Well the old Hilux has gone to a new home and we have a new family member

 

a tidy black 1995 300zx SWB TT manual

 

 

 

This shortie' is absolutely mint underneath and is a credit to its former keepers. Quite a contrast to her big brother sat on axle stands in the background feeling sorry for himself.

 

 

First job on the 'to do' list was to swap over the Nismo steering wheel for the uber' rare, limited edition 'OZ Racing' Personal steering wheel out of the track zed. The feel on this is much better for me, than with its leather predesessor.

 

I was going to change the Momo gear knob over but half way through I figured that I actually quite liked it and the way that it felt during gear changes was pretty good, so it stayed put.

 

 

 

 

 

Next little job was to mag to grid the orange indicator lenses and swap them for a set of Nismo clear lenses that I had lying around.

 

 

 

 

 

Now it was always my intention to switch the 17" Speedline rims currently fitted to the zed for a set of 18" RAYS (including a set of nearly new 235 and 275 wide Pirelli P-Zero tyres) that I picked up from Zedworld last year for a bargain price,

 

 

 

 

I dropped them off on Wednesday at a local tyre specialist to make good a nail that was embedded in one of the rear tyres.

 

Unfortunately when I went to pick them up they informed me that one of the front rims had a small crack just on the lip and would need to be repaired.

 

 

 

 

 

the rim was still holding air and wasn't leaking at all, so it was just by chance that when the tyre was removed the guys spotted the crack.

 

anyway, that left me with a bit of a dilemma.

 

I sized up the set of 18" Enkei's that I've got for the track zed but I think that without rolling the arch, they would rub, so the Enkei's were out.

 

 

Next I suggested to my wife that we refurb the set of 18" white 1 piece Volk Racing/Rays that we have in the attic that were used for drifting and track days

 

 

 

 

 

they only require a small amount of work to be mint, however the thought of white rims on a black roadgoing SWB zed didn't appeal to my wife so they were also out!

 

 

That got me thinking. I've had a set of 18" black and chrome Volk Racing/RAYS CV-Pro's for a few years now.

I refurbed them about 2 years ago but never fitted them. I tried selling them a few times but nobody was willing to pay the money and they aren't to everyones taste.

 

anyway I dug them out of the attic and quickly dusted them off.

 

In my opinion there's something very retro JDM about them and I think that they will go nicely on the shortie' (especially as they are pretty much the same year of manufacture)

 

The pics aren't great because obviously I've just laid them alongside (so no they aren't super negative offset 13.3" wide rims before you ask!) but I think they will go.

 

They were originally on the track zed back in '08 before I removed them and refurbed them and now they are absolutely mint, without even the slightest curbing etc.

 

What do you think?

Edited November 28, 201114 yr by jap.slapper

wow what a great combo..black,shortie and manwell to boot. She looks in fine fettle too, i love the CV pro's as i had them on my old zed:cool3:

Very nice swb mate, health to enjoy:thumbup1:

looking good fella:thumbup1:

black shortie black wheels= BIG WIN

Looking good mate, reckon the black suits her best......

Looking good mate, reckon the black suits her best......

 

 

haha, hearing people be pro-black is something rare where i live :clap::clap:

black shortie black wheels= BIG WIN

 

What he said :thumbup:

looking good mate :)

What a lovely zed :) she is truly in good hands with the amount of parts in your attic

Nice purchase!!

 

Whack the black rims on!!

A great purchase, I had a feeling from marty's hilux thread that you'd been dealing :thumbup1:

 

Definately get those wheels put on, they really suit it!

What a lovely zed :) she is truly in good hands with the amount of parts in your attic

 

 

Everything is just so straight mate it's unreal.

 

I had a nose around underneath today and it quite honestly looks like a car 10 years younger, there's just no comparisson with my LWB (UK spec, which might go some way to explain the copious amounts of surface rust on the arms etc)

 

 

I know what you mean about my attic though, it's bloody rediculous, though 99% of those parts are destined for the track zed.

 

The decision has been made anyway Marty, following our conversation yesterday, The track zed once blasted and resprayed will be gaining a new heart in the form of a 2JZ GTE (I know, travesty and all that but really it does make sense in the long run!)

 

The forged VG will then eventually find its way into the shortie', though I'm in no hurry at all and am quite happy to keep the current engine as it is.

 

 

Well I've made a token effort here, but that's it :biggrin:

 

 

 

 

 

You weren't lying either mate, with nothing more than aftermarket induction and a straight through exhaust, surprisingly it really does have some decent power there, like no other stock TT zed that I've ever been in before, so I'm well pleased mate.

 

 

I plan for the shortie' to become a bit of a sleeper eventually, so no epic wide arch kits or big mouthed front bumpers just a whole load of JDM goodness

 

 

I'll see you guys at the Pod sometime soon I'm sure (at last....it's only taken me 4 years!)

 

 

and black CV-Pro's it is then

 

 

cheers fellas :thumbup1:

very nice buy mate

Everything is just so straight mate it's unreal.

 

I had a nose around underneath today and it quite honestly looks like a car 10 years younger, there's just no comparisson with my LWB (UK spec, which might go some way to explain the copious amounts of surface rust on the arms etc)

 

 

I know what you mean about my attic though, it's bloody rediculous, though 99% of those parts are destined for the track zed.

