act your age. Wait no... Post your age

[five&dime]

Started this thread on the 510 forum and have been getting quite a few cool responses and posts. Plus some history of how members became fans of their current Datsun models.

I don't have a Z but I will be 30 in May

Pretty much grew up around Datsuns as my dad (Diseazd) built more S30's and 510's than I can count.

And yes..... one day I will buy a 240

Edited March 13, 2009 by five&dime

[Rif]

I will be 40 in May and I've loved the z car since I was about 10. I had a book titled " Datsun 280zx " when I was a kid and I dreamed about owning my own z car ever since. I used to get in trouble for drawing them during school. A 1980-something zx was almost my 1st car. I got a loan for it and the seller backed out on me the last minute. He said that he just started dating a girl and she did'nt want him to sell it.

There have been other z cars over the years that I came close to buying but most needed more tlc than I could afford to give them. There was one 260z a few years back that had very low mileage and looked like it rolled off the showroom floor but I did'nt have the heart to make it my daily driver and I could'nt afford a 2nd car. New York winters can make swiss cheese out of a z.

[Travel'n Man]

I'll be 49 in two weeks. This is my 4th and favorite Zcar.

My first one was a '73 240 white/red interior, one of the best cars in my life:love: and one of my worse - (I'll never forget it) was a nightmare. I purchased the car in '78 - yeap, 18 years old and lovin' life, until I decided to replace the fenders, rockers, and headlight cases with fiberglass replacement parts. The body shop and I agreed to the work and the price. I paid 50% down and the balance when the car was done in 8 weeks (replacement body parts and exterior color change to BLACK). He had the car for over 1 year. He placed a mechanics lean on the car and locked it up because he wanted more money. By then I had paid him bits and pieces of the balance until I had paid him in full and yes, you got it, he wanted more and my car was not finished yet (I'm sure some of you are saying, this sounds familiar). So, I got pissed and one of my buddies that owned a wrecker service went down to the body shop and stole my car. We stored it in my grandmothers (Bless her soul) barn. About two weeks later the sheriff's department comes to my grandmothers house and my grandmother walked out on the porch with a .22 rifle and told them to get off her property that nobody was taking anything. They showed her the search warrant and confiscated my car and hauled it away again..........hell, I'm still making payments on it, by this time I'm around 20 years old or so. I finally end up getting an attorney and getting my (now Black) Zcar back in pieces and tryed to put it back together. The paint was so old it has oxidized and looks like crap and felt like crap. I cleaned it up and ended up selling it in pieces.........I was making payments on it for the past two years and not even able to drive it. I know - what a terrible story - it gets worse, the guy I sold it to put it all back together and then totaled it directly after he bought it.

So - ever since then, after I bought a 280ZX (not the same), after a 300 (not the same) I have been determined to get back in a 240. Two years ago and two years back in another body shop this one is having a better ending..........so the story goes, at least so far it has.

Hope you enjoyed the story -

[JohnnyO]

I just turned 44 last month (I see a patern of mid-life crisis guys forming!) and my first car was a 71 240. Just beginning to relive my childhood. Next is the 84 Mustang GT and maybe a YZ250. Who knows?

The wife is getting more worried by the moment!!!

John

[Bonzi Lon]

I was a 14 year old gas station attendant in 1970. The rich kid in high school got a new Z for graduation, so to show it off he smoked the tires on the lot. I was impressed. First import that I saw do this, and so cool looking to boot.

In 1977 I spotted my 73 on a used car lot and bought it on the spot, ($2600 and my Ford 4X4) with a phone call to my banker.

Drove it until 1980, had the engine rebuilt at the dealership. A friend talked me into a piant job, (for money he owed me) so he got up to primer then quit, didn't get my money either. No cash to finish so put in storage until 2006 when I got an intrest to get it out of storage and refurbished it for antique status in 2008, and did.

I turn 54 in July, but the strange thing is, every time I'm behind the wheel of my Z, it is 1979 and I am 24.

