Dream Car

I have a bad habit of purchasing things on a whim. This is why I have seven cameras at the moment and have had nineteen others in the past. I tell myself, "wow, the Leica M3 looks amazing. It's also an iconic camera, and they're not that expensive." And then I head over to eBay or KEH or whatever. Likewise, with the Canon F-1 or the Graflex Speed Graphic. I think I've run one or two rolls through the F-1. Mind you, all of them are amazing cameras. It's a shame that they sit on the bookshelf most of the time.

It's particularly bad when something is just within reach, because I'll think of eleventy twelve different reasons why I must buy the item in question. It's worse when something is just out of reach, because I'll tell myself, "I'll buy that when the price drops below $xxxx." And inevitably, it does, usually very quickly. This is how I ended up with a 1D Mark III ("I'll buy it when it drops under $3,000 for a good used one") and later a 5D Mark II ("I'll buy it when it drops under $2,500"). This is worse because it only necessitates one excuse.

This makes me sound terribly irresponsible, but in fact, I don't buy anything I can't afford, I've never been in debt, and while photography is an expensive hobby, if I were to sell my gear I could do so at minimal loss. Actually, that last bit doesn't help because I have a habit of buying things just to "try it out" and then "sell it if I don't like it." This is part of the reason why I have over twenty lenses that I "previously owned." Some were sold after legitimate upgrades and others because I bought them and ended up not using them, or bought them just to see what the fuss is.

When I said "things" in the first sentence, I meant "photography-related things." I've never decided that I "need" to have a fancy pair of shoes or a PlayStation or whatever it is that normal people claim a need to own. In fact the only time I buy new shoes are then the old ones fall apart and I've never owned a gaming console.

That is, until I convinced myself I need to buy a particular car. There is a Japanese comic called Wangan Midnight in which the protagonist is at a junkyard and comes across an S30 Fairlady Z with an L28 engine. As the story progresses, the car consumes much of his time and money as he works to restore, then to tune the car for street racing.

As it happens, I've found, in what is essentially a junkyard, a 1978 Datsun 280Z. Indeed, this is an S30 with an L28 2.8-liter straight-six engine. The same car appearing in abovementioned comic, although the exterior is not midnight blue.

There was much cajoling. "It runs, you see? And because it's Japanese it won't put up a fuss every time you start it up," said my inner voice. "Nor will it put up a fuss if you don't start it up for a while. Plus it's rear-wheel drive and it's got a proper manual gearbox. A perfect second car, and a damn cheap one too." But rational me thought, "yeah, but I'll have to pay a hefty sum to insure it, and it will need to be registered and pass smog inspections..." "Besides, parts are really cheap and there are very few parts that can go wrong, and they're mostly easy fixes anyway." So, a triumph of heart over brain. This doesn't happen very often, which is why I didn't talk to that girl over there.

So, a dream come true or my worst nightmare? We shall soon find out. Watch this space for updates.