AndrewG

Looking foward to your 2018 journal Nick! It's a great read so far - thanks for taking the time to write it all up.

A very merry Christmas to you all!

The owner may have taken care of the car and bought a dash cover to protect the dash from the sun and heat. They are not that uncommon in the hotter parts of the US. From the photo the rest of the car interior looks in good condition so you may be lucky. In any case it is not that difficult to replace with another dash from a Euro car that is being broken and is unlikely to have experienced the same degree of sun.

The '89 OEM spoilers are made up of a sheet metal frame over which a dense foam is formed to create the shape. A thin plastic skin is then applied to the exterior (top and sides) surface to create a smooth pliable surface to paint. Typically water gets into the foam through poorly sealed edges and then into openings in the metal frame which are used by the plastic clips to fix the spoiler to the tailgate. The frame rusts and in doing so allow more water to ingress. The bubbles you see are droplets of water that are trapped between the foam and the outer skin. If you stick a pin in them water will come out rather like a blister on human skin. The foam behind the bubbles degrades and becomes powdery. The proper recourse is to replace the spoiler. The photo below show the underside of a spoiler and you can see the openings were the problem starts.

Is this an OEM spoiler or an aftermarket (fibreglass) one?

In what way was the sound quality poor? For example poor imaging, frequency range, dynamics, distortion etc.

In case you don't already have this information regarding Airbag handling safety: The '96 FSM covers the Airbag system and safety precautions when handling the airbag assembly - in particular not storing and handling the airbag in the "face down" position. In the event of accidental deployment it would turn the steering wheel into a projectile, sending it up towards the person handling it. Additionally, the two pins in the airbag connector can be shorted together to remove the chance of an electrical (static) discharge setting off the airbag. Here is the 'RS' section from the '96 FSM which includes the handling and disposal of airbags: rs.pdf

You going to de-pin that connector Gary?

According to Z1 link I posted earlier: "Nissan produced the fan clutches with a slight difference for the naturally aspirated and twin turbo models. Visually they are the same other than a yellow dot on the front face of the TT clutch and an an orange/red dot on the face of the NA clutch. As a replacements we use the Twin Turbo fan clutch on both NA and TT models, however you can purchase the more expensive NA replacement as an option below" https://www.z1motorsports.com/water-pump-fan-and-thermostat/nissan/300zx-fan-clutch-oem-p-1709.html

I may have missed something here (I've not had to do this job) however reading the quide from the Australian site (RHD cars) for "dash in" heater core replacement states that the heater core is removed by: "9. Look now at the side of heater box itself and you will see a little bracket that holds in the heater core. It is held in place by one screw that swings out of the way when it is loosened and voila!... the heater core will slide out of the heater box" No mention is made of removing the heater box itself. That you have removed the dash should make access even easier. http://www.pexcom.com.au/z32cms/e107_plugins/content/content.php?content.341

Although the link below and discussion is for a Selin setup it does cover removing the T piece and why it makes a big difference. "The reason dual pops work is that stock, the 2 sides are fighting for air in the tee, both sides are pulling from the same center section causing the turbos to work much harder to suck air." Greg@SZ. This seems to be the key and you can see the sort of gains that are being reported on dynos with the Selin setup. http://www.twinturbo.net/net/viewmsg.aspx?forum=general&msg_id=2416119

The part number for a TT is 21082-40P10. A very expensive part in the UK (also try Mike@MJP): http://www.allcarpartsfast.co.uk/nissan/nissan-2108240p10-coupling-assy-f/ The cheapest (I think) from the U.S. is Z1: https://www.z1motorsports.com/water-pump-fan-and-thermostat/nissan/300zx-fan-clutch-oem-p-1709.html

Very neatly done Nick - great attention to detail. Are you going to do anything about the single MAF setup?

Agreed and having been in your monster BHP of a car I am looking forward to having a ride in Nick's (assuming I'm offered the opportunity!).

A viscous coupled fan will operate when cold at first start up. Once the fluid inside the coupling has moved it should start to operate normally and spin down (and get quieter) about a minute or so after a cold start on idle. The coupling works as follows: Based on a bimetal sensor located at the front of the viscous fan the sensor expands or contracts, depending on the air temperature flowing through the radiator. At Cold Temperatures the bimetal sensor contracts closing the valve, so the silicone fluid remains in the reservoir chamber. At this stage, the viscous fan coupling is disengaged and turns at around 20% of the rotation speed of the engine. At operating Temperatures the bimetal sensor expands, rotating the valve and allowing the silicone fluid to move through the entire chamber to the outer edges. This generates enough torque to drive the cooling fan blades at engine operating speeds and remain at a consistent temperature. At this stage, the viscous fan coupling is engaged and turns at around 80% of the rotation speed of the engine. Source: BG Automotive

The wheel offset calculator will give you the position of the new wheel's inner and outer rims relative to the old wheel. So in effect you can tell how the wheel will look in the wheel arch and whether it will clear suspension components. Wheel spacers can be used to make adjustments to the total offset (and look) when the exact wheel offset required is not available. The profile of the new wheel's spokes and inner rim will determine if the wheel will fit over the brake caliper. The diagram below is for aftermarket BBK's, but the same applies for stock calipers. Again wheel spacers can be used to clear a caliper if required but may push the wheel too far out (see above). Usually aftermarket BBK manufacturers provide caliper profile templates so that you can see if a wheel will fit over the caliper's profile. The example below is for an AP Racing AP7500 caliper:

The "for sale" advert and MOT history of the car used in the article: https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/nissan/300zx/1992-j-nissan-300-zx-3-0-targa-turbo-2d-280-bhp/8125109 J15 CHO Check MOT history.pdf

These are the pages from the '93 US spec owner's manual for both early systems (series 1) and later (series 2). Although for LHD cars the principles are the same as for RHD. 1993 OM Nissan 300ZX.pdf

Thank you for turning off the "snow". My PC was running flatout (4.3GHz) all the time when browsing this site with Firefox and is now back to normal at 0.8GHz. Merry Christmas!

It's the cheapest I've seen to date. Joel uses it for his car so that's good enough for me!

Fat Lamb looks a lovely venue to stay and tour from. So a likely yes for 2 people for 2 nights from us.

Just a heads up - Halfords are doing a good deal on this excellent product at the moment: http://www.halfords.com/motoring/car-cleaning/shampoo-polish-wax/autoglym-high-definition-wax

I asked because I remember Hubert (Hub280ZX) telling me that it was difficult (as in very expensive and uncertain of success) to register a Japanese grey or outside EU import 300ZX in France. In his case it was much easier to bring a UK Spec into France (which is what he did on two occasions). https://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?179573-Nissan-300zx&p=1849460&viewfull=1#post1849460

Thanks for organising these events on our behalf Craig & Co.

Congratulations on your purchase! What are the steps (paperwork and rules) for permanently importing the car into your country?