Dallas Drives: the cars used in the series

[Mel O'Drama]

Thanks! I remember them costing between $30,000 and $35,000 for the higher spec model in the early 90s.

Considering inflation, the new version seems a bit of a bargain, then.

 

[Kenny Coyote]

Considering inflation, the new version seems a bit of a bargain, then.

Yeah, it does! I was reading the description of the 1990 300ZX Turbo that sold for $32,000 this March and it said:

"This 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo was reportedly sold new in Houston, Texas, and recently acquired by the seller from its original owner out of longterm storage. Now showing just over 6k miles, this example is finished in Glacier White Pearlglow over Charcoal leather and is described as unmodified by the seller. Power comes from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 linked with a 5-speed manual transmission. This Z32 is now being offered for sale with a clean Carfax and a clean Texas title in the seller’s name.

The 6-digit odometer shows just over 6k miles, approximately 50 of which were added by the seller."

If it was "reportedly sold new" and only 50 miles were added by the seller, where did the other 5,950 miles come from? Does "sold new" just mean it's in practically new condition? Or does it mean when it was new it was originally sold in Houston?

Here's what it looks like and it looks great for a 29 year old car, but still that's a a lot of money for a car that old. It probably cost that when it was new.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

This 1990 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo was reportedly sold new in Houston, Texas, and recently acquired by the seller from its original owner out of longterm storage.

Hey, Kenny!

There are two things going on here:

If the car was sold new in Texas and stored in Texas, then it has never lived in a city where they put salt on the roads. Guys like @Bill Dilks will fly to the Southern States for a car like this, because it is worth it to him to find a salt-free, rust-free car.

The second thing with a classic car like this-- the history of the car adds a lot to it's value. The story behind a classic car really means something.

Compare these two histories:

The car was sold in L.A. (which would make sense in 1990). Then in 1994 it was sold to a person in Michigan. In 1997 the Michigan owner sold it to a person in Illinois. In 2004 a person in Texas bought it, and here it is.

The second history:

Here we are in Woodville, Texas, with the second owner of this car. The original owner took delivery in Houston, brand new in 1990. So here we are, 29 years later, and you can buy this car less than an hour from where it was originally delivered.

You never know what will have meaning to a buyer, so they threw that in there just in case it means something to a buyer.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Now, to give you another, real-world example of the story adding to the value of a vehicle. Here are two of my trucks:

The one on the left is a factory High Boy. This means that I didn't put a lift kit on it-- Ford built it that way in the factory in 1978. It's hard to see in the shadows, but I go out of my way to use raised white letter tires on the High Boy because that keeps it period-correct.

The truck on the right only has 43,000 original miles on it, and I can document it. The truck was sold new 30 miles from my house (see what I did there, Kenny). The ranch owner's wife used it to pick up her gardening supplies a few times a year. This means that it was never abused by ranch hands (Mickey Trotter) or landscapers, or used by a concrete or construction company.

So, to underscore the point, I went out of my way to purchase these two trucks because of the story behind each of them.

Hope that helps give context to Kenny Coyote's ad.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Nissan still make the Z-car. 2019 is actually the 50th anniversary.

The current model is the 370Z.

Prices start at just over $30k, but I imagine it would be at least 50% on top of that for a higher spec model.

No T-bar these days though.

that's a nice car and everything, but no T-top and no chance of a prime Jenna Wade waving at you through the top like this:

 

[Kenny Coyote]

You never know what will have meaning to a buyer, so they threw that in there just in case it means something to a buyer.

This was all very interesting, Lastkid! In the case of the 29 year old Nissan with only 6,000 miles, it was kept in longterm storage, which is why it has so few miles. Do you happen to know if the time a vehicle is kept in storage ages the parts of it in any negative way? For example I've always heard that with electronics it is good for them to be used. Is it bad at all for a car to go for years and years with no use, or as far as the vehicle is concerned, is it like those years never went by?

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Did anybody else see this picture and think of the Rockford Files theme song?

Is it bad for a car to go for years and years with no use, or as far as the vehicle is concerned, is it like those years never went by?

