autox) between the light weight, suspension adaptability and the possibility of any longitudinal engine. these cars make great back road burners. The one thing they don't do better than most is high speed which frankly I don't have much business up there anyway

 

It's beauty, poise and the power to weight of a Saturn five rocket

[TrumpetRhapsody]

I've always had the car bug. It doesn't run too deep in the family, but my dad had his share of muscle cars when he was younger, and we had a '57 Bel Air sitting in the garage I used to go play in all the time and dream about fixing up (still just sitting around sadly). I watched him rebuild the top end of a motor once, tinkered with smaller engines etc.

 

When it was time for my first car I wanted something relatively powerful, but sadly also comfortable and 4-door so I could haul around my friends. I ended up with a supercharged '98 Buick Regal, which was a fantastic first car, but it didn't take me long to realize I craved something lightweight and RWD. So I stopped putting money into the Buick and started saving up for something better, a true project car.

 

I made a friend in college who was a Z fanatic, and eventually he got me hooked. I fell in love with the elegant design and small compact light frame, not to mention the community built around them. We watched Big-Phil's videos religiously and dreamed of building our own Z's. About a year went by before I finally found one locally and pulled the trigger. Around the same time I moved off campus, so I could have a garage to work in. Everything aside from general oil changes and brake jobs I taught myself from this forum and the FSM's. Wiring troubleshooting, motor pulls, carb tuning, and eventually setting up Megasquirt was all based on intuition and internet shade-tree mechanics.

 

Three years later and it's still not where my goals were/are leading it, thanks to other diversions diverting my funds, but it's made great strides and has been a fantastic learning experience I wouldn't trade for anything.

Edited June 3, 2011 by TrumpetRhapsody

[lilforzy]

Im 20, bought my first z when i was 14, 83 ZX for 400 dollars. Completely restored it, painted myself, flipped it Christmas morning 2008. Graduated highschool bought a 78 for 700 dollars. Lit on fire going down the road. FD took 30 min to get to scene, car was toast. Took it home and rebuilt wiring harness all burned motor parts were replaced, head rebuilt. Interior is in works, suspension completely redone, painting is next. Yes, i would say I am a Z car fanatic. I dont see myself ever not having one. I have driven older porshe's tons of preludes and civics, and rx7s rx8s, nothing compares to the amount of fun these cars are. Not even old muscle. Next on my list, rb motor and going to try and put air bags under the car.

[OldAndyAndTheSea]

When I was 8 I found this rusty Z in a barn, INSTANTLY fell in love, and I bought it for 400 bucks.

 

 

I used that car to change THIS car...

 

 

Into THIS car...

 

 

and since then I have bought these cars...

 

 

 

I am now 22 years old.

 

I've had a Z practically my whole life, I don't foresee that changing any time soon.

 

Currently I own:

 

1972 Datsun 240z (Yellow car - Parts mobile)

1973 Datsun 240z (Silver car - build thread car)

1974 Datsun 260z (Black car - future project)

1982 Datsun 280zx Turbo (Brown car - Next project after the silver car hits the road this Spring)

[Kevlars30z]

My pops owned a couple, fell in love with them around 6. Got a 72 240z in may 2009!

[Dillon]

Dad had a 75 280z with a l26 with "DVG?" webers and was gutted. Never really ran right it would always run real rich after he got on it hard.

I remember sitting in it when i was 4/5 and pretanding to drive haha. Oneday he took me on the interstate and did a 40 roll. I remember the rear end sinking and it starting to loss traction than just going. That car was very quick for what we thought it was "stock", but to this day i still think it had some kind of stroker kit or what have you. Really thats what started it for me, my dad sold that car to put food on the table:')

Now i am 16 years old and i have had a 240sx shell that i've dropped a engine in and got running but sold.

I started saving money for when/if something popped up.. sure enough oneday my dad called me and asked me how much would i pay for a rust free 280z.

Long story short, went look at a actually 71 240z that had a rebuilt l28 in it with little to no rust, talked to the guy and got it for $700.

pulled it out of the barn that it had been sitting in for quite some time with no windshield or hatch glass or side quarter glass.

It now sits in my garage with a windsheild and a hatch glass and side glass getting some TLC. Hopefully it will be low soon(: and spending its days on the track.

[pr20de]

I'm 26 now and I bought my first s30 about a month ago and it's completely taken apart, I have since bought to S30's to use as parts cars. I fell in love with these cars when I was about 15, when the Turbo magazine with Tod Kaneko's 240z and 510 on the cover came out(2001?). I saw those cars and I knew that I had to have one of each some day. I'm from Puerto Rico, since these cars like rust very much and the fact that wherever you go in this island you'll never be more than 18 miles away from the sea and it's salts. You can guess that there are not a lot of them left. I never seemed to come across one that was accessible (price wise) or fixable.

 

Now I've got three(can only get one out of the three though) and I'm looking into buying a running one from the states. Since I'm really busy with work, I already bought an airplane ticket for my dad so he can go look up a few I saw online.