Just bought a 92 300zx - Need advice and direction

[SirVive]

New to the forum. Names Bryan. Just bought a 1992 Nissan 300ZX yesterday. Had some new tires put on today but was unable to get it realigned.

The rack and pinion is leaking (what I'm assuming is my power steering fluid, not worried about power steering at the moment), inner tie rods are faulty and outer boots are torn. Also the driver side front 02 sensor is torn.

Trying to find out which company's are trustworthy and recommended, I do plan on doing it myself. Am in the military and I do have access to car lifts and the tools.

[t.mcginley.jr]

Just bought a 1992 Nissan 300ZX yesterday.

Awesome! Welcome to the club.

Anyway... here are a number of good places that people get parts from:

Z1 Motorsports http://www.z1motorsports.com/index.php

Import Parts Pro http://www.importpartspro.com/90ni30.html

Concept Z Performance http://www.conceptzperformance.com/

Courtesy Parts http://www.courtesyparts.com/300zx-part ... c-882.html

RockAuto http://www.rockauto.com/

Also as a heads up in case you didn't know, the 300zx (and most other Nissans) use ATF in their power steering units, not actual PS fluid. Dexron III or equivalent ATF.

[ThisIsSparTTa]

Greetings Bryan. For the future, you'll likely want to specify whether you have a N/A or TT, and if it's NA if its a 2+0 or 2+2 as some parts are different between these models. Concept Z Performance (http://www.conceptzperformance.com/ ) and Z1 Motorsports ( http://www.z1motorsports.com/ ) both do a great job with a focus on Z cars. Courtesy Nissan, a dealership, also does a great job ( http://www.courtesyparts.com/300zx-part ... c-882.html ).

Personally, I've been doing a lot of business with CZP lately. They're great to talk to on the phone, have been putting my orders out for shipping same day, and are generally awesome.

[johnshop]

same as above, nothing else to say other than welcome

in my opinion the best are z1motorsports, and ipp, the later one being that is only an hour away from where i live so i can just go pick up my parts, thing that i love

but i always hear that czp is great, but so far, i have always found the best prices on z1 and ipp

[SirVive]

Thanks for the welcome.

VIN: JN1CZ24H1NX528160

According to the VIN it is a 2+0 TT, but the last owner replaced the engine with NA. It confuses me a bit because under the center console it shows the tires all the same at 225 50 16 but from doing a bit of research I found TT's usually came offset/stanced. Also the VIN doesnt seem to be valid according to my insurance company (USAA). The Vin is the same on the firewall, driver door, and the title.

[ThisIsSparTTa]

That seems really sketchy man. That VIN is for a TT. What wheels/tires are actually on it? Maybe some other guys can chime in for NA/TT differences that you should look for? I know one is the sway bars on the NA are a bit smaller. It's possible they did a NA/TT swap, but super sketchy, and I'd imagine super illegal if they replaced all the VIN tags.

Edit: Here's a nice summary http://z32.wikispaces.com/NA-TT+Differences

[Ace2cool]

That's sketchy for sure. What does the door jamb say? It's got a sticker. It'd be hard to replicate that. It's possible that someone wanted a TT, and used a donor TT, and liked the interior on the donor better, so he swapped everything over, and put everything in the old TT chassis and got it running so he could sell it easier.

[SirVive]

Door is the same VIN as the Firewall which is the same as the title.

The Vin on the Dash is the same as the others as well. This is really confusing me now. I will post pictures of the vins the moment i am able to.

Just pulled an autocheck from dmv.org. The report comes back saying it was registered in Washington DC in 1993 failed exhaust inspection then renewed in 1998, then renewed everyyear until 2007 when there was a minor accident to the driver side rear (which i knew about and has a dent to prove it). Then again renewed Jan 17 2013. Title has never been salvaged. It is really stumping me now.

[Ace2cool]

Has to be an engine/interior donor car.

[SirVive]

If thats the case wouldn't the vin still show up to my insurance company? Every time i try to put insurance on it, i am told it is an invalid VIN. Even though DMV shows it valid. Is it the DMV i should be calling or Insurance company? If i have time tomorrow I am going to head down to my insurance finance center (USAA) with title in hand to see if we can get this figured out.

[t.mcginley.jr]

If the DMV says its valid then it should be valid. You'll just have to find out in person when you go talk to the insurance company and see what's going on. If all the vin numbers are the same and everything about the car is TT (ducts in the bumper for intercoolers, etc.), then someone just put an NA engine in it. I wonder if it still has HICAS?

[Ace2cool]

If the DMV says its valid then it should be valid.

This. Also "JN1CZ24H1NX528160" is a valid VIN as far as format.

[SirVive]

If the DMV says its valid then it should be valid. You'll just have to find out in person when you go talk to the insurance company and see what's going on. If all the vin numbers are the same and everything about the car is TT (ducts in the bumper for intercoolers, etc.), then someone just put an NA engine in it. I wonder if it still has HICAS?

So far I haven't seen anything to show that it was a TT other than the VIN. Doesn't have the boost gauge, or the spoiler. Once I have a chance I am going to get under it a bit better so i can change out the tie rods and I will look into it a bit more. Is is possible that it was just coded wrong from the factory?


Update. Went to my insurance company and had to do a video chat. They accepted the vin ( had to override it) and also set it up under a collectors insurance. Pretty much as long as I keep my receipts they will cover the expenses if it were to be wrecked.
Insurance is USAA