LinPark's 370Z Journal

LinPark

Here she is - first pics and write up from the first day.

Purchase date: 4/7/2010

2010 Dark Cherry 6MT with Sports Package, Floor Mats, Illuminated Kick Plates, Splash Guards, and Trunk Mat

MSRP (w/Destination): $34,840
Invoice (per truecar.com): $32,321
Purchased for: $30,529 (before other fees)



More pics here.

Day 1

It all started when the alarm went off ... not that I needed it to since I had been rolling around most of the night unable to sleep. I quickly got ready and waited for the family to wake up so they could all take me over to the Enterprise to pick up the rental car. We arrived there at about 8:30 AM and I was "upgraded" to a fairly new White PT Cruiser. After a quick stop for some breakfast and an interior setup so my music and GPS were all set, I was on my way at 9 AM.

As I hopped on I-75 N, it struck me as funny that I should be in a White PT Cruiser since that is the exact car that my parents currently drive around in. And that made me think of my mother purchasing a new '78 280Z back when I was just 10 years old. When I knew I was going to get this 370Z, I talked to them about how they remembered their Z buying experience. My Dad said that he knew they were going to make major changes in '79 and he didn't like the looks of what they were doing so they decided to get a '78 instead. The car was manufactured in June of '78 and is one of the last 300 280Z's to roll off the assembly line. They found it in the back lot of a Datsun dealer and though it wasn't their first choice in colors they went with it.

After all this recollection, I had the good fortune of hitting Disney World traffic while nearing Orlando. Feeling lucky to get through it I hopped on SR-528 to head east toward Merritt Island only to find out that this wonderful road has tolls. I haven't purchased a SunPass yet so I had to stop at each one and this took me back to those wonderful days of driving on the NJ Garden State Parkway where they stop you about every 5 miles to collect $1 - it is aptly named because you find yourself "parked" on it more than driving.

After all this fun, I arrived at the dealership at 12 PM. I was quickly approached by numerous salespeople until they realized I was there for someone else. I spotted my car over near the body shop sitting in the shade and after finding my salesman we took her out for a quick spin. What a great experience that was even though the shifter/clutch on the 370Z is quite different than the 280Z. Once back from the drive, I got out of the car and noticed some scratches on the roof on my side and the car was whisked away for the final prep. I went inside to the dealership, signed all the paperwork, finalized the financing and was ready to get going. The car came back from the prep and was parked under an awning for final review. I found a few more small issues that the body shop folks polished out and by 2:30 PM I was pulling off the lot.

Nothing, and I mean nothing, can prepare you for pulling one of these off the lot that belongs to you. Its a great feeling and at the same time you cringe everytime someone else gets near you. The drive home was fairly uneventful. I varied the speed between 60 mph and 80 mph (oops, did I say that). I stopped for a quick bite to eat and that was the first time I moved away from the car and was able to look out at it and realize it was actually mine. The car looked absolutely stunning sitting there in the sun ... like something right out of the future compared to the other vehicles around it. I ate fast since no one was parked on either side and hopped back in for the final stretch.

I had hoped to be home around 3:30 PM but with the late start I called the family to tell them I would have to meet them at our Wednesday rendevous point. I arrived around 5:15 PM and actually let the wife take her home while I waited for the kids. Handing over the keys wasn't my favorite but I had already seen the 100 mile and 200 mile indicator click by so I was fine with it. But I did tell her to call me when she got home.

Overall, a fantastic day ... I went out to check on her in the garage a few times that night and remember going out there first thing the next day to make sure it wasn't all a dream. All I can say is that if you are thinking about getting one of these and have the luxury of affording it then DO IT .. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT!

LinPark

Day 2

Nothing major here, just a late afternoon drive for a few miles. Tried plugging in the iTouch to the Aux port and it didn't sound too good so I'll have to play with it some more.

Day 3

Poor girl spent the whole day in the garage. Eh, she needed a rest.

