Hi everyone,

some time ago I fell in desperate love with Z31s and I decided that I want one. The thing is that I would want the car to be my main car. I am going to write a few things about me and what I expect from the car and I would like YOU to tell me why I should/shouldn't go for this car.

I am no heavy driver, I would say that on average I drive like 100 km/60 miles per week (it would probably become more with a car like this). Also I am not looking for a performance car and I don't want to mod the car or anything, I would like to keep the car as original as possible, atleast visibly. Ofcourse I am more than willing to invest time and money to the car but I would still like to spend more time actually driving it rather than working on it as I am no mechanic. But I would like to learn as much about the car and I have knowledgeable people around me who can help me. But this also mean that I am going to be really picky as I don't really want this car to be a project car. If I am going to buy one, I want it to be in the best possible condition, with everything working and no rust. I would like to get manual, 2+2, probably non-turbo but if a good one with turbo appears I would take it and with analog dash as I heard that the digital despite looking super cool is only trouble. Reason why I don't really need one with turbo is because I want this car because of its looks and just overall vibe and if not having turbo means less stress on the engine, then so be it.

Please feel free to comment on anything I said and please tell me your opinion on my plan to have it as daily driver, if it's doable or if it will be just constant pain and if it will eat my wallet. Also every advice on basically anything relevant is more than welcome as I am complete noob and I have a lot to learn.

 

My '86 has 125K so it has been driven a little more than you plan to drive, although for the past five or so years it has been driven much less. I have a friend whose Z31 made it to 300K before a rebuild. Mine is a weekend driver, but I guess I could use it for a daily. (Easy now that I'm working from home.) But remember that you'll probably be starting with a car that already is along in years and will likely have some miles behind it. My Z needs tinkering - the passenger side window stops working, the driver side power mirror stops working, that sort of thing. The intermittent fuel gauge is a problem I haven't tackled. So if I were using my Z31 as my daily, I would count on spending more time maintaining it than I'm used to with my regular - newer - daily. I haven't had any problems with standard maintenance parts, but when there's something I don't want to do myself, it's not every shop that wants to work on it.

I hope to keep my Z31 for a lot of years and, for me, maybe the biggest negative would be that using it as a daily will accelerate wear and tear.

 

Should you use a z31 as a daily driver?

You decide that. The better preserved z31s are NOT used as a daily driver. They’re garage kept, used for week end pleasure use, and not driven on winter salted roads. This means they’ll command a higher selling price. If you buy a z31 that’s in excellent condition and you want to keep it that way, then don’t use it as a daily driver. A daily driver has a higher probabilility to get involved in an accident or a fender bender because it’s driven more.

The z31 is in its old age. It’s susceptible to problems because of wear and tear and age. The biggest car killers are rust, accidents, and owner neglect. Especially road salt. Newer cars have better rust prevention such as more use of plastic body parts. Compare a z31’s lower front and rear fenders with a newer car’s lower fenders. A z31 has solid metal fenders while a newer car uses plastic for the lower fenders that "wraps" around to the front and rear assemblies.

Then there’s parts: It’s harder to find z31 parts. Most parts are NLA (No Longer Available) at the Nissan dealership. Especially body and trim parts. I tried to order a transmission pan gasket recently and it was NLA. And this is just a gasket. You have to find other parts sources such as aftermarket suppliers, ebay, craigslist, salvage yards, etc.

The two most common problems of a z31 is the digital dashboard and the HVAC vacuum hoses. You’re right about preferring an analog dash. Digital dashes are more troublesome. I have a digi dash but I rather like its high tech spacey look. It was way ahead of its time back in 1984. Turbos are nice to have but if something goes wrong with it, it’ll be expensive to rebuild or replace it.

I’ve had shop owners tell me they don’t want to work on my car because of the car’s age. They’re afraid if something else breaks while they’re working on it, that I’ll blame them for it. I found a good mechanic who owns a classic car and he’s glad to work on mine.

I’m a long time owner of a 1984 turbo model. With warmer weather approaching, it'll be great to drive with the T-tops off. Most z31s have gone to the crusher by now. I rarely see them any more and I live in a big city. Of the three z31 body types: 2+0 N.A., 2+2 N.A., and 2+0 turbo, I think the new 2+2’s were the least sold in the U.S. Good luck finding one.