1986 Nissan 300ZX GL - NA - 5-Speed

300ZX Photos 300ZX Repair

Current Major Modifications:

Jet Hot Coated MSA Headers, Dynomax Catback Exhaust,
K&N Cone, Pioneer CD Stereo & Speakers, Lights Down Mod

May - June 2004
I did a bunch of repairs and then drove the Z with my daughter to Daytona Beach, FL.
The Z did great - I was going pretty fast the whole time and it performed really well. We went from VT to NJ the first day and then drove straight through to Daytona the next day in an 18 hour marathon. The first full day there I saw 2 Z31's in a parking lot but other than that I didn't see any others the whole trip, which was surprising to me.
I wanted to take a pic of the Z on the beach but didn't have time when the weather was good. My daughter did take a pic of it at "South of the Border" but I haven't developed the roll yet.

On the way back we averaged even faster but split it into two 10 hour days.
Again the Z did great but it did develop a few new squeaks which I need to check out.
Overall, I was pretty impressed with this 18 year old car and it more than proved itself to my satisfaction.

April 2004
I bought the Z in mid April, 2004. I found it on Z31.com classifieds. It was originally up for $1000 then he dropped it to $500 and I jumped. The main problem for the seller was the headers made it hard to pass emissions, which is not an issue here but it also has almost 240,000 miles on it.
I had my cousin do the transfer and a week or so later I took a train down to NJ and drove it back with no problem.

Here's what I wrote when I got back:
It's got some hesitation at low revs but then kicks in big time when you step on it. It's got plenty of power! It was quite impressive on the highway in passing, etc... with plenty of pedal to spare. One of the plug wires is duct-taped so that might account for the hesitation. I'm going parts shopping tomorrow. It needs major tuneup including ignition wires, etc..., shocks & struts, speedo cable, oil change, an exhaust gasket and a MAJOR cleaning. The interior is pretty good except pretty filthy with bugles and whatnot ground into the carpet but otherwise good. Under the hood looks pretty clean - almost no oil in evidence but I had to top off the clutch fluid.. The exterior has a dime-sized surface rust spot on the side and a palm-sized section behind the driver's rear wheel that's penetrated a bit, otherwise no rust. There's black tape on the passenger mirror housing - I'll have to investigate that. Undercarriage was Ziebarted (or whatever) - very clean. It's due for the timing belt which I'll do next month.