What do you do?

[LoneStarS30Z]

Hello gentlemen, My name's Will, 23 years old from Dallas, TX (please no Cowboys jokes, they themselves are the biggest punchline.)

 

Air Force grunt since April '07, I'm an Aircraft Armament technician on A-10's, it has its cool days but its usually a 98% suckfest

 

 

I think I finally got the Z bug when I had my 2nd car, a '95 240sx. I couldn't find one to my liking at that time so I ended up with a nice IS300 that I made look pretty good. Then I got orders for Okinawa and I can't take a car with me unless it older than 1976, perfect excuse to get a Z!!!

 

Picked up my '72 from Fresno, CA and drove it non-stop back to Tucson, AZ without a hiccup. Car has very good mods, albeit pretty sloppy work which I'm trying to clean up when I get home. Many many many mods and money going into it. Biggest project on the chops right now is getting the fender flares installed, mounted some 235/50/15 Toyo R888's (if I can find that size!) on my precious 15x8 -26 15x10 -26 meshies. Patching 2 nickel sized holes in my passenger floorboard, new intercooler, retucking all the wires on my SPAL window system (ran out of time when I went back home for a month), and I REALLY need a diff!

[ModernS30]

Hello gentlemen, My name's Will, 23 years old from Dallas, TX (please no Cowboys jokes, they themselves are the biggest punchline.)

 

Air Force grunt since April '07, I'm an Aircraft Armament technician on A-10's, it has its cool days but its usually a 98% suckfest

 

 

I think I finally got the Z bug when I had my 2nd car, a '95 240sx. I couldn't find one to my liking at that time so I ended up with a nice IS300 that I made look pretty good. Then I got orders for Okinawa and I can't take a car with me unless it older than 1976, perfect excuse to get a Z!!!

 

Picked up my '72 from Fresno, CA and drove it non-stop back to Tucson, AZ without a hiccup. Car has very good mods, albeit pretty sloppy work which I'm trying to clean up when I get home. Many many many mods and money going into it. Biggest project on the chops right now is getting the fender flares installed, mounted some 235/50/15 Toyo R888's (if I can find that size!) on my precious 15x8 -26 15x10 -26 meshies. Patching 2 nickel sized holes in my passenger floorboard, new intercooler, retucking all the wires on my SPAL window system (ran out of time when I went back home for a month), and I REALLY need a diff!

 

You wouldn't happen to know Jordan Kelker?

[LoneStarS30Z]

You wouldn't happen to know Jordan Kelker?

 

 

Sure don't, sorry.

[ModernS30]

Sure don't, sorry.

 

No worries, you said you were in Oki, he lives there so I was just seeing. I met another guy on here that knows him. Such a small world.

[Tony D]

Meanwhile I aim to leave the farm next year now my Bro has graduated university with a B.Ag.Sci, so he can come play with the cows while I piss off to China for a year with a Dip.TESOL to teach English for a year. Being stuck on the same farm miles from anywhere can be a drag when your favoured location for an animal is next to the mashed potatoes.

 

Wasn't that the premise for a very gory mutant sheep movie from your country? I can't remember the name, but the tag line was "New Zeland has 40 Million Sheep and now they're PISSED!" Some mutant sheep/human crossbreeding involved. Very funny, and a nice old Toyota FJ was wrecked going over one of those aforementioned vertical cliff walls to the sea...

 

 

Forgot the 'Start with the Z' part...

Saw first Z at Forest Rallies in the UP of Michigan (SCCA PRO Rally) they were of little consequence...I was more interested at that time in P-Cars and V-Cars and the occasional Audi Q-Car. In other words 'they were there, they didn't register except in hindsight'...

 

Firs cognisant recollection of a Z was the spoiled brat Lawyer's Kid who brought one over to the house after daddy bought it for him for his 16th Birthday when he got his license to drive (Do the Math, people... this was 1980!) I walked up to see what it was and my brother raved about it... I was not impressed. I had my Microbus. But 'it was fast'... I didn't care. As a matter of fact, my words were "I don't like it, the nose is too long." (Trace of irony in that in retrospect.) I repeated this several times as my brother exhorted it's speed capability. I still didn't like it. I liked my bus. And my bus turned 15.50's all day long at Milan so it would eat that POS Japanese car anyway. If you're buying from an Axis Power, get one that at least has some engineering heritage and a direct link to Der Furer...

 

Fast forward 4 years, I'm driving my slammed Two-Tone Purple (some silver tint in the metallic paint for the beltline accent) Toyota Carina GT with DOHC 2-Liter 18RG and headers on Rte 58 past Johnny's Used Car Lot out the main gate of Kadena AFB and there it sat: 1975 Fairlady Z(s) in that ZG-Maroon Color you see on the model boxes. I don't know if it was the sun on the bonnet, but I whipped a U-Turn and drove in. 98,630KM and fresh down from the mainland. Plastic mats, nothing extra save the super-frigid Nissan Tropical A/C system.

