Project Z33... Part II

Many of the regular followers of JDMphasis may be aware of the fact that I owned a 2003 LeMans Sunset 350Z Touring years ago. This was the car that really sparked my passion for the Japanese Domestic Market. I sold it for personal reasons described in other posts on this blog and, long story short, I have always regretted it. I loved that car. As with the majority of automotive projects, it was never "complete." In fact, it was far from it. I actually had a multitude of parts, brand new in-box, waiting to be installed at the time I decided to sell the car. Nonetheless, that car was one I thoroughly enjoyed. I have also described the "escape" in some of my posts on this blog. When you just need to take a ride and clear your mind... Or you just want to "get away" for a few minutes or a half an hour or two hours, to get in the car and drive is a peaceful escape from reality. Whether the stressors are significant or minuscule, it does not matter. The car serves as a respite. That was this car for me. 

Over the past few months I have been searching for another Z. I still have plans to modify the daily driving FJ, but, frankly, I hate not having a project car. That said, I did not want to spend a lot of money. My plan was to track down a high-mileage Z - either a Z33 or Z34 - without too much concern of remaining life, as I had the intention of overhauling the engine down the line when necessary. Well, surprisingly, this task proved more difficult than I had anticipated. There are a few used 350Zs out there, but the owners are either expecting to get top dollar for them when they are in fair condition, at best, or they are pretty much ruined with cheap parts and modifications. Then, there are just not many 370Zs out there at this point in my desired price range. There were a couple, but, to be honest, I would have only pulled the trigger on a 370 if it was exactly what I wanted. I was pretty much set on a 350. Then, an aspect of this process that proved quite challenging? I cannot exaggerate the number of times I e-mailed private internet sellers to not get a response. Easily between fourteen and eighteen times. 

Anyway, about two and a half months into my search, I found a 350Z at a dealership in Pennsylvania. I e-mailed the dealership multiple times over the course of a month. I can say with 100% certainty that I must have driven the salesperson with whom I dealt absolutely crazy. However, he did ultimately make a sale with me. Over three months of searching and back-and-forth with multiple sellers and dealerships, and the Z pictured below was delivered two nights ago. I do not have any of my own pictures of it yet, but it is a 100% stock 2006 Daytona Blue 6MT. I am pretty excited. I have some plans for this car. This will be a fun project. Stay Tuned…

A few shots of the new project from the dealership website…

And how about a throwback of the old Z33?

JDMphasis… Innovation over Imitation