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| Well here it is, my first car, my 1986 Daytona Turbo Z C/S. I originally purchased this vehicle in August 2003, with intentions of this being my everyday driver. The day after bringing the Z home, my current 1990 Daytona Shelby came up for sale, which is a car I had my eyes on for years and years. Needless to say, at the age of 16, I had a difficult choice to make - Keep the Z and pass on the Shelby, or buy the Shelby and sell the Z. Well, after discussions with my dad, we decided that my best move at the time would be to sell the Z and bring home the Shelby! It didn't take long for a buyer to come up for the Z. It was in mid to late September that year that I tearfully watched my Z drive away with its new owner. Fast forward to 2008. I bought a couple of parts cars off of a friend of the guy who bought my Z from me in 2003. For curiosity's sake, I asked about the car and how it was doing. I was informed that the Z was parked and had been for some time with a bad water pump. When I questioned if the Z may be for sale sometime soon, I was told "possibly" and was given the owner's number. For the next year and a half, I tried contacting the owner of the Z with little to no luck. I left voicemails on his cell phone, messages on his home answering machine, and never received a call back. Then in October 2009 as I was spending an evening in the garage with my dad and brother, my fabled Turbo Z came into discussion. I had all but given up hope on ever being able to buy it back, but my dad and brother talked me into trying to call the guy one more time. Little did I know that this time he would answer the phone! I spent a good 15 minutes or so reintroducing myself and talking cars with the guy before I finally gave the reason I was calling - to find out if he would be willing to sell me back my old Turbo Z! The next seven seconds of silence seemed like an eternity, but to my shock and surprise, the owner said YES, he would sell me the car back! Woooooooooooo! I was completely caught off guard. Never did I expect that after nearly six years apart, I would have the opportunity to buy back my first running, driving, Turbo Mopar! The day finally came, October 22, 2009 when me, my brother, and our trustworthy friend Rob hooked the dolly up to our trusty 1989 Ram 150 and went out on our way to bring the Z back home! Surprisingly, it hadn't traveled that far from my home after being sold. The Z was sitting in a little ol', rinky dink, dirt floor garage in a small town about half an hour away. Boy was I excited when we pulled into the driveway and I saw the nose of the Z sticking out of the garage! With the exception of five years worth of dirt and a dirty interior, it was just as I remembered it! As it turns out, the owner had bought it off of me and only drove the Z for about a year before parking it. Within the next two hours I had the car washed up and back in my driveway! Unfortunately the several years of sitting on dirt didn't do me any favors. The fuel lines have a few rust holes in them, as does one of the brake lines. I have already located some like new fuel lines (Thanks Dan!) that I'll be installing soon once I fix the brake line. Once this is done, the Z should run again! After sitting under a tarp in my driveway from October 2009 until March 2011, I finally decided to get the Z roadworthy. This process included a whole new fuel system (tank, pump, lines), whole new brake system (brake hoses, pads, calipers, rotors, e-brake cables, rear drums), new power steering rack and tie rods. It's served as my daily driver now since June 15, 2011 and I'm enjoying every minute of it! I've installed woodgrain dash trim from a Lebaron to accompany a mint condition '88 CSX-T woodgrain steering wheel (thanks Don P.!!), BFGoodrich Radial T/A's (raised white letters), 2.5" turbo back exhaust, new clutch and several other odds and ends. It's a blast to drive and I'm looking forward to the day when I have the time and place to do a restoration on this piece! |
