For the last couple
couple of years I had occasionally searched for a Pulsar in good shape,
but these cars simply didn't survive. Over Thanksgiving, Amy mentioned to
my father that this was her dream car. Within two days he had located one
three hours from us!
The Craigslist ad listed a 1988 Nissan Pulsar NX SE; not only was this a Pulsar that looked to be in good shape but it was it was the SE package with the CA18DE engine. After a call to the number listed in the ad we were ready to make the drive to view the car.
The car ran and drove well, and the interior was in great shape. The transmission was particular about how the lever was moved into Drive, but I concluded that the either the linkage needed adjustment or the engine and transmission mounts needed replacement. The car just had a half-shaft replaced due to a bad CV joint. The exterior, however, would need some TLC as the black exterior had faded and had spots from baked-on tree sap covering the horizontal surfaces. The driver side had some deep scratches and a large dent just behind the door, and the pillar on that side also had an interesting bulge. There was no rust however, so I decided that I would be able to buff out most of the oxidation and knock out the dent. The radio was not factory and consisted of a single speaker in the hatch area. The A/C compressor has a wiring issue that needs to be addressed. There was also an, umm, interesting decal on the side window of a hand gesture that would need to be removed as soon as we got home.
We worked out a price and started on our way home.
 |
| Gassing up for the three hour drive home |
The drive home was
mostly uneventful, and I "bonded" with the car on the three hour
drive. I discovered a few more issues as I drove:
- The shocks were toast. I bottomed the suspension
on the larger bumps and white-knuckled some of the dips in the interstate
as I rode out the bounces.
- The odometer didn't work and the gauges had been
disassembled at one time, but other than the odometer and trip meter were functional.
- The headlights were not the brightest and likely needed
to be replaced.
- The headlight switch has some kind of short where the
headlights always start on high-beam and can be reverted to the stalk setting
after "fiddling" with the switch.
- The decal on the side window landed me a LOT of
interesting looks. Shocking...
The car is now in the
garage and I've been hunting for the parts that I need to make it a safe driver
for Amy. Struts and brakes are highest on the list. Once I got the
car on the lift, I also noticed that the boots on the steering rack and
passenger half-shaft are wide open. I'll have to address those too.
 |
| The pulsar is home and ready for a closer inspection |
 |
| My test to see how well I could buff the paint. |
 |
| The boots on the steering rack and passenger CV joint need to be replaced |
Here is the story from
Amy's perspective: "It was Thanksgiving 2017 and Matt and I were
sitting with my father-in-law in the living room. Matt said he was just about
finished with his 1976 280Z and now it was time to buy me a car to fix up. My
father-in-law asked what I wanted and I proudly said a late '80s or '90 Nissan
Pulsar. He gave the same response I get from everyone: disbelief. Out of all
the cars that have ever been made, why would anyone want a Pulsar? This blonde
does. Matt and I told him they were impossible to find and perhaps I should
look at a Nissan 300Z. On Saturday, just two days later, I start getting texts
from Matt: "When will you be home?" "Text me when you are on
your way home." "Are you on your way yet?" I got home and asked
Matt what was so urgent. He flipped his laptop around and on the screen was a
Craigslist ad for a 1988 Nissan Pulsar NX. I burst into tears and was finally
able to say, "You're dad found me one." Up until that point, Matt
said he wasn't sure if I was serious about wanting a Pulsar. The car was mine
the very next day."
No comments:
Post a Comment