I Might be Getting a Z31. What Should I Expect?

[apexbuddha]

Hey everyone, consider this a bit of an introduction thread. I'm coming from a long history of old VWs, but I'm making a change this year. I've been on the hunt for a 70s or 80s Japanese classic that'll be both a hobby car and one I expect to commute in.

Right now I'm waiting for the owner of an '87 manual, non-turbo 300ZX 2+2 to get back into town so I can take a look at his car. It's got about 156K miles on it, has been garaged most of its life, and appears that the worst of it is that a little clear coat is peeling on the hood, the stereo is disconnected (but not removed yet), and the driver's seat has some tears in it.

It's at what appears to be a really good price and, if it drives as well as it looks, I'm probably going to buy it.

That said, is there anything I should watch out for or pay extra attention to when I go look at this? Is there also anything I should be aware of if I'm putting a couple hundred miles a week on it?

Thanks, guys!

[evildky]

Welcome to NICO, and congrats on the Z!
The Z31 is a pretty dependable car even at 30 years old.
If you don't know when the timing belt was last changed, change the timing belt! These are interference engines and if a belt snaps the repair bill just skyrocketed, and just because it was done 20k miles ago but 6 years, do the belt, they are made of rubber and deteriorate over time even if they see very little use.

All other belts and hoses, are also 30 years old unless they've been replaced, the radiator sits at an angle inside the nose and is a PITA to replace but with an older car if it hasn't been replaced don't be surprised when the car starts to run a little hot.

Hot air from the dash, the heat and air are controlled by vacuum and dashpots under the dash. might be as simple are replacing a cracked vac line might nee to replace the dashpot bellows under the dash.

Bushings, again it's a 30 year old car, the rear crossmember bushings are the most problematic as the t top drain tubes pour water on top of them shortening their lives, a real pita to replace, all the other bushings are also 30 years old so keep an eye out for them.

Rust, it's not unique to this model but it's the number one killer of Z cars, and it like roaches, what you see is only a small fraction fo what's hidden!

The power steering uses Dexron type atf. Often someone wiht a tiny leak adds the regular power steering fluid which is much thinner and that tiny leak gets much worse, fast.

CHTS, when the car won't restart when warm it's the chts or the wiring pigtail that leads to it, pretty common issue.

These cars are now 30 years old so there will be some oddball failures, the PTU (or ignitor) if fairly common, cas (inside the distributor) seems to be getting more common, ecu, mas have been known to randomly fail as these cars age

If the car has been garaged and cared for many of the age related issues may not pop up or might have been handled by a good previous owner. a Ragged otu car that lived it's life outside and was neglected will definitely need a lot more attention and most of the age related issues are likely to pop up.

[apexbuddha]

This is excellent information! Thank you!

Mind you, I don't have the Z yet, but am doing research and trying to come into checking it out as informed as possible. But this is incredibly helpful.

With respect to the radiator...we've had a long stretch of 90-100F weather in my part of California lately and my commute is 30 miles each way with a mix of freeway speeds and stop-and-go. My gut says look into upgrading the radiator and fans sooner rather than later just as added insurance against the effects of that kind of driving. What say the more experienced masses? Is it worth it?

[evildky]

The stock cooling should be fine, unless the radiator is sludged up in which case additional fans won't help. The radiator sits at an angle in the nose, meaning replacement requires removing the front bumper cover, which is kinda a pita, there are nuts way up in the corners where you can barely reach. The stock shrouding and mechanical fan work great when left in place, most aftermarket fans will have a hard time keeping up.

[apexbuddha]

Alright, good to know. I'll be sure to give that a close look.

[apexbuddha]

So the car also has steering wheel controls. Pretty sure it's cruise control and radio controls. The radio is dead and will be replaced. If I don't really ever use cruise control anyway, is there a way to safely delete those control so I can use an aftermarket steering wheel?

[BadQ45t]

Yes, you can replace with an aftermarket wheel and you will no longer have cruise control functionality nor the radio controls. But since you plan to delete the radio anyways so it doesn't matter. You really do not use CC?? I couldn't live without mine, but if you don't car than all good, just delete.

[apexbuddha]

Oh, I'm not going to delete the radio. Replace it, definitely. But yeah, in all the commuting I do from Livermore to San Jose, I don't use cruise control. And I don't currently take long trips on which I might use it.

Again, I'm still mostly researching at this point. It'll probably be another week before I get to see the car, so I'm trying to seek out answers to curiosities in the meantime.

[BadQ45t]

Unfortunately you don't have room for a double DIN radio but there are plenty of good single slots that will be good. I am on the 2nd aftermarket radio and planning to replace with streaming radio shortly. The 84' didn't have the radio or CC buttons on the wheel which worked out nicely.

There are some aftermarket kits to make the wheel functionality still work if your interested in trying to preserve them.

[apexbuddha]

Also good to know! Thank you for that. Hopefully less than a week now and I'll be coming to everyone with more concrete questions.

[apexbuddha]

Well, I went and looked at it yesterday...drove it...looked over service records...meditated on it...and bought it!

I went solo, so we're going up tomorrow afternoon to pick it up and bring it home.

Initial observations:
Windshield will need replacing, it's cracked.
Hood and hatch supports need replacing (appear to be about $35 a set on Amazon).
One fog lamp glass is cracked and discolored. Are those available?
One headlight needs adjustment (easy).
Timing belt was done about 30k miles ago.

Is there maybe a way to find out the production date and stuff through Nissan itself? Carfax shows it might have been 6/8/87 (or that's when it landed in the States, hard to tell) but that a title wasn't issued until April 1990. Could it have sat on a lot that long? I dunno, all a little rhetorical at this point.

