It’s been just over two weeks since I started looking for a classic Datsun Z and what an experience it has been. I’ve been mostly using the 4Sale app to find a car and I’ve noticed a few things in common between all the sellers:
– None speak english no matter how basic I kept my language as you can see above. So, I resorted to installing the Arabic keyboard on my phone and with the help of Google Translate communicate with them. In the end I realized it’s just easier to call them since I talk better than I write Arabic.
– All the Z sellers I called up (and by all I mean ALL) had the Koran play when you called them up instead of the usual dial tone
– They all lived in areas I had never really been to like Omairiya, Dahar, Qurain etc..
Qurain is one of the areas I went to twice, first time to meet an owner of one of the cars I wanted to check out and the second time to the used car lots in “Aswaq Qurain”. Those car lots had a bunch of interesting cars for sale from the latest Range Rovers and Ferraris to classic 70s Porsches and 60s Stingray.
While there I spotted a like new condition red 1983 Datsun 280z with only 52km on the clock which is basically 0 mileage (pictured above). The price? KD7,000 which honestly isn’t THAT expensive for what is essentially a brand new car from the 80s.
But while I was originally looking for an 80s Z, during my search I started falling in love with the older 70s Z. The simple wooden steering wheel by itself was enough of a reason but combined with the much simpler interior with less electronics and what I now think is a nicer exterior, I knew thats what I wanted. But they’re also harder to find, I just found 4 over the past two weeks and neither one of them were in great condition with all needing a lot of work. I was actually pulling the trigger on the silver blue one pictured on top of this post but backed out an hour before I finalized the paperwork because I realized it would need a lot more work (aka $$$$) than I was willing to put into it.
So right now I’m going to continue looking for the perfect Z. I’ve heard their prices are going to increase since they recently allegedly got banned from being imported into Kuwait because of the shenanigans involved with the cars. But hopefully I’ll end up finding what I’m looking for.
34 replies on “The Hunt for the Perfect Z”
Did you came across any 60’s mustangs been looking desperately for one on the past few monthly
Can u share a pic?
Im currently restoring 1964 1/2. just order one from the states
I spotted this in Qurain https://248am.com/images/2016/03/mustang.jpg
But wasn’t for sale, not sure what year it was. Also spotted an Eleanor lookalike mustang in Qurain.
Oh and I saw a nice looking 70s mustang on 4Sale
There was a nice cherry red 60ish model Mustang California that sat beside Best Western for about 3 months. no for sale sign though.
Banning cars. Makes about as much sense as not being able to buy a pickup truck in Kuwait if your a non Kuwaiti. Made in America and banned to Americans. Twilight Zone….
Many cars are banned in America https://www.rantcars.com/2015/09/17/15-cars-that-are-banned-in-america/
All these cars in the list are banned due to safety or regulatory reasons, not nationality.
What are you talking about? No car was banned because of its nationality. The Datsun Z is locally available in Kuwait for sale, it was banned from import because of safety reasons.
Nationality of its owner, not production country.
Non-kuwaitis are not allowed to purchase certain types of cars as David is saying.
You cant own a truck in Kuwait if you’re not kuwaiti, thus the “Made in America and banned to Americans” quote above.
+1 post, Mark, referencing past post, keeping us up to date. I appreciate your transparency by putting yourself out there. These on going sagas make me want to keep returning to your blog, which I assume is the (indirect) goal. I can easily put myself in your shoes which your descriptive writing style. While I am not looking for buying a vintage car, our commonality is that we are both expats in Kuwait.
Keep it up and thank you.
May you find what you are looking and may it be what you hoped for.
Get the new Chiron and make a real statement Mr.248 🙂
Good luck!
Mark the 3gedy 🙂
What about clean lookin Skyline? I have seen some nice ones around
I saw not so decent ones for 8000+. Much more than what I want to pay for a hobby car.
Youshould take note that for 15 KD in shuwaikh you can lower your car’s milage to whatever you want. So never count on that.
Sure, you can set the mileage to zero if you want but that won’t reset the condition of the car back to zero either.
That’s not what LOL meant. He was trying to say that if you find a car with less mileage, it probably might not be with less mileage because it’s easy to tamper with the odometer in Kuwait. For example, people trying to jack up the prices saying that it has been hardly used, but in reality it might be a beater car just restored.
I know what LOL meant which is why I replied that setting the mileage to zero doesn’t make the interior brand new again.
200-300 kd in i7san for the seats armrests stearing wheel + a few 100 for the electronics does though….
Checking the chasis will be your best bet if you’re in doubt
lol no thats not how it works
Any chance you got see how much that white Porsche was going for?
1978 Porsche 911SC with 102,000 mileage for KD18,000
They also has another Porsche 911, 1983 with 97,000 mileage for 12,000
Good luck on your journey. I had the same one about 3 years ago and when I set out to rebuild a classic mini. Unfortunately prices and policies here make vintage car building quite an expensive hobby. On that note, if a hobby car is what you looking for a old classic mini is a great start, lots of spares, relatively low cost and easy to build and maimtain as it is a very basic car.
I want a car I like and have feelings for. Old minis remind me of circus clowns and I really don’t like them. No offense.
I’ve been looking for a 3rd gen Camaro IROC Z edition. I love them because they have that retro 80s futuristic feel if you know what I mean.
“– All the Z sellers I called up (and by all I mean ALL) had the Koran play when you called them up instead of the usual dial tone”
Koran ?
Mark, It is spelled as Quran OR “Qur’an” only
Writing “Koran” for Quran is the same as writing “Moslem” for Muslim
Thanks
Koran is also how it’s spelled https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quran
The title itself in Wikipedia says “Quran” and then shows it can be referred to as Koran
If your audience is knowledgeable about Islam, I think the respectful thing to do would be to ask yourself how your audience would spell it.
Like you said, Wikipedia says it can be spelled as Koran which is how I write it.
Ahan, guess somebody else wrote this post for you
https://248am.com/mark/magazines/ministry-of-private-education-guidelines/
Yeah, that was copy pasted from the MOI guidelines, I spell it with a K not Q.