Another new guy!

[QuickNick]

Hello all!
I've been looking for a new "toy" & I just wanted to introduce myself. Been looking for the right one for a few years but I keep coming back to a 85-ish 300X. I'm, well, older now (42) & have had a lot of fun toys but really miss my 1985 Z. Seriously, had a dream that it was hidden in the garage & I was so happy to find it again That kind of made up my mind. I didnt get many pics of the old one, but here she is-



I've been a mod on two other message boards so I know the first step is to find a good message board & this seems to be the best! I want to pick your brains for a second if you dont mind.

What are the problem areas I should look into? Mine was bad in the rear control arm/frame area, this is common right? Reading here it seems the rear half of the car is subject to rust (tirewell, behind the tail lights).
Electronics? They are loaded with them but seem to hold out over the years from what I've looked at. What would be a deal killer here?
1984 50th...Keep looking or not worth it?
Future mods. I'd love to do a LS1/Megasquirt injection swap with some crazy intake setup - dual throttle bodies or something like that (sorry!). What about the rest of the chassis? How much could a stock rear end handle, is there a easy swap here? What about chassis flex, not against putting a rollcage in it but that takes a lot of fun out of a driver. The LS1 swap would be further down the road, just an idea. I'd be ok with a good turbo 3.0 with some tweaks for a little while.

Parts. OK, you got me, where? Say I need a new dashpad or a turn signal switch-where do I get that at? Rock Auto has a good selection of stock parts but what if I want something like a door panel?

I have a ton of questions, just looking for some thoughts. What I've found semi-locally is around $4k for decent looking cars. I'd like the turbo again, but ok with a N/A considering my plans.

Thanks all & great forum!

[Desert Rat]

These cars are very prone to rust damage. If you have the ability, find a dry southwest car. I bought mine last summer and did a full suspension rebuild in December with Poly bushings, struts, shocks, balljoints, TREs, and all other soft parts. It was nice being able to turn all the nuts and bolts. Under the car was just like new despite it being 30 years old. Decent southwest Z31s are all readily available for under $5k.

Ebay has been good for parts. I've seen several full dashes, etc. come up. There's other sites that are much less traveled than they used to be, but still have active classifeds...such as Zcar.com and Zdriver.com, though, from a discussion board standpoint and active users standpoint, neither measure up to Nicoclub.

Happy hunting.

[QuickNick]

Thanks Desert
Being in Michigan, rust is always a problem. Engine, interior & electrical is pretty much just replacing parts but rust is where real $$ is waiting to kill a project. I'm not really looking for show quality, just something nice to cruise around in the summer & tinker with in the winter. Its going to be a fun summer looking for a new ride!

[evildky]

The diff is plenty strong the problem is unless you get an 87.5-89 turbo or an 88SS you get an open diff. If you want to make power and ut it to the ground plan on adding an LSD or start with a car that came with one. While the R200 is plenty beefy the IRS sucks, if you really want to put power down a subframe swap is the way to go. The VG30ET is a very capable motor and can make 400whp with out cracking the motor open. The 87.5-89 turbo's also had a beefier transmission if you want to make big power.