Day 4

Her first bath early this morning and I'm hoping to give her a full claybar treatment today ... she was on that dealer lot for quite a while ... if time, I'll wash off the clay residue tonight at sunset and get ready for her first wax treatment on Sunday ... then it will be a night on the town - stylin' and profilin' .. WOOOOOOOOOO!

LinPark

Day 5

NXT 2.0 wax went on fine and she really looked great - took her out around 4 PM for a quick hop into Sarasota for a movie and dinner with the wife. Everything was great until it started raining.

She tripped 300 miles on the way home.

Day 6

Backed her out of the garage into some mid-day sun so I could get some better pictures to show off the Dark Cherry color (see pic in post 1) - ordered some polish/wax products from Adams to hopefully address some of the light swirls in the paint - the NXT seemed to cover these up pretty well but I guess driving in the rain undid all that hard work.

Will start looking at tint and spacers - pretty much set on H&R 15mm/20mm setup with stud replacement given all the great write-ups around here on them but am completely up in the air on the tint so if anyone has suggestions or could recommend a good shop in the Tampa area it would be greatly appreciated. My options are pretty much open in Florida I think.

LinPark

4/17/2010

Walked into the nearest dealer and ordered the locking lugs - they should arrive on Wednesday - just didn't want to risk ordering from someone online and getting the wrong thing - price of $50 for 4.

Adam's Polishes arrived today - tried the hand polishes out and they don't really seem to be helping much so guess its going to be a PC 7424XP for me soon.

Car hasn't left the garage since Tuesday but I'm thinking about an early morning trip to get the blood/oil flowing.

LinPark

4/24/2010

Picked up the locking lugs today and they match the pics that I've seen on the forum here so I'll be torquing them on tomorrow. Took her for a late afternoon spin today and she tripped 400 miles and the fuel warning came on letting me know I was down to just 50 miles remaining. Will probably fill her up tomorrow. Was just amazed at the grip this car has when I was entering the interstate today - its like the thing is on rails. Also, got behind an Infiniti G-class with what looked like Fast Intentions exhaust - those things are now at the top of my wishlist big time - just gorgeous and sounded great - the guy punched it at one point and ran the RPM's waaaaaaay past where I can go right now so he was gone.

More Adam's stuff arrives on 4/28 - this will be the full machine polish setup and the tire/wheel cleaning kit so I'll definitely post back here how all that goes - looking forward to getting all the swirls out and doing a proper exterior detail to see exactly how good this color can look.

Ricochet48

Bump for more pics of the black cherry. I must have missed that this became available for the new models in the coupe version and not just the roadster.

Hope you're enjoying your new Z!

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I feel like some RWD and torque!

LinPark

5/9/2010

Just last Sunday, took her out for a stretch and turned 500 miles. Had a chic in some little hybrid vehicle follow me from the main road all the way into the movie theater parking lot to check things out (guess she didn't see my wife in the car with me or she just didn't care ) - saw Iron Man 2 by the way and it was quite entertaining - I'll take my Z coupe over that Audi convertible anyday.

Have a birthday coming up in about a month so hoping to get the Universal Homelink mirror and some spacers to play with.

Also, have a ton of Adam's products now that I've been gradually using on the car - once I get a full polish done to her I'll post up some more pics here - the color is really starting to pop in the sections that I've done and that's one of the best features of this one in my opinion.

CrownR426

You're living in florida! Soooooo lucky you can get away with any mod, get a catback + test pipes
>:[
So unfair

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Love + Hardwork + Passion
RIP SVTRacer

LinPark

I lived in Jersey from '98 to '05 - they once failed the gas cap on my brand new Honda Odyssey and made me go get a new one and then they took the receipt from me so I couldn't return it. Those guys are insane on the inspections up there.

