Sometimes it seems that the first thing anyone does to an auto is stuff a manual box from a breaker of unknown parentage in it (and, of course, parts like that are coming from an impeccably maintained donor car).

 

So why would anyone keep an auto - and an NA one at that? Well, let me start by saying my favourite 300 is a TT Manual. But with a London daily commute, the petrol consumption was expensive and the heat under the bonnet in everyday's traffic jam A40/Hanger Lane nightmare wasn't doing the loom, hoses etc any favours. Plus a damaged left knee was finding the same traffic jams a bitch.

 

Mr F had some words of wisdom along the lines of "there's less to go wrong with an NA" and he's right: not just no turbos and all that plumbing but no HICAS. And some empty space where the turbos / plumbing go on a TT helps keep it a little cooler under bonnet.

 

And, fingers crossed, touch wood (always necessary with a Z) he's been proven right.

 

Now on my 2nd NA Auto, it's clearly a balance that suits me. Even as an auto, 24.5mpg on a usual 50 mile daily in/out of London traffic hell commute. My TT was getting 20/22 on the same grind.

 

It's quick if you use the flappy thing under your right foot and the power switch helps as well. But mostly every day driving doesn't need it and it's quite happy to burble around at legal town speeds and is very civilised. I've had to do several 400 mile day trips (Exmoor and back) and that just underlines the Z's competence as a Grand Tourer coupe (which was part of the original design concept anyway).

 

I once had a few days in a TT Auto and loved it. Give it some right foot on an empty road, wait just a bit for the revs to build and ye gods - warp drive, just hang on for grim death and no need to let go of the wheel to change gears (just as well) as the horizon (and next ditch/tree) snaps towards you. Great fun.

 

The NA Auto is a tad less extreme and, for me, means I get the fun of empty road, floor it and enjoy the ride more often. There's not quite so much "hang on for grim death" and a bit more of "feel the revs build, listen to the noise, enjoy the rush" and a little less white knuckle - so I get to do it more.

 

The NA Z is just as much a Z32 as the others - but it is a distinct flavour. Slightly less hairy chested, slightly more subtle and well worth a second glance.

I drive an NA Auto Z32 in the US....I still haven't made up my mind as to my opinion on it (them). Having being used to a TT Manual that I have in this country and not using either of them as daily/commuter cars, I am not sure I appreciate it as well as you do. It's a good cruiser, but I dunno, it just doesn't set my world on fire.

My N/A auto is a lovely drive. Nice smooth changes never really thought about converting it to manual. May be its my age just like poodling along.

My Z was a NA auto when I got her and I loved the way she was smooth to drive, comfortable with a growl and some go when you wanted to give her some revs.....

Then the engine decided to snap the timing belt. Rebuild on the heads and she was good for about 50 miles till the bottom end gave way and spun a bearing on me.....

I decided to do a TT conversion while she was having a new engine fitted and picked one up for a few hundred pounds with turbos and ancillaries.

One winter rebuild, check over and fitting of all required parts and she ran. It's taken a fair time to get her purring properly, but she is getting there as I learn more about the TT set up as I go.....

I must admit the power when she runs well is scary as....

I loved manuals when I was younger and would love a manual TT as a 2nd Z......

But I love the TT auto for taking out for a spin, I get to cruise about and then go for a spirited burst when I want to switch up a bit......

I just love the variety of manual and auto, TT and NA, sports 2 seater and family 2+2, slick top or Targa...... There seems to be a Z32 for everyone...

My family of 2 small boys and the wife all fit into my 2+2 snuggly to drive to a meet or show.... or just a weekend drive.....

A huge part of my life is my Z and if I had to I would go back to an NA auto setup, just so I could keep her on the road and enjoy driving her.......

I jump in, close out everything else going on in my life and drive a Z to make me relax, breathe and feel alive without thinking, just enjoying driving anywhere.......

I've no pressing need to go the manual route in the area I live. Traffic in London can be so slow so often that in my manual daily driver family car i hardly get my foot off the clutch before it's down again. Grand Touring and one arm cruising in comfort for me now! I'm lucky to be old enough to have driven in the days of no speed cameras and road humps. My RS Turbo / Opel Manta/ Capri days were fun when i had less responsibility, but my need now is form and function, with more than enough power for an occasional quick reminder of the old days. :thumbup1:

Mine was auto originally, the autobox did what many do and developed problems. Those problems worsened until I decided to go manual, just in time I might add. That choice transformed the car.

I'm not anti auto, I quite like the relaxed nature of an automatic. For a daily driver with traffic jams it's king it really is. But mid corner on that empty A road at 4am when the box changes where you didn't want it leaves you screaming at it, do what I want you to bloody do!!! Modern autos are better at this obviously, but with the zeds box the ability to simply see your corner down shift pull through and stamp on it through the exit and KNOW that the gear you want is what you will get till you change makes all the difference.

For you I get it, for me I want my toy to be you like.

