Hi All,

 

I mentioned in various previous posts that I would start a thread about my new and first 300zx. I’ve copy and pasted an introduction that I posted in the newbie section a while back (with some updates) so you can get an overview of the car;

 

Almost two months ago at the spur of the moment I went and bought a lovely Jap spec blue 300zx TT Manual LWB with 98k miles.

 

An over view of the cars spec is;

- 390bhp tuned by ProTuner

- stock turbos and internals

- 800cc injectors, selin twin maf conversion

- Kakimoto mid and rear section exhausts

- aftermarket turbo elbows, downpipes, front pipes etc.

- 98 spec fairly new manual gearbox

- K Sport big front brakes, stock rears

- Veilside Andrews racing split rim wheels in gunmetal grey

- two tone grey/black leather seats, hicas lock out, fairly new polybushed rear end and BC Racing shocks. List goes on but that's some key bits from memory.

- 98k miles

- Has been very well maintained with a lever arch of service history from the previous owners.

 

I've got plenty of plans consisting of refreshing the car including modernising where possible to create an OEM+ look (no cheap chav bits don't worry).

 

The Zed was booked into the bodyshop 23rd March but sadly due to the coronavirus lockdown, these works are now postponed. The works were to fit;

 

- 99 spec front bumper

- Respray to bonnet, both front arches to get rid of peeling lacquer, drivers door, rear bumper and getting rid of surface rust to around rear lights/boot

- Replace side indicators with genuine Nismo clear indicators as existing clears ones seals have fallen apart

- Fit new trims that were missing between boot and rear lights

 

I’ll have all this done as soon as the lockdown is over and the bodyshop is back open.

 

I’ve got on the to do list the following;

 

- Source a 2nd hand AC compressor and get it reconditioned and then installed as the previous item exploded under the last owners ownership

- Full leather retrim as existing leather is cracking up/poor quality.

- Get a double din music system trim kit so I can fit a nice double din screen unit with modern features such as bluetooth etc. and also change all speakers

- Paint the stock rear Z32 brakes in black to match the K Sport fronts

- Sills need re-doing as they have rusted in areas from where its been jacked up in the wrong location!! Paint has obviously been damaged and flaked off leaving the bare metal to rust so will get this sorted

- Fit Michellin PS4 tyres when the current tyres have worn out

- Probably go for more power in about a years time maybe but for now coming from a 2 tonne 270bhp 4x4, 390bhp is more than enough to make me giggle.

 

I’ll start a new post with what I’ve done so far with photos of course!

 

Pics of the car when I bought it;

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Think reinstating mine costs a king’s ransom! But worth ever penny when it’s needed, like you say use it or lose it 

We/jim fixed everything on my Zed I’ve got working AC/ heated electric seats even my headlight washers work perfectly now 🙂

like you guys say the only problem now is I don’t get time to drive as as my life has drastically changed for the worse (unexpectedly) but when it comes down to love ones you have to be there for them ! Myself and Julie both Miss getting out and about meeting you guys but you never know maybe one day I can get the beast back out and drive it for the reason we built it 

After 4 years of only half the speakers working and an outdated alarm system with only one working fob, the new audio/security installation has all been completed hurrah! Good timing for the security system as the day I went to drop the car off to the audio shop, some thieving bastards took an angle grinder to my garage defender lock/brace, but thankfully neighbours raised the alarm after seeing the sparks flying and hearing the noise, at 2am, and they left before attempting to break the locks. Funny as I'd been thinking about beefing up security on the garage a month before this happened... The wife and I think this is a sign from the Z Gods to give me a boot up the backside to get the security in order pronto! 

Edited June 28, 20241 yr by Raja93

The sound system is now night and day, compared to the previous system where only half the speakers just about worked (with lots of crackling and jack all sound). With the windows up and A/C blasting, the new sound insulation and speaker quality is brilliant, makes the Z much more usable. 

Over and above the works list mentioned in previous posts, inspired by Vigs install, I added a wireless phone charger and reverse camera which have both been fantastic additions.

