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The story of Gloria; The 210 that changed my life


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If you aren't patient and don't like reading threads with lots of words and not many pictures, CLICK HERE

 

 

This is the untold story of my Datsun, who I've named Gloria, and how she changed my life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was fresh out of high school, no lisence, barely a job, no girlfriend, and nothing to get around in. I found myself hanging out with my brother a lot just to get out of the house. I was boored, didn't have shit to do. This was early last January. I had my old 1973 Honda cafe project that I was completely and utterly in love with. It had been a total resto job, from the frame to each individual wire on the damn thing. It was siezed when i got it, looked like ass, but it was a rare, 1200 original mile Honda bike. I needed to pay for parts, so I started looking around on craigslist for a car so I could find another job. All my friends knew I was looking, so they would call now and then just to tell me they found a '89 Corolla for $300, or a Cavalier for $900, but I wouldn't settle for some POS wrong wheel drive shit box. If I was gonna drive a piece of shit, it was gonna be funky, RWD, and old. I began looking into Nissan, which was new to me. I grew up working on Challengers, Mustangs, AMC's, ETC. I was a total muscle car kid. My dad always told me my first car needed a small 4 cyl engine and get good gas mileage. I always got pissed when he would say this, being the ignorant fucking tweener I was at the time. I didn't want anything to do with a tiny engine. I wanted the biggest, most powerful thing. But what kid didn't?

 

My friend Ricky calls me to update me on the Challenger we were working on (TOTAL sick monster!) and at the same time mentions his dads friend wants to get rid of some old clunker of a Datsun. "The fucks a Datsun?" "Dude, it's a Nissan and it's got a turbo!" huh? "It's an old '82 280ZX and he only wants $200 running!" Meh, okay? I get on the interwebz and do some research. I find out it's a Nissan! I always kinda dug Nissan because of the whole 240SX drift thing, so I was interested. A month went by and I hadn't heard from him. Turns out he was arrested for street racing. Dumb fuck. Okay, but I still wanted that car! For Christ sakes, it had a fucking turbo on it! It must be quick right? unsure.gif

 

Turns out, I was like every other misinformed kid of my age. Those damn things are as fast as I wanted. But Datsun was a name that stuck with me. I started looking around on craigslist for more. I looked at trucks, mostly 720's. Showed them to my dad who kinda chuckled and said uhhhh... maybe. No Datsun ever really stuck to him. He didn't like the idea of it. I was still looking though, after seeing how cheap they are to acquire. This add title for a B210 caught my eye. The title read something to the extent of "1981 Datsun B210 perfect deal $600." I looked inside and it was like an angel kicked me on my ass. There was something about that car I really loved! My dad was in the chair next to me and I looked at him.

 

Me: "Dad I found a car I want and it's a great deal!"

 

Dad: "Okay, tell me more"

 

Me: "Well it's a 1981 Datsun B210.... (blah blah blah random conversation)"

 

Dad: ":rofl:"

 

Me: "Whats so funny?"

 

The conversation went as you would imagine it would from a guy who grew up owning Cuda's and old Chevys with built 400's to a kid that wanted a little 1.5L Datsun econobox from the 80's. I argued with him all day. Hell, it was exactly what he said I needed! A small 4 cyl import that got good gas mileage and used cheap parts. I called the owner, who was some kid named Jose, who's not too far from my age. We BS'ed around, and I ended up cornering my dad about it until one day after an ice storm in February, we drove on out there almost an hour to see it. The interior was trashed, the car was dirtier then sin, but it was so weird that I couldn't possibly not love it! Hell, it was a classic, and those were my favorite cars in the world.

 

On February 9th of 2010, I was the proud owner of my own very first Datsun! I was ecstatic. My dad and I drove it home in freezing temperatures with no heat, no defroster, and no money. It was in shambles, but it made it without a hickup. I didn't care that it looked like shit, or that it rode rough as hell, it was a car. I would do a few small things to it and I'd be driving it in no time! I'd get a good job, sell it and buy something better. I had no idea how wrong I was at the time.

