Hi, hello etc im ben and new to this forum, i currently go on the mr2 owners forum as thats what i have, however i want to sell the 2 as i want more power and space, so this is where i need your collective help.

 

I like driving rapidly and really giving it some, so i've always presumed that manuals are the way to go, but finding a cheap 300 turbo in manual is err, quite hard!! i would like the extra 2 seats so is a lwb or swb what i need? whats better in fact (no rows please!)?

What shall i expect to pay? my budget is tight, (under 3 grand) but i want a car i can live with for a long time, and my mr2 just aint that!

 

So in brief, any advice or bits you could tell me would be SO welcome!!

 

thanks for reading through all this!!

Ben. :hyper:

I'd strongly consider trying to get some more money together and get a known car from someone here on the forum. There are a lot of poor condition Z's out there.

I thought I had found an excellent one for 4k (Sounded/looked great, took someone who knew the cars,etc) but the gearbox went a few months later (£1000 recondition). Later I blew two pistons (combination of hard driving and dodgey boost level) again this was nearly a grand (doing the rebuild myself). I've now knackered the bottom end and am looking at getting a new engine put in properly by a pro (£2800).

Hope this doesn't sound to negative, but if I'd come on the forum earlier I think I might have faired better over the last year. HOWEVER you WILL fall in love with the car. Just be aware that at 12 years old and 75000 miles there are lots of things in need of re-conditioning.

You'll need a long wheelbase (2+2) ,short wheel base are 2 seats.SWB's are rarer.

Hi Ben - welcome to the forum.

 

If you want two extra seats, then you want a LWB (2+2) - the SWB is two seats only.

 

As for manual / auto, lots of people have had the same thoughts (they want a manual) and ended up with an auto - and loved it (me included). Some would say old auto boxes may be unreliable - I don't know if that's true but it could well be.

 

For under £3K you may need to look very hard to get a nice 300 and not be fussy about the gearbox - a nice one is better than a shed regardless of spec - IMHO!

Welcome mate.

 

A decent zed for under 3K. Youl be lucky. If you like driving you need a Manual, but be warned they aint easy to find. If you get a dog for £3K then expet to spend that getting it fixed.

 

LWB is your option for seats in the back, but to be honest the SWB is the better drive, although a tad on the twitchy side.

take it from me, autos are better in a straight line, manuals are better on the twisties. i know cos my car's been both (not at the same time tho :eek: )

 

oh and BTW, LWB=long wheelbase, and SWB=... ... ...

moine is manual and find that fun to drive but i must say a z under 3 grand you'll be hard pushed to find a really good one,pay that price and you will need to spend a few quid on it. i bought mine for 3 grand came to the first mot and rear end of the sills and the inner sill panels needed doing,rear ball joints,1 rear track control arm and those bits alone were a few hundred pounds not to mention other small problems where things had been bodged up to keep the car going, you will see a few z's on ebay but take to to look at them and try them out first as there must be a reason they are on there in the first place

Hi, hello etc im ben and new to this forum, i currently go on the mr2 owners forum as thats what i have, however i want to sell the 2 as i want more power and space, so this is where i need your collective help.

 

I like driving rapidly and really giving it some, so i've always presumed that manuals are the way to go, but finding a cheap 300 turbo in manual is err, quite hard!! i would like the extra 2 seats so is a lwb or swb what i need? whats better in fact (no rows please!)?

What shall i expect to pay? my budget is tight, (under 3 grand) but i want a car i can live with for a long time, and my mr2 just aint that!

 

So in brief, any advice or bits you could tell me would be SO welcome!!

 

thanks for reading through all this!!

