ZDriver.com - Coming back from the dead....

Well it’s been a long time since I've been here and it’s mostly due to my trying to cope with what happened. This is a long read but I feel like I needed to share this.

A few years ago I moved to Minnesota and wanted to park the Z for the winter. My dad hooked me up with a 90 or 91, if forget which, Nissan Pathfinder. This thing was rusted out like nothing I've ever seen. To make matters worse it had a coolant and oil leak. The oil pump had a small leak but the rear oil pan was leaking a lot. Well, 3 months of working in a detached garage in the Minnesota cold and having to disassemble and reassemble the majority of the front end, I finally got everything fixed up.

I noticed the four wheel drive didn't engage so I ordered some parts that I hoped would fix it. Well while I was waiting for the parts to come in I decided that I would take the Z in to work the next day. The weather was a good as it could get during the winter so I thought it wouldn't be a big deal.

On my way to work the traffic was unusually bad at that time in the morning so I decided to take another route that I've only taken once or twice before. The roads were wet but only enough to make the asphalt darker. There were light flurries but nothing stuck. I was driving along with the flow of traffic, about 60 mph, when I passed under a bridge. I didn't see it until it was too late but there was a patch of black ice in my lane. I immediately started to fishtail and I tried to correct it. I swerved into the right lane but it snapped back into my lane again. But then it started to fishtail in the other direction so I tried to adjust. This spun me around and I hit the center divider almost at full speed in reverse. This then spun me around one more time and I hit the rear right corner and came to a stop.

Fortunately no one else swerved to avoid me and morning rush hour continued as if nothing happened. She was parked facing traffic on the shoulder, perfectly snug up against the center divider. I got dinged up a bit but the Z took a pretty serious hit.

I immediately called my insurance to let them know I was OK but the Z needed to go to a shop. To my horror the lady on the phone said "...but sir, you only have liability coverage." Since the day I bought the Z she always had full coverage. When I parked the car for the winter I thought I could save a few bucks by dropping to liability and I would raise it again in the summer. I totally forgot to do this. The only thing she could offer me was a tow truck.

The tow truck driver asked me where I wanted to take her, to a shop or somewhere else. I told him to take her home.

She sat in my driveway for the rest of the winter. We found out we were moving and I sold the Pathfinder. I needed a new car so I got an Armada.
We towed the Z with the Armada all the way to Memphis. It was an uneventful few days and we made it with no problems. The night we arrived we went to look at our new home. We didn't have the keys yet so we went to find a hotel.

We went down the highway but realized that the hotel was in the other direction so we took the next exit. When we got to the 4 way stop the traffic lights were out and it was raining. Everyone was taking their turns going through the intersection and it was finally ours. I looked in both directions twice to make sure everyone saw that this Nissan towing a Nissan was next. I started to pull out and that's when I heard tires screeching. A car was driving over the bridge and didn't realize that the lights were out. I knew that my infant son was right behind me and that the screeching noise was coming from my left. I made the split second decision to get us out of harm’s way and I floored it. The screeching car barely missed the Armada but it smacked straight into the trailer. The trailer surprisingly showed no damage but the guy’s car was pretty bad. His car managed to smash into the front of the Z, cracking the bumper and wiper fluid reservoir.

A few weeks later, after all the insurance garbage was worked out, I decided to take the Z to a shop to get an estimate for the insurance and also to see how much it would take to get her fixed up.

She ran rough after the first accident so I could only do about 25 mph. I drove to the first shop on my list but they were being bought out and didn't want to take on new customers. I then drove to the second shop on my list but she was having trouble maintaining speed. She got slower and slower until I was about 500 feet from the new shop and then with a loud clank she quite. I tried to start her up again but she wouldn't start. Eventually the battery gave out so my only option from there was to push. A few guys from the shop saw me pushing and came out to help.

After getting the front bumper damage re-reimbursed I then asked the owner of the shop how much it would be to fix her. His response, "More than its worth." Those words hit me like a ton of bricks. My new job paid less than my last one so money was going to be a problem. I decided that I would keep her until I could afford to get her fixed. She sat in our garage for 3 years. Later we found out that we were moving again and against my wife's wishes I brought her down to Florida. It took a few of us to push her back on the car carrier as she still didn't start.

She has been sitting now for about 5 years. Still looking as good as she can but now we are faced with possibly moving again. I know that money will always be a problem but I don't want to let her go.

I started a GoFundMe to help raise the funds to rent a car carrier if we do decide to move. My wish is to have her restored to the way she was before this all started.

I need to find all the pics I took over the years. My external drive crashed with a lot of my old photos so I'm still sorting through the recovery data. I have a few on the GoFundMe page but I still need to find the pics of after the accident.

It's been so long since I've been on here so I don't know what the rules are for fundraising so I won’t post the link until I find out if it’s OK but I just wanted to share her story again.