 

The decision has been made anyway Marty, following our conversation yesterday, The track zed once blasted and resprayed will be gaining a new heart in the form of a 2JZ GTE (I know, travesty and all that but really it does make sense in the long run!)

 

The forged VG will then eventually find its way into the shortie', though I'm in no hurry at all and am quite happy to keep the current engine as it is.

 

 

Well I've made a token effort here, but that's it :biggrin:

 

 

 

 

 

You weren't lying either mate, with nothing more than aftermarket induction and a straight through exhaust, surprisingly it really does have some decent power there, like no other stock TT zed that I've ever been in before, so I'm well pleased mate.

 

 

I plan for the shortie' to become a bit of a sleeper eventually, so no epic wide arch kits or big mouthed front bumpers just a whole load of JDM goodness

 

 

I'll see you guys at the Pod sometime soon I'm sure (at last....it's only taken me 4 years!)

 

 

and black CV-Pro's it is then

 

 

cheers fellas :thumbup1:

 

I did try telling everyone in the for sale ad but people see that they can get a lwb tt for half the price. Glad it went to a friend in the end now ill get my shorty ready and see you at the pod

Congratulations on the purchase,

 

I had a pipe dream about buying this SWB to go with my '95 LWB, but unfortunately we can't all be Gary Wilson types on here!!!

 

Car was worth every penny of what Gonzo was asking, so the fact you managed to off load that soon-to-be-dead Hi-lux is even better (you did tell him about the bottom end problems, didn't you?). :lol:

 

Enjoy it bud.

Looks great! I've got a set of those sitting outside waiting for a refurb too, lovely wheels :)

Looks great...happy days :)

Oh yes, those volks will look great on it :)

:tank:

Congratulations on the purchase,

 

I had a pipe dream about buying this SWB to go with my '95 LWB, but unfortunately we can't all be Gary Wilson types on here!!!

 

Car was worth every penny of what Gonzo was asking, so the fact you managed to off load that soon-to-be-dead Hi-lux is even better (you did tell him about the bottom end problems, didn't you?). :lol:

 

Enjoy it bud.

 

It's a lovely zed and I've found that I'm just looking for excuses to take it for a spin

 

 

You know you can't kill a Hilux don't you, especially a well maintained 3ltr diesel with only 70 odd thousand miles on the clock......it's like the Hob Nob biscuit of the 4x4 world

 

 

Who's Gary Wilson?

:tank:

 

It's a lovely zed and I've found that I'm just looking for excuses to take it for a spin

 

 

You know you can't kill a Hilux don't you, especially a well maintained 3ltr diesel with only 70 odd thousand miles on the clock......it's like the Hob Nob biscuit of the 4x4 world

 

 

Who's Gary Wilson?

 

LOL.. I meant OUR Gary Wilson (moderator and owner of 2 stunning Zeds)

 

I'm sure the Hi-Lux is a good en, btw.

 

Talking of taking the car for a spin, I'd be interested to know how much of a difference it makes chopping a few inches out of the chassis. I never really perceived the LWB zed as being difficult to turn, so the SWB must feel like its bloody mid-engined! But also a little more difficult to catch when the back end breaks away??

Having owned both in tt manual version I'm confident that the shorty is easier to control as I find it more predictable but hey you really have to try it for yourself I did and that's one of the reasons I wouldn't have another lwb

Having now driven and owned both a LWB TT and SWB TT I would agree that the SWB feels a lot more planted than the LWB, which I found to be overly twitchy in the wet.

 

I've clocked up over 500 miles in the shortie' in the last week and felt confident in its handling 100%, though obviously respect is still due when the roads are 'mildly moist' as it can still get a bit lively if you want it to be.

 

 

 

 

Ok, so I finally got around to test fitting the RAYS split rims and I reckon they'll do nicely.

TEIN coilovers should lower the zed a few mm's to complete the setup.

 

 

 

 

The tyres sit nice and flush with the arches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've since stripped them all down again and have given them two extra coats of black enamel and clear laquer. They've been left for 24 hours between each coat to harden and hopefully they'll be ready to have the new Pirelli's fitted in the next day or so.

 

 

 

I also got around to fitting the '99 spec rear lights, which thankfully was a very straight forward task.

From start to finish only took 42 minutes so I was well happy.

 

 

 

 

 

Whilst I had the wheels off the shortie' I figured I'd take the oportunity to test fit the Enkei split rims that will be going onto the track zed.

These will also be stripped down and the centres are going to be painted in white enamel.

 

 

 

 

 

They are 10" rear with ET +23 offset but with the 255's fitted the tyres sit flush with the arches, with no requirement for rolling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

tyres are a tad stretched on the rears

Edited November 28, 201114 yr by jap.slapper

I'm really surprised by the handling comments..

 

To me, it would have seemed logical that the SWB would be easier to turn than the LWB and therefor more twitchy - especially in the wet. In my experience (although I've never driven a SWB zed) the longer the wheel base of a car, the easier it is to catch and drift. Yet you guys are saying its the opposite? Any ideas why the SWB has this uncanny ability?

 

Really must get myself a drive in one..

Looking seeeweet :)

Only my personal opinion, but the Z seems to have a very pendulum style chassis, i.e. it swings one way, and if you let off, it swings back, I'd say the shorty probably has the exact same type of chassis and has less travel because of the shorter wheelbase. Anyone like Yowser who actually knows the answer like to clarify?