Ben. :hyper:

 

might need to revise the budget their mate...even a twin turbo unmodded jap import still fetch @£3.5k most of them are auto...make no mistake these auto boxes are no slouch...think XKR performance and you're about there...:D

If you've only got 3k then you should pay no more than 2K for you car. Its better to buy a car you KNOW is a dog, than to spend 4K on one that may or may not be alright. If you spend only 2K on the car, you can use the money you save to rebuild it, 1K should get you started but you'll probably another 1K minimum for parts. This assumes that you do ALL work yourself (and a lot of your parts will have to be second hand- so choose wisely), otherwise the labour charges will double the amount of money you have to spend. The end result will be a zed whose condition you are familiar with to the last nut and bolt.

would it be more sensible to get the non turbo instead? on my budget? sadly the money i have is in my mr2, which is worth about 2750 and i could scrape another 500, and ithe longer i leave it, the more the value of my own car goes down!! bugger.

yeah N/A's are fine motors popular with many on here...less to go wrong (?), plenty of poke it is still a 24 valve V6 remember and easily modded ...also insurance i think is less...IIRC

What do you guys think of these? any body know of someone with a non turbo manual sittin around they dont want?

 

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CARS_popup.asp?nU=0&make=NISSAN&model=300%20ZX&min_pr=75&max_pr=&postcode=DA8%202EE&miles=40&max_records=50&modelexact=1&photo=1&start=2&distance=10&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200523195933376

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18238&item=4557283984&rd=1

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18238&item=4557139826&rd=1

If your going to do it up, it's worth working out what you could afford to spend on it monthly, then you'll know how long each mod will take :)

 

If this is going to be your only car, you'll need more than £3k, or get the bus a lot.

 

There is less to go wrong on a N/A, but not much less. These are very complex machines. £ per smile, go for the TT.

what you need is an experienced member...Topless aint too far he runs a zed garage lives in London...to have a look over motors your viewing...buy them a beer or sort them out some dosh for petrol/time...but check out the buyers guide first

http://www.300zx.org.uk/tech_20.htm

Hi Benny,

 

I've got a non-turbo (NA) and I paid £2300 for it. It is a lot cheaper on the insurance than a TT but it has cost me a lot of dosh since.

Costs for new exhaust, tires etc along with a complete b*stard of an electrical gremlin.

 

But once you drive one you wont want anything else...

What do you guys think of these? any body know of someone with a non turbo manual sittin around they dont want?

 

I've got a black NA for sale at the moment. Manual 2+2 with leather. Check out my link in the 'for sale' forum for more details. http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=50652

 

She's in good nick (apart from the front bumber) and runs well. Within your budget leaving room for a few tanks of petrol too! Let me know if you want more details or photos!

 

David

how much of a hurry are you in to sell? im just gettin some bits back from the painters and then i'll be sellin mine. am rarther interested though, any chanve of emailing me some more pics? benjaminfarge@yahoo.co.uk

how much of a hurry are you in to sell? im just gettin some bits back from the painters and then i'll be sellin mine. am rarther interested though, any chanve of emailing me some more pics? benjaminfarge@yahoo.co.uk

 

I have had some interest and someone will possibly looking at her this weekend. I'll send some pics through and keep you posted.

 

 

David

I've got a black NA for sale at the moment. Manual 2+2 with leather. Check out my link in the 'for sale' forum for more details. http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=50652

 

She's in good nick (apart from the front bumber) and runs well. Within your budget leaving room for a few tanks of petrol too! Let me know if you want more details or photos!

 

David

 

Looks very tidy, I wish I had bought that one! good luck with the sale.

Mike...

Looks very tidy, I wish I had bought that one! good luck with the sale.

Mike...

 

Cheers :cool:

very nice looking car mate, hmm, off to ebay for the mr2, anyone here want a mr2?

What do you guys think of these? any body know of someone with a non turbo manual sittin around they dont want?

 

http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/WWW/CARS_popup.asp?nU=0&make=NISSAN&model=300%20ZX&min_pr=75&max_pr=&postcode=DA8%202EE&miles=40&max_records=50&modelexact=1&photo=1&start=2&distance=10&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200523195933376

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18238&item=4557283984&rd=1

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=18238&item=4557139826&rd=1

 

Hi Benny

 

Just my opinion, but that red TT on Ebay (middle one) doesn't look like a 75K mile car to me judging by the condition of the seats and steering wheel.

 

take your time and find a good one as when these cars go wrong you'll need a few grand in reserve. That said, find a good one and it will be reliable.

 

Richard :cool:

ho humm, looks like i had better bum about in the mr2 untill i can raise the funds.

 

bugger.