1980 200SX

Welcome to the start of my addiction. This was my very first car ever, a 1980 Nissan (Datsun) 200SX. I think I paid $700 for it.

My freinds will likely be quick to point out from this photo that when it comes to clothes, my sense of style (or lack thereof) has not changed in a decade.



This was my first experience working on cars. My first try at repairing rust, painting, installing stereos. Everything but motor work. Actually, I learned to change filters on this car. It was a great car to learn on, although at the time, I would have never uttered such a statement. Oh no, this was the coolest car ever at the time.

It was blue when I got it. It had a little rust, but some bondo took care of that. I drove it around with primer for a long time. I finally decided to paint it myself, but screwed it up so bad, that I had to take it to a shop. I called every place in the book until I found one that would do the job for the $200 that I had saved in quarters throughout the year. Yes, I really did pay in quarters. I had it painted 6 hours before "senior week" in Ocean City. I drove it there 3 hours, still wet. Oddly enough, I didnt have much road debris stuck in the paint like I thought I would.




The greatest thing about this car was the interior. I had a Sony tape deck, which I always wondered why I never had a problem with people trying to steal it, but now I know. It was a cheap 2-shaft model. Anyway, signal from there went in to a graphic equalizer with some really fancy lights. After all, thats what graphic equalizers are really just about neat lights, right?

That then runs to 4 Pioneer speakers, and to a $30 JCWhitney amp, which powers......

.......2 fifteen inch subwoofers from Radio Shack.

OK, so I was 16. I was a little more concerned with making sure the system looked good, rather than sounding good. I dont even think the subs ever really worked. The Pioneer speakers on the deck were loud enough where I couldn't really tell. There was no cross over, the amp was cheap, there were too many things wrong with it to mention.


As cheap as this was, I really appreciate it as a learning experience. Every car I had, built on what I learned in the previous one. This is admittedly a bad install, with bad components. But all the same, I leared a lot from these 'mistakes', which make each subsequent install that much better. By the way, the board that the subs are sitting in was my families ping-pong table. Needless to say, Dad was a bit upset when he found out. We really didn't use it that much anymore, so I thought I could get away with it. Sorry, dad, I apologize. Again, I was 16 and not thinking that well. :) By now, you've noticed the TV...

But wait, it gets better. Yes, thats right, what good is a TV without an Atari?....

All in all, this was a great car. I had to sell it once I was in college and out of money. When I sold it I had to take all the gear out, because as cool as it was, it didnt make the car any more sellable.

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