New Z owner How can I find out more about the model I bought.

[ibemacleod]

So I went and got me a Pearl Yellow 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo. I love it, but wish I its was going to be so hard to have work done on it. I knew they could be fussy , but wow! So the one I got I guess it would be considered a fair lady Z or a Z32? My understanding is there were not too many of these Pearl Yellow ones made is that correct? I have a pretty low Vin# and would like to know more about this model. Its in good shape frame is great no body issues, so I don't think something like car fax would help. So if you have any suggestions I would love to know. Thanks in advance for your time. I am learning as I go so I at times ask (what those who know) as a stupid question.

[rgregoryb]

A good start is the everything you need to know about the z32 several lines above your post.Production numbers are available by google

[ibemacleod]

Thank you.

[MrFeesLaw]

So I went and got me a Pearl Yellow 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo. I love it, but wish I its was going to be so hard to have work done on it. I knew they could be fussy , but wow! So the one I got I guess it would be considered a fair lady Z or a Z32? My understanding is there were not too many of these Pearl Yellow ones made is that correct? I have a pretty low Vin# and would like to know more about this model. Its in good shape frame is great no body issues, so I don't think something like car fax would help. So if you have any suggestions I would love to know. Thanks in advance for your time. I am learning as I go so I at times ask (what those who know) as a stupid question.

Unless it is right-hand-drive, it isn't a Fairlady. This is a common misconception about all Z cars, that the Fairlady is some kind of special edition. The only thing Fairlady means is that it was a JDM model. Meaning it was produced and sold in Japan. The executives an the Nissan Corporation in Japan thought that Americans would be opposed to buying any car named after a "lady", and so they gave it a name based off of the engine size, as they do with all other Z's.

I see people around my area on craigslist charging out the A$$ for their "Special Fairlady Z Edition" car and it makes me sick to my stomach. Some r**ard who doesn't know what he's talking about, selling a car to another r**ard who is dumb enough to believe him, and it jacks up the prices on the whole Z car market.

As for other details about your year, the VIN decoder that can be found in a link on the 300zx general page will help you a lot. I believe the title of the article is "Everything you need to know about the 300zx", or something similar. It will have a VIN decoder and tons of other information to help you find out anything you need to know about your car. Major differences to look for when doing your own work would be knowing whether your car was originally Turbo or N/A, Originally Auto or Manual, 2+2 vs 2 seater, what style of injectors you have (P1 or P2), and whether your diagnostic port is OBD1 or OBD2.

A lot of these things have been swapped by the original owners and need to be double-checked before you order any parts. Check the VIN, and then check all of the things mentioned above to make sure they are all factory to what the VIN says. If not, do some serious looking on your car before you assume they left anything stock. Would really suck to order P1 injectors for your 1992 Turbo, and find out it is running the new injector plugs, because the engine was swapped.

[evildky]

"Fairlady" is what they were called in japan, Mr.K thought the name was too feminine for the US market so when they started shipping Z cars over in 1969 they got rebadged "240Z". All Z cars imported since have had the "Z" moniker. Z32 simply refers to the chassis code, all 90-96 Z cars are Z32 chassis (they did continue production through 99 in japan but none shipped to the states), this helps as the 84-89 Z31 was also badged 300ZX and they have absolutely zero parts interchange.

There actually was a special "Fairlady Edition" in the us. When they stopped importing them, the final 300 cars shipped in in 96 came with a special dash plaque. There were only a couple thousand imported in 96 so the percentage to get the plaque is actually kinda high. The very last one was a 2 seat n/a.

Back to the OP, yes the yellow is a rare color, also a polarizing one, I'm not a fan of yellow cars in general. the vin will tell you if it's a factory turbo JN1"C"Z for TT models, and JN1"H"Z for n/a.

[MrFeesLaw]

"Fairlady" is what they were called in japan, Mr.K thought the name was too feminine for the US market so when they started shipping Z cars over in 1969 they got rebadged "240Z". All Z cars imported since have had the "Z" moniker. Z32 simply refers to the chassis code, all 90-96 Z cars are Z32 chassis (they did continue production through 99 in japan but none shipped to the states), this helps as the 84-89 Z31 was also badged 300ZX and they have absolutely zero parts interchange.

There actually was a special "Fairlady Edition" in the us. When they stopped importing them, the final 300 cars shipped in in 96 came with a special dash plaque. There were only a couple thousand imported in 96 so the percentage to get the plaque is actually kinda high. The very last one was a 2 seat n/a.

Back to the OP, yes the yellow is a rare color, also a polarizing one, I'm not a fan of yellow cars in general. the vin will tell you if it's a factory turbo JN1"C"Z for TT models, and JN1"H"Z for n/a.

I never knew about the Fairlady edition. That's pretty cool. I'm assuming this doesnt apply to other Z's though? Such as the 350z? I had always read they never marketed as "Farilady" in the U.S. But Nissan does like their special editions lol. I'd like to get my hands on an SMZ! (Steve Millen Z, Steve Millen being the owner of Stillen Racing).

I would imagine the Fairlady edition would be fairly obvious then... As there would either be a dash plaque, or a hole in the dash where it should have been. Couldn't imagine anyone swapping out the dash on a rare model like that.

The OP also stated that his Z was a 1990, and the Fairlady would only have been available in 1996, so again, the car was mis-marketed as a "Fairlady" and it clearly wasn't one. I just hate seeing the market get destroyed by people who don't know. The OP had no way of knowing, but the seller of the car should have done some research before claiming the car was something it wasn't. He probably asked for more money since he thought it was something special, and now if the OP decides to sell it, he will want his money back out of it, which causes him to ask more than he normally would, which raises the price on the whole Z market.

[evildky]

You are absolutely correct the OP's car is just another Z32 that happens to be a fairly rare color. The fairlady edition was 96 only, and yes, shocker, people are stupid, I knew a guy that like to talk about the TA he owned back in the day being a "poncho edition" because he was too dense to understand that poncho" was just a sort of nickname for pontiac.

Yes I too have long lusted after the SMZ cars, basically a kitted up stage 3 but sure seemed like a big deal back then.

[MrFeesLaw]

^^^and the SMZ is so clean! the body kit is just enough to know that it is different, without being obnoxious. And it all looks factory... because it is!

That's funny about the TA. Not really anyone's fault these things happen, but it makes you wonder how different the prices could be if people actually knew the value of their stuff. (Which is usually way less than they think)

[MrFeesLaw]

Had a guy in my area trying to sell an automatic non-turbo for $13,500 and it was about 6 different colors with 3 pieced together body kits held on by zip ties, duct tape, hopes, and dreams.

Asked him why he wanted so much for an obvious piece of junk, and he said it was a special fairlady edition and it had tons of custom work and that he saw them everywhere for $20,000 so he was giving someone a great deal!...

Think the dude may literally have been on crack... lol. oh well. Thing never sold (I Hope!)

[evildky]

Yeah a lot of people will see that one unicorn in perfect condition bring big bucks then think their clapped out turd is worth the same.