Glitter-280: The story of a ex-girlfriend, glitter, and my 280ZX

I understand that some folks want to “sparkle”. More power to them. They can be fun, fantastic people... just not for your car’s interior. I really didn’t mind (at first) that my girlfriend (now ex) was really into body glitter... like David Tracy is into old Jeeps and creative use of motor oil level of “glitterification”. I had a silver ‘79 280ZX with the black on black vinyl interior. I kept it spotless an was still in that mentality of “perfection” since I spend the previous summer taking the body down to metal, removing as much rust as I could, and repainting it. After dating for a few weeks, glitter was everywhere and no amount of Armor-All product force-fed into a power-washer could remove the glitter. Every time I drove at night, headlights would reflect a thousand little universes embedded in a 70s era vinyl import. It was in the carpet, seat-stitching, vents, and even the headliner. I was worried that the glitter would combine with the “Datsun Rust (TM)” and create a super evil material that would take over the world. We broke up over non-glitter reasons but even after a year (and longer), I was still trying to remove the glitter. Try explaining to any new romantic option why your car’s interior is painted with “fairy dust”. You can’t tell them that you have spent a month’s paycheck on cleaning supplies. They will assume you are messing around, a slob, or looking for a “cover story” for your own glitter-addition to tell your closed-minded parents at Thanksgiving.

New rule: No glitter. Never again, never forget. My wife was fine with this rule. She know not to even bother getting me a birthday card with glitter other wise I will run away ranting and screaming and spend the next few months polishing imaginary glitter out of my dashboard. Somehow, my wife got past the Glitter 280... but it did take a couple of weeks to make sure I was not in need of a “cover story”. So if anyone thinks that driving a Miata might send the “wrong signals”, try a glitter-tastic Datsun. That is the backstory of the Glitter-280.