 

Right then and there, I traded my 1980 Carina GT and wrote them three post-dated checks for $240 (talk about eerie coincidence!) and came back the next day for the car. I drove it off the lot, and the transition hose blew at the back of the engine, dumping the coolant. Walked back to Johnnies. Not 300 meters off the lot it was overheated. Spent the next couple of weeks working very closely with the Johnny's mechanics solving that... And the rest, as they say, "Was History"

Edited November 12, 2010 by Tony D

[LoneStarS30Z]

No worries, you said you were in Oki, he lives there so I was just seeing. I met another guy on here that knows him. Such a small world.

 

 

Ah, I'm not there yet, got about half a year left in Korea before moving to the next base.

[bens1088]

It's nice to see lots of young people here. I'm 22 just finishing school at UCSB. I started my own company at 18 designing and manufacturing various products (all because of my z). Working full time and being a student full time has been hard but it has been well worth it.

 

Start early and work hard. It will payoff. When you graduate school and are looking for a job. Thy are going to pick the kid with 6+ years of real experience over the guy who just has had one internship. Speaking from experience, school teaches you nothing about the real world. It's your job to do that. School gives you a solid ground of basic knowledge to work from.

 

I got into z's by restoring my dads old s130 which he bought new. It sat in the driveway for 20 years rotting away. One day I decided to clean her up and began fixing things. Who would have ever known that would lead me to a solid career? Good luck to all the young guys here. I'd be happy to help anyone (who maybe wants to talk to someone their age) who has an idea for a z or even in general that they'd like to pursue to maybe turn into a career.

[Tony D]

 

Talking with someone "your own age' usually doesn't produce a much different opinion than what is already extant.

Nobody who's 20 can tell you what 30 is going to be like.

 

Period.

 

[bens1088]

 

Talking with someone "your own age' usually doesn't produce a much different opinion than what is already extant.

Nobody who's 20 can tell you what 30 is going to be like.

 

Period.

 

 

 

Yeah I agree but some people aren't comfortable asking the same questions to a 20 year old then to a 30 year old. You can also forget the small details that were important when you were younger. I'm just throwing myself out there to help anyone who wants to chat.

 

More than half of my friends who have graduated with a UC degree from a top school have no career/job. Times have also changed in the last 10 years. We are coming out of the big dot com boom/recession and there isn't much work or money to go around. Not even the 30 year old's can tell us what 30 is going to be like because things have changed so much.

 

I was lucky to be able to do something that pays and that I enjoy. Everyone should have that opportunity and not have to work at a retail store for 5 years before someone takes a look at their resume.

 

Just trying to be helpful.

Edited November 14, 2010 by bens1088

[emeraldlion]

Chris, I'm in northeast dallas,TX. City is Mckinney. I'm a registered nurse obtaining my MBA part time at UTD, suprised to see I'm the first medical person to pipe up. Have loved s30's for years. My dad has always been into cars and would point out different ones when we drove by. We were mostly into volkswagens and still are(my first car being my '62 VW kombi Lucille). He pointed out a 240 one day and said "Your mom always wanted one of those." Hooked ever since.

 

Tony that movie is Black Sheep, and it's on my shelf. Hilarious b-rated horror flick.

[BluDestiny]

I don't know if it's just me but a lot of the people who are on this site tend to have a military/engineer background.

 

maybe just comes with the experience.

[Uncle Sherman]

Boy, am I ever out of place here! I bought a '73 240Z with a 350" GM V-8/TH350 installed, with a lot left to do to finish the project. My then-wife seemed to have an interest in hot rods and such and I thought we might share interests in the Datsun and thereby save our marriage, which was in trouble then. Didn't work, and I kept the car in the ensuing split. I finished the installation and soon learned that the TH350 was the wrong trans for the car- cruising at highway speeds meant way too many revs and so was uncomfortable to drive. The car sat in my garage for a long time while I went about other diversions; about 2 years ago I swapped the 3 speed auto for a 200-4R overdrive 4 speed. Now the highway revs are reasonable and the car is comfortable enough to be a daily driver. But now I want to swap the automatic for a Tremec 5 or 6 speed manual, which I'll undertake when the money and time are available. Other interests have come up in the rotation as the weather morphs into winter so garage projects are on hold until the spring.

 

I'm 68 and retired from a local state college physics department where I helped students learn physics (or tried to help, physics ain't easy), and from the Air Force where I had 4 years active duty during the Viet Nam war and 31 years in the Reserve at a local C-130 wing. Nearly all my time is taken up with stuff I like to do- cars, motorcycles, guns, photography, model railroads, antique outboards, amateur radio, computer electronics, cooking, etc, etc. Life post retirement is a BALL!

