First Z. Need answers fast!

[The_Real]

Hello. I'm new to Nico but I needed some answers. I'm 15 years old and I am very interested in purchasing a 300ZX for my first car, aware of the problem and maintenance issues that I would face in the future. One of my family friends that I've known for as long as I can remember purchased a 1990 300ZX NA 2+0 Manual with the tan interior off of his friend maybe two years ago. The car has about 200,000 KM (roughly 124,000 Miles) on it, but since the power steering lines have been rubbing against the belt, and the steering rack is off, he will be buying a whole new motor. It also has small mods done to it ( aftermarket intake,full catback exhaust and new fuel injectors) He said that he will sell it to me for $1,000 - $3,000. Does this sound like a good deal?

[300ZXttZMAN]

Welcome to NICO. These types of threads are nothing without pictures.

Try to get some if you can the post them up.

[The_Real]

Yeah I was about to but forgot. I can do that right now.

[The_Real]

I don't have any pictures of the engine bay as the car is in storage for the winter (I live in Canada), but I do have several pictures of the interior and exterior.

[z32loverboy]

Doesn't look too beat up at all. Are you mechanically inclined? It's a lot easier if you can do your own maintenance. Why would he be buying a new motor? If it comes with a new solid motor I'd jump on it anywhere in that range. If not i wouldn't pay more than 1500 or 2000 ish.

[DCaff300ZX]

If you get it for that price with a new motor and the other issues you mentioned repaired that's a steal, unless there's more problems such as suspension and clutch.
My thoughts are that you are seriously stretching yourself with a Z as a first car at 15 years old, but I applaud your audacity.
IF you have Z-capable friends/family who WILL help you both in doing the work and financially I say go for it...parts are expensive, repairs are a hassle, and dependable Z mechanics hard to find...if not, do yourself a favor and keep on loving them, but from a distance!

[z32loverboy]

Yeah, I'm with DCaff. I was honestly stretching myself when I got mine at 17 and I thought I was pretty mechanically inclined. You have to be prepared before you jump into it. We're not trying to scare you away from getting one but just trying to prepare you with what we've experienced ourselves. They're fantastic cars to own, but parts aren't cheap and the repairs are time consuming.

[The_Real]

Yeah I can understand what you guys are saying. I personally can perform small maintenance on vehicles and know friends that are mechanics ( one being the owner of the Z), but I figured this would be the next best thing, as I couldn't find a 240ZX for a decent price (a '94 kouki with mods is going for $12,000), but I guess I will just wait and see. From what I know when I drove in the car it seemed safe as well, and it seems as if it has been maintained, but knowing how much I do in fact like cars ever since I could remember, I would think that I would maintain the car to pristine condition as much as possible.

[z32loverboy]

Well in that case if you have someone who is willing to help you who has a z32 among other mechanic friends then by all means go for it. Idk if you mean keeping it stock by pristine or doing tasteful mods but either way is a good bet. They're fun and there isn't a whole bunch around that are in good condition so if you can get your hands on a good one jump on it.

[nexus08]

That looks like a sweet deal at <$3000. Looks to have been maintained well on the inside anyway.

[The_Real]

Yeah by pristine just light mods since I heard you can't do too much with sn Na, but that one pulls pretty hard for some reason. Really all that I would do would be new coilovers, wheels and cleaning the bay up a bit if possible. Do you guys have any ideas or recommendations on what to do if I happen to purchas it, and what you guys have done to yours?

[300ZXttZMAN]

If you get it for that price with a new motor and the other issues you mentioned repaired that's a steal, unless there's more problems such as suspension and clutch.
My thoughts are that you are seriously stretching yourself with a Z as a first car at 15 years old, but I applaud your audacity.
IF you have Z-capable friends/family who WILL help you both in doing the work and financially I say go for it...parts are expensive, repairs are a hassle, and dependable Z mechanics hard to find...if not, do yourself a favor and keep on loving them, but from a distance!

I agree also.

OP, watch this video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPw2s-R94NY[/youtube]

[The_Real]

Yeah that video does make sense but he does talk about the TT model specifically. Regardless, would this be the same for the NA?

[DCaff300ZX]

The NA is much easier in many ways to work on than the TT, but mostly in the engine bay while everything else is about the same to work on except that the TT has HICAS, and has different suspension springs and swaybars and wheel widths (stock) among other small differences.
From what you say your experience is, I'd say you would be best off getting a Z32 that is in good condition and learning with that car is it goes through it's life rather than starting with a fixer-upper.
Now, the car you pic'd seems far more than a fixer-upper, although of course looks can be deceiving. I personally gave up on my NA as a DD after 230K and a spun engine bearing because the repairs and such were becoming a consistent thing, one thing after another. This is a pretty common scenario for a Z32 that has not been well-maintained which happened because early on it ran great, and I did not do many of the things I now do regularly and ahead of need for my TT. All or many of the circuits and sensors fail or become corroded, and along with all of the other normal needs it just becomes too much to do, and to afford for daily duty. Project car status.
I would suggest reading through as many of the Z32 how-to's and builds on this site as you can to see what is involved in some of the repairs and modifications, and spend some time at Z1 and CZP among other Z32 parts sources researching the costs of some of the parts and what it costs to buy body mod pieces...it will give you an idea of the playground you are looking at playing on!

[The_Real]

Alright that sounds good. Thank you all guys, you really helped me out with this.

[Afi]

I don't know about the engine but the interior definitely looks pristine, the tan color is ! One thing though, the material used on the seats are not OEM or (1990 OEM I should say). I don't think OEM 1990 leather seats came with the Z logo stitched on them and 1990 leather seats sure don't look that comfortable. Though I've seen these seats in other 300zx before.

[The_Real]

Yeah the interior was well kept when I saw it. A lot of of the interior isn't oem, just the steering wheel and dash. I think the tan interior would go better with a golden exterior (like yours) or a black exterior, which I would plan to do.

[Afi]

Well I would have been more than happy to have a tan interior because out of the 1200 Gold Pearl made in 1990 only 7 had the tan interior and 1193 with the charcoal.
http://www.xenonz32.com/colorchart.html#6