Honest opinions needed, please.

[wellcraft]

OK guys, sorry for the long post but I would like to have your honest opinion and help on this.

English is not my first language so please bear with me, if you don't understand some of my points, please don't hesitate to ask me what I meant to say.

So here we go.
I have 1990 z32 na, although my car it's in good shape, I am the kind of person that likes to keep my cars looking as they came out of the dealer, and for me to do this on my car I need to invest some money. I bought the car in 03 and the previous owner, my neighbor rebuilt the engine completely a few thousand miles before, then I bought it and about 6 month later I disassemble the whole car for painting, spend around $2500 around that time in a paint job but it took some time to get it done, low funds at that time, had big plans with this car. Moved to the US (Ga) and the movers did some damage and never were able to get it fixed. Got so frustrated that I ended up storing the car under a cover. In other words the car hasn't been used basically since I bought it, I put maybe like 1200 miles on it since 03, so to be honest I don't know how reliable the car can be, have not had any engine problem yet, just a bit of hesitation while accelerating but not always and also while driving in like 4th or 5th gear.

I drained the fuel, put a new fuel filter, replaced some fuel lines and replaced the air filter, need to check spark plugs in hope that would resolve the hesitation and I hope I don't have to mess with injectors right know but I'm pretty sure I'll have to do something with them since the cars has been seating for so long, darn ethanol .

Now the ac doesn't work now but I know is just a leak, I discovered that it doesn't have a heater either (for some reason everything was removed), have a few leaks (oil and steering but have the nissan rebuilt kit with me), been told by several people that although it has a rebuilt engine I need to do the 120k mile service and that I should upgrade injectors since its been seating for so long. Need new leathers and every time that I take things apart, the plastic parts starts braking and I think I need new struts too plus rotors. The trany grinds from 1st to 2nd and from 4th to 5th gear but not always, was planning on replacing the syncros and the oil at the same time.

As you can see is a big list and I don't think is worth putting so much money, should it be a better idea to get like a 96 model with low mileage, what would be the advantage to have an obd1 vs obd2?

It worries me a bit to buy an old car again because I don't know what problems I could encounter, but I basically feel the same way with my current z as I haven been able to drive it as I wanted, but I do know the engine was rebuilt and it does feel strong and nice, no smoke either.

I know it will be hard to find what I really want, a red z with black leather interiors, so I know that if I find a 96 model in a different color without black leather seats I'll be painting the whole car plus getting new leather.

I'm expecting that if I decide to rebuild my car again it will cost me around $5k, this will include pulling the engine to do the 120k service, replacing all the gaskets, replacing all the bushings, new struts, rotors, put the heater pipes back, replacing leathers and getting a new trim kit and the steering wheel re wrap, painting the car my self (I know how to paint cars but didn't have the space and time back in 03) fixing the ac, and would love to get the jdm bumper plus the twin z rear bumper, plus fix all other small things I might find, interior parts. Now that I made this least I don'r even know if $5k will be enough. Again, this is to try to put it as neat as possible.

My big concern on this older cars are the electrical connectors, they get brittle and I'm really scare of having electrical problems with this car as I'm not too good at that, pinpointing or troubleshooting.

I install marine electronics and work with electrical system on boats (not engines) for a living but this is very different, cars are complicated. I'm pretty good wrenching I do all my stuff and prefer to buy tools than pay someone to to the job, you never know if they are doing things the right way.

Is there any kit to replace all the electrical connectors on the engine bay of a z?

BTW, I don't drive fast so I'm not looking into getting a TT, a na is enough for me the way I drive, I just love the looks and the feeling of this cars and I'm planning on keeping the car for a long time, as I do with all my cars.

Thanks in advance for any help, just want to do what is worth for my money, I love this cars and rather spend my money here than any other type of car.

