Z thoughts

[evildky]

I find myself in the unusual position of owning one each of the first 4 generations of Z cars at the moment (all turbo) and have been thinking about the significance and problems of each model

S30 (70-78 240Z, 260Z, 280Z)lightweight nimble chassis a true no frills sportscar, think Miata only more dated suspension and braking with more power at top and gobs more bottome end

This is the best chassis to build an all out race car for whatever kind of racing your into they are lightweight and simple. From that you can easily build it into whatever you like, my car bears only a familiar shape of what Mr. K so proudly brought to us. I added the turbo engine, gutted the already spartan interior and tweaked the suspension and made it my autocross car, no longer much fun on the streets

S130 (79-83 280ZX)when this body style came onto the scene on 79 it must have seemed quite luxurious. A more sophisticaed suspension the introdustion of 4 wheel disks and a quality of interior not found on many cars of the era. Iit offered a stifer chassis with substantially improved brakes the option of T-Tops and all the modern power options including digital gauges and power defog mirrors and all for an added weight gain of only a few hundred pounds. The engine now mounted closer to the firewall ans the addition of a turbo made engine work a bit more challanging.

Z31 (84-89 300ZX)While this car was a dramatic departure from the prior chassis's it carried over much of it's character from the S130. The interior is very much the same between these 2 generation even the semi-trailing arm rear suspension bear more than just a hint of similarity. This car now featured a V-6 engine departing from the I-6 engines found in earlier cars, while more intimidating to the shade tree mechanic. Underhood repairs would take a bit more effort but woulod not take supstantially more time.The build quality and performance were on par with corvettes of the same era

Z32 (90-96 300ZX)The flagship sports car became a luxury car in one fell swoop. The interior was clearly built to reflect suprerior build quality which appears to have been without any consideration for weight gain. The Power was now from not one but 2 turbo changers resulting in an engine bay that more closely resembled a topographical map than the open engine bays of the early "Z" offerings. Clearly not intended for the easily intimidated. The V-6 engines cursed with timing belts that demand attention unless you favor engine rebuilding. The suspension seems to be quite predictable and nimble for a car of it's size, very much a throwback to the earliest car.

Most of this is the result of me spending a LOT of time on my back replacing a power steering hose on my Twin Turbo. The earlier cars are clearly the cars to own if you want to "Build a racer" the Z32 is the clear choice for a daily driver or Boulevard cruiser with the other generations falling somewhere inbetween. there is a lot of people swapping later drivetrains into early cars as they are so buildable which got me wanderin why? the early engine is easily capable of well over 400 WHP and there are not very many people running much more power than that in an S30 regardless of engine choice. I came to the conclusion that I'd rather put a 400 Hp L6 into a Z32 than a VG30DETT into an S30, it would be easier to install and be more servicable underhood, I'm just not sure the slopped hood would clear.

[nsrZ32]

Z32 and the S30 are my favorite 2

Always have loved Z32's though.....nothing like a powerful TT with tight suspension and looks to back it up.

[evildky]

don't get me wrong the other 2 generations are fantastic cars it's just that the first and fourth gen cars are complete polar opposites, the S30 is the builder chassis of choice, the z32 is the cruiser, the other 2 gens might not be as flashy and cushy as the z32 and might not offer the ease of mods but fit right between them, they all offer great potential it's just soo expensive and difficult to modify a Z32 when compared to the earlier cars ans the S30 will never be a refined and luxurious as the Z32

when looking into brake mods for my S30 I was shocked that big disk brembos were gonna be over $750! and now that I have looked at the big brake kits for the Z32 at prices of over $2000 it really makes you appreciate the early cars, you can do a lot more for a lot less and that goes for time spent spinning wrenches as well (with the propper amount of leaneing you can change the oil on an S30 without ever getting under the car)(for that matter you can also replace the starter, slave cylinder, alternator, radiator and most everything but the oil pan without getting under the car)

[jEzTeR]

Dave,

Here is what I think you should do.

Sell everything but the Z32, s30 and one of the Z31's.

Keep the Z32 as a DD with just a few low cost mods.

Keep the s30 as a Drag/Auto x car

Make the Z31 a project car and go for the RB swap.

OR

Sell both the Z31's and get that 510 and build a nasty L6 for it.

[evildky]

I only have one Z31 (the 84T) and there is also the S130 (83T) and yes they both gotta go as wel as the miata, and you must remember that my DD is and needs to e a truck, the Z32 is just too impracticle to mod beyond the basic 400hp and it's a heavy car so thats not too extreme, the S30 is the car that puts it down (auto-X or drag) I really should sell the Z32 soon but I'd like to enjoy it for a while it's nice having a streetable Z and has me very querious about the Z33 not that I want one just wanting to more clearly see where they fit into the chain of cars

[evildky]

AND........ i would love nothing more than to pick up james's dime but If I get one it's gonna be a 2 door and it's be garaged and as states I am all out of spaces

[jEzTeR]

Good point! A 2 door 510 would be much better.

Yeah when I said DD I knew you were going to keep the truck. The Z32 is great to go out and have fun and take it to Z club meeting ect...