Hi all,

 

I'm hoping to buy myself a 300 soon, this month hopefully, and stumbled across 300zx.co.uk just a couple of weeks ago. It's great to find some dedicated UK owners, especially after spending previous weeks looking through the other, very US-specific, Z32 forums =)

 

Anyway, I still have a few basic uncertainties I'd like to clear up before settling on a car, therefore I'm hoping I can draw on the collected experience of you fine bunch here!

 

Okay, the questions:

 

1. UK spec or Japanese spec? A dealer I spoke to recently favoured Jap., as their underbodies haven't had to withstand salty UK roads, but I see from other threads that they come with various conversion and parts problems?

 

2. Manual or auto transmission? I'm no Schumacher, but I tend to favour manual purely for full control and involvement. Is there still fun to be had with an auto box?

 

3. Low mileage or 'young' car? I doubt I could afford both so I'm leaning towards low mileage. That'd also give me time to save up for forthcoming repair work =) I read in a Top Gear report that the turbos are up for replacement around 60000m, does that sound right?

 

Okay, I'll leave it there - didn't mean to waffle on. Oh, one last thing: there's a small import dealership local to me, in Aldershot, named Magnum Motor Company. They usually keep a bunch of RAC inspected 300s in, and can do servicing, etc. Anyone heard of them?

 

Right, I'm done now. Many thanks in advance for any opinions and guidance!

 

Paul "Raz" Bowron

 

1.I think jap or UK is a matter of cost and condition. I got my import 90TT two years ago and servicing was no problem from a dealer but then I had to wait 3 months for a replacement gearbox(auto) and torque converter from japan! But with the help from Silvia engineering and MJP Autos parts supply is quite good.

2.Auto or manual is down to choice, My auto has proved fun but that's because its attached to a 300ZX! :)

3.Turbos may need changing at 60000 miles but my Z came with a turbo timer(helps oil in turbos cool down) and after 78000 miles all seems well.

 

I think Magnum sold a Z to a writer from Revs magazine apart from that havent heard much about them,

Hope this helps,

 

Trev.

 

 

Hey Raz,

 

Just to add my 0.2$ to the barrel.

 

1. Nissan are not especially anti import, some people might give you shit about having one if you have a problem, but they will be talking outta their ass as there are no big differences between the two. Problems with imports are:

Hard to find leather interior, Lights not available in this country. Undependable service history. Genuine Millage ?

 

If you find a good one with low milage (90 -94 are the best years for Mods) then get it simple as that, Make sure you know what to look for and drive it Fast Hard and long before handing over the cash.

 

2. Manuals have clutches that wear out, Auto Over heat and are more expensive to buy and repair. Your choice your reference, I find Autos are more common on import tho.

 

3. Low Millage (just get the timing belt done) turbos seldom fail before 80K miles to be honest. There are the odd case. Use good synthetic,change oil every 6K without fail. get a turbo timer (ooh look a group but down the page there) and your turbos will last well over 120K on a stock engine.

 

RAC inspection is OK but dont treat it as gosspel, The guy that inspected it mighta been doing Micras all year round. I had an inspection done the Guy came up with a few piddly faults( two of which were incorrect anyway) and said the car was Ok if i could get a couple of hundred quid off which i did bought it and founf it needed about 3.5 Grands worht of work doing, However thanks to the guys here, on tt.net and Luke at the Z center i managed to write most of the wrongs from jsut over a grand :o). In short RAC good but not always the full story. Browse thru the older message threads on this board for a comprehensive list of what to look for when driving one.

 

Hope that helps ya find a good one.

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

 

we have a good mixture of UK vs Jap owners here, so i'm sure you'll get some good unbiased opinions.

 

With imports, unless the dealer does all of the conversion work, then you have a few annoyances to sort out.

 

speedo, limiter, fog lamp, auto oil cooler, radio

 

With UK you just need to make sure it has been well looked after and serviced.

 

And do imports have the same underbody treatment as the UK cars, which are subject to harsher weather conditions ?

 

I would probably have had an import myself, if the dealer i went to hadnt tried to up the price after i arranged the money.

 

Manual/Auto ?

personal choice, but some pointers...

 

drag race, constant city stop start driving, constant motorway ? AUTO

track race, all other driving conditions ? MANUAL

 

These are just my opinions, i'm not starting a war :)

 

My stock turbos are at 118,000 miles now, and still pull. I have no turbo timer, but take it easy for a mile or so before i get where i am going, and tick over long enough to collect all my stuff out of the car :)

 

Hi Raz,

 

Where are you based, I'm in High Wycombe?

 

1. Jap vs UK spec. Not that important. Just get which ever is the best deal/condition. If you find a UK one then great. I get as many parts as I can from the states, so parts aren't really a problem.

 

2. Manual vs auto. Both are fun, it's totally up to what you want. Most are autos, so DONT get one if you really want a manual. Hold out.

 

3. Like most cars, the turbos go if they're treated badly. 60,000miles is a low estimate. Mines currently going fine. Had it modified for at least 4 years and I've now done about 90k. But I've ran Mobil1 most of that time and let them heat up/cool down properley, and I know it's going to extend the turbo life.