Upon strip out, the typical JDM car mess of dodgy wiring was found and stripped out, made safe and thoroughly cleaned up. All new wiring has been done very cleanly, new sound deadening to the doors and boot, foam to seal up the doors to ensure sound quality, a pair of Andrew G tweeter housings which is my favourite part! Broken brackets to the head unit mounting points were found, from previous owners - all has now been repaired. Sadly as they encountered a lot more extra work than anticipated due to how tight the Z is, the wiring routes and the repairs/wiring tidying, they rushed the tweeter housings and fitted before the paint had fully cured - I had been rushing to get the car back when the sunny weather arrived. They'll however take it back and refinish them to get a nice smooth finish, in a few weeks time, so all will be well. I appreciated their clean work e.g. placement of the alarm LED perfectly centre in the bezel trim. Lots of photos were sent and updates every few days, which is always a good gauge of a quality company. Talking of photos, here's plenty they sent me;

Spaghetti wiring:

Shocking old speakers and interesting tweeter location.....:

Centre console brackets broken:

Various installation pics of the new goodies and sound deadening:

Edited June 28, 20241 yr by Raja93

Did they raise the boot floor to be level with the sub? Or do you have it sitting a little higher? Mine sits higher - not a big issue but would be great to have a flat boot floor. I've been meaning to add legs to the boot floor panels to bring them up a touch but it's been low on the priority list.

3 minutes ago, sumshiftyguy said:

Did they raise the boot floor to be level with the sub? Or do you have it sitting a little higher? Mine sits higher - not a big issue but would be great to have a flat boot floor. I've been meaning to add legs to the boot floor panels to bring them up a touch but it's been low on the priority list.

No it sits a little higher. With the other added work (wiring mess sorting and additional security than planned) and overrunning time, I left it as wasn't that bothered by it being a little higher. I only ever use the boot to store targas - probably will add some legs to rest of the boot floor panels in future so is more level. Let me know if you come up with a good way to raise it.

My favourite bits of the install are the tweeter housings, reverse camera which has relieved my parking paranoia and the google maps on screen 😃. 
 

 

On 29/06/2024 at 15:06, Raja93 said:

My favourite bits of the install are the tweeter housings, reverse camera which has relieved my parking paranoia and the google maps on screen 😃. 
 

 

These look great!! Where are they from? 

18 hours ago, Akita said:

These look great!! Where are they from? 

Mine were custom made by my audio shop. 

If you look up AndrewG’s profile, or search tweeter housings, you’ll find his how to guide which is very thorough. I showed this guide to my audio shop and they said it’s a well known old school method they’ve been using for 30+ years. 

If you find a good audio shop who do fabrication, they should be able to make them. Will need your car on site to measure it up though, so make sure they’re local enough. 

4 hours ago, Raja93 said:

Mine were custom made by my audio shop. 

If you look up AndrewG’s profile, or search tweeter housings, you’ll find his how to guide which is very thorough. I showed this guide to my audio shop and they said it’s a well known old school method they’ve been using for 30+ years. 

If you find a good audio shop who do fabrication, they should be able to make them. Will need your car on site to measure it up though, so make sure they’re local enough. 

That’s great, thanks very much for the info 😎

Been a while since the last update. Only been able to drive the Z a few thousand miles so not as much as I planned this year, due to a few unexpected reasons. 

After I had the sound system and alarm replaced, a month later I had gone to see a friend and popped to the supermarket car park, which wasn’t in the nicest of areas. When I went to lock the car, the alarm kept going off. Not wanting to leave it unlocked, I stayed in the car and tried to start it, which is where the evening went pear shaped! It wouldn’t fire up, then would start but only at 400 rpm or so then die. Tried to fire back up and the dash lights were flickering like they do when your battery is dying. 5 hours later a low loader turned up and took us home. 
 

Had a few friends come down whilst we were waiting for the transporter and we found no fuel pressure. This therefore pointed to the fuel system. I took the fuel pump ECU out to test it and all came back clear. Next was to test the fuel pump and found power was reaching the pump plug so concluded the fuel pump had died. A replacement was ordered straight away and replaced by a mate. Had almost 2 weeks downtime which was annoying as the weather was good but not the end of the world. 