 

One boored night, I ended up looking for forums for Datsuns. I came across Datsun1200.com , posting in there, and shortly after DDgonzel (ggzilla) was harassing me with oics, because I kept posting that it was a B210. He kept posting adds that were confusing to me. Eventually I caught on that my car was NOT a B210, but a 210.

 

Fast forward a few weeks, and now I'm on Ratsun. Before I know it, I'm addicted. I now at this point know more about these simple little 210's then I do about my own small Honda that I had just re-built! Hell, this little Honda was now on the back burner, and I loved that Honda more then life itself. I spent more time on that Honda cafe racer then i had on anything else in my entire life, and now I find some little Japanese econoccar fighting for my attention.

 

It was June now, shortly after my birthday, and I realize that I have no money and at this rate, could not afford to keep working on two projects.. I posted my cafe racer on craigslist. It hurt more then anything to do, but I wanted it to go to a good home where it could be loved and finished by someone who could afford it. 4th of July weekend, a guy drove down from Tennessee to Georgia to see it. It ended up leaving my for a middle aged man who threw it in a minivan. I had $500 cash in hand and a tear in my eye. That Honda was the first thing I ever really loved and I just gave up on it. It killed me to watch it go, but I knew it was going to a good home. The guy that bought it is a collector and avid lover of cafe racers. Mine was an addition to his collection. It has since then been completed. I still dream of her.

 

The 210 then was my priority. I worked on her every day and night. I had already torn the engine down and rebuilt the valvetrain twice, replaced the rotors, fabbed up some Z31 seats, lost a tire, replaced rotor again, etc. There was no end to my knowledge! I would post on Ratsun, learn what I could, and conquer this Datsun more and more every day! I would dream of the day that she would be the glorious gimmering beautiful car she once was, and I would be the one to do it!

 

^^Although, quite honestly I couldn't have made it this far without the help of Ratsun.net and all you guys on here! THANKS RATSUN!

 

Winter was passing now, and the start of the new year had come. I had already painted the car once, and done basically everything there was to do! Hell, this car even helped me land a job at Autozone. My knowledge of cars had surpassed anything I had imagined! My car had become my life. It was my passion. I lived, breathed, bled Datsun. I wanted more. But hell, It had been a year since I bought the car and I still had never really driven it! I had not damn drivers lisence. I would drive it around the block every day just to say I drove it. Eventually, a few weeks later I had become comfortable enough with the condition of the car that I wanted it to be my new daily instead of my mom delivering me to my destinations in the minivan. Super lame, considering Gloria was crying for attention in the driveway and I was too lazy to spend the time on her. I eventually got my liscence, and that night drove her for the first ever time outside on the streets all alone. It was the slowest fucking car I had ever driven. 0-60 was impossible, but I just didn't give a shit. I grew up around 500+HP but somehow managed to find love in 87hp. It was plenty for me. I was content with it, which baffled my friends, who always saw me as the kid in the Trans Am tearing down the road with tire smoke pooring from the wheel wells that were the envy of WW2 destroyers, but here I was trying to catch up to traffic in a slow ass Datsun.

 

Between that time and now, I have come to the realization that if I ever did get rid of this car, I would be a heartbroken wreck. This car is who I have become. I can make any excuse in the world, but when it comes to it, I am afraid to let Gloria go, in fear that she will become some teenagers hacked up drift box and be totalled in a junkyard. I don't know that selling my car is possible.

 

Gloria brought me and my GF(monkeygirl) who I love more then anyone on this earth, together in ways that I didn't know were possible. I guess in a way, I could call her hitch biggrin.gif

 

I woke up this morning with my head full of thoughts, because I had an epiphinay the night before. The car will never be perfect. It will never be finished. I needed something more reliable, because it's just costing me more to keep fixing this then it will ever be worth. I went to my little brother who's 15 years old and already digging Datsuns more then anything, and trolls Ratsun all day long, just like me, and told him Gloria was going away. He looked at me in awe and told me he couldn't believe it. I left at that, and went outside to work on her. I was planning on sanding my spare grill down and painting it up real nice, but all I really wanted was an excuse to spend time with my car. I got frustrated and went and sat down inside, in a bad mood knowing how much it was gonna hurt watching my car drive away in the hands of another man, and just flat out said "I give up on this today."