I'm thinking around Christmas time I want to get a full Fast Intentions setup from headers all the way to the rear. So you think CBE and test pipes would be best? I was thinking of going with the HiFlo Cats and the 18" resonators - I don't want to wake the whole county when I fire her up. Maybe I'll ask around in the regional forums if anyone near Tampa has a setup with test pipes.

sofa_king

Story reminded me of myself when I first got my Z best day ever!!

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Ark exhaust Berk HFC Bride Zeta III Hotchkis sways KW V3 SSR Type-F SPC rear camber Shine Auto front lip

LinPark

5/22/2010

Just tripped 600 miles on tonight's trip - still can't express how fun it is to drive this car and I haven't even started mod'ing it yet. I have started to purchase a few things for the car and will post those mods up when I've finished them. Sticking with some external things to start and possibly 15mm/20mm spacers in the near future. Holding off on the Universal Homelink Rear View Mirror for now since I'm really not missing that very much.

Slowly getting a full detail completed on the paint - quite "swirly" when I picked her up thanks to the dealer using some rather rough clothes to clean her I guess. I've done a full treatment on the roof and it is just stunning. I'm starting to think I've spent more hours washing/detailing her than driving her.

I was able to remove the dealership stick on from the rear driver side earlier in the week using Goo Gone and that felt so good and looked 2000% better. Back on 4/17 I mentioned my lack of success with the Adam's hand products. I broke these out again because that section just under the spoiler is too small for the 7" pads. I worked that thin strip for the better part of 2 hours and I take back what I said - the product definitely works very well but keep in mind its my arms and shoulders doing the 5,000 oscillations per minute instead of the PC 7424XP so it is ALOT of work.

LinPark

6/13/2010

Just tripped 700 miles on tonight's trip - went out with the wife to celebrate my birthday - saw Prince of Persia (fairly entertaining) and had a nice dinner.

Received some Z valve stems and a Z license plate holder as gifts and installed them. Still working through the detailing as stated earlier. Currently focusing on the driver side panels and needing to use some polish that I was given by the body shop to take out some of the more pain in the rear blemishes. Really is rewarding to see each panel as it finishes up.

Here's a nice story: Returned home from a biz trip to NYC last week and my family picks me up at the airport. My 6 year old daughter proceeds to say this - "Mommy, are you gonna tell Daddy about that scratch you put on his car?". The next 5 minutes in the car were quite interesting to say the least. It boiled down to some watermark on the car that my daughter thought was a scratch and that my wife rubbed off with her finger. But when my daughter first said it, you can just imagine my reaction.

LinPark

6/22/2010

Just tripped 800 miles today - she also got her 2nd fill-up with Chevron 93 Octane just a few days before this at $2.96/gallon. Two thirds of the way to recommended break-in - I have cheated a few times but not by much - can't wait to open this baby up.

Completed the polishing of the driver side last weekend. Unfortunately, as my wife pulled up beside me today in the 370Z she was on my lefthand side so I got a real good look at all the work I have to do on the passenger side now - UGH, will it ever end.

Also, stripped the 370Z logo off the rear this past weekend in between polishing sessions. I have the Fairlady Z logo but want to finish all the detailing before putting it back on. Regarding that, has anyone considered mounting that logo above the old spot so much that it actually sits on the hatch instead of the bumper? I like the idea of having it on the hatch (passenger side actually) in case I ever decide to completely replace the bumper with something new. What do you guys think of that?

LinPark

6/28/2010

Just tripped 900 miles today and had to do it in one of those horrific Florida downpours. I've got the parts for an oil change on the way and hope to do it myself just before the break-in period ends. Going with Nissan Ester Oil for about 2,000 more miles and then switching over to synthetic. Just love all the great info on this thread.

Also upgraded to a Premium Membership the other day - my my my, it's a great big world out there.

RCZ

Lin, IMO...skip the Ester oil and go straight to whatever you want to use. Its pointless to run the Nissan oil. I have Mobil 1 5w30 in my car right now and it runs perfect. I did what you're doing and gained nothing out of it. Might as well save yourself some money.