Hi all

 

I wondered if you could help me out with your experience.

 

I am a new member and looking to buy a Jap sports car. I like the 300zx but people are telling me that they have a chronic rust problem, alternators go easily, engines are cramped in the bay and so hard to work on and hard to tune and something about them being prone to overheating with regards to the housing around the spark plugs. If this is true is there anyway around these problems by modernising the car; modern alternator, under sealing it etc.

 

Also are parts very expensive. For example with a GTO I have heard that they cost a bomb to fix and maintain.

 

I would be grateful for some advice on this from experienced owners. Also if any one has driven a Twin Turbo Supra and GTO, could you tell me how they compare.

 

Thanks

Where to start !

 

They don't have a chronic rust problem, its like any car. You need to rust proof it and take care of it. Do this and rust wont be a problem.

I have never heard of alternators going easily, again its like any car parts wear out but no more so than any car.

Hard to work on **** yeah ! There is a twin turbo v6 crammed into a small engine bay of course they are going to be a bugger to work on.

 

Hard to tune **** no ! with a few minor mods and a Noz remap you are circa 420 bhp IIRC. and thats on all standard internals and turbos.

 

If you buy new from Nissan they will cost a fortune in parts, but there are loads of suppliers who do OEM spec parts at a fraction of the cost, its no more expensive than any other older, high end sports car.

 

I have driven a GTO TT and a Mk4 supra TT and they are chalk and cheese, I hated the GTO. It was slow, cumbersome and was just not a fun car to drive.

 

The supra was miles better, comfortable, fast and nimble enough to chuck around.

 

Hope this helps.

As above engine are crammed in but im no mechcanic but i myself have replaced the tubs on mine. There is no end of helpful and useful info on our forume. And as for rust its a plus twenty year old motor so underseal and top maintanece should keep it at bay. As for alternators thats a new one on me. Oh and if you bu a decent well looked after on from here your more likely not have to spend a fourtune to put it right as we love our motors on here and most will not be ratted around all the time but members pride and joy. Good luck.

Many of the targa versions do have a rust issue inside the lower sill sections, particularly the rear. I would strongly advise looking inside this area before committing to purchase one. The drain tubes for the targa channels run down into the sill and exit through a small pipe into the ground. Over the years (mainly from being jacked up on the sill) this exit pipe gets damaged or blocked eventually causing water to collect inside the sill area. The rust caused by this becomes evident externally after a while, by that time, the inside will be an absolute mess!

It shouldn't deter you from buying one, just bare it in mind when looking (along with all the other handy tips in the buying guide), and when/if you do purchase one, I would always advise a thorough underseal and cavity wax to prolong the life of the car and do regular inspection of both front and rear targa drains.

My obviously biased opinion of the 3 cars you're keen on would be in order of 300zx, supra then gto. In my opinion the 300zx has aged well against these 2 an still has a fairly modern edge to it whilst still being retro cool, timeless maybe the appropriate word?

Edited June 16, 201411 yr by Joely P

As my friends above have said but just remember is a 3 litre V6 Twin Turbo super car so bills will be higher than the average car but what a car to drive and be seen driving.

I think what every one you went for you would be spending money keeping it running if you you put some money to one side for when things need doing you would be fine if you think you will buy one and you will never have to spend any money on keeping it going then think again. if you keep it all stock it wouldnt be to bad keeping it going atall. but once you start tuning and tinkering with it then the bills and money spend soon gets out of control as I now know it can drain the bank your account very fast.

I think what every one you went for you would be spending money keeping it running if you you put some money to one side for when things need doing you would be fine if you think you will buy one and you will never have to spend any money on keeping it going then think again. if you keep it all stock it wouldnt be to bad keeping it going atall. but once you start tuning and tinkering with it then the bills and money spend soon gets out of control as I now know it can drain the bank your account very fast.

 

Doesn't have to be that way at all :)

 

Paul123: They respond very well to tuning, and unlike the GTO & Supra, you don't need to go to a piggy-back (Emanage, SAFC etc) or full standalone ECU (Link, Syvecs etc) as the standard ECU is remappable and can work with any number of injectors, MAFs & turbo combinations.

 

At least you didn't hear that they were only good for 350bhp before blowing up. That's one myth that seems to have been busted :)

its not so bad if you doing it your self but if you have to take the car some were for work and tuning the bill do rack up

It's a 25 year old top of its range sports car, Nissan went above and beyond with the z32.

Rust? yeah they rust, all cars rust. Looking around at mid aged cars though you see some right rot boxes, ford Ka for example I'm pretty sure the rest was added from the factory. They're just getting on, that's all. If you hunt around you will find looked after rot free examples easy enough. Rear sills as said suffer due to the tt top design and general salty British roads.

Hard to work on? Well they didn't really think too much about that, the engine was shoe horned in there as low as possible and as compact as possible, for a purpose. If you don't know them that engine bay is daunting even to trained mechanics, so you need a specific person who knows what they are doing, with relevant experience not some "jap specialist" who thinks it's a fat 200sx.

Expensive? It's an uncommon car with some quirks, not a run of the mill Honda etc. So parts are a touch pricey if I'm honest and labour can add up esp if your paying somebody to learn, that's where experience comes into it. I remember being quoted 20 hours to pull the block! It took less than half that with a mate that had done it before.

Over heating is caused by poor maintenance, the engine bay is hot and hostile due to it's layout, so those rubber coolant lines of which there are a few in there get brittle split and you loose all the coolant. Sludged up rads etc don't help either. I've sat in a hour long traffic jam in high summer before without it so much as braking a sweat, but every hose has been replaced and a new rad and the system flushed out. There's plenty of these cars in places like Texas not overheating.

The reality is your looking at a car that was originally rather expensive and is now fairly old. It's never going to be a cheap hack. However if you want something different with a big chunk of power and loads of potential it might be the car for you. I admired them for years before going out in one and realising I needed one. I've had it five years now, I won't be letting to of it.

Edited June 16, 201411 yr by Stephen

Doesn't have to be that way at all :)

 

Paul123: They respond very well to tuning, and unlike the GTO & Supra, you don't need to go to a piggy-back (Emanage, SAFC etc) or full standalone ECU (Link, Syvecs etc) as the standard ECU is remappable and can work with any number of injectors, MAFs & turbo combinations.

 

At least you didn't hear that they were only good for 350bhp before blowing up. That's one myth that seems to have been busted :)

 

That Uk based myth is finally starting to die I recon. Check out the yanks take in the ability if the STOCK engine! Did some one bolt gt3071's on?

 

http://www.300zxclub.com/showthread.php?t=218616&page=6

Thanks to all that replied.

 

I appreciate your comments and experience.