Bonzi Lon

[Travel'n Man]

every time I'm behind the wheel of my Z, it is 1979 and I am 24.

Bonzi Lon

I hear you brothr'

[EVILC]

<< 25 in a month.

[sblake01]

I'm the oldest to respond so far as I'll be 59 on July 1st this year, but there are a few older than me on this site. My first Z was a brand new 70 (#488) and I've had two others including the 78 I have now. But more than a Z fan, I'm a Datsun fan and have had quite a few of them but I won't bore you guys with the list again.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

35 years young, here! And enjoying my 71 240Z and my 12 month old baby boy. I have never been happier in my life! A great wife, a wonderful son, and my dream car since I was old enough to hold a hot wheels.

[fuzze]

Although I feel 34 everyday , I will be turning 46 this august . I have had D ownership since my first car at 17 , it was a 71-510 ,lots of fun then a 72 240, sadly crashed , then a b210 and finally on to pickup trucks from then on .

Now our family fleet consists of A 2002 pfinder , 92 ranger , 93 civic and my baby the 71-z .

It has been a great ride this thing called life !

see ya

Chris

[Jeff G 78]

Here is my longwinded Z tale...

I am 43 and have been a Z fan ever since I was a kid. I saw my first 240Z in '71 or '72 and instantly fell in love with it. Over the next few years I got excited everytime I'd see one on the road.

I was around 8 years old or so when my mom decided to redecorate my bedroom. She drug me down to the wallpaper store to pick out a new design to replace the flowers that my sister used to have in the room. As I looked through stupid wallpaper samples, I hit the jackpot. I found wallpaper with cars on it. In the foreground, there were color pictures of antique cars and in the background were black and white modern sports cars. Well, one of them was a 240Z! There was no doubt what wallpaper I was getting! I got to look at my favorite car every day in my room.

Fast forward to 1984 when I turned 18. I just had to have a Z car. I found a guy with a 1972 and a 1976 in a field. He wanted $600 for the pair of Z cars. I rented a tow bar and drug them home with grand visions of building the '76 280Z out of the two cars. Well, they were rusted beyond repair, but I learned a TON from those two cars. I stripped both cars to their shells and sold off what I could. I got enough in parts to pay for the two cars and I had a lot of parts left over. At that point, I knew I had to get a rust-free Z, so I went to Atlanta (from Ohio) in 1986 in search of a clean Z. I found a very clean '76 280Z automatic. I still had the manual trans and pedal box from the 240Z parts car, so I bought the Atlanta 280Z, drove it home and converted it to a 4 speed. I kept that car for three years and had a ball with it.

Over the next few years I bought and sold several more Z cars along with many other cars. In 1990, I decided it was time to go south again and find another clean Z. I found my current car, a 1978 280Z. It had been sitting for about five years, it didn't run, and it had a bit of front end damage. The hood had some bondo and the bumper was a bit bent, but otherwise looked straight. The interior was also shot, but it was either this car or go home empty handed. I bought the rust-free, but non-running Z for $700 and drug it back to Ohio on a tow dolly. Well, after removing the bumper and front fenders, I found that the car had been hit pretty hard and that the whole left front structure was crumpled and had been pulled back out. Rather than scrap the otherwise clean Z, I bought a friends rusty Z and had a buddy do some surgery. He replaced the whole left front of the Z with parts he cut off the parts car. It came out great and looked like it had never been hit. I rebuilt a spare engine and dropped it in. Unfortunately, something was wrong in the engine and I had to tear it back down. I didn't check the work of the machine shop that did the head and four valves were now bent. They had milled a head that was warped and the #1 and #6 pistons hit the valves. At this point, I was recently out of college and didn't have the time to work on this Z. I did have a different Z I was driving though. The '78 was tucked away in my dad's garage when I got a job in a Michigan. I also got married shortly after that. After living in an apartment for a few years, We finally bought a house and I was able to retrieve the Z after many years of storage. I *thought* I'd have time to work on it, but homeownership and a new bride kept me very busy. The Z got less attention than it needed and it took another long nap before I finally forced myself to get it on the road. Fast forward to 2006 when I finally got to drive the Z that I bought in 1990! Including the time it sat before I bought it, it had been parked for 21 years. I started over with a different engine and went through the suspension, brakes, and interior. I have since gotten many little things finished on it, but it does still need a paintjob. I have been able to put about 7000 miles on it since I got it on the road. Not bad considering the short driving season and few sunny days we have here in Michigan.

