Just bought a slicktop - commuter build

The Nissan 300ZX (Z32) general community discussion forum
Mejnoon
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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Hello Z32 bros,

I commute 110 miles round trip 3-4 days/week. I’ve been doing it in my 93 MB 500E; amazing car that I love and will never sell, but highly inefficient as a commuter. I’ve been putting ~25k miles/year on it at ~17mpg max.

I’ve always loved the Z32, owned a TT briefly years ago and I’ve wanted to get in to another ever since. A few months ago I started tossing around the idea of finding a slicktop to use a commuter. Finally found the right deal on my preferred color (white) early this week, and the car is on a truck headed my way. I will post some pics when it arrives, the seller’s pics were not very good.

The seller daily drove the car for 18 years. It’s got a pretty good dent on the right front fender, but otherwise the body is very clean and the original paint is in good shape in general with no clear coat failure apparent. Seller had sheepskin seat covers the whole time she owned the car so the seats are excellent, interior in general is above average.

My plan is to clean it up, maybe do some brake and suspension upgrades and just drive it. It’s going in for body/paint first, new fender and oem bumper cover then I’ll have some light paint correction done and apply some kind of protective coating. I’d like to replace the headlights but not sure I want to spend $900 on new oem lights; not a fan of polishing out the lenses as it never lasts long, but I may just do that for now. Interested in upgrading the headlights but haven’t read up on what’s available for the Z32 yet.

I will probably replace the carpets as well, just because it’s relatively cheap/easy, and do a very thorough interior detail.

Not sure what I’m going to do about brakes/suspension/wheels/tires yet. This is going to be a commuter, I’d like a reasonably comfortable ride but at the same time I’d like to tighten the car up a little. I’d like to upgrade the brakes but still reading up on options. I like the idea of KW v3’s but not sure I wanna spend the money yet. At the very least I will refresh all the oem parts...rotors/pads and suspension/subframe bushings all around. The car has chrome oem wheels now - I will likely replace with non-chrome stickers for now, unless I decide on a brake upgrade that requires 17s. Any advice in this area is highly appreciated.

Thanks for reading, and TIA for any advice you may offer...I will update with pics within the next few days.


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DCaff300ZX
Posts: 4229
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 8:18 am
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1993 CRP TT- Modified
Location: Tacoma, Washington

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Welcome!
Cool car and you surely will love driving it, but you may not really change your daily driving scenario much...and may hurt it somewhat depending upon just how much has been done to that Z32. You hint at knowing how much may be needed with your plans, which are sound, but there is more to consider.
First off I'll say that you really won't get improved mileage with a Z32, they go 18-21 mpg with 17-18 usually the case given low octane gasoline and wear/tear. No real efficiency improvers available for mileage/etc., either.
You didn't mention the year of the car, pre-94 Z32's have some areas that need upgrading consistently (injectors/connectors/harness, other engine controls/connections, more) that may keep the car in the shop more often than expected, and the repairs aren't cheap and can be a problem if not done correctly. Finding an experienced Z32 mechanic (or learning to do things yourself correctly) is paramount to a successful life with a Z32, as with the age of the car and known issues it will not treat you like a new car will...or could. A long read of the tech section should get you an idea of the things that happen, and some of the repair procedures. Be SURE to download the fsm from the "everything you need...Z32" sticky on top of the general page as well.
Not wanting to rain on your parade, just trying to help you out with some things that get lost sometimes when hunting down a new car that we ourselves aren't completely "up" on.
Good Luck and keep us posted!

Mejnoon
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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Dcaff300zx,

Thanks for the tips, they are appreciated. The car is a 93 and bone stock, daily driven by an older lady for the last 18 years. 160k miles so it will definitely need some maintenance, and I like to start fresh on consumables/regular maintenance stuff.

The car still isn’t here so I haven’t been able to assess how much I need to do under the hood yet. At the very least a general tune up - plugs/wires, fluids, any easily accessible gaskets/seals, injectors if needed. I’m a reasonably competent diy’er, and I’ve got a good friend who has been a Nissan tech for 30 years and owns a Z32 himself...he’s gonna go through it with me once it arrives.

I knew what to expect on gas mileage, and while it will be a marginal improvement that was not my primary motivation. I don’t want to put so many miles on my 500E, and when things break it’d be nice to have a reliable back up that I enjoy/don’t hate driving.

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NolimitZ32
Posts: 7112
Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:07 am
Car: 91 AG2 2+0 TTMT swap/E39 BMW 540i6/E53 4.6is Dinan S3
Location: Houston, TX

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Welcome aboard. The 500E is a BEAST of a vehicle, I'm pretty jealous right now. Definitely a good move to get the 500E off DD duty.

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DCaff300ZX
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1993 CRP TT- Modified
Location: Tacoma, Washington

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Mejnoon wrote:
Mon Oct 08, 2018 6:09 pm
Dcaff300zx,

Thanks for the tips, they are appreciated. The car is a 93 and bone stock, daily driven by an older lady for the last 18 years. 160k miles so it will definitely need some maintenance, and I like to start fresh on consumables/regular maintenance stuff.

The car still isn’t here so I haven’t been able to assess how much I need to do under the hood yet. At the very least a general tune up - plugs/wires, fluids, any easily accessible gaskets/seals, injectors if needed. I’m a reasonably competent diy’er, and I’ve got a good friend who has been a Nissan tech for 30 years and owns a Z32 himself...he’s gonna go through it with me once it arrives.

