First off. I want to appreciate the 300ZX Owners Club for accepting me and letting me in.

So the story behind this car begins...

This car used to belong to one of my uncles' buddy a few years ago and asked me If I wanted to buy the car, but at the time I did not have the funds, so I told one of my friends about the car and he hopped on that opportunity and bought the car back in 2020. My friend then called me a week ago letting me know that he was moving to Pennsylvania and that he had to let go of the car before he moved and I bought back from him. I was informed that everything in this car was the original twin turbo model so without a doubt I just laid down the money and brought it home. Little did I know before doing any research on the car I started to find out that this Z was nowhere near original twin turbo model. After spending a few days researching I noticed this car has No Turbo gauge, No Sports/Touring switch, and a few other things, but the car does indeed have a twin turbo motor or from what I can tell. Also, this car is misfiring when I bought it from the friend and when I brought it home it would not start anymore the next day. I boiled it down to the starter and a replacement is due to arrive this Thursday from Rock auto. ***Fingers crossed***

The Plan:

• Restoring this Z back to its original color "Red"

• Seeking OEM Leather Seats or if possible, leather interior.

• Try to piece together what all a Twin Turbo version has and put it into this car without the Hicas 4WS.

• Ultimately, restoring this Z and make it look clean inside out.

The Question:

• So, I have a couple of questions... Can anyone tell me by looking at this motor. If it is really a twin turbo engine? or someone just smacked the turbo on there and say it is a Twin Turbo on a non turbo engine.

• If I buy the OEM Turbo Gauge, would it be plug and play and work?

I would love to get together or get with someone who really knows about the "Z" inside out and help me on my journey with this iconic car.

Hi the later cars did not have turbo gauges.

https://conceptzperformance.com/wiki/index.php/Year_Differences?srsltid=AfmBOop7dwwOiRjbTNBE5W-BUh47BAKBmhF4QuEetetf3xaqP9z1uQiQ

Edited June 17Jun 17 by Bones28

Hi Bones,

So this one could be the real deal? I am slowly learning more about the Z.

Hi,

Looks like you have a later series 4 z32, they didn't come with a boost gauge as they were optional and the hicas is actually electronic rather than hydrolic.

Also the front bumper and spoiler may have been swapped out as i would have expected clear lights on the back too if they were from factory, we call them 99 Spec in europe.

Hi. Welcome to the group!

So, what you have there appears to be an '91-'93 NA 2+0 (2-Seater) (SWB - Short Wheel Base), with a Twin Turbo engine swap. Everything about the car points to this. Since the images are mirror reversed, I had to take a second look to confirm a lot of details. and shine a bit of light on it.

• Missing Hydraulic HICAS pump on Pass. Side wheel well (Looks like they have a Aftermarket EBC there instead)

• NA Throttle Cable Cover (Dark Gray/Black strip instead of Red - Most likely the VG30DETT engine was missing original so the one from the NA engine was used)

• Missing Factory Boost Gauge (This was not optional in USA for any year factory spec Twin Turbo 1990-1996)

• Rear Spoiler from the '99-2000 was never available here officially. We have aftermarket replicas as an option, but technically you can buy anything off JP Yahoo Auctions. Most if not nearly all of the ones you see here are replicas. I've only seen 3 real ones here, ever. It was also mainly designed for the 2+2 (2by2 or LWB) cars, and only offered on them as Standard equipment in '99-'00 on the Version R (also possibly a slightly lower trim according to the brochure)

• No Suspension Strut Control Switch on the center console, no Strut Valve Control Units (Sits on top of struts), along with no control switch electrical harness connectors present.

• Missing TT specific Top Radiator Brackets since it's a shorter aftermarket radiator (Probably due to being TT swapped)

You can check a few more areas on the car to confirm, in addition to the obvious VIN number, which will tell you immediately if it's a factory TT or not. VIN aside, you can check:

• Rear HICAS Steering Rack (easy)

• Driveshaft Bolt style (Standard Bolt & Nut vs Allen head Bolt & Nut w/ Brackets)

• Rear Diff R230 vs R200, rear axles

• Intake Piping Brackets for the TT setup (Those pipes should be bolted to the core support bar, if no support bracing, it's not factory)

