I recently purchased a 1-owner 1990 Z32 TT with the odometer showing 10,000 miles (ten thousand, not a hundred thousand).

I just had a compression test done: 149 149 149 149 157 149

A question for the experts: do these PSI readings seem consistent with a 10,000 mile vgedett?

If not, what should be expected, and what do the numbers above, if possible, denote?

TIA.

Wow, that's a hell of a unicorn if it's legit.

Those numbers aren't great, but they're also relative - the one outlier concerns me, since they should all be very similar. You could redo the test with a squirt of oil in each cylinder (which will tell you if it's rings or valves).

As with any unknown car, a complete maintenance regimen is in order - ALL fluids flushed, and a thorough inspection of everything.

Yes, its getting new tires (current ones have a date of 2000), plugs, tb, tensioner, fluids, injectors, cat backs, cold air , new OEM shocks (sorry, but that's how i roll), and a flashed ECU.

So, if those psi's are marginal, what should they be ideally, for both a cold and hot compression test?

And, with the numbers I posted, those would be consistent with a car with how many miles? 50K miles? 75K miles?

Per the FSM, minimum acceptable is 128, max is 171.

The max difference between cylinders is 14 psi. Basically, anything over 150 is good, but more important is consistency.

With 10k miles, it's simply not been driven enough, and there's likely some ring wear from dry starts.

With that said, if it drives well, just drive it.

Thank you Hitman. And yep, I'm gonna drive it as often as I can. I drove one of the first '90 TTs in Los Angeles, and was speechless. 30 years later, I can afford one, so I purchased my first a month ago. These cars are such an amazing achievement of Japanese engineering.

Dry starts, yessir indeed. Per the carfax and the selling dealer's comments (which is all I have to go on) the original owner passed away in 2017 (I actually was able to get his name and found his obituary). And the car fax - per having to show up at the Texas inspection house every year where the miles are recorded - shows the car was driven just 400 miles in the last 10 years. Having to do some forensics on the car, the tires are almost new and dated 2000. The inside of the wheels show just 1 mark from the factory weights. That is, these tires are only the second set, and they are essentially new. I am still working on being able to conclude the car has 10K miles, and so far, I cannot find evidence otherwise, which is why I posted the results of the compression test I had done today.

Aside from needing new shocks (they are original and are getting replaced with a new set of OEMs..I know, I know), the car drives fantastic. Holy Granolil, the r12 air even blows cold (no idea how this can be after 30 years and sitting so long).

BTW, looking at your name and info and that you're the admin of this site(?), I've deduced you like Datsuns/Nissans, yes? Well me too. I just purchased a '93 Nissan Cima and am having a helluva time finding some interior parts for it. I've been working with megazip, and a few sites in NZ, as well as searching worldwide ebay and every other site I can think of, and certain parts for this car continue to be unobtanium.

If you have some voodoo-like contact(s) for JDM Nissan parts, perhaps share? .

15 years of driving this train.... Over 50 classic Datsuns and Nissans have passed through our garage, and I've restored or laid hands on every one of them.

CIMA bits are gonna be tough - I may have commented on a FB post of yours a couple weeks ago. Those cars are long gone in their home market... Canada and the UK might be better hunting grounds.

You've certainly got a rare one there - I'm eager to see what other info you dig up. Make sure to exhaustively photograph anything you do, especially parts replacement. It's cool to have such a time capsule, and my favorite part of obtaining a car is the "automotive archaeology" parts of it.

T'weren't me in the FB. But thank you for the advice. I appreciate it.

I will know more about my F32 tomorrow after I talk to the tech shop (who I am friends with) about what they found so far. The owner of the shop is aware that the car has no records. and that we need to do the forensics on this car. And yes, pictures, keeping the bits that get replaced, etc.. and documenting everything.

Aside from the fact I love these Z32's for the every-day super-cars that they are, I purchased it because it so represents one of the pinnacles of both Japanese engineering, and engineering from Nissan that started with their Skyline (the pictures of Sklyine sedans along side Porsche 904's..and winning the race, is remarkable) and maturing into what has given us the 300ZX and the GTR, etc. Simply an amazing company. I m still trying to find a trustworthy bloke that I can work with to purchase and import a few early Skylines for me.

I have the 300zx and Cima parked side-by-side in my main garage, and I've stared at them just sitting there, for no reason other than the admiration I have for all things Nissan.

I'm obsessed.

I know those feels.

The Z32 certainly was, in my opinion, Nissan's high water mark (at least for sports cars).

I've imported a couple cars through Top Rank Imports - Talk to Sean, he's widely regarded as the most knowledgeable Skyline guy. Be advised, do your homework first- he's busy, blunt, and doesn't suffer fools gladly (my kind of person).

I suspect we're going to need to do a homepage feature article on this old girl before it's all said and done.

