What it cost me to own a $500 car Part 1

"StudyStudyStudy" (jesterjin) 04/14/2015 at 17:20 • Filed to: 240z, project car

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As with many of you on here, I love cars, I really do. Every time my father came back from a business trip I would dig through his bag for a hot wheels car, I always had a couple hot wheels in my pocket as a child, and they were always on my mind.

Fast forward to 16, my parents decided to buy me a car. Make what judgement you will, my school due to some awkward zoning laws was a good 10+ miles away, or a 30 minute drive in traffic, combined with numerous after school programs and a sister who was heavily involved in extracurricular activities and parents who both worked full time, meant it was not an outlandish choice. I had wanted a used car so that I could really get my hands dirty, but instead my parents set some pretty strict rules, automatic, new, and from a specific dealership. My dad had a report with a salesman there, they wanted to be able to move or drive the car if necessary, and they did not want me breaking down on the side of the road. As thrilled as others may have been, this really made me quite sad, dreams of late nights and oil covered hands were dashed.

I made the most of the situation, put on some sticky rubber, some suspension bits, but I never was able to scratch the itch. Fast forward another few years, I am at Uni. During a big ice storm one of the properties my parents had been renting had the pipes burst. Insurance basically paid itself to clean up the mess, but left very little to address the water damage. It was uninhabitable so it sat for a half year. I seized the opportunity and asked if I could have a project car, it would be out of the way, the house was sitting anyway, and at least this way someone would be by the property every once in a while so it does not look abandoned. They begrudgingly accepted, and I was on my way.

Now just a small statement here, you may think, wow this kid got a brand new car, and a garage to work in. You have to understand there were some trade offs. I made an effort in school, my GPA in high school was a decent 3.7, I scored a 1590/1600 on my SAT’s, 800 on my SAT Math II, and high 700 on my Chem, that on top of multiple AP classes. I never drank or smoked during high school. Even at parties, I would politely decline, and I would drop off people too drunk to drive home. My parents never had to pick me up from the police station, I never got into fights, and I never bothered them for much of anything, heck, I did not even swear during high school... So now you get the picture, just a kind of awkward kid, no real world experiences, not many friends, not many interests, maybe that is why my parents conceded.

Back on track, the search for the car immediately began, I wanted to get started right away, which meant I had to purchase something cheap (be able to afford it on my weekend pizza delivery salary and my meager student assistant pay at a lab), and I wanted something fun, which meant it had to be RWD and manual. On the side I had been watching Initial D (I know, I know), after finishing the series I looked for another car related show, and stumbled upon Wangan Midnight. For those of you unfamiliar here is a comparison, instead of drifting on hills, it is about high way racing, instead of a AE86 or Toyota Corolla, it is about an S30 or a Datsun 240z.

Something about the shape just struck me and stayed in my mind, and during a random night of craigslist surfing I typed it in. The Z series was very popular, and as such there were quite a few around, even locally. Some were in good condition, some were in more dilapidated condition. I started making a list and visiting forums for what to look out for when I stumbled upon a post. Datsun 240z 900$. I clicked on it to see that it was in pretty good shape from the photo’s. The engine was blown, but it had just completed a 4 hour drive when it happened, so it had been road worthy. Then a glance over at the location, less then 10 miles from my home! I made arrangements and quickly went over. The owner actually had 3 z’s in various states and had said that this one was one of the best he had seen, he showed me the common rust spots, and it seemed like the car was solid. I asked him how much and he stated he realistically wanted $700. I told him I could make that work, just needed 2 weeks for my paycheck. As the days ticked by, I grew obsessive. I read everything I could, and re-watched videos on youtube. Just to up the creep factor, on a rainy day I went to visit the car, just to see if it was still there. As the days past, I had even considered buying a car cover for it (Seattle weather doing its best to drown the car).

Finally, after what felt like an agonizing eternity, I had the money and went over. At this point, the seller had been approached by several people offering 300$ or less, so he was pleased that I came with something close to his asking amount. He told me it was going to be $600, we will call it $500 for the car, and $100 for the tow. We got it to my garage, and after having the exhaust get stuck on the ramp the car smoothly glided into it’s home for the next two years. And I made every single mistake you could make during that time.

Expenditures:

500 - 1971 240z

100 - Tow

Subtotal: 600

Total spent: 600

Part 2

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DasWauto > StudyStudyStudy 04/14/2015 at 17:22

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I see you published this on Oppo but it went up way in the past (August last year). I've edited the post time to put it at the top of the page. Cheers.

StudyStudyStudy > DasWauto 04/14/2015 at 17:51

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Thanks das!

Wasn't sure how it would pop up, thanks for the correction.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > StudyStudyStudy 09/02/2015 at 18:17

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What month of 71 is it?

StudyStudyStudy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 09/02/2015 at 18:22

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Can’t recall. I want to say I think it is an 11/1970 so 71 model year? Not sure.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > StudyStudyStudy 09/02/2015 at 18:49

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Just from what I can see you don’t have the chrome fuel filler door knob, those were generally installed until early 71’ but it may have been changed for some reason. There were parts that were used until they ran out and then went to the next series, by the end of 71 everything series II was being used. I know an old lady with a dark green 12/71 and we had a look at what was in it because hers are all original since she bought it new, she has an auto too haha.

StudyStudyStudy > 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) 09/02/2015 at 19:05

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My car does have the fuel filler knob so I’m guessing early 71 or late 70. I know it uses all the earlier versions like the two bolt transmission cross member and such. It didn’t have the hatch vents, but it did have vertical lines.