I got to inspect the inside of the fuel tank which is absolutely mint, not any signs of any corrosion or dirt, so that’s a bonus. Just need to strip the outside and repaint it next year. 

Now onto establishing the cause of the pump failure, starting and alarm issues. Having researched a lot, I found my phone that I left in the centre compartment with the wifi hotspot on (for the head unit) can cause interference with this model of alarm and cause it to go off. The issue almost reoccurred when I was at a petrol station with my phones hotspot on but thankfully started up. 

About a month later, I found my battery wouldn’t hold charge so had to put on trickle charger a lot - ended up replacing it whilst it was at the bodyshop. The battery can also be a cause of the alarm issues. 

I was still confused as to why the 2 year old Walbro fuel pump died but have put it down to a combination of the above points. Since changing the battery, no further issues have occurred so touch wood, all ok. 

The front end was too low before and caused the wheels to catch on the arches over the years. This burnt through the paint on the passenger side and the bare metal areas had started to rust a little. Jimmer raised the suspension height nicely earlier this year. I took it down to Jim’s MOT place and then dropped at Anil at Dreambodyworks in early September. He worked his magic and sorted it all out alongside sorting out a tiny area of surface rust on the rear passenger side arch, applying a coat of chassis wax over the repaired areas and replaced the bolts/washers which hold the arches in place in the engine bay. 

Sadly the day I drove it down, we had biblical amounts of rain, had to slow at 40mph on the M4!! Probably the worst weather I’ve ever driven the Z in 😫. Anil did what he does best, cleaned the car for me, completed repairs and took some great pictures after. 

And a few photos after completion;

 

Collection day from Anils was a beautiful sunny Friday, I had work in London then got the train down in the afternoon. The drive back was brilliant until I got to the M25 with standstill traffic which isn’t surprising for Friday early evening. 

I could hear the exhaust was blowing badly which was causing difficulty in revving the car. The flywheel also felt rough. I was then panicking with visions of breaking down in the fast lane of the M25 in the traffic eeek! 😧. Thankfully I made it home but was cheesed off at this point as I just wanted to get out and drive it before the weather turned for winter. 

The clutch and flywheel has never been as easy to use as the OEM flywheel and Exedy clutch my car came with. I took the opportunity to fit the JWT HD set up after hearing of glowing reviews. These bits were ordered and within 2 weeks were fitted. As the car wasn’t drivable for long distances, I couldn’t drive to Jim’s and I decided to take it to this Jap performance garage only 20 mins from me. My thoughts were surely a garage that has built various 90’s jap cars, Skylines, Supras and Scoobies could do a simple job like this. And this is where this years bad luck continues… Although they did the clutch/flywheel job perfectly and welded the front pipe brackets back on where they’d snapped off causing the exhaust blow, they noticed the rear main seal was starting to weep so they replaced it. They didn’t ask me during the job, they just did it and told me when I went to collect. 

Drove it home and felt great with the new clutch n flywheel. Few days later did a 150 mile round trip and felt great also. Before I left for that trip I saw a tiny amount of oil under where the transmission meets the engine/sump but assumed and hoped it was just a bit of residue after the rear main seal job. I then left it in the garage during week and went to drive it the following Friday and saw quite a lot of oil under the sump. Turned it on, drove around the block, parked up and it was dripping. Seriously cheesed off at this point and wondering why the Z gods are punishing me 😭. I was on the verge of calling the garage to get them to sort it but then thought, well if they’ve cocked it up once, what’s to say then won’t do it again. Rather than waste my time and risk it with such an important aspect of the engine, I did what I should have done in the first place and got it trailered to PowerZed this Thursday just gone. Thankfully Jim took it in at such short notice after hearing of my issues. 

Don’t be foolish like me people and assume any other garage can do simple jobs, just take it to uncle Jim! 

After I get the car back, I’ll be able to drive it maybe once or twice when we may get some half decent weather but then it will be going off for the retrim. I usually have it parked up in the garage from mid October to next April for the winter hibernation. 

The retrim will be the last of the big jobs for this Z. The torn drivers seat and worn rear seats have been making me cringe for years so I cannot wait until it’s completed. 

Next years plan will be to buy the Works VSXX wheels as my current ones are a bit too tight clearance for the Akebonos. Other than that, I may be buying a set of RobZ throttle bodies off another owner and fitting but that’ll be it for a while. Other than that, plan is to drive it a lot and hopefully not as much bad luck…

On 20/10/2024 at 09:53, Raja93 said:

Collection day from Anils was a beautiful sunny Friday, I had work in London then got the train down in the afternoon. The drive back was brilliant until I got to the M25 with standstill traffic which isn’t surprising for Friday early evening. 

I could hear the exhaust was blowing badly which was causing difficulty in revving the car. The flywheel also felt rough. I was then panicking with visions of breaking down in the fast lane of the M25 in the traffic eeek! 😧. Thankfully I made it home but was cheesed off at this point as I just wanted to get out and drive it before the weather turned for winter. 

The clutch and flywheel has never been as easy to use as the OEM flywheel and Exedy clutch my car came with. I took the opportunity to fit the JWT HD set up after hearing of glowing reviews. These bits were ordered and within 2 weeks were fitted. As the car wasn’t drivable for long distances, I couldn’t drive to Jim’s and I decided to take it to this Jap performance garage only 20 mins from me. My thoughts were surely a garage that has built various 90’s jap cars, Skylines, Supras and Scoobies could do a simple job like this. And this is where this years bad luck continues… Although they did the clutch/flywheel job perfectly and welded the front pipe brackets back on where they’d snapped off causing the exhaust blow, they noticed the rear main seal was starting to weep so they replaced it. They didn’t ask me during the job, they just did it and told me when I went to collect. 

Drove it home and felt great with the new clutch n flywheel. Few days later did a 150 mile round trip and felt great also. Before I left for that trip I saw a tiny amount of oil under where the transmission meets the engine/sump but assumed and hoped it was just a bit of residue after the rear main seal job. I then left it in the garage during week and went to drive it the following Friday and saw quite a lot of oil under the sump. Turned it on, drove around the block, parked up and it was dripping. Seriously cheesed off at this point and wondering why the Z gods are punishing me 😭. I was on the verge of calling the garage to get them to sort it but then thought, well if they’ve cocked it up once, what’s to say then won’t do it again. Rather than waste my time and risk it with such an important aspect of the engine, I did what I should have done in the first place and got it trailered to PowerZed this Thursday just gone. Thankfully Jim took it in at such short notice after hearing of my issues. 

Don’t be foolish like me people and assume any other garage can do simple jobs, just take it to uncle Jim! 

That's interesting - what was the state of the flywheel when you took it off? If I remember rightly you had the old Specialty Z fly wheel with the segments and those segments already prematurely failed before - what was the state of the flywheel after you had it removed this time?

(Sorry to hear about the shit luck - it happens! Nothing too major at least)

On 20/10/2024 at 09:57, Raja93 said:

After I get the car back, I’ll be able to drive it maybe once or twice when we may get some half decent weather but then it will be going off for the retrim. I usually have it parked up in the garage from mid October to next April for the winter hibernation. 

The retrim will be the last of the big jobs for this Z. The torn drivers seat and worn rear seats have been making me cringe for years so I cannot wait until it’s completed. 

Next years plan will be to buy the Works VSXX wheels as my current ones are a bit too tight clearance for the Akebonos. Other than that, I may be buying a set of RobZ throttle bodies off another owner and fitting but that’ll be it for a while. Other than that, plan is to drive it a lot and hopefully not as much bad luck…

Don't forget to ping me when you get round to changing the wheels 😉

On 20/10/2024 at 09:53, Raja93 said:

Collection day from Anils was a beautiful sunny Friday, I had work in London then got the train down in the afternoon. The drive back was brilliant until I got to the M25 with standstill traffic which isn’t surprising for Friday early evening. 

I could hear the exhaust was blowing badly which was causing difficulty in revving the car. The flywheel also felt rough. I was then panicking with visions of breaking down in the fast lane of the M25 in the traffic eeek! 😧. Thankfully I made it home but was cheesed off at this point as I just wanted to get out and drive it before the weather turned for winter. 

The clutch and flywheel has never been as easy to use as the OEM flywheel and Exedy clutch my car came with. I took the opportunity to fit the JWT HD set up after hearing of glowing reviews. These bits were ordered and within 2 weeks were fitted. As the car wasn’t drivable for long distances, I couldn’t drive to Jim’s and I decided to take it to this Jap performance garage only 20 mins from me. My thoughts were surely a garage that has built various 90’s jap cars, Skylines, Supras and Scoobies could do a simple job like this. And this is where this years bad luck continues… Although they did the clutch/flywheel job perfectly and welded the front pipe brackets back on where they’d snapped off causing the exhaust blow, they noticed the rear main seal was starting to weep so they replaced it. They didn’t ask me during the job, they just did it and told me when I went to collect. 

Drove it home and felt great with the new clutch n flywheel. Few days later did a 150 mile round trip and felt great also. Before I left for that trip I saw a tiny amount of oil under where the transmission meets the engine/sump but assumed and hoped it was just a bit of residue after the rear main seal job. I then left it in the garage during week and went to drive it the following Friday and saw quite a lot of oil under the sump. Turned it on, drove around the block, parked up and it was dripping. Seriously cheesed off at this point and wondering why the Z gods are punishing me 😭. I was on the verge of calling the garage to get them to sort it but then thought, well if they’ve cocked it up once, what’s to say then won’t do it again. Rather than waste my time and risk it with such an important aspect of the engine, I did what I should have done in the first place and got it trailered to PowerZed this Thursday just gone. Thankfully Jim took it in at such short notice after hearing of my issues. 

Don’t be foolish like me people and assume any other garage can do simple jobs, just take it to uncle Jim! 

I’d love to know what went wrong there, as you correctly state that is a very simple task… 

On 22/10/2024 at 15:41, Peage said:

That's interesting - what was the state of the flywheel when you took it off? If I remember rightly you had the old Specialty Z fly wheel with the segments and those segments already prematurely failed before - what was the state of the flywheel after you had it removed this time?

(Sorry to hear about the shit luck - it happens! Nothing too major at least)

Yep that's right, the Southbend clutch I had was in fine condition but the flywheel had loads of black heat marks over it (forgot to take a pic). The clutch was difficult to use on hill starts and stop/start traffic. Having spoken to Jim, think it was user error i.e. me riding it too much on hills. The JWT HD set up is like stock feel and can handle this level of power so hopefully it will last.

Edited October 27, 20241 yr by Raja93

On 24/10/2024 at 13:43, GSC said:

Don't forget to ping me when you get round to changing the wheels 😉

No worries, I remembered our chat 👍. Will be in touch nearer the time. 

On 25/10/2024 at 04:52, Stephen said:

I’d love to know what went wrong there, as you correctly state that is a very simple task… 

They used a cheap Jago brand seal which Jim said he wouldn't fit to a lawn mower... so not surprised it leaked. They had the car 2 days so they probs had it in stock or got it on next day delivery. 

All sorted in under a week 😀. Had the choice of having a long day Thursday but driving back in dry weather or an easy journey Friday but rain the whole way back. Opted for the struggle on Thursday with no rain and it was great to get one last long drive before winter hibernation.

Saw a few fellow beasts at PowerZed - Grahams 690bhp monster and a 500-550bhp yellow Z with an unopened engine, bolt ons only and all managed by a SZ chip! It surprised me the chip can run an engine on those power levels reliably.

4 hours ago, Raja93 said:

Yep that's right, it had the SZ flywheel. When I first changed the clutch / flywheel, I didn't run it in for long enough so both wore prematurely. This time, the Southbend clutch I had was in fine condition but the flywheel had loads of black heat marks over it (forgot to take a pic). The clutch was difficult to use on hill starts and I have one hill on my usual routes, where you need to ride the clutch a little to get it going. Having spoken to Jim, think it was user error i.e. me riding it too much on this hill. The JWT HD set up is like stock feel and can handle this level of power so hopefully it will last.

Cool thanks for the info - I too am running the old style SZ flywheel/clutch combo so was wondering for my own sake really 🙂