There are a bunch of other things that make a Factory OEM TT different from a Factory OEM NA. Most of those things don't get changed, deleted, or otherwise for the life of the vehicle. Also, The early style Turn signals, Taillights, interior (Velour w/ Cloth) all points to an earlier model year. This car screams NA-to-TT swap. Could a previous owner have deleted all of these things, and back-dated tons of parts from full interior, exterior, etc, SURE. But I've never met such a person to go back to the older and less desirable of all of those things. (Nothing wrong with them, but they modernized and updated things for a reason). As with any of these cars, you want to set your new maintenance baseline - Mainly a 120k Timing belt service (FULL), check all vac lines, fluid hoses, oil seals, knock sensor/harness, etc, etfc (quite the list) - Unless is has been done extremely recently. Check all suspension bushings, struts, ball joints, sways, brake calipers, rotors, pads, etc. If you're still having issues getting it running again, let us know, we can walk you through a checklist.

All that being said, it's a perfectly fine and worthy car of your ideal goals, TLC and restoration plans. The swap seems to have been done to an acceptable level, I've seen better and way worse. If you got it for a good deal, then I see nothing wrong with it. Plus you get better rear final gears (4.08's instead of 3.69's), and less crap in the engine bay assuming that extra stuff has all been deleted during the swap. Clean it up, drive it, enjoy it.

All of this is my 0.02c - Good luck!

18 minutes ago, protoj said:

Hi. Welcome to the group!

So, what you have there appears to be an '91-'93 NA 2+0 (2-Seater) (SWB - Short Wheel Base), with a Twin Turbo engine swap. Everything about the car points to this. Since the images are mirror reversed, I had to take a second look to confirm a lot of details. and shine a bit of light on it.

Correction, 1994? Pass. Side Air bag + late '93 interior? Gotta be a 1994 model, or a very late '93 being sold as a '94. Sorry, brain is tired.

If it was a legit OEM '94 TT, the HICAS would be electronically controlled, but the rear steering rack would still be there. Can also check body side seat-belt mounting points, is it on the door or the pillar?

Thank you, Bones28, JaiKai, and Protoj for all your wisdom. I spent the better part of the day trying to locate some of pieces for this Z and it has been a challenge. I posted in Forums and Facebook Market for some parts but no bites, but in time I am hoping someone will respond with a reasonable price. I am going to bring the Z32 home tomorrow I hope that is still parking at my friend's house waiting for the starter to come in so I can take more pictures around the car and post it for you guys to see. but the picture below is what I am hoping to accomplish on the outside as the end result for this Z32. Would you guys know what part I should be looking or any keywords I can search for this body style, spoiler, and wheels?

No problem.

Ah, the SMZ. I believe you're looking for the Stillen Type 3 kit. It consists of the nose panel, front lower lip, side skirts and door fillers, rear valance and rear spoiler. Some of those pieces are made of urethane which have good fitment. I believe the spoiler is made from fiberglass and requires professional fitment. The wheels on the other hand are difficult to find, but do pop up on ebay or some Zforums/auctions from time to time.

All of those pieces should still be available from Stillen directly on their website. You cana lso reach out to Concept Z Performance and Z1 Motorsports if you strike out with Stillen. Good luck!

Stillen Website

Thank you Protoj!! Made my day!!!

Would you also know what this piece is called? I am typing out Rear Tailgate with Twin Tubo cover and so forth but can't seem to pull it up. Would you happen to know where I can order this also? or is this a rare item to find?

On 18/06/2025 at 22:00, Bubba said:

Would you also know what this piece is called? I am typing out Rear Tailgate with Twin Tubo cover and so forth but can't seem to pull it up. Would you happen to know where I can order this also? or is this a rare item to find?

3rd Brake Light panel. Very fragile, easily broken and sometimes doesn't survive shipping unscathed. Might be better off ordering it through a local Nissan dealer. If you're unfamiliar with the car and how to remove it, you have to go through the hatch top interior panels. Being patient is key., multiple clips, small nuts, etc to remove it If you have questions, be sure to ask.

Hi and welcome to the club!

As said above, being in the USA you have a far greater supply of parts on your doorstep than we have over here! Stillen, CZP and Z1 are where we order parts from - they can all ship to the UK in a few days (for a price), so being Stateside yourself, you definitely can't go wrong with those guys!!

All three are honest, knowledgeable and reliable🤩