Perfect warm sunny day today here in MN so I took my Z for another fun drive. I planned on only cruising the roads around here locally but I was having so much fun driving her I thought "hhmm what the hell just a little further". I ended up going way up into wisconsin and back I also noticed when i got back that my front bumper bar was slightly lower on the passenger side so I thought "Wow gotta fix that A.S.A.P." adjusted that today as well Found that the 2 14mm nuts which secures the bumper bar to the bumper shock on the right side were loose :eek: so I got it set level again and retorqued down the nuts good.

Isn't it funny how you know you got other things that need to get done so you plan on just a short cruise around town in your Z and then the Z bug bites you as your driving and you end up spending the whole day with it Gotta love the Z Car Hobby

Edited May 4, 200915 yr by DatsunZsRule

I left the house yesterday at 11 AM, told the wife I was going for a short drive just to let the Z stretch out her legs..."should be back in 15 or 20 minutes". I got home at 1:30 PM.

Isn't it funny how you know you got other things that need to get done so you plan on just a short cruise around town in your Z and then the Z bug bites you as your driving and you end up spending the whole day with it Gotta love the Z Car Hobby

Well, unfortunaltely for me, I don't really feel that urge anymore and that's a large part of why I'm gradually getting out of the Datsun hobby.

I guess I really don't consider my Z a "hobby" since I drive it fairly regularly :-) As long as the weather is good (which fortunately it is most of the time), I'll drive the Z for a few days, then I will get the urge to drive my MG, which I will do for a few days until I get the urge to drive the Z again, and so on...

Now, having been born and grown up in Minnesota, I can understand the joy of finally getting the car back out on the road after several months of snow and crappy weather!

I've always wondered why there are more "car hobbyists" in the Northern states where they cannot drive them all the time like those of us in the South. Perhaps this annual springtime joy is why -- since the rest of us can start to take our classics for granted since we can drive them pretty much year round?

Stephen What happened that caused your loss of interest??? I've always been such a car nut my entire life. As a kid there was a neighbor down the street that had a huge back garage and was always tinkering with his hot rods and he always let me and my brother hang out back there with him and would let us help him. He was like my teacher and sometimes he would take us to the track and we would watch him race. I was hooked into cars the rest of my life and I'll never loose that love. That kind of enjoyment just sticks with you the rest of your life for me anyways and I have such a strong love for the Z cars (1st gens especially ) I mean how can anyone who likes cars not love the cool timeless design of the first gen Z car. Such an awesome looking car and that awesome feeling of being in the drivers seat looking over that sculpted hood shifting through the gears as the L series inline 6 engine L24,L26, or L28 let out that awesome growl. Don't get me wrong there are a lot of nice cars out there today but No car today can even match the feeling and the thrill my 280Z gives me. thats just my opinion

I agree with Doug's statement about living up north. Trust me Stephen if you were required to set your Datsun Hobby aside like I have to do due to this photo below I took here at my house for about 5 to 6 months out of the year, Once spring comes you would be begging to hop in any of your datsuns and hit the beautiful open road. California is spoiling you man

Oh, I'm still a car nut. And it's not really a loss of interest. I'm just changing my focus to something a little newer. Ever since I drove a 2005 Pontiac GTO I've wanted one. 400 hp, 6 speed, ABS, traction control, etc. I had planned to get one and keep the Datsuns but really don't have the room for 5 vehicles so I've decided to slowly downsize. I don't really work much on my Datsuns anymore anyway. Believe it or not they don't need anything. And like Doug said, I can drive them anytime but I don't drive any of them all that much. It's just time for a change. I've been around Datsuns and owned Datsuns longer than some people have been alive. I'll be over 60 when this transition is complete (God willing, I'll still be here).

You can't at least keep the lil Z?? :D She won't take up much space

Well whatever you do I wish you the best man. Just remember us here when you get bored with that GTO.