I knew what to expect on gas mileage, and while it will be a marginal improvement that was not my primary motivation. I don’t want to put so many miles on my 500E, and when things break it’d be nice to have a reliable back up that I enjoy/don’t hate driving.
No problem with the tips, and sounds like you are well-set- having the Nissan tech buddy should help you out immensely especially since he owns one himself.
Sounds like we are both on the same platform as I have a '93 as well, Good Luck and keep us posted!

Mejnoon
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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So the car finally arrived Saturday and I’ve had the chance to look it over in depth with my Nissan tech friend. Some good, some bad, but overall very happy with the car and I feel like I got a great deal at the price I paid.

The bad - paint is worse than I’d hoped and most of the weatherstripping is rotting, and the hatch trim is all pretty faded. Also it came with badly warped front brakes but I already put on new oem rotors/pads.

The good - it runs well, no apparent drivetrain issues, no overheating, clutch feels good, suspension feels tight, all visible body welds look original and the car feels laser straight. Also no leaks!

The headlights look new and seals are still rubbery/supple, they’ve definitely been replaced which made me concerned about front end damage; I found absolutely no other evidence of a front end repair though and I looked hard. Took it to a body guy I trust and he concurred.

I’ve decided that instead of replacing the fender and bumper cover right now I’m gonna hold off until I can get my hands on new weatherstripping/window seals then pull all the glass out and have the entire car resprayed. I know that I’ll have to replace the quarter windows to replace the seal, my glass guy said that his system is showing a few available but he hasn’t gotten back to me with a price yet. Any sourcing tips on weatherstripping/body seals/hard trim are highly appreciated, I’ve just barely started searching.

In the meantime I’m going to do the whole timing belt/water pump service, and also r&r the pump; that’s probably all for now.

The minute I got the car out on the road I remembered why I love these cars. It just felt right, balanced, responsive, but perfectly comfortable at the same time. Looking forward to getting it cleaned up and dialed in.

Mejnoon
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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NolimitZ32 wrote:
Tue Oct 09, 2018 5:36 am
Welcome aboard. The 500E is a BEAST of a vehicle, I'm pretty jealous right now. Definitely a good move to get the 500E off DD duty.
Thank you! Yes I love the 500E, I will never sell it. Very satisfying car but high maintenance, and as a daily driver I can’t take my time doing stuff myself or waiting for parts ordered online.

I started getting intermittent faults earlier this year due to my lower engine harness starting to rot. They were showing NLA from MB at the time; there’s a guy that rebuilds them but he doesn’t stock cores, you have to pull your harness send it off and wait. That’s a big part of the reason I wanted a backup DD.

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NolimitZ32
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Joined: Fri Jun 27, 2008 9:07 am
Car: 91 AG2 2+0 TTMT swap/E39 BMW 540i6/E53 4.6is Dinan S3
Location: Houston, TX

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We have an e39 540i and a w126 300SEL so I know all about intermittent issues (freaking pain to trace). The E39 was my daily for 3 years but I had to take it out of DD duty because I was spending every weekend replacing something else (all due to age but still a PITA).

Absolomb
Posts: 65
Joined: Wed Jan 25, 2017 5:44 pm

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I hope for your sake its super white and not pearl white as far as the paint. I made that mistake. They'll tell you they cant match the pearl. The bumper will have to blend into both fenders/nose panel/ hood. Not fun.

Sorry just saw you're gonna repaint the whole thing. Good idea. As far as the trims they can all be had online as far as I know. Check z1 motorsports and conceptzperformance. You can source other parts from people parting out cars on craigslist. Just keep your eyes open.

Mejnoon
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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NolimitZ32 wrote:
Thu Oct 18, 2018 5:23 am
We have an e39 540i and a w126 300SEL so I know all about intermittent issues (freaking pain to trace). The E39 was my daily for 3 years but I had to take it out of DD duty because I was spending every weekend replacing something else (all due to age but still a PITA).
I daily drove an E39 540i6 before the 500E, I think I sold it around 175k miles and it was getting pretty demanding lol

Mejnoon
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2018 5:05 pm

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Absolomb wrote:
Fri Oct 19, 2018 6:47 pm
I hope for your sake its super white and not pearl white as far as the paint. I made that mistake. They'll tell you they cant match the pearl. The bumper will have to blend into both fenders/nose panel/ hood. Not fun.

Sorry just saw you're gonna repaint the whole thing. Good idea. As far as the trims they can all be had online as far as I know. Check z1 motorsports and conceptzperformance. You can source other parts from people parting out cars on craigslist. Just keep your eyes open.
It is super white. I love the pearl white but don’t think I’ve ever seen a slicktop in pearl, I suspect because it was an upgrade and the slicktops sent to the US seem to have been optioned as the entry level Z.

I found Z1 Motorsport after my last post and OMG they have everything...even the slicktop specific windshield/roofline molding :bowdown: It’s been a while since I’ve worked on a car with aftermarket support this extensive and it’s pretty awesome :bigthumb:

I’m getting in to this car a lot deeper than planned, but that’s usually how it turns out. I really like this car, it just drives right.

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car nut
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If you can find a '89-'96 Infiniti Q45 the factory LSD will more or less bolt in and has a 3.54 ratio (stock NA is 4.08). You'll need to redrill the input flange but it's a relatively easy swap. Should net you significantly better cruising mileage.

itsa300zx
Posts: 1243
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 9:39 am
Car: 1990 300zx NA W/TT swap
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car nut wrote:
Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:52 am
If you can find a '89-'96 Infiniti Q45 the factory LSD will more or less bolt in and has a 3.54 ratio (stock NA is 4.08). You'll need to redrill the input flange but it's a relatively easy swap. Should net you significantly better cruising mileage.
Are you sure about those years?
I thought they were 97-01 Q45 diff.
http://fgy33.tripod.com/id28.html


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