Dilemma

"datsunzep" (datsunzep)
10/03/2013 at 09:42 • Filed to: None

Do I put $1500 into my current car via exhaust, intake, new set of rims/tires? It's a 2010 Kia Forte Koup SX.

Or spend $1800 on the car I sold 3 years ago that the current owner has run into the ground? It's a 1978 Datsun 280Z. !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

All these damn Datsuns have been plaguing Jalopnik the last month and I'm getting Z hungry. I have no where to put the Datsun, but I miss it like a long lost child. Open for suggestions. Storage seems expensive $200/mo.

EDIT:

This is the car prior to selling:

DISCUSSION (33)

Party-vi > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:44

The Forte Koup is your DD - don't spend the money on upgrades. Keep it stock and reliable and dump money into the Datsun.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Party-vi
10/03/2013 at 09:45

Listen to this man. Your Datsun needs to be saved.

datsunzep > Party-vi
10/03/2013 at 09:46

That's my gut, but my DD with a few mods makes everyday more fun. Also the whole storage issue is a problem.

William Byrd > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:46

Depends, how do you feel about your DD? Do you walk away from it and look back longingly? How much time do you spend driving it?

I ask because I've done the commuter car and project car and I drove an hour each way to work. I found I spent 95% of my time in the DD and didn't have a lot of time to drive the "fun" car. So I guess it depends on the answers to those questions, if you don't have a long commute and don't really care if your DD has nice rims, etc. then go for the Datsun! If you aren't really all that satisfied with your DD, upgrade!

Although for $1500, could you use that money towards the trade-in on something you like better?

Nibbles > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:48

Can't recommend Party-Wee's suggestion enough (great name change btw)

Buy the Fairlady back. Park it at a friend's/family member's house. If they're keen with a wrench, pay them with some beers and work on it together. Nothing like bonding over an old Datsun.

Party-vi > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:53

I spent $360 on a software upgrade for my DD and it's barely noticeable anymore. You'll love the tiny bump in power and driveability but you won't be able to keep your foot out of it and after the upgrade will wear off of you and you'll be looking at chips, a header, etc.

That's a gorgeous Z and would get you a decent return if you did the work yourself.

GhostZ > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:57

Sell the Forte, buy the Z and put in 10,000$ in engine, body, and suspension work! DD the Z!

datsunzep > William Byrd
10/03/2013 at 09:57

I'm quite happy with the Forte Koup. Every car needs MOAR POWER, but for my ~15 minute drive to work in all city traffic there's really no place to use it. Quick enough for highway passing and having some fun...plus ten year warranty. My original plans were to drive it into the ground and re-buy the Datsun when I first bought it. It's also 100% paid off and I don't want another loan. The fun car will be just that and driven probably no more than 1-2 days a week. Ideally track usage every other month or so, but that'll require at least another 3k in the car. Completely impractical and not child friendly are the reasons I got rid of it to begin with.

Mattbob > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:57

Make datsun your DD

datsunzep > Nibbles
10/03/2013 at 09:58

I wish it were that easy! No family member has space. If so, it would have been bought already.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 09:59

I once sold an SX Koup to a young couple one late, late night at the dealership after all the Kia sales consultants went home (VAG+Volvo was my turf). Sharp looking car, always liked the look. If you're asking the Oppo community, I believe you already know the answer.

Kinja'd!!!

With that in mind I'm glad you inspired me to google "Shakotan 280zx"

EDIT...f*ck storage. You'll figure something out.

datsunzep > GhostZ
10/03/2013 at 10:00

Have a youngin that needs a car seat!

liquid_popcorn > GhostZ
10/03/2013 at 10:01

This is the best idea. Period.

jsmizira > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:01

where do you keep your DD right now? maybe the dd can go in the overflow parking or on the street and the z where you can see it every day.

datsunzep > banjo cat ghost of oppo past
10/03/2013 at 10:02

The answer is obvious. The reality makes it difficult shoe in. If this were a few months from now, the Z would be in my driveway. However, I do not currently have a driveway.

EDIT: I miss RWD, but my FWD Koup has saved my ass in the rain more than once.

GhostZ > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:03

....sell the child, and put even more money into the Z? /kidding

William Byrd > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:04

Well we (Oppo-types) buy cars really with end goal of figuring out exactly what we want. Maybe you figured it out after the fact, so it sounds like you should go after your old car.

I'm shopping for early 2000s V8 Mustangs (~$10K) as a 3rd car because the 2003 I autocrossed was a lot of fun and I want another one!

505Turbeaux > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:04

so you were the original owner?

If so hell yeah buy it back. Ride that Kia out with no mods and put the Z back on the road. Thing needs some love

datsunzep > Party-vi
10/03/2013 at 10:05

This is true. I could upgrade the Z as much as I wanted. The Koup is limited to bolt-ons unless I want to give up warranty.

datsunzep > Mattbob
10/03/2013 at 10:06

This isn't a possibility, unfortunately.

datsunzep > 505Turbeaux
10/03/2013 at 10:07

Yes, my father bought it new in 1978. We restored/rebuilt it in 2004 while I was in high school after it had been sitting on the side of our house for 10+ years.

GhostZ > banjo cat ghost of oppo past
10/03/2013 at 10:08

New background fodder? New background fodder.

505Turbeaux > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:09

sad all that work for what it is now. Keep it in the family young son

datsunzep > GhostZ
10/03/2013 at 10:11

Hahahaha.....tempting, but I think I'll keep her around.

Party-vi > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:12

Yep, and even some of those bolt-ons are going to void your warranty. I've got an E46 and a really really want exhaust, intake, wheel spacers, etc. but it's just not work the hassle of 1) spending the money for little gain and 2) down time for my DD if something goes wrong.

Nibbles > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:13

This is even more reason why you need to buy it back. Check out this site to find inexpensive storage until you have space for it yourself.

datsunzep > 505Turbeaux
10/03/2013 at 10:13

You're telling me. That's half the reason I want it back so bad. Granted, it wasn't in the best of condition when I sold it, being a college student at the time. I just hate seeing it decline into a pile of rust. This car has some serious history with my family.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:14

Do you have any idea how miserable it is trying to work on a car in an uninsulated storage unit with about 2 1/2 feet to spare on either side?...in January?...in upstate NY??...working with a cheap autozone spring compressor that could kill you in an open field anyway?!? Probably not... but I do!! I def paid more than $200 to boot...Don't be that guy. You seem to live in a mildly temperate area, look for groups that pitch in to share garage space. I was amazed they even existed up here in Syracuse.

Few months that's it? Yea you'll figure something out.

datsunzep > banjo cat ghost of oppo past
10/03/2013 at 10:17

That sounds awful. I hope I will! Thanks, I'll look into groups that share garage space.

505Turbeaux > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 10:18

yeah you know what to do. Good luck with the project, keep us posted. There is no other way

datsunzep > Nibbles
10/03/2013 at 10:26

Thanks, hopefully, finding storage that I pay for will be a last resort.

banjo cat ghost of oppo past > GhostZ
10/03/2013 at 10:32

Oh my....

Kinja'd!!!

Just4GP > datsunzep
10/03/2013 at 12:37

Save the Z. If I weren't 2000 miles away, I'd come over and personally help you get it back to it's former glory.