The issue is the rubber seals (or even worse, the cork seals) are designed to be submerged in oil. If those seals sit there over the years exposed to air instead of oil, then they will dry out. So when you put the car back on the road, it tries to leak everywhere.

If you come across an old truck, especially a government owned truck, you will see this sticker:

"Run the Air Conditioning one hour per month, even in the winter, to protect air conditioning seals."

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Now, to give you another, real-world example of the story adding to the value of a vehicle. Here are two of my trucks:

The one on the left is a factory High Boy. This means that I didn't put a lift kit on it-- Ford built it that way in the factory in 1978. It's hard to see in the shadows, but I go out of my way to use raised white letter tires on the High Boy because that keeps it period-correct.

The truck on the right only has 43,000 original miles on it, and I can document it. The truck was sold new 30 miles from my house (see what I did there, Kenny). The ranch owner's wife used it to pick up her gardening supplies a few times a year. This means that it was never abused by ranch hands (Mickey Trotter) or landscapers, or used by a concrete or construction company.

So, to underscore the point, I went out of my way to purchase these two trucks because of the story behind each of them.

Hope that helps give context to Kenny Coyote's ad.

those trucks are fantastic! Maybe I'm hopelessly old fashioned, but I liked it when trucks were trucks - all utility and no 'two rows of prime leather seats and multiple high-tech entertainment systems' inside.

 

[Billy Wall]

What a coincidence, I’m watching that very same episode right now with Jenna waiving from the firebird Trans-am. Who knows, it might be the same car they used in The Rockford Files. Lol

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Maybe I'm hopelessly old fashioned, but I liked it when trucks were trucks - all utility and no 'two rows of prime leather seats and multiple high-tech entertainment systems' inside.

Here's a one minute mystery for you:

On Ray's truck (and also on my old trucks) there is a vent window. The little triangle window that folds
out right in front of the door window that rolls down. See it on Ray's truck?

Your one minute mystery is,

Why did they stop making those vent windows in the early 1990's?

 

[Michelle Stevens]

What a coincidence, I’m watching that very same episode right now with Jenna waiving from the firebird Trans-am. Who knows, it might be the same car they used in The Rockford Files. Lol

I think Rockford's was an Esprit model Firebird. Same gold color though.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Here's a one minute mystery for you:

On Ray's truck (and also on my old trucks) there is a vent window. The little triangle window that folds
out right in front of the door window that rolls down. See it on Ray's truck?

Your one minute mystery is,

Why did they stop making those vent windows in the early 1990's?

the vents made it easier to get seduced unwittingly by your half-niece? ok, maybe not - I don’t know!

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Once we found out the Ray is Jock's son, we are supposed to forget that, Guzzler!

And here's a hint about the vent window. A certain habit fell out of favor (in the U.S., anyway) in the early 1990's, and that lessened the need for the vent window.

 

[Taylor Bennett Jr.]

Once we found out the Ray is Jock's son, we are supposed to forget that, Guzzler!

And here's a hint about the vent window. A certain habit fell out of favor (in the U.S., anyway) in the early 1990's, and that lessened the need for the vent window.

hm, is it because of something that interestingly disappeared from Dallas partway through the first full season, smoking?

(more proof that Dallas was ahead of its time!)

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Nice job, Guzzler!

Yes, the wing window was great if you were a smoker (and back then, everybody smoked). You could rest your arm on the windowsill, and the air current would pull the smoke right out of the car. And if you opened the wing window on each side of the car, then the cross breeze would pull the smoke out of the ashtray for you.

And the best part is, it worked even in the rain because the air came in but the rain didn't.

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Something great happened over the weekend and I had to come on here and share it with you all:

I went to a supplier's office and what was in the parking lot? A gorgeous Lincoln exactly like Jock's!

The car was in amazing shape! Perfect condition all the way around.

