Park After Dark 2015


Finally, Park after Dark has come and gone and I was successful in taking my Datsun to the show! I might have overheated on the way there, but I made it! I saw some beautiful cars(and beautiful airplanes) at the show that was held at the Watertown Municipal Airport this year. I even met another s30 owner that lives in the madison area. He had an immaculate 280z, and gave me some great suggestions on some mods I could do to my 260z in order to give it some more show presence. 







Cars and Planes, is there anything better?



Datsun Bluebird love. According to my Dad, he used to have one of these cars when he was a kid. If only he would have saved it for me! I have always loved the styling of these cars ever since I got into the s30s. Did I mention that this was a right hand drive as well?


"Thuggish"


My modified 260z.





This is the s30 that lives in the Madison area. Hopefully next summer I will be a little more show ready and will cruise out to Madison to hang out with another s30 owner.

It was really great talking to the owner, I found out A LOT of valuable information. 




An early 240z that was beautiful, the engine was all chromed, Bride seats, and a whole slew of other upgrades.



There were a lot of Volkswagon bugs hanging out at the show in various states, some more polished than others. I'll be honest, I sort of thought bugs were the ugliest vehicles (almost as bad as the PT Cruiser) but ever since I was shown the "stinkbug" Volkswagon by my old professor, I have gained a whole new appreciation for these cars.



I probably left the show at about 8:30 or so, because I knew I would probably have minor overheating problems getting home, not to mention my phone was dead so I figured I would get lost.

And I was right.

Somewhere I made a wrong turn and I ended up driving down a country road for miles before finally finding I-94. I got on fine and started going home but had to pull off into a Delafield parking lot to let the car cool down. I waited probably a half hour or so, and I was off again. 

I merged back onto I-94 and got as far as I could go and pulled off into a Pewaukee gas station parking lot for another half hour or so, before finally making it home.

Whew.

What a night, but honestly, I wouldn't have traded it for anything. Despite having all the technical problems, I love the challenge. I have always said that I love learning new things and this is no different.

**Quick update: The day after the show I was worrying myself sick about potentially blowing the head gasket, cracking the block, or any of the other potentially disastrous things that overheating could do to an engine. I am pleased to say that I believe no damage was done, or at least that I can tell. I checked the oil and it looks like oil, not a chocolate milkshake indicating a blown head gasket. There are also no visible cracks or stains on the engine. The coolant still looks bright green, and the engine turned over just as easy as it was the day before. I will closely monitor everything, and will investigate the cooling system for possible signs of fault.

Comments