[evildky]

The plate inside the door will have the month and year of manufacture. Sometimes a dealer will drive a car for a while before selling it and it getting its first title, 3 years is rather odd.

Timing belt was done 30k miles ago, how many years? if it's been 5 years, replace it! Cheap insurance!

[apexbuddha]

You know, I was thinking about that yesterday...and I bet it's because the owners were making payments on it. So the title would technically be under the bank's name. Pay it off, title gets transferred to your name. Bingo.

As for the belt, yeah, I'll have to double check the paperwork I have, but I think it's been about 5 years. I work about 10 minutes from Z Car Garage in San Jose, so I want to take it over there next week and see what it'd cost to just give it a good inspection and such.

[centralcoaster33]

Z-car garage will hook you up! I've been there before and see them at Laguna Seca regularly. They take good care of the Z's.

[apexbuddha]

Thanks! That's definitely what it seems. I think someone I used to work with at a VW shop years and years ago works there now.

Just another few hours and I'll be on my way to pick it up!

[apexbuddha]

Z-car garage will hook you up! I've been there before and see them at Laguna Seca regularly. They take good care of the Z's.

I called over there last Friday and unfortunately, they really don't want to work on Z31s. Directed me to Don's Nissan and Z Specialist in Campbell, CA. But it's now on it's second day of commute duty. So far so good...I think I'm just still getting my bearings on what's normal and what isn't with respect to this car.

[centralcoaster33]

Oh, bummer. They are picky, and it's their right. I brought my 240sx to them. It was clear that my idea of it being a baby Z or a future Z was not the same as their idea (of it not being a Z). Still, cool guys. I would have guessed yours was Z enough. If you do find a shop, let us know how they treat you. While shops my be tough to find, and meets, and aftermarket support, and track time, and ... at least you're on the Central Coast. We have the best back roads!

[apexbuddha]

Ha! Yeah, a little bit of a bummer, but totally within their right. I'm checking on a couple different shops and if I have positive recommendations to make, I surely will.

I'm not sure that I'd call Livermore the Central Coast, but I'm definitely not far from it.

[centralcoaster33]

No, I guess not. I didn't realize you were commuting so far to Campbell or San Jose. You're right between Mt. Diablo and Mt. Hamilton. Lot's of good pavement out there... more on the Hamilton side.

[apexbuddha]

Yeah, I do Livermore to San Jose and back 5x a week. I would take solace in Calaveras Road, but that's closed until 2018 for ongoing construction at the dam there.

[centralcoaster33]

Oh, dang! I was just there either a week or two ago, maybe three. I don't recall seeing warning signs for construction. I hope they do nice things to the pavement. I hate it when they go on the cheap and do a chipseal/ slurry. That s*** sucks for months until the loose granite is gone or worked in.

[apexbuddha]

Well, we'll have to do a run and check it out in early 2018!

[centralcoaster33]

Agreed!

[apexbuddha]

I feel like I need to update the title of this thread now that I have one...but anyway! Got the car inspected by AAA yesterday and while they said I can still drive the car, I definitely will need to replace the steering rack (torn boots and severe leakage), tie rod ends, and lower control arms before too long. Also, valve cover gaskets are leaking, but that's an easy job.

From what I've studied up on, it seems like that job can be done at home with enough tools and time. Anyone have any experience or tips on that?

For now I am keeping tabs on things and making sure I have enough fluid in the power steering reservoir...and apparently that's Auto-Trans Fluid anyway!

[evildky]

Yes many cars including all Z cars use dexron type atf for their power steering, it's still a hydraulic fluid just thicker and wiht a higher temp rating than standard power steering fluid. Often people have a small leak, use the wrong thin fluid and make a small leak much worse (see my f irst post in this thread). You'll need to have the car aligned after replacing the rack and tie rod ends, it's a pita to do on jackstands but doable. The LCA's aren't much extra work while you're at it.

[apexbuddha]

Yeah, that's about what I surmised from the research I've done. For now, it's more keeping an eye on the fluid level until I can gather the parts and do the work.

[centralcoaster33]

Good luck getting your front end tightened up. It'll be worth it, considering how much that area affects handling. I got to drive Mines road on Friday. Good stuff!

[apexbuddha]

Oh nice! Mines is fun. Long road and can really get hot out there, but nice road.

At the moment, it looks like I've at least located better used parts than my own for less than $200 total. Going out next weekend to pick them up (and yes, I'll look them over very thoroughly before buying).

[BadQ45t]

Those are all the standard stuff that wears out on these cars...AAA had it about right. Unfortunately living the bay area things are SOOO much more expensive than other parts of the country to get worked on. The Steering rack isn't a small job, there are a lot of parts to move out of the way while doing this. Also, have the springs/shocks/struts been replaced? If not while you have the front end taken apart might be worthwhile to at least refresh the struts. You can add many different types that will make the car handle much better.

I still take my Z back to LA about every 5 years to get worked on by Z Expert in Venice...he's $30 an hour cheaper than my mechanic in San Bruno and he can work on these old cars like nobody else. There is another shop in Burlingame called Datsunville, Honza is the owner. I used him for a few things, but he's expensive and slow ($120 an hour) but he will do the work right.

[apexbuddha]

Well, call me crazy (waits...), but I kind of want to try changing out the rack and the tie rod ends myself. I figure those should at least be done together. The lower control arms are, like, $300 each so I think they're going to have to wait a little bit.

I was under the car weekend before last because I wanted to check the gear oil level (wasn't able to get a tool on the plug in such a way that I could get it loose) and saw that the rubber boots on the struts (shocks? sorry, I come from old VWs where the shock is much simpler) are torn on both sides. Need to check the rears, but I wouldn't be surprised if they're similar. And I have receipts for the shocks having been replaced within the past 5-6 years.