[DCaff300ZX]

I think that the first thing you'll have to get set with is that if you want a Z32, it's ALWAYS going to give you some hassles and that you are A) willing to deal with or have these dealt with, and B)realize that you spend a lot of money one way or another with cars, and this is the way that suits you best.
If either of these is truly a problem which in some ways your post says you are, then really either your current Z32 or even a "fresher" Z32 are going to bring the same issues to the table periodically, if not assuredly such as the injectors because of ethanol and their "always on" circuitry.
There are ways and methods to deal with most of these issues which is one of the main reasons for sites such as NICO, but of course the burden of the work and parts fetching are up to you unless you just hand the car off to a shop to have work done. There are several parts suppliers for the Z32 that have very large selections of necessary parts both OEM and upgraded so getting what you need to fix nearly everything is an option limited only by available money and need.
I faced much the same thing you're talking about when my '90 NA hit 230K and spun a bearing, at that point to keep fixing the aging and high-mileage beast made no sense for a daily driven car but I still loved and wanted to drive a Z. So I bought a fresher '93 TT in late 2011 which has treated me well until recently, where the age stuff is hitting once again with corroded connections and hoses.
But I feel that starting on the fresher car with solid maintenance and preventative care such as the switched injector circuit mod and other small upgrades such as brakes was the best way to go instead of trying to replace so many things in the NA- probably your best move as well if you are intent on staying with a Z32. That way as I do, you have a parts car in the old Z, waiting for many of the useful bits and pieces you will surely need in the coming years for the "new" Z.

[RubyRed300ZX]

I agree with every word DCaff posted above.

[Afi]

Since you said that you like your car looking like it came out the dealer, how is the interior of the car? That is another factor to consider after all the mechanic stuff.

[300ZXttZMAN]

I agree with what Dcaf said. However I would like to add that if you really like this car then go ahead and invest the money into it but don't think that when you do go to sell it (if you ever do attempt to sell it) that you will be able to get some of the money that you put into it back out because you won't it simply doesn't work like that.

[wellcraft]

Thanks guys for posting, I' definitely want to keep a Z, I know I will have to deal with problems that may arise. I been boating my whole life, currently own 2 boats, 2 jet skis, a motorcycle a travel trailer and a few other vehicles and used to won a bmw M3, and owned a total of about 12 boats in my whole life. With that said, I know that i'm going to have to deal with problems, I'm accustom to deal with problems on my boats and salt water . I'm willing to work on my car and I know if I ever want to sell the car I'm going to loose a lot of money as I it always happen every time I sell my boats and other cars.
I'm willing to put the money on the car.

What I'm trying to figure out is if it's worth putting that money on my current Z or get a newer one or one with less miles and in better shape with everything working. My brother has a coworker in Tampa fl that owns a 1990 with only 24k miles in like new conditions, 5 speed all original and everything working except the ac that blows really cold, however, if the fan is on speeds 1 or 2, it will sometimes cut out and then right back on. He has own the car for two years, and purchased it from the original owner, it has the original paint, No accidents, Dash and whole interior is 100% immaculate.

Always garage kept by original owner and my brothers coworker. The original owner told him the car has probably never seen a drop of rain on it.

I'm getting more and more interested in that one as it seems to be in like new conditions, don't like the color so I'm willing to paint it.He was asking $9k and his willing to let it go for $8k but I 'm not sure if is too much for a 1990 although it has 20k miles and garage kept all its life, so dash, plastics and everything most be in great shape.

Don't get me wrong I love my Z and it looks really nice after I put a few days worth of work on it, but I know most of the plastics are brittle and every time i remove something it brakes, plus I need to fix rack and pinion, ac, transmission, heater, pull the engine to do the 120k service and replace gaskets for leaks and a few other minor stuff that I believ it might be better to sell my current Z and get another one in better shape.

Found another Z but 1996 with 56k miles, needs paint but everything else seems to be fine, haven't seen it yet.

What do u guys think, should I keep mine or get something else like the 1990 with 20k miles?

Any input of obd1 vs obd2 Z (pros vs cons), not interested in modding the car, just cosmetically.

[Afi]

Though you said you don't need TT, are the '90 and '96 Twin Turbos models? Personally, I'd be all over the 1990 with 20k miles TT or NA especially for 8k and for the fact that you like your car OEM. Just look at everything that needs to be done to your current Z just to bring it back in good mechanical shape and then all the work needed to bring in back in OEM shape exterior and interior wise. With the 1990, all you probably need is a thorough inspection to see if the car is not a victim of sitting in the garage too long, add a 60K or 120k to be on the safe side since the belts are still 23 years old and fix the heater core and you are good to go.