I've been out of the game for years. Moved to Socal in 2012. Always had dreams of getting another 240 but as I got older those dreams faded. I wanted a weekend car and something to wrench on in my spare time and started searching the landscape through a sea of hacked up 240s and drift projects started but never finished. (I started a couple projects myself I never finished so I'm also to blame. It happens.)
Finding a clean stock 240 was basically near impossible nowadays. Especially in Socal! Right?
Gone were the days of finding a decent platform minus the
drift tax or the famous
"I know what I got" reply
I was still determined though. I checked CL and Facebook market everyday all over CA and AZ hoping to find a nice stock or lightly modded s13. There were some diamonds in the rough but the sellers were a little unrealistic. I started losing hope and could feel that dream fading away. Some posts on Zilvia even said finding a clean stock s13 was like finding a unicorn...
Well, do you believe in unicorns? I do now because dreams do come true.
I was driving down my street one day and passed by the mechanics shop and parked out front was a clean two tone s13 coupe. I pulled a u-turn, parked to look at the car and ask the mechanic if they were selling it. He said he didn't know who the owner was and it didn't look like it was for sale. No problem.
Take chances. You never know may happen.
I left a note on the windshield with my number and name. A couple days later, I got a phone call from a nice kid saying he got my note and was thinking about selling the car BUT it wasn't his. It was his MOM's. That's right. Original owner for 29 years. She's kept the car sitting for 6 months and gave it to her son to use but he has no use for it and is not interested in imports.
I setup a time to go look at the car and was blown away! This s13 was the cleanest stock 240 I have ever seen in person! Everything down to the hubcaps was original! The car was well maintained and recently serviced. She had service records dating back to 1994.
This was it! I wasn't letting this one go. I may never see one like this again. It needed some love and we negotiated on a reasonable price for the car. He was happy to see it go to someone that wanted to put in the time and care for the car. I came back a few days later, gave him cash and drove home with a smile on my face from ear to ear.
So, I submit to you my 1989 240sx XE s13 Coupe. Build date 10/88. Paint is original. Manual doors and windows. No a/c. This model did not come with a/c from the factory. Blue interior. Only negative, includes famous 240 cracked dash.
Other than that everything works. Shifts smooth and drives great. Engine was barely broken in.
Just wanted to share this story. Sometimes it's, right place, right time. Don't settle. Stay patient and keep your head up. When an opportunity comes your way, capitalize on it.