 

My brother got up from the other room and did something I had never expected, and made my day. he picked the grill up off the floor, looked at me, and said in the most determined of voices, "Come on, we'll go outside and make it work."

This was a kid that I had to fight with just to get him to come help me bleed my brakes. He seemed to hate helping me with Gloria, and I never really understood why. When he said that to me, I realized how much he actually loved the car. He told me when she's gone, he'll cry. He sat in the garage for 8 hours today while I was at work sanding, washing, preping, and painting the grill and it turned out immaculate.

 

I went to work today and told my boss I was thinking about getting rid of my car. He laughed and told me he knew I was full of shit. Told me that he knew I loved that car more then life itself, and could see the passion in my eyes. I realized then that my car will be with me until I die. I couldn't live it down if she left.

 

Today was one of the most emotional days of my life. I decided today that my Datsun will always be with me. When I am can afford to, I am going to go buy another Datsun, and hand my brother the keys to Gloria. I think he deserves it. cool.gif

 

I'd like to keep going here, but I've been typing for the last hour, and I deserve a Dr. Pepper break. Maybe I'll add more later? Nah, too lazy. Hope you enjoyed!

 

PS: I'm tired, and didn't proof read, so don't be too harsh if I fucked something up laugh.gif

 

VIVA LA GLORIA

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Wow, that was a nice read. My brother is always on the fence about helping me with the Datsun. He's 14 now and is looking to get a 240sx, but I think I might have him hooked on 510's :D How old are you now? I'm 17 and I've been building my Z since I was 14. Anyway, good luck with the rest of the stuff you do to it.

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Wow, that was a nice read. My brother is always on the fence about helping me with the Datsun. He's 14 now and is looking to get a 240sx, but I think I might have him hooked on 510's :D How old are you now? I'm 17 and I've been building my Z since I was 14. Anyway, good luck with the rest of the stuff you do to it.

 

I'll be 20 in two weeks cool.gif My little brother makes me so proud sometimes. I have never seen him dedicate himself into something as much as he did today with the grill. He really wants Gloria to stick around. We took her for a drive and I blasted the dirt out of the engine on video, and he really loves the growl she made between gears cool.gif

 

 

good story making me miss gloria

 

Thanks man. Gloria will always be in my heart. I just hope nothing ever comes between me and her. i always want her around

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This isn't the same dick head brother as before is it?

 

I know how you feel about selling it. Every couple of weeks I convince myself that I need to sell my z and get something I can drive right now, then when I get to typing up he ad I convince myself to keep it and that I will fix it. I've driven my car a total of about 3 blocks, I don't even remember how it rides or sounds as the battery has been dead for a few months, but I still can't wait until it is finally finished.

 

I'm taking donations to help me afford to fix it, help get a 240z back on the road!

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cool story!! :D it looked way cool white !!

Thanks! I'm hoping she will be white again soon. It's gonna be a hot summer!

 

This isn't the same dick head brother as before is it?

 

I know how you feel about selling it. Every couple of weeks I convince myself that I need to sell my z and get something I can drive right now, then when I get to typing up he ad I convince myself to keep it and that I will fix it. I've driven my car a total of about 3 blocks, I don't even remember how it rides or sounds as the battery has been dead for a few months, but I still can't wait until it is finally finished.

 

I'm taking donations to help me afford to fix it, help get a 240z back on the road!

 

No, this is my younger brother. hes only 15.

 

I've posted it on craigslist like... 4 times? I took it down within a day of each time. Although now, I may have run into a situation where I won't have a choice but to let it go :(

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