 

Here's a couple of my cars:

[Tony D]

You can also forget the small details that were important when you were younger.

We are coming out of the big dot com boom/recession and there isn't much work or money to go around. Not even the 30 year old's can tell us what 30 is going to be like because things have changed so much.

 

Spoken like a guy who's 20!

 

Perhaps (just some advice here) the 'details that are important when you are younger' are forgotten for a reason: They aren't important. That's the kind of thing you won't know for another 20 years.

 

And if you think this job market is something new...think again, only this year did it surpass some statistical mileposts from the early 80's recession. Guys graduating then in some parts of the country looked at 33% unemployment in the local markets. Curiously those places are in about the same situation again this time 'round.

 

This all goes in cycles, the longer you live the more cycles you see. The younger you are the terrible climate is always the worst it has ever been. Until the next time it happens (and trust me, IT WILL HAPPEN!!!) By the time you have been through several bad ones, it's not really a big deal. 73, 80, 96, 2002, 2006 MEH! Another will be along soon enough.

 

Be open to the thought that someone may have lived through it before. If they lived through it, you can too.

 

BTW, the comment about 'things that are important' is exactly what I was referring to as 'not getting a really different view' -- talk to another 20 year old and you get absolutely no perspective because you are both working from the same frame of reference. 30 was mentioned simply as 'pick a number' kind of reference point. In some Asian Cultures, you won't get any responsibility in a business environment until you are in your 50's and really won't make decisions about anything of substance till you're 60. And then you retire and the next wave of old guys comes in...

 

There's a logic to this, business climate quirks won't upset an older guy like they will a younger one. "Steady as she goes" is usually pretty good in the business world when making decisions---especially long-term ones! You want an example of what happens when 20 year olds run anything, take a look at the Cultural Revolution in China, the Khymer Rouge in Cambodia, etc... Lots of things 'get done' short-term but the long-term consequences of that intensity carrys on FAR longer then they ever could conceive!

 

Find old dudes to talk with... I sought out guys far older than me. I got stories of the 'great depression' that gave me perspective on the 73 and 80's recessions. The people who had REAL problems were the guys who were born in the 40's and watched their parents work through masssive expansion of the US Economy, expecting to have the full employment their fathers, and grandfathers had (though gramps usually remembered the depression, he rarely talked about it!) They had a lot of expectations, and nobody around them had seen a serious recession for over 40 years.

 

The gaps between them get less, if you don't remember the 90's you weren't looking!

[bens1088]

Lol. There is too much to respond to and I don't really want to thread jack (plus I just wrote a long boring essay so I'm burnt out). You have lots of valid and true points. However I feel some youth discrimination going on. I'm not saying that we are any "better" then anyone older. Of course you guys have experienced much more then we have and (hopefully) have a better understanding of the economics. I was speaking mostly to the fact that my generation is not prepared to go out and be successful. The average person changes their career 11 times in their life. It's not as simple as getting a degree and working in that field for the rest of your life (as it used to be)...

 

 

Beside the point, talking with someone your own age can't hurt you and there is absolutely no reason to laugh at that. This generation has more millionaires under 30 than ever before. Why? Because we spoke with each other and worked together. I can vouch for that. I have friends who were 20, who had ideas and went to older people and were shot down 100%. They worked together with people their age and now the older folks want a slice of the pie (aka millions). In terms of the Asian business statement, I travel to Asia very frequently and get absolutely no respect from manufactures and businesses. The moment they learn about who you are and what you are capable of doing, guess who wants a slice of the pie... I have had companies offer me amazing positions in their company which I was in no way qualified for. It's about performance and capability; I strongly feel that age is irrelevant.

 

Enough thread jacking...

Edited November 15, 2010 by bens1088

[kamikaZeS30]

I'm 26 years old, recently discharged (honorably, I basically decided not to renew my contract) after 6 years in the Navy doing mostly electronic intelligence (SIGINT stuff). I am currently doing under the table work and trying to open a shop with my buddy in the Pacific Beach area (those of you in San Diego know). I am also back in school, transferring to SDSU as a Japanese and Applied Mathematics double-major.

 

I don't really remember how exactly I got into Zs. My uncle had one when I was little. I've always been into cars and things of mechanical nature since I was little. I remember I wanted to be an android like Mr. Data on Star Trek when I was very young. I still think robots are the ****. I also like things that go fast.

 

I remember the reason I picked up my first Z was due to the fact that they were very light, practically smog exempt (is a cop really going to bother when he knows that <'75 vehicles are not required to be inspected?) and had enough room in the engine bay for just about anything you wanted to stuff in there. At least that's what I had heard/read. Turned out to be true.