So I waited around a few minutes hoping the owner would come out. He didn't, but then another guy pulled up. Well, you know I've never been shy, so I walked right up to him. The following conversation was great:

Me: Hey, Bud! How are you?
Texan: Hey Bud. How's things?
Me: I couldn't help notice that cool car!
Texan: Everybody does.
Me: Do you know who owns it?
Texan: Yes I do, but it's not for sale.
Me: Well, I don't need to buy it. I can admire it for free.
Texan: I figured you were waiting here to buy it. The guy who owns it turned down a hundred grand for it.
Me: He has a piece of history here. Just needs a EWING I license plate to make it perfect.
Texan: I agree. He has a few of these cars. This job takes him around the country, so he is always on the lookout for another one. Takes him several years to find the right one, and when he finds one, he drives it across the country to get it home.

Pretty fun way to spend your downtime on your business trips, I would say.

 

[Swami]

Something great happened over the weekend and I had to come on here and share it with you all:

I went to a supplier's office and what was in the parking lot? A gorgeous Lincoln exactly like Jock's!

The car was in amazing shape! Perfect condition all the way around.

So I waited around a few minutes hoping the owner would come out. He didn't, but then another guy pulled up. Well, you know I've never been shy, so I walked right up to him. The following conversation was great:

Me: Hey, Bud! How are you?
Texan: Hey Bud. How's things?
Me: I couldn't help notice that cool car!
Texan: Everybody does.
Me: Do you know who owns it?
Texan: Yes I do, but it's not for sale.
Me: Well, I don't need to buy it. I can admire it for free.
Texan: I figured you were waiting here to buy it. The guy who owns it turned down a hundred grand for it.
Me: He has a piece of history here. Just needs a EWING I license plate to make it perfect.
Texan: I agree. He has a few of these cars. This job takes him around the country, so he is always on the lookout for another one. Takes him several years to find the right one, and when he finds one, he drives it across the country to get it home.

Pretty fun way to spend your downtime on your business trips, I would say.

Although it could never be described as a city car, the turning circle might not be suitable for multi-storey car parks!

Swami

 

[Mel O'Drama]

Something great happened over the weekend and I had to come on here and share it with you all:

I went to a supplier's office and what was in the parking lot? A gorgeous Lincoln exactly like Jock's!

The car was in amazing shape! Perfect condition all the way around.

So I waited around a few minutes hoping the owner would come out. He didn't, but then another guy pulled up. Well, you know I've never been shy, so I walked right up to him. The following conversation was great:

Wow. That's great that you had a fun, real-world, Dallas-related conversation with someone.

Good to know there are some classic cars being daily-driven, enjoyed and looked after. If I was someone who could turn down a hundred grand I'd hope to have a few classics in the garage myself.

 

[Michelle Stevens]

Something great happened over the weekend and I had to come on here and share it with you all:

I went to a supplier's office and what was in the parking lot? A gorgeous Lincoln exactly like Jock's!

The car was in amazing shape! Perfect condition all the way around.

So I waited around a few minutes hoping the owner would come out. He didn't, but then another guy pulled up. Well, you know I've never been shy, so I walked right up to him. The following conversation was great:

Me: Hey, Bud! How are you?
Texan: Hey Bud. How's things?
Me: I couldn't help notice that cool car!
Texan: Everybody does.
Me: Do you know who owns it?
Texan: Yes I do, but it's not for sale.
Me: Well, I don't need to buy it. I can admire it for free.
Texan: I figured you were waiting here to buy it. The guy who owns it turned down a hundred grand for it.
Me: He has a piece of history here. Just needs a EWING I license plate to make it perfect.
Texan: I agree. He has a few of these cars. This job takes him around the country, so he is always on the lookout for another one. Takes him several years to find the right one, and when he finds one, he drives it across the country to get it home.

Pretty fun way to spend your downtime on your business trips, I would say.

Great story. May I ask what color was the Mark V you looked at? They come in many nice color schemes, especially for their time. The '79's with the Collector's Editions were especially nice. I'm almost certain Jock's/Jim Davis' was a '77 as I checked the VIN when I was at Southfork last year. Fords had easy VIN's to read prior to 1981.

 

[Sarah]

I’d feel exactly like that if I saw Sue Ellen’s station wagon @Mel O'Drama