devonslick

googled 300zx and what do you know i found zdriver.com. registered and here i am. Im a senior in high school. I currently own a Mercury Mystique (equivalent of the ford countour) v6 2.0L automatic. First time i saw a z was when i passed by one of my friend's houses and her dad was standing next to a 300zx. Car instantly caught me. I told her id trade my car. She said no. =[
since then i have wanted to own one for myself. I was planning on owning one within 2 weeks. Well income taxes screwed up mistakes were made and im zless. It was a red 84 anniversary. Well i missed out. Really liked the 84 model.

If anyone has any suggestions on my first 300zx drop em here. I am going to own one if it takes the world. just looking for suggestions on my first z31. not accessories and parts. there are plenty threads for that,
Thanks, -dvn

entropy31

welcome to the site, and the Z addiction.

FYI: the Z you saw in your friends driveway was not an anniversary if it was red. only a very few '84s with very specific features were AEs.

you should be able to pick up a pretty good NA for less than $2k. a good turbo should be under $3-$4k depending on your location. if you are looking for a car that you want to modify for speed i suggest finding a factory turbo. let us know a bit more about what kind of experience you want from your first Z and we'll point you in the right direction.

devonslick

oh sorry i didnt explain in depth. the first z i saw was not the anniversary. the anniversary was a different car for sale. plus this is actually a couple years later than first sight of a 31z. That one was black.

This one is the one i was planning to buy http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3AIT&viewitem=
It is red though?

experience desired: turbo is desired. I want a good running fast z31. I planned on putting 2-whatever grand into that z. I plan on putting intake exhaust new rims and tires and paint into whatever z i get.

rogerz

fairly easy to find a z31 they haven't got the 280z bug where people pay big bucks for a 30 year old car that doesn't run. Definitely try for the turbo. figure on replacing the suspension if still stock they usually worn out by now. Look for rust in the back under the mats. those triangle windows usually leak. Digital dash is cool but they are delicate and fail. If you are pretty good wrench they fix up good without a lot of cash. Some parts still available from Nissan and of course the junkyard. Check a lot of posts and find the common failures and fix them before they go. Like just replace the clutch master and slave cylinder so they don't go out at an inconvienent time. about sixty bucks for the pair. Cylinder head temp sensor another favorite choice to change out immediately. Anyway good luck and welcome to the club.

entropy31

my mistake. that red '84 is NOT a 50th anniversary edition though. it is a regular '84 turbo, and nothing more. the seller is either misinformed or trying to get more $ based on buyer ignorance.

http://az-zbum.com/information.50th.ae.shtml
that link should clear up any confusion.

intake and exhaust are good starting points. the best way to get great performance though is to first make sure the car is running tip top in stock form.

if you get rims be sure to get the rest of the wheel too or they won't do much good.

once you are sure the car is in proper running order there are plenty of threads on this site to help you decide how to get more performance out of the car.


and before i forget, if you want a fun and fast car, don't get an automatic.

devonslick

thanks for clearing that up for me! i think he posted that the car might not be the anniversary edition. how much do you think decent exhaust and intake would run me. it would be better for me to get the numbers now than later. i could always use google to find the parts but idk much about exhuast and intake manufacturers. On the automatic issue; i had not planned on having an automatic but if it came down to it i was ready to convert it to standard if i had my mindset on the car. Which i did =\.
-dvn

KasbeKZ

don't know if it's been said before, but let it be said now. the N/A is not very upgradeable at all. there are things you can do, but the potential is limited, and you'll be spending more money for fewer HP than you would with a turbo. so, if you've got a mind to slowly do some upgrades, save the money and get a turbo. good luck.

snwbrderphat540

where are you from? and welcome, its easy to find these cars imho and best year imho is the 89 turbo, updated trans so its much stronger and the LSD rear end, but if all else fails try to find a late production 87 so you can at least get the LSD rear, i hate open diff rear ends, worst idea ever. but if all else fails im sure you will be equally happy with any Z31, though the non turbo model will probably loose its thrill over not to long of a time period and will never make power. the only bad thing about these cars is they have a weak aftermarket support.

Bleach

first Z huh.... my suggestion would be 1987-89 Non-turbo, 5-speed manual 2 seater. Good luck with the search.

devonslick

im here in eastern new mexico. by tx panhandle. yah i didnt really want a non turbo. im new to cars period and have only done minimal research on z's. I plan on taking an automotives class at my community college this summer before going to a university. just to get familiar with cars and such. Money is not much of an issue. overtime money will build. hopefully the car will too. I'll check out the 89's thanks guys -dvn

entropy31

if you're new to turbo cars, and cars in general, you might consider looking at the 280ZX turbos. the L series engines are a bit more forgiving for beginners than the VG series. and like the others have said, late '87+ would be my Z31 choice as well.

devonslick

forgiving in what aspects? like transmission wise? or what wise? :P thnx -dvn

KasbeKZ

i think he means that they are simpler. there's also more room to work on them. the vg fits fairly tight in the bay.

entropy31

bingo.

devonslick

rgr that. thnx guys. will surely start looking at them as well now.

Zetto

true dat yo!
oh, welcome buddy
the Z31 is a wonderful car to have an addiction for. my favorite is the '86 Turbo...but the 87-89 does have some extra features haha.

AZ-ZBum

Like what?

entropy31

LSD comes to mind.

Zetto

^^ yeah, that lol
and fully floating piston rings if they even make that big of a difference.

reddzx

Good luck finding a 89 turbo. Only 210 were sold in the US. What year you get is a matter of preference. I like 87-89 body style myself, others like 84-86. The 86 turbo has been voted by many to be their favorite. The late 87 to 89 turbo's have the limited slip differential which is a very desired option.

Zetto

[QUOTE=reddzx]The 86 turbo has been voted by many to be their favorite.QUOTE]

snwbrderphat540

i got a buddy at my school with an 89 turbo 5spd, and i saw another one around my area to... forget where and what happened to it.

reddzx

Only 4,165 300ZX's total sold in the US in 1989. The 89 Turbo is no different from the 88 turbo, there's just fewer of them. If you really want to find something unsual, look for a 1888 Shiro (1002 in US, 75 in Canada), a 1984 Anniversary Edition (5148 in US), or a 4/87 through 8/87 production month Turbo (3-4 thousand, just a guess). AZ ZBUM would know. I get all these numbers from his site.

devonslick

it would be nice to be able to say i have a rare z31 but its chill if i just have a good 86-89 turbo. oh and anyone have opinions on paint jobs i see that most of the z's are usually retouched or original paint. people just like their originals?

entropy31

http://seattle.craigslist.org/sno/cto/1015881785.html