 

Since then I've owned a couple 300ZXs and 240Zs. I also like the Miata for many of the same reasons I like the Z: small, light, fast and you can put V8s in them if you want.

 

I am down to just two cars since I got out of the military and had to think about budgets again, my 1991 Miata and my Orange Z, which is almost finished with the V8 swap.

[Tony D]

"However I feel some youth discrimination going on." Again, see previous quotation!

 

Not in the least bit, but at your age that is the perception. Simple fact is you haven't see it or done it yet. You can't, you haven't had the time. Your response is typical of western (back to the Ancient Greeks) civilization which promotes youth over experience. In the end most of the time experience wins out simply because the aged know what it was like to be young and can manipulate them easier.

 

"This generation has more millionaires under 30 than ever before. Why?"

 

Decreased infant mortality! More millionaires are happening in Shanghai than in the USA...daily. It's a matter of volume, little else other than being in a transformational stage of the economy. The last time this type of economy happened was when Carnagie and those cats made their millions. Industrial Revolution / Informational Revolution, same sort of huge opportunities exist and likely they will be had by those with enough time to exploit them. If you are readily 'making due' with your current status quo, there is little incentive to go out and conquer the world. That's just human nature. It's not endemic to youth---when you see the desparation in some other countries, you realize older people make the millions as they have the incentive and in that situation the experience to exploit their opportunities.

 

What you have missed in your 'frequent travels to Asia' is that you aren't a proven commodity. It's not that later 'the old guys want in' they see you are PROVEN and then respect you. The issue is more times than not, youth makes terrible mistakes and in their exuberance will not temper their course. If you succeed, great. But if you fail with someone elses' money---who takes the beating? The old guys. What you have experienced firsthand is that competence and proven ability to produce is what matters in Asia. Your youth and cultural dissimilarity had you miss this intitially. Had you come to them proven, they would have 'wanted in' as you say it... but going to them with nothing more than a concept or idea? With nothing backing you other than words? Good Luck!

 

The funny thing is what you state...is well known by the time your 40. To you it's new. And to anybody you talk with likely it will be new. Which is why I said talking to someone in their 20's will likely reveal nothing more than what you already deduced on your own---and gives you a narrow perspective on the situation. Thank you for validating my original point!

 

Now, what was that I said in my opening paragraph of this post?

[bens1088]

This is exactly what I meant about speaking with older people lol. I see through it but some people are intimidated by these types of conversations. Most likely not intended, it can come off as more demeaning than helpful.

 

I'd love to sit down and chat. You seem very insightful of Asian culture/business but this is probably the wrong place.

 

Just curious what do you do for a living?

Edited November 17, 2010 by bens1088

[Tony D]

Just curious what do you do for a living?

 

Read the thread, I'm in it!

 

Actually I was going to PM you so as not to waste anymore space on this thread, but that horse is already out of the corral...

 

The friends you are collaborating with right now that assisted in your successful ventures---get used to them, 20 years from now, the group of you will likely STILL be collaborating. This is nothing new, and how it works. Established businessmen unwilling to venture their capital on young up-and-comers, so you do for yourself. Since the collaboration worked, you tend to go back to where you know and spurn other advances as you now trust the relationships.

 

This is quituply-important in Asia. It may be years even decades of working together and it gets to a point you don't even question what your supplier is giving you, or charging as they wouldn't breach the long-term committment you both have made to mutual benefit. It is very different than here in the USA, and VERY hard to get broken into without either a local agent with their own local connections, or an outstanding proven product that they approach you for brokering rights.

 

Don't be so quick to turn down old guys in Asia offering a relationship for distribution out of distaste for how they treated you when you were unproven in their eyes. You can do distribution on your own in Asia, but in most cases having a local agent with their own tendrils everywhere gets you a 10 year jump on the competition. I understand this because I'm Italian and we have something similar...

 

But this isn't anything new---take a look at 'first movies' of actors or directors. You will start to see the same guys working together throughout their careers. Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, or Paul Neuman are good examples---look at bit part players, they seem to surface all throughout their career consistently. Either the director liked how they worked together, or the "Star" liked how they worked together and wanted them for this part or that. Same in business. It's human nature.

 

Another Old Guy piece or advice: If they're a--holes now, it's not going to change. Pick them wisely, likely they will be with you for a LONG time, far longer than you think they will be!

 

Unless you radically change what you are doing. But that rarely happens.

 

Intimidation is not what it is, and trust me, the 'laughing' is something you will understand in about 20 years...it's not malicious or deprecating, it's just that once you see something enough times, you can expect it and predict it. It's actually pretty funny. That's what the 'laugh' is, more a chuckle that 'I've heard this before!'

 

But not from me, I knew this all when I was 16....