Hello all, I am looking to buy a new car, and have looked at the supra and 300zx. I want the twin turbos and am looking into this range of car as my brother drives an m3 evo and I am wanting to keep up with him! (if not beat him)

 

Any way, I am moving form an import mr2 (non turbo) and have come accross a 300zx fairlady z twin turbo. 1993 Kreg 80thousand miles ( although it is a japaneese import) cloth trim, gloss black, targa top, atermarket wheels, superb condition body wise, at £7000.

 

Is this reasonable, and what should I look out for? I will be test driving again on Sunday 20/10/02 at 2pm so would appreciate any advice etc before then.

 

Took the car for a short spin on Thursday and it seemed very quick. Only thing i noticed odd was the temperature gauge was flickering around from normal to way off the mark (sensor maybe?)

I know absolutely nothing about these cars so wuld appreciate any info, no matter how obvious or unnecessary it may be.

 

please could you also reply to my e-mail below

 

 

Thanks in advance

 

Rich Simpson

richard.simpson10@btopenworld.com

80k miles sounds like quite a lot for an import... of course it could just mean that it hasn't been clocked ;)

 

80k also means it should have had a new timing belt 20k miles ago. Additionally, if I remember correctly the official lifespan of the turbos is somewhere around that figure too. Although, with common sense care a lot of people have clocked well over 100k on the original pair.

 

Probably the most expensive fix-it jobs on the 300 are turbo related actually, so check they're okay. Once the car's warmed up, give it some heavy right foot. Make sure the turbo gauge climbs near the top of the scale; if it doesn't then the car could be stuck in safety boost for some (probably expensive) reason.

 

Check the mirror for any exhaust smoke during heavy boost too. A short puff of light smoke is okay, but anything darker spells trouble. Once you're back at the garage, let it idle for a while - if it starts smoking that's not good.

 

What else? Hmm. Check all the electrics I suppose; mirrors, windows, seats, etc. Are you aware of the various trim levels of the 300? Powered driver & passenger seats, climate control with LCD display and cruise control may or may not be present on your test car.

 

HTH as a starting point. Good luck!

I'm not really that in touch these days but it sounds expensive to me.

 

On the turbo front, I wouldn't actually agree on being happy with light coloured smoke on boost. This would indicate oil burning and a Z shouldn't do this.

 

The boost level is part of the equation but the other part is the actual condition of the turbos. To check the rear seal (which is what creates the need for new turbos in 90% of cases), run the to normal temperature. Then stop it for 5 minutes, then start it and leave it to idle for 5 minutes. Blue smoke out of one side or both means they'll need replacing soon.

 

Certainly at that price, I would expect it to be on replacement turbos.

 

Check out the history - good Z owners tend to keep receipts and stuff. Some really sad ones even keep a nice A4 folder with everything in chronological order. Obviously not me. Just the others.

 

The performance should blow you away. But they all do that so don't buy the first one for that reason.

 

If you can, take a current Z owner with you. Post your location on here and you might well get an offer.

 

If the temperature is flicking around then, yes, it's probably sensor. Cheap and one of the few easy jobs on a Z ! If it's moving slowly then run a mile until it's fixed. The gauge on these is designed to stay in the centre over a wide range of temperatures. Overheating problems can be BIG money.

 

Good luck

 

Dave

I would also do a compression check if possible. I didn't and the engine seemed fine, but wasn't = big hassles and bills.

As the others have said check turbos very well as it is an engine out job to fix.

Is it still standard or has it been tweeked?

Good luck.