Eh, just realized it was indeed you that replied to my Cima question. You had mentioned you had thought it was on facebook, I dont have a fb acct, so I said not me. But alas, you are the one.

Hitman,

If you, like me, were interested in whether the miles are legit, here are the results from the inspection. I also asked the shop owner to find any evidence the speedometer cable has perhaps been disconnected, or anything else indicating true mileage to be suspect. He said he found nothing.

The compression test was done when the car was luke-warm.

My primary concern from the inspection is the possible slight leak from the turbo.

All issues will be addressed next week when I take the car back in to the shop. I'm also going to have them install new timing belt kit, new injectors (NISMO) and new tires (of course). Still trying to wrap my head around the fact the all-original r12 a/c still blows cold.

I was expecting more issues than below simply because the car had sat for so long, and some concern the mileage was inaccurate because of the unusual mileage gains (just 400 miles in 10 years). My fears have not been founded. I think this car is a Aztec red/black cloth 10K mile car, 1 owner car.

Such an unusual car in that it really does appear that the car simply sat under a car cover and was not driven more than a few miles a year for years.

REPLACED SPARK PLUGS AND COMPLETED CYLINDER
COMPRESSION TEST
CYLINDER #1 149 PSI
CYLINDER #2 149 PSI
CYLINDER #3 149 PSI
CYLINDER #4 149 PSI
CYLINDER #5 157 PSI
CYLINDER #6 149 PSI
INSTALLED A NEW ACDELCO BATTERY
CLEAN AND SEAL THE CABLE ENDS. RETAIN ECM MEMORY
DURING REPAIR TO PREVENT ELECTRONIC PROBLEMS.
SERVICE NOTES & RECOMMENDATIONS;
1. TIRES ARE FROM 2000. SHOW MINIMAL WEAR. P225/50R16
FRONT AND P245/45R16 REAR TIRES.
2. FRONT AND REAR BRAKES ARE NEW.
3. REAR DIFFERENTIAL IS CLEAN.
4. PASSENGER SIDE REAR AXLE BOOT HAS A TEAR IN IT
5. ENGINE COOLANT IS LOW IN THE RESERVOIR. ADDED 1.25
QT OF ANTIFREEZE COOLANT. COOLANT TESTS GOOD TO -30,
COLOR IS PALE. COOLANT CAN BECOME ACID WITH AGE AND
DAMAGE METAL PARTS. SUGGEST FLUSH SERVICE;
6. RADIATOR AND HEATER HOSES ALL IN GOOD CONDITION.
7. RADIATOR AND RADIATOR CAP GOOD, NO LEAKS.
8. ALL EXTERIOR LIGHTS GOOD.
9. ENGINE OIL LEVEL IS FULL AND THE OIL IS CLEAN.
10. TRANSMISSION FLUID LEVEL AND CONDITION ARE GOOD.
11. CLUTCH AND BRAKE FLUID IS SUPER BLUE TYPE RACING
DOT 4 FLUID. APPEARS NEWER.
12. POWER STEERING FLUID CONDITION DECENT.
13. WINDSHIELD WASHER HOSE WAS DISCONNECTED.
RECONNECTED HOSE. FRONT WASHERS WORK, REAR
WASHER INOPERATIVE. FURTHER DIAGNOSIS REQUIRED.
14. ENGINE DRIVE BELTS IN GOOD CONDITION.
15. POWER STEERING PUMP, LINES AND HOSES ALL GOOD.
16. ENGINE MOUNTS GOOD.
17. A/C COMPONENTS - COMPRESSOR, LINES, CONDENSER
ALL APPEAR IN GOOD CONDITION. NO ISSUES.
18. SUSPENSION COIL SPRINGS GOOD.
19. STEERING GEAR AND TIE ROD ENDS IN GOOD CONDITION.
REAR WHEEL STEERING GOOD.
20. NO ISSUES WITH FRONT OR REAR SUSPENSION
STABILIZER BAR LINKS AND BUSHINGS, BALL JOINTS OR
CONTROL ARM BUSHINGS.
21. STRUTS AND SHOCKS IN GOOD CONDITION. HAS
ELECTRONICALLY CONTROLLED SUSPENSION.
22. COOLANT RESIDUE INDICATING LIGHT SEEPAGE FROM
THE RIGHT SIDE TURBOCHARGER COOLANT LINE FITTING.
MONITOR OR WE CAN GO FURTHER; JUST TRACES OF A
LIGHT PAST LEAK NOTED.
23. VERY LIGHT OIL SEEPAGE FROM THE RIGHT FRONT
CORNER OF THE ENGINE OIL PAN. MONITOR.
24. EXHAUST SYSTEM GOOD, NO ISSUES WITH MANIFOLDS,
PIPES OR MUFFLERS.
25. CRUISE CONTROL FUNCTIONING NORMALLY AT TIME OF
INSPECTION.

So awesome.

So far, so good...