In the last 25 years, I've had nine S30s, a Z31, an S13, a Sentra SER, a BMW, a few Hondas, a Supra and many Toyota 4x4 daily drivers.

I don't think I'll ever be be without a Z car again and I promise that I WILL finish my Z someday. :stupid:

Edited March 14, 2009 by Jeff G 78
Added picture

[Goose52]

I'll be 57 this year. I've only had two Datsuns. I bought a '69 510 wagon in 1971, drove it a year, and then bought a new '72 Z that I still have. Here's the story of the Z (pasted from an earlier thread):

I read the road test of the 240Z in the April 1970 issue of Road&Track magazine and recognized the car as a great value. Then, in 1971 I visited my brother down in Miami and he pulls up in a blue 1970 Z - so that was my first ride. Between the article and that ride, I said to myself: I should get one of these someday...

Bought my Z new in 1972 while in the Marines, using a re-enlistment bonus to pay cash for the car. Had a BRE/Interpart header, spook, and rear spoiler installed by the dealer at delivery. After I had the car for a month or so, drove up to the BRE/Interpart shop in El Segundo, CA and bought the Mulholland suspension package. In ’73, put in a hotter cam. In ’74, bought a new WR OD 5-speed, driveshaft, and R-190 LSD w/4.44 gears from Datsun Comp ($575 through a mechanic friend at a dealer). The car scooted pretty good with that gearing. Car was up on blocks for a year while I was stationed in Japan in late ’74 into ’75.

By 1977, I wanted more power, so skipped the triple carb scene and went with a 331ci SB Chevy – 11:1 forged, cam, Edelbrock Tarantula manifold, 650 Holley double-pump carb, headers. Had to pull the R-190/4.44 out and put a R-180/3.36 in for the V-8 (the R-180 lasted while the V-8 was in). After 5 years with the V-8, I got married, needed a better transportation car, and was getting caught up with smog/legal issues with the swap, so in 1982, put in an L-28 with just a slightly hotter cam, and another 5-speed. In 1983, the R-180 pinion gear finally failed while I was doing a 1-2 shift (must have been something to do with the V-8 service!) so put in an R-200/3.54.

In ‘86/’87, did a moderate refresh of the car – went through the mechanicals, had it repainted original color (901 silver). Then, didn’t do much but drive and enjoy it for nearly 20 years. Then, in late 2005, I started a mechanical refresh again (mostly suspension). In December 2005 (unfortunately) the head cracked and I had an oil pan full of coolant – so, an unplanned engine rebuild. As long as the engine was apart, went with flat-top pistons and a hotter cam. In January ’06, decided to go to the MSA show, so I worked on the cosmetics a bit and finally refreshed the interior. In 2007 I installed Z-Therapy carbs with SM needles. The car should now be ready for another 20 years of driving. I will then be more than 75 years old, and will probably not be able to steer the thing, so will have to pull out the quick steering knuckles and put stock ones in, and put in a really BIG steering wheel … and then drive it some more!

Over all this time, the car has only been out of service (not counting the year on blocks while I was in Japan) for about 6-7 weeks due to engine swaps/rebuilds, paint, etc. It was a daily driver for the first 17 years, about a “twice a week” driver for the next 17, and is about a “once a week” driver now. It’s been a long, but fun, 36 1/2 years of ownership.