If I had space, money and a welder, I’d save them all. I don’t have any of the above, which is a shame because I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting old rotting Japanese cars out of the corner of my eye. I’m not sure if it’s super capable, but I hope it will come in handy someday.
continue my Japanese Treasure Hunt series, of which I have brought you Evolution of Mitsubishi Lancer Evo I, Today’s offering is a three-course buffet of old Nissan Model Zs.
What first caught my eye was the grape juice purple of this S130 Fairlady Z (280ZX). I turned around and rolled quietly to the garage overflow where it was parked.ok so technically The cars aren’t abandoned, but I’m sure you’ll agree the level of decay is harrowing and worth a quick look around.
Not wanting to leave my welcome, I quickly ran across the yard to see what other iron piles I could find back on the ground, and got sandwiched between the two Tie The car is this Z31 Fairlady (300ZX) Turbo. The bodywork is in very salvageable condition with only a few early signs of rust throughout.
I’ve spent so much time looking at dilapidated old cars and dreaming of full nuts and bolts restorations in my fantasy workshop that I have a good idea of how much these restore base cars cost.Porsche 911s, BMW 635s and Z-cars are all on my watch list and I can tell you that even the price of a non-running rust bucket is ridiculous These days in Japan.
So why were these cars excluded seemingly without regard for their value? This is happening all over Japan, and no one really has a definitive answer.
First of all, the Japanese see JDM cars differently from foreigners. Exotic charm is non-existent. There was a time when these Z32 Fairlady 300ZXs and cars like the Skyline GT-R were just seen as cheap, fast fun. So for some mechanic in their 40s or 50s, it’s not potential street cred, it’s just a relic that takes up space.
“Then why not sell them?” I hear you ask. Well, that’s a good question. I have asked the same question many times and the short answer is that writing off and selling these cars is too much time and effort for people to bother. Or maybe time will overcome them.
“But it’s a waste to let these cars rot.” tell me what’s going on…
You and I can both see the potential of this S130. Sure, the car is clearly dated, but what story can it tell if you strip it down to bare metal, massage those big arches back into shape, and put on some fresh purple paint.
There’s so much to love about this car, from the ghetto mismatch body kit that uses what could be a very early Trust front bumper, to the flexible silver ducts that act as air intakes. Not to mention that color. It may never have been a show car, but you can imagine this Nissan has some oomph.
Side Note: This style of front bumper (VeilSide also has their own version) is used on many of the modified Z cars that compete in Option Magazine’s Top Speed Test Race On Yatabe’s sloping oval test track in the 1980s, some cars reached speeds of 280 km/h.
Unfortunately, there’s not much we can do to save these dying old JDM cars.All we can do is hope and pray that one day the owners will make an effort to get them listed Yahoo!auctions For someone like me to browse and dream about the next big restoration project.
Stay tuned for more Junk hunting japanese…
Tobyer
Instagram_tobinsta_
tobythyer.co.uk