hi guys and girls, hope all is well.

 

ok, i am looking to buy a manual transmission convertible, i can stretch to 9k and i like the look of the 300zx. one of the reasons i likle the zx (apart from it looks great and goes like the proverbial off a shovel...)is the boot space - i want to use this car day to day, and i am a mobile PC engineer so i have a number of tools that i need to carry around, and need to transport 1 or 2 PC's every now and again. thus i need a bit of boot space.

 

so a few questions...

 

1) i cant seem to find a manual (gearbox) convertible model - do they exist?

2) how practical is this car?

3) anybody got any idea of urban fuel use difference between the TT and the NA?

 

4) is this car what im gonna want or does anybody have any better suggestions....ive looked at z3, slk 230 and saab 9-3 - still like the 300 though.

 

thanks in advance

 

cheers

kev

They Did Not Do A Tt Convertible Afaik

ahh, ok. thanks for that.

 

not so fussed about the TT - more juice and more to go wrong - is there an manual NA convertible?

i THINK YOU CAN GET MANUALS BUT MIGHT BE HARDER TO FIND.

yup, think you might be right there...

 

know anywhere i could try - apart from autotrader and ebay...?

importers i suspect as i also beleive verts were never sold in the UK. Maybe someone could clarify that for me though

ahh, when i said how practical is this car, i realise it isnt going to be along the lines of a grand cherokee...what i mean is how reliable is it....

Convertibles were only ever available as a non-turbo automatic. You could always go for a manual conversion though (approx 1.5K fitted)

reliable as any other 15 yr old car!

 

With that budget you could buy an automatic for 5-6k and have a manual transmission conversion for another 2k. just an idea!

 

I know there was a lovely auto convertible on here a few weeks back. have a look in the for sale section.

 

HTH...

ahh, when i said how practical is this car, i realise it isnt going to be along the lines of a grand cherokee...what i mean is how reliable is it....

 

 

impossible to say, although if its a daily drive for work purposes, you would need to find a bloody good one!!

 

they are old cars now and many without history, so i guess you take a chance and you could be lucky

I Think Paul At SWZ has a Silver Convertable that has been converted to TT manual for sale.

 

Do a seach for SWZ on the tool bar and give him a call

ok, have ermailed him...

 

thanks so far guys.

 

are they really not reliable then? its got to work day in day out....

mines been ok,

 

few niggles but served me well, others zeds have not seen the road for over a year, so its a lottery when buying one im afraid, alothough an NA should be more reliable than a tt

Convertibles were only ever available as a non-turbo automatic. You could always go for a manual conversion though (approx 1.5K fitted)

IS that right?

 

I thought they came in manwell too!!?!???! :confused:

ok, have ermailed him...

 

thanks so far guys.

 

are they really not reliable then? its got to work day in day out....

 

It is all down to the way the car has been cared for. Regular oil changes and proper servicing and you can see 120,000 miles on original turbos though the average age for turbos to ware out is about 70 to 80,000 miles. Just a fact of life due to the nature of what they are. Then you have to replace 2 tubos which is going to cost anything from £1500 to £3000 depending on what you replace them with. Just something to bear in mind with any turbo car, but hey it's a fact of life that if something is really good fun it costs.

 

The other killer of these cars is poor tuning upgrades. ie poor mapping either too rich or too leen Causing bore wash or piston failure. Bleed valves to up the boost leading to DET or too lean etc. Again it's to do with the nature of high powered sports cars that people want to tune em and think they can do it on the cheep.

 

The Basic TT is a very reliable car and a properley tuned TT will still be very reliable.

 

The NA doesn't have the turbos so you can forget the turbo ware and the bleed valve syndrome. So tend to be more reliable because it is less likely to have been messed around with by bafoons. A chipped NA with induction, decat, set of headers and because of its lower gearing with trownce most things on the highways. It is a quick car, but a good TT with a good boost controler, induction and chipped will make you grin like a fool.

 

So it all about getting a good one or play it safe and go NA.

hi guys and girls, hope all is well.

 

ok, i am looking to buy a manual transmission convertible, i can stretch to 9k and i like the look of the 300zx. one of the reasons i likle the zx (apart from it looks great and goes like the proverbial off a shovel...)is the boot space - i want to use this car day to day, and i am a mobile PC engineer so i have a number of tools that i need to carry around, and need to transport 1 or 2 PC's every now and again. thus i need a bit of boot space.

 

so a few questions...

 

1) i cant seem to find a manual (gearbox) convertible model - do they exist?

2) how practical is this car?

3) anybody got any idea of urban fuel use difference between the TT and the NA?

 

4) is this car what im gonna want or does anybody have any better suggestions....ive looked at z3, slk 230 and saab 9-3 - still like the 300 though.

 

thanks in advance

 

cheers

kev

 

I've seen quite a few Manual gearbox Vert's....never really thought about wether they were available in Manual form or not...I guess they could of all been Conversions. Its a popular upgrade for all Z32's , I know SWZ have specifically converted 3 Auto convertables to Manual.

 

The Convertable is probably the least praticle of all Z32's becuase of the smaller Saloon style boot rather than llarger hatch. You will be able to get a couple of PC's with Flat screen monitors in easily though.

 

Average typical Z32 MPG wether na or TT seems to be typically around 22-25mpg...stretching towards 30mpg on Motorway.

