Also during my senior year, I saw an add in an auto parts store for a 1972 4-door 510 for sale for $100. I ended up buying it, and replacing the dead motor (the first of my ingenious "fool-proof" money making schemes). It was apple green, basically all stock with an automatic. It wasn't exactly what I was looking for, so I sold it about 6 months later for $750. (Money-making scheme #1 ends up making me ~$250, after buying a used L16, etc.. Not bad for 6 months of work, right? He-He) The important thing is that for about 2 months, I had a cool "extra" car to drive, and something to play with.
My good friends Joe and Matt probably deserve some credit for this 510 project. Joe risked his life trying to steer the green 510 as I towed it with Spiff. We used a very interesting "tow-bar" set-up. It consisted of some chain, and a few metal cyclone-fence bars. (Totally unsafe!) They also both helped me with the engine swap, and watched me poor automatic transmission fluid ALL OVER MYSELF. (What ATF?!)
I learned a lot about 510's in that time, and I knew I had to have another. I wish I had held onto the 4-dr longer, I miss driving it around, feeling like I was straight out of the '70's, oh, well. (Also, no pictures of the green 510.)
In the summer of 1997, I bought "Bambi." I paid $1250 for her, and I think she was worth every penny. When I bought her, she had a 500 mile old L20B and 280z 5-spd, and some way-too rich running SU's. On the test drive I was very impressed with the low end power of the L20B with the SU's. It made me smile :) (My biggest complaint with the green 510 was its lack of power at low RPM's. I cracked most of that up to the auto transmision, but still...) I knew I had to have it, so I bought it the next day. I made some nescessary repairs/improvements right away, and it has been my daily driver ever since. There is more information about "Bambi" in the "about my 510" section.
Sometime in 1999 I came up with ingenious money-making scheme #2. I saw in the paper an add for 2 280zx's, one with a good motor and an ugly body, one with a dead motor and a nice body for $500. (You see where I'm goig with this?) The only problem was the $500 dollar "investment." <Enter my other brother.> He needed a car, and he had money...aha! So, he bought the cars, and paid me to do the engine swap. (Works out great for an unemplyed kid who wants to play with Datsuns!) So in a few moths, my brother had a car, and I was $500 richer. Win-win situation! (here are a few pictures of the 280ZX's)