My NA was an auto too, and I did enjoy the relaxation and ease of driving it. However I had always planned on a manual conversion from the start, once it was converted it was 100 times more enjoyable to drive and it just came alive, much quicker than it was before so the old autobox might have had a fault and been lazy as it just didn't seem very quick at all.

Interesting chat. I bought my 1995 NA auto specifically because I live in London. Starting and stopping every 15 Meters doesn't really offer the chance to 'enjoy' the thrill of a car! Also the car being an auto NA meant I got a great condition, low mileage, 3 previous owners ZX for a fraction of the price you's pay for the same spec car but TT etc etc.

 

I did test drive a TT manual before purchasing my auto, but had to have a reality check, Why would I need something like a wild horse on a pony trail........

 

For what I actually get to use the car for (not much, tube most days) it does exactly what I want it to do.

You can use the auto stick shift if you want to control the gears.

Tip: You can use your stock stick to shift but become very familiar with the gears and the rpm in which you can upshift and downshift (it’s in the FSM). 1=1st, 2=2nd, D w/o OD= 3rd, OD=4th.

Interesting article on our autoboxes here: http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/nissan-automatic-transmissions.html

Jatco is a spin off of Nissan and a bit of Mitsubishi and makes loads of 'boxes so any competent auto box works should be able to cope.

• TT auto is 4R03
  
• NA auto is RE4R01A
  

 

US parts http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/RE4R01A.html and link to exploded diag http://www.makcotransmissionparts.com/mm5/graphics/Catalog-pdf/RE4R01A.pdf

Even a UK Jatco source http://www.sussexautos.co.uk/jatco.php who can service

Remanufactured boxes from US http://www.certifiedtransmission.com/nissan/300zx/ in stock (guess shipping would be a lot).

*crossing fingers* I have done over 110,000 miles in 2 autos and not had a box problem. Change the fluids and follow maintenance and don't abuse. If there is a problem (and I hope there isn't) then I'm fairly confident of finding someone competent to fix.

And if I were into upgrading, I'd be tempted to look further into some of those "you can upgrade your auto transmission" tips in that article to get the box to handle whatever was being done to the engine.

A few years back, Maciej sold a "Shift At Will" kit to add paddle shift to autos http://www.ess-racing.com/ but his site hasn't been updated in a while. http://tech.aus300zx.com/saw/saw.htm

Well said Mike......

 

I've no pressing need to go the manual route in the area I live. Traffic in London can be so slow so often that in my manual daily driver family car i hardly get my foot off the clutch before it's down again. Grand Touring and one arm cruising in comfort for me now! I'm lucky to be old enough to have driven in the days of no speed cameras and road humps. My RS Turbo / Opel Manta/ Capri days were fun when i had less responsibility, but my need now is form and function, with more than enough power for an occasional quick reminder of the old days. :thumbup1:

 

And I agree with the above too.......

 

Sure I don't live in London - and my Zed is a TT - but I really like the auto! I am every bit the petrol head I always have been; and despite getting older (etc...) still like to "drive" a car. A manual 'box is great, but with today's traffic conditions, the proliferation of speed humps, pinch points and other "calming" measures, the manual 'box is just another inconvenience! My Zed is not a daily drive, but I do use it quite a bit for holidays etc - where you never know if the motorway will be free of roadworks, tailbacks and the like; so the auto makes better sense to me. And being a TT, it still has the pace to overtake (almost) everyone on the country lanes and A-roads of a Sunday afternoon...:wink:

 

My daily drive is an auto - and so is the Freelander 2 I have just bought for Julia. Sure, I'd always prefer a manual on the track - but for "normal" use, I'm not going back to the "analogue" ways. That's another reason I chose to stick with my Zed and the way it is!

 

Richard:cool:

I'd always prefer a manual on the track

Quite understandable but you can have fun with an auto as well. Thruxton with the blue NA Auto:

i like na's iv got a tt but na is simpler cheaper and IMO sound better exhaust wise. although iv not driven a na so cant comment on that xD

Never had an N/A Z but did have an auto which I now miss as my job is now in the city center and driving in rush hour traffic. Both my cars are manual but Junes Merc is auto and so nice to drive. I guess Iam getting old. :biggrin:

know that feeling, clutch booster died yesterday :(

Mine was originally an NA auto and i do miss the kickdown feeling when i converted to manual, i had the manual box sitting in my garage for a couple of years before i had to change the auto and once the engine started to rattle and box not change as it should, i then decided to change both the engine and convert to manual as i had everything i needed at the time to do it.

 

Now im converting to a TT from an auto zed, so will have the best of NA rear, single prop, NA man box and an auto TT engine for quicker spooling and not having driven a fully sorted TT before, im looking forward to the difference in performance.

 

I used the NA auto for 7 years as a daily drive and loved every minute, now i have another daily driver, a Hyundai coupe v6 tiptronic and as my new TT will be a weekend/show toy, im happy to upgrade. The NA still had plenty of grunt and still put a smile on your face once floored and certainly in my opinion isnt that poor a relation to the TT, its still a zed :thumbup: