History & Context

So since selling up my last 300zx in 2016, I've been out 'sowing my wild oats' with other, more modern sports cars in the mistaken assumption that newer (and more expensive) cars were obviously better! I had owned my last 300zx for 10yrs and during that time my friends had overtaken me in the prestige of their machinery and I was sold on the idea that the grass would be greener on the other side. However after a few years of driving and owning a range of other cars I came to the conclusion about 2yrs ago that it wasn't flat out speed, modern tech or price tag that really excited me but the analogue driving experience and quirks that I'd come to love about my old 300zx. And so my search for a replacement manual LWB TT began in earnest!

The Search

Over the past 2yrs I have been scouring ebay, FB, Autotrader, Pistonheads and this forum to find 'the one' that I would keep forever. The search was slow and I wasn’t holding out much hope. Unfortunately the examples that did come up didn’t quite fit the bill or would involve a little too much remedial work for my appetite considering I’m not single and at the start of my career this time around but married with two kids and a mature career which demands much of my time. About 6mths into my search, I was recommended Josh at Gorilla Imports by Jimmer and Joel as a possible alternative option for sourcing a clean example. A quick phone call with Josh later, I was setup on Gorilla Import’s auctions portal.

Over the next 12mths, I was checking the auction sites religiously, on a daily basis. There were a (comparatively) huge number of 300zx in a range of conditions and coming up with some frequency that I was convinced that my next 300zx would almost certainly come directly from Japan! Having never experienced importing a car before I was quite apprehensive, especially with how casual it all felt at the beginning. The idea of buying a car without being able to 'kick the tyres' and handing over all the money to someone I'd never met was pretty unnerving so it took me a while to pay over the deposit to demonstrate my commitment and get access to the auction sheet translation service. Things escalated pretty quickly from here and before long, I had bid (and lost!!) on two lovely examples in the space of a week! Lucky I did though as I learned a lot about myself through the experience and my tolerance for risk…and so my starting budget went up by about 50%, just in time for ‘the one’ to show up!

The first I lost

The second I lost...

 

The Import Journey

As soon as I saw the auction listing I knew this was it. A 1999 version 300zx, something I hadn't even realised existed before seeing this one. I'd seen lots of Version R / S come and go but never one like this and how lucky I was as I'm not a fan of the Recaro seats the others had and was planning for a tan re-trim whichever car I ended up with. I got the auction sheet translated and an on-site visit by Josh’s ‘man on the ground’ who was able to share several photos and videos both inside and out. It looks to be in respectable condition but was listed as a Grade 3 (out of a max 5). The auction sheet and on-site visit didn’t suggest any major issues except for some hesitation from the engine. Josh assured me that all cars must get in/out of the auction house under their own steam which gave me some level of confidence and so after a short deliberation, I went in for a max budget bid….and then went to bed and tried to sleep which was a near impossible ask with the amount of butterflies that were flying around in my stomach!! Due to the time difference, the auctions happen during the early hrs of the UK morning so when I awoke, it was the best surprise to find that I had actually won! The date was Thursday 8 Sept, 2021.

The realisation that I had just won a car having never seen it in person and now had to stump up the full amount, knowing it could take weeks til I got my hands on it meant my excitement very quickly turned to apprehension once again and questions of “what have I done??” and “what if the car’s a dud?!” were flying around in my mind. A few days passed during which I made the full payment to Josh and he was able to confirm the car was cleared for transport. From the auction house it made it’s way to the port and I received a few more photos. This helped ease my mind massively as at least I knew it had driven there and was a real car (i.e. not a scam!) and the additional photos showed it looking pretty damn good! Unfortunately, this was when the waiting game really started. The date was Friday 17 Sep, 2021 (auction + 9days).

For some reason, despite the shipping delays due to the blocking of the Suez Canal earlier in the year and Covid of course, I was still expecting that the car would make it onto a ship pretty quickly. This was not to be and with each passing day I was again wondering whether I’d made the right decision. A problem exacerbated by seeing a few tidy examples of UK cars come and go on the sales sites here…and usually for less that I had paid. The car did finally make it onto a ship called the Sanderling Ace on Tuesday 26 Oct, 2021 (auction + 40days) and was scheduled to land in the UK on 16 Nov.

The neat thing about the internet is that you can find pretty much anything these days, including daily tracking of international freight shipping! So as you could expect, I had the browser page open and refreshed it multiple times a day, pretty much every day. You could likely also imagine my frustration when the 16th of November came and went and the ship was still on the other side of the world to the UK. In fact, freight tracking had its next stop as Jeddah at that time. Cue a flurry of messages to Josh to ask ‘wtf’ but at the end of the day, there was not much he could do about it either other than to assure me the car was real and it was on the ship and the ship was indeed on its way! It felt like a very slow end to the year, where the clock seemed to stand still on the import journey. On Sunday 19 Dec, 2021 the Sanderling Ace landed in Zeebrugge where the car was taken off and would await transhipping to the UK. 

The New Year brought with it new adventure and on Tuesday 18 Jan, 2022 (auction + 132days) the car finally landed in Newcastle. I had assumed that from here on, the car would be in my hands within a few short weeks but it took almost a week for it to clear customs before Josh could collect it. From there, it made its way to Gorilla Imports where it would undergo a MOT and registration with the DVLA. And no surprise, this too was to be a rather lengthy process, largely driven by covid and a combination of understaffing and I suspect working from home at the DVLA. In the meantime, Josh was good enough to give the car a clean and take some photos and videos for me. In doing so, he also diagnosed that engine hesitation/vibration as a loose injector which once seated correctly, was fully resolved. I was finally able to let out a massive sigh of relief!

The following days and weeks were rather eventful with no real news or updates forthcoming. I was however grateful that the car was still with Gorilla Imports, tucked up inside as the weather had been atrocious with one storm after another! On Friday 18 Mar, 2022 the car passed its MOT and finally, on Tue 3 May, 2022 (auction + 237days) Josh confirmed it was registered with the DVLA and ready for me to collect!! Ironically, my schedule was manic in May and I had zero free weekends to travel all the way up from London to Saltburn to collect it but with some brainstorming between Josh and I, we managed to find a mutually convenient date and time for collection. After almost 8mths, I was finally able to see, touch and drive my new Fairlady and it lived up to all my expectations (despite being a stock engined auto!). The 5+ hr drive home was amazing, the sun was out, the car drove perfectly and the traffic around me seemed to part as I approached.

Fun & Games

Unfortunately due to the time of my arrival home following collection, my wife and kids were not able to come out and see the car so I parked it up on the drive for the night. The following morning I took them out to see it. The girls (aged 1 and 4) had a hoot sitting in the rear bucket seats and I couldn’t wait to start it up so they could feel the exhaust burble underneath them. My memories of my last 300zx are fond though I probably spend as much time having to tinker and fix things as I’d spent driving it and so it seemed this car would continue that tradition, at least initially. On turning the ignition, the car turned over but refused to fire. I could see my 10yrs of previous 300zx ownership flash before my eyes, as well as images of my wife telling me not to repeat my past mistakes by buying another! The show and tell ended fairly abruptly and we went back inside where I’m sure I played with the kids amongst other things but really my mind was just going over all the possible things that might have gone wrong between my parking it up the night before and the morning. It was a pretty short list! I checked a few things but nothing stood out as being broken / out of place but upon turning over the engine once more (and for a little longer) it was my 4yrs old who asked me whether the car wasn’t working because it was leaking….? I jumped out pretty quickly to see a trail of fuel streaming down the drive. Fortunately AndrewG lives just around the corner and with his help a few days later we identified the exact source of the fuel leak and were able to sort it relatively easily.

 

Future Plans

Since then the car has been cleaned and driven about fairly locally but due to a busy schedule and terrible weather, I’ve not been on any longer drives just yet but hopefully that will improve over the summer months. In terms of plans for the car, aside from a full service asap, I’m planning for a manual conversion and a PowerZed rebuild sometime down the line but am in no particular rush for either. My focus is to keep the car OEM+, akin to a few others in the Club like AndrewG and JoelyP. Most of all is to share my love of the car and motoring in general with my kids so hoping for a much better ratio of driving:maintenance with this one!

Edited June 4, 20223 yr by sumshiftyguy

1 hour ago, Joely P said:

Nice Vig, I’ve been meaning to get mine up and retreat it but can never find the time, I may give these guys a go to give mine a spruce up! ?

Just one thing though, jacking on the pinch welds! ??

Yes, I did notice that but unfortunately only in the photos after the fact so little I can do about it now ? 

On 28/01/2023 at 10:23, Gaz 300 said:

I must say I do like my gel plates on the BMW. Not a great pic of the plate but they do look better than just printed flat plates.

 

Gel / 4D plates are really cheesy IMO.

 

Nice E90, I had an E90 M-sport with the Motorsport wheels. Lovely drive. 

48 minutes ago, Funkysi said:

Gel / 4D plates are really cheesy IMO.

 

Nice E90, I had an E90 M-sport with the Motorsport wheels. Lovely drive. 

2006 330i M Sport  is a real gem to drive the wheels are BMW light weight   BBS  motor sport alloys off the limited edition 320si.

9 hours ago, Gaz 300 said:

2006 330i M Sport  is a real gem to drive the wheels are BMW light weight   BBS  motor sport alloys off the limited edition 320si.

Sorry to hijack Vig's thread but I thought it was a 320si with those wheels. Nice clean car that ?.

7 minutes ago, Raja93 said:

Sorry to hijack Vig's thread but I thought it was a 320si with those wheels. Nice clean car that ?.

Very like one but better engine.  Sorry  Vig  can do a thread clean if you want.

6 minutes ago, Gaz 300 said:

Very like one but better engine.  Sorry  Vig  can do a thread clean if you want.

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Having only a single garage which resides at the bottom of a rather steep drive, I looked into alternative solutions to keep the Zed safe from mischief. I did consider renting a garage / lockup but nothing was available within a reasonable distance. I soon came across CarCoon and the several review videos I watched on YT convinced me that it was the way to go. It seemed Demon Tweeks are the only supplier in the UK so I duly submitted an order back in July 2022 for an original delivery date in September. A day before the delivery date I received a notification that it was being rescheduled for a month later...and on each subsequent month I would receive the same reschedule notification til in December (when they pushed it into Jan) I decided enough was enough and cancelled my order for a refund. In the interim I found a company based in Germany who were providing essentially the same product for pretty much the same price. So I submitted an order for an Outdoor Shield with InTheGarage. Order placed at the end of Dec and it arrived this past week. Duly assembled today (in less than 20mins) after my morning at the SCM meet at MB World...photos of before and afters. So far it looks pretty good and solid. It took about 2-3mins to fully inflate! I haven't yet connect up my trickle charger but will do so soon. My only remaining question is what I do with the cover when I'm out in the car....it would be a pain to have to roll it up and store it each time but also conscious of the fact that it could be stolen pretty easily if just left on the drive!

 

        

 

       

Edited February 5, 20232 yr by sumshiftyguy

The past year has flown by and it's MOT time already! Went for it last week and to my surprise, it failed. Nothing major or sinister but a split steering rack gator and no rear fog light. The latter was a shock as it passed an MOT prior to being registered in the UK but after a bit of investigation, it was supposedly fitted with a temporary item to get through the MOT. It is slightly annoying that I wasn't told all of this as I would have had a whole year to sort out the rear fog install but c'est la vie.

With support from @AndrewG, we managed to wire in a switchable rear fog light which was connected directly to the front fog, so operated via the standard fog switch. Went for gator fit and re-test today and sailed through. Hoping to now have problem and worry free use of the car over the warmer months with lots of events lined up!

Some photos of the rear fog install, for posterity.

         

 

Edited March 30, 20232 yr by sumshiftyguy

Nice work Vig..... And Andrew!!

I cant tell you how many times I have taken an interior in and out of a zed. I swear I could do it blind/asleep/telepathically

How easy is the front seat removal? Wanna do it so I can properly wet vax all the interior. Was only 4 bolts per seat in my old MX5, easy as pie!

1 hour ago, RobHowl said:

How easy is the front seat removal? Wanna do it so I can properly wet vax all the interior. Was only 4 bolts per seat in my old MX5, easy as pie!

Same, four bolts. Just remember to unplug the electric plug before hefting the seat out. If you don't, you either look a Burke or you snap the connection. Oh and the black plastic bolt covers/caps fit perfectly in the diameter of the hoover tube and are a bugger to get back out!

My car came with what I believe to be a very rare Tommy Kaira cat-back exhaust system. I liked the look of the oval tips but the sound was a little too subtle for me. I wasn't after an ASBO exhaust but I did want more of a sense of occasion when driving it. I had heard that the Veilside Evolution was the one to go for if you could have any but those are rare these days so I had consigned myself to having a custom system fabricated.

My V8 F-Type R had an inconel system and was by far one of the best sounding exhausts I've experienced so I started looking into an inconel custom system. If you know anything about these things, you would not be surprised to hear that my search ended pretty quickly once I found how how bloody expensive that would be! Stainless steel is would be then! I started corresponding with a few fabricators via social media, where I could see several examples of their work to give me some level of confidence. Costs weren't too bad and I was almost ready to get serious about it but one niggling thought kept popping into my head - "how would I know what it would sound like before it was made (and costs sunk)??".

Anyway, fate struck and at the right time, an ABFlug Power Superior system became available in the UK. I hadn't actually heard much about them previously but some quick digging and chatting to those who know (much) better led me to understand that THIS was the system to pick and was actually very similar, if not identical to the Veilside Evolution. More importantly (for me), I was able to find one solitary video on Youtube of this system fitted to a SWB TT in the US....and it sounded glorious! I wasn't too enamoured by the look but it would be worth it. I think.

Fast forward through a few months of it sitting in my office in bubble wrap, waiting for better weather (and time to polish it!) and it was finally fitted last week. I had timed the fitting to coincide with a planned drive this morning with my car club to Kingsley Range Rover and I love how much better it sounds. The car really feels like it has so much more presence! Neither system had any whisper of a drone but this one has a lovely deep boom and burble that you can definitely tell that I'm coming now. All this on a stock engine with cats in place!

It also doesn't look all that bad, though I'm still not a fan if looking at it from a certain angle but I won't have to do that much! I made a view comparing the two and posted some photos of them fitted below:

https://youtu.be/q5dbxJS3QSU

    

    

       

 

Edited May 6, 20232 yr by sumshiftyguy

Two great exhausts Vig. Love them both.

Despite owning a 300zx for almost 12yrs, I've never had a fully working sound system. I wasn't too bothered as I quite like taking in the sounds of a full throttle driving experience but with a Euro road trip coming up and lots of motorways til we reach our destination I decided now would be a good time to replace the redundant Japanese system with something more modern.

I had attempted to modernise my last 300zx as well, identifying the components I'd need for my build and even having someone fabricate a double din android tablet holder but I never managed to finish the job before selling. Fast forward to 2023 and there is a lot of choice when it comes to Android headunits which are plug-and-play.

The headunit runs Android and can take it's own data-enabled sim but I just hotspot off my mobile instead of having to pay for another mobile contract. My phone also connects via BT for calls, messages, etc. As an Android unit, I can also use all the other usual apps - Waze and GMaps, Whatsapp, GMail, YouTube, Netflix, Prime, etc. I've also installed NDSI for live diagnostics. For speakers, I've kept what was in the car already. I believe the fronts are aftermarket but the rear are stock. I've installed a Cerwin Vega spare wheel (slim) sub which is immense. I contacted CW and discovered that they do not ship or support sales outside the US so I had to do some digging to find a supplier Stateside who would ship to me.

In terms of accessories / peripherals, I've installed a USB ODB adapter to work with the NDSI app. It works perfectly except for not reading speed but I'm aware of the fix and just need to get around to doing it. It's proven so shouldn't be any issues there I hope. I've also installed a bullet-style reverse cam fitted in place of the tailgate lock. It's not the highest resolution but much better than expected and is very, very useful. Finally I've installed a wireless charge-pad connected to the quick charge port of the Atoto and situated it in the centre console. The idea is that when I get into the car, I turn on hotspot and then put the phone away in the console, using the Atoto for anything and everything whilst driving. I've been able to do away with the unsightly phone holder and charging cables entirely.

Removing the old stuff was also very good as there was a LOT of stuff...the previous owner was definitely running some sort of big AV setup as well as the Japanese told card reader, etc. One thing that has stopped working is the melody box. It must have been wired into the old system but we couldn't figure out how to refit so I'll be looking into replacing that as I loved the authenticity it gave the car...or feeling of!

The finished product sounds and performs incredibly well so I'm absolutely chuffed! So is my 2yr old who came for a ride today and was quite content sitting in the back watching Paw Patrol on the HD screen..lol

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Hot on the heels of the AV setup, I also wanted to adjust the stance. I had been looking into BBKs such as the Akebono and when I discovered that they wouldn't fit under my BBS LMs, the thought did cross my mind to replace the wheels but wanting to delay that expense, I opted for spacers. The fronts, as they are running Porsche calipers, already had 10mm spacers on them but the rears were not. I opted to go 20mm on the front and put the 10s on the rear. I think the rear sits perfectly now but the fronts could do with some positive camber adjustment

 

BEFORE                                                                                                                                   AFTER

. 

BEFORE                                                                                                                                   AFTER

. 

 

BEFORE                                                                                                                                   AFTER

  

 

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 20232 yr by sumshiftyguy

Looks 👌 with that fitment!

Nice upgrades Vig. 

22 hours ago, Joely P said:

Looks 👌 with that fitment!

Yup - what he said......!!

I've done a few little bits over the past month or so, mostly to get the car prepped for my trip to Switzerland next week! (will add pics to this post later on!...)

It turns out that the head unit that I fitted doesn't fully power down for 5mins. Add this to the 1min that my turbo timer is set to and I'm left with 6mins before my aerial retracts. Ordinarily not a problem but as the car lives in a carcoon, it means I have to hang about before I can put it away. Also thinking about potential photo ops on my trip, I'd rather capture the car without the aerial sticking out! The place who installed the system took about 30mins to install a manual switch to cut the power to the aerial - neatly tucked away out of sight so I can pop it up or down at will now.

I took the car out for a pretty hard blast down to Brighton with my club and though the car felt great, as we progressed the brakes did seem to fade a bit. I don't know when the system was last flushed and as it was on oem hoses (despite the front calipers being upgraded to Pprsche Brembos) I decided to flush and get braided lines fitted. In speaking with Andrew on some technical aspects, he raised the idea of a master brake cylinder brace so that duly went on the order too! I opted for Castrol SRF fluid, braided lines (oem for the rears and banjo for the front Brembos) and an AMS brace. All fitted but not yet tested out.

Finally I took the car to get 4-wheel alignment done, having fitted the new spacers. Although it was driving well and straight, the alignment was all over the place! Quite comical. We managed to correct the toe but the camber (neg) and caster misalignment persists as my suspension is still stock and I don't have the ability (or enough of it) to correct it fully. I'll leave it for now as it's not a causing any real problems but I think at some point in the future I may opt to upgrade the suspension.

This was the setup BEFORE any adjustment:                                                             And this was :

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Edited October 9, 20232 yr by sumshiftyguy

Fresh from my 5day and almost 1700mile trip to Switzerland, my overwhelming takeaway is that the 300zx, even in near stock form is an absolute delight to drive (and drive v v hard!). I went down with a modified R35 GTR and a stock V8 M6 which meant on the straights and motorways, I was nowhere near being able to keep up on pulls but once we were on the Alpine passes, it was a totally different story! The lower power and lighter car, the 300zx was incredibly nimble and at reasonably high speeds. The car never once stepped out on me, even in the wet (except when intended for some cheeky sideways action)!

The only problem was a tyre blowout on the first full day due to hitting a rogue rock which had rolled across the road. A huge annoyance which almost ruined the trip and the day but we managed to salvage and get a replacement fitted the same day. It did however damage the rim slightly and I have a very small leak as a result but this didn't cause any issues for the remainder of the trip so I'm not rushing into an urgent fix but am considering binging the refurbishment f the rims forward in my plans instead.

I think I may upgrade the brakes at the same time. The only thing stopping me from getting a BBK previously was that the ones I was thinking of wouldn't fit under my 18" LMs but if I'm changing those anyway, then I may as well hange the brakes now too.

I'm quite happy with the power but may also sort out an EBC and get it installed and mapped (and the 115mph limit removed!!).

There is so much I could recount but most of it is documented on my IG - I'll include some links below with some of the best photos which sum up the trip.

https://www.instagram.com/itsmrvig

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxWLqYdtQj9/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxY1xlstQvA/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxbfKsjt4Wq/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxgsQgkNl3r/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CxjUAf2NS4O/?hl=en

 

Grimsel Pass                                                                                                                             Furka Pass

      

 

San Bernadino Pass                                                                                                                Zernez (next to our hotel or the night)

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Stelvio Pass                                                                                                                               Top of Stelvio

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Gotthardstrasse (just outside Andermatt)                                                                   Susten Pass

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Susten Pass around Golden Hour                                                                                     Arch Dam - Lukmanier Pass - it was blowing an absolute gale so the drone was really struggling. The videos have come out better than the photos

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Awesome drive and great pictures mate.

Good fun aren't they! Would you mind posting up a map of your tour?

1 hour ago, AndrewG said:

Good fun aren't they! Would you mind posting up a map of your tour?

Of course..here you go!

Day1: Calais to Meiringen (830km / 9hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XDRXabScqPEEbRbg7

Day2 AM: Meiringen-Grimsel Pass-Furka Pass-Gotthard Pass-Tremola-Airolo (120km / 2.5hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/ccYKqsEHfwhWXKgj8

Day2 PM: Airolo-San Bernadino-Julier Pass-Zernez (279km / 4.5hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/6cCAQ9GbKLZyqwXPA

Day3 AM: Zernez-Umbrail Pass-Stelvio Pass-Tirano-Bernina Pass-Pontresina-St Moritz (132km / 2.5hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nv8XesjpjAkCVCHA8

Day3 PM: St Moritz-Albula Pass-Tiefencastel-Oberalp Pass-Andermatt-Wassen-Susten Pass-Meringen (228km / 4.5hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/SXzLsqai8niFvAc97

Day4 AM: Meiringen-Susten Pass / Grimsel Pass-Furka Pass-Andermatt-Oberalp Pass-Lukmanier Pass-Bedretto-Nufenen Pass-Ulrichen (208km / 4hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/qAxkfsQC9Kc3tv4x6 - via Susten

https://maps.app.goo.gl/RHaYEtmCiLcWPyBu9 - Grimsel/Furka

Day4 PM: Ulrichen-Colmar (306km / 4.5hrs)

https://maps.app.goo.gl/3CA8XB2aApV5pbSt5

Day5 AM: Colmar-Circuit Reims Gaux (358km / 4h)

https://goo.gl/maps/yCjTEwLiSs7etEoT8

Day5 PM: Circuit Reim Gaux-Calais (273km / 2.5h)

https://goo.gl/maps/Gw5ppRweVydNfJoD8

 

 

Awesome trip and great photos!