 

As said the Convertable was only available as an NA. I only know of 2 TT conversions in the UK, one if which was done by and is owned by Paul@SWZ and it may be for sale in the near future. (the other being Topless's example)

 

The vert is'nt really about speed though, like most Convertables its heavier and slower than its coupe counterparts and does feel more cumbersome and softer in comparison, but its all about the Looks and the Open air driving. :cool:

hi guys...good advice thanks

 

TT sounds like too much potential trouble and too much power for me anyways - im not that much of a speed freak!

 

i do want a nice looking relaible convertible though with some poke...hence looking at s2000, z3, saab 9-3....i still think i like the Z most tho...(although the s2000 is lovely - just no boot space...)

 

a couple of things i havent asked yet:

 

1) scuttle roll on the verts...is there any or have they engineered it properly?

2) auto box - is it any good?... i really would prefer a manual, but is it worth the hassle / expense to change....

3) Imports - does it make any difference to a native version?

 

there is a nice looking one on eby at the mo, unfortunatley its in birmingham which is a way to go for me...its a 1997 model, its also automatic but i could be convinced....

hi guys...good advice thanks

 

TT sounds like too much potential trouble and too much power for me anyways - im not that much of a speed freak!

 

i do want a nice looking relaible convertible though with some poke...hence looking at s2000, z3, saab 9-3....i still think i like the Z most tho...(although the s2000 is lovely - just no boot space...)

 

a couple of things i havent asked yet:

 

1) scuttle roll on the verts...is there any or have they engineered it properly?

2) auto box - is it any good?... i really would prefer a manual, but is it worth the hassle / expense to change....

3) Imports - does it make any difference to a native version?

 

there is a nice looking one on eby at the mo, unfortunatley its in birmingham which is a way to go for me...its a 1997 model, its also automatic but i could be convinced....

 

S2000 every time. You'll never regret it.

i think the boot is much more usefull on my vert as it is deeper and more boot shape

 

i spent ages looking for a manual one, ended up buying an auto and getting it converted, if they did make them in manual then there were not many

yeah...the s2000 is mental - went for a test drive and when that second cam kicks in at 6k rpm ....ooh, it s amazing,....

hi guys...good advice thanks

 

TT sounds like too much potential trouble and too much power for me anyways - im not that much of a speed freak!

 

i do want a nice looking relaible convertible though with some poke...hence looking at s2000, z3, saab 9-3....i still think i like the Z most tho...(although the s2000 is lovely - just no boot space...)

 

a couple of things i havent asked yet:

 

1) scuttle roll on the verts...is there any or have they engineered it properly?

2) auto box - is it any good?... i really would prefer a manual, but is it worth the hassle / expense to change....

3) Imports - does it make any difference to a native version?

 

there is a nice looking one on eby at the mo, unfortunatley its in birmingham which is a way to go for me...its a 1997 model, its also automatic but i could be convinced....

 

1) There is not really any noticable scuttle roll, but you can tell the chassis is'nt as stiff as other Z32 models, it does feel different to drive.

 

2) Autobox - Quite often comes down to your own preferences, but wether you like Auto's or not its not as much fun to drive or as quick as a Manual. The Autobox is the Z32 weakness though, in terms of reliablity.

 

3) Convertable only available as an Import. UK only got the 2+2 TT.

 

Im afraid its likely you will have to travel to find the right car. The z32 is pretty rare and the Converable the rarest of them all. (I did a 500 mile round trip to get my first zed, and my current zed was a 1200 mile round trip to collect!)

 

As a convertable only option I think out of your choices the S2000 would tempt me. Its more of a sports car than the Z32 Vert which because of the NA only engine option and the heavier weight is more a Summer cruiser. Really depends on what you want from the car.

 

Best advice you can receive though is to test drive one(or more).

ian - is the manual box much bettter than the auto would u say?

i think the boot is much more usefull on my vert as it is deeper and more boot shape

 

i spent ages looking for a manual one, ended up buying an auto and getting it converted, if they did make them in manual then there were not many

 

True, it is much deeper...I guess it all depends on What sort of stuff you want to carry. My Golden Retriever loved going in the back of the wifes 2+2 Zed (false boot floor and spare wheel removed)....it would'nt be so impressed in the Vert :rofl:

i might be mistaken but i was looking on pistonheads the other day and found a rag top that looked extremely similar to Rag Top Rob's. Coincidence?? possibly. but it was going for a very good price!

ian - is the manual box much bettter than the auto would u say?

 

the auto was fine, but it wasn't what i wanted, i wanted to drive a sports car, not be driven by an auto. and then the auto box broke so i got a manual

 

. My Golden Retriever loved going in the back of the wifes 2+2 Zed (false boot floor and spare wheel removed)....it would'nt be so impressed in the Vert :rofl:

 

lol

 

i might be mistaken but i was looking on pistonheads the other day and found a rag top that looked extremely similar to Rag Top Rob's. Coincidence?? possibly. but it was going for a very good price!

 

yes it was his, lovely example of a manual vert

yeah...the s2000 is mental - went for a test drive and when that second cam kicks in at 6k rpm ....ooh, it s amazing,....

 

Manual TT rox, and blitzs a s2000 no worries...but they are difficult to get hold off cause most man' owners wanna keep em, or the ones being sold, have had enough of the expense and time fixing them. Awesome car tho... Mines at 155 k on original turbz... With imaculate history...still breaks the 155 limiter... although judging by the oil smell, i think a seal has now 'finally' gone on one... time for the engine out and new turbz fitted... lol... Depends on how much u like the driving experiance.

Personally the tt is the way to go if you want looks and performance.

but...

s2000 any day if u wanna a reliable daily car. (just dont forget to check the oil levels, unlike my mate coming back from brands last year.) :rofl:

 

z32's at this time off life will need a little if not a lot of tlc.