 

"I'm no Schumacher"... you will be! 8)

 

Hi again,

 

Thanks for the replies, this is a fantastic help, guys =)

 

No point being picky over the car's country of origin, then - that's one thing less to worry about. Thanks for the list of conversion issues, Craig. What is it with the fog lamps, do Jap.-spec not have any? (With all those lamps up front and on the back, I just assumed it had two fogs at both ends!). You made an interesting point about underbodies, too - UK cars have a treatment? Can this be given to a foreign car too, and has anyone felt the need?

 

Regarding transmission, auto definitely seems the most common on the imports. 4 of the 5

at Magnum were autos. Still, as I'm planning to minimise the costs that I have a choice over, I might hafta try and hold out for a cheaper-to-repair manual =)

 

Good news on the turbos, too. Nico, the turbo timer sounds excellent, do they work okay with immobilisers as well as alarms (and can you override them and switch off if the need arises)? If I manage to find a car before the group buy is set in stone then I'd def be up for that, but don't let me hold you up by any means.

 

Jez, I'm in Fleet (just off J4a of the M3 in Hampshire). There's already a Z owner somewhere nearby, actually - I've often seen a nice black stock-looking car cruising around the local streets... if you're reading, give a shout! =)

 

Thanks again, guys,

Raz

 

 

Just to answer the Turbo Timer Q's

Baiscally you can set your own duration, switch the unit off or use the interval that the turbo timer decides is appropriate.

 

Wiring around alarms and imobilizers goes from the simple to the impossible depending on your system. Best thing to do is phone Bob when you have your car and know what alarm system you have. He may be able to shed a little more light on the matter then.

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

 

 

 

Hey Guys,

 

Just a note as I've seen more Jap spec Z's than you lot have probably had hot dinners (we have 80 odd down here in our club in NZ - let alone the ones I see go into and out of TechnCar - our legendary service center that

I hang around on Saturdays at).

 

For example this was how many that turned up for breakfast on sunday in Auckland alone:

 

When buying them the biggest potential problems are

 

-Turbos

-Corroded Connections

-Running in safety boost

-Autos about ready to shit themselves.

-Suspension bushes on the way

-Cooling System

 

Our market has just about dried up of good condition Z's cause you lot are buying them up every 5mins, but you will get the odd dodgy one mixed amongst the good lot.

 

ALWAYS and I mean ALWAYS start the car from cold, and watch the exhaust emissions as it warms up. Any turbo-turbine problems will be evident when you do this. Also you should check the intake pipes as these will indicate whether the compressors are ready to go or not - pull the big rubber hose off on each side of the engine leading to the throttle bodies, they should be clean as a whistle, but if there's oil in there there's a damn good chance that the compressor seals are a bit dodgy!

 

From my experience any 89-91 Z is getting close to turbo rebuild time, they all seem to let go at the 10 year mark. If they don't let go in stock trim they will almost certainly let go in stage 3 trim!! 3 out of 4 cars I've seen go to stage 3 have had the turbos let go shortly thereafter (removing the cats is the fastest way to get your turbos to smoke!)

 

Just put it in the budget to do turbos if you're buying an older 300.

 

Also the auto boxes go sooner or later, ditto the same deal about turbos for the autos.

 

After you've bought it get a top to bottom service done, particularly if you're the first owner in England and ALWAYS get the coolant system THOROUGHLY flushed and checked, if the Water pump and any hosing is in doubt REPLACE them.. as 8 out of 10 engine failures are from the cooling system packing up.. either split hoses or stuffed water pumps...

 

Treat it right and you'll eat many a Porker for dinner :-)

 

 

Rowan Hick

Sonic-Motorsport.com

Auckland, New Zealand

 

I'll bear that in mind, Rowan, thanks.

 

I was hoping to check out a 1990 Auto at the weekend but it's getting its steering rack replaced; something was leaking, apparently... hope that doesn't indicate further trouble!

 

Should be able to see it at http://www.autobaseuk.com/bin/findcar.dll?site=autobaseuk&idno=MAGM01000086 if anyone wants a look.

 

Raz

 

New stearing Rack, Ouch, Bet that is costing a fair few pennies. Shouldn't be a indication of further problems tho, Bet someone just curbed it Lol.

 

I would check for steering shake when you drive it too make sure they have short cutted around the problem.

 

Bet they are using a used Rack, might wanna have a look for yourself if they start trying to talk the price up.

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

 

Bought my jap 300z from Magnum 2+ years ago. They seemed pretty good. Steve and Murray run Magnum. They know what needs converting on the car and do a better job at it than most I've seen/heard about. I had some trouble with the mileometer conversion and they had no qualms about sorting it free. I don't service it there as they sub-contract to a local garage who I don't get a good feel for. I use silvia eng. But I'd buy another Z from Magnum.

 

Ta for the vote of confidence Coogs, that's good to hear. Hopefully won't be too long till I get a call to go and check out the 300 they've been working on.

 

Raz