TopChilla

I still take the odd look online for Z related things as I like the cars and had to post about this sexy piece of kit I noticed online, no idea if it is any good but here you go: EPR Twin Billet Carbon VG30DE(TT) Intake Manifold. What do you think, is it any good apart from just the looks?

Thanks for the comments, I will check in from time to time and will always love 300zx cars. I have gone for a 2006 S6 Avant (100% stock looking) which I am planning on being a keeper as it was hard to find one that had been well loved and with a full history.

Hi I just thought hat I would send this message to wish you all well on the forum as I wont be visiting so much in the future. I relatively recently re-subscribed as I was looking to get back into a Z. After being scared by a super powered nitrous, eth, steriod boosted Z and failing to find the right car for me I have finally succumb to the lure of a less special but more practical motor. I loved the time I owned a Z and there are so many knowledgeable people on here, most of whom I have never met in person but would like to thank. My experience only teaches me that the special cars that some of you guys have are prizes, sure you may get used to them but you will have to go a long way to find anything in the market anywhere close. In the end there were just too many neglected examples out there and I got fed up of getting my hopes up, rust, neglect and dated modifications seems to be the Z's greatest enemy. I believe that good examples will soar in value in the coming years, these cars that extra bit special. Thankyou and enjoy your Z's you lucky lot. Peace!

Do insurers keep a record of declared mods on a car? I ask this questions because if I was to use the same insurer as the previous owner then I would expect the insurer to be able to advise me if there were mods that they thought were fitted that I might not spot. (at least all declared ones) any undeclared ones that I knew about from a sale I would declare or remove as I just don't want to risk things. As so many of these cars have some kind of mods now I just want to know the best route to take. What I really don't want to happen is to get insured and then for it to turn out that there is a mod that I was not aware of that the previous owner may not have declared or that I had not spotted and for my insurance to be invalid if there was an incident. I believe even small things like stickers or different glass than originally installed could effect things. Basically if there is any reason to get out of paying than insurers will use it, I don't want to be in that position and prefer a hassle free life knowing that if something happens that I am covered. Also what is the best way of getting an agreed insurance value on a car? I would expect some kind of inspection but do the popular ones on here like Lancaster or Adrian Flux offer this kind of service? I am not after a show car but just don't want to be putting money into something that is not properly covered. We all want the best price for insurance, I want to start with knowing that the cars insurance will be valid. I have heard that you can also agree that a car comes back to you if it has an accident with an insurer, how does that work, is it a particular term you need to agree with them as I have heard of some good cars being taken from owners with very little damage as they were counted as insurance write offs, that sounds like a nightmare. Any pointers on this issue for Z owners would be most welcome.

Consider longer term risks such as flooding, groudwater rising, also making sure the place is correctly ventilated and as mad it may seem cooling may be a consideration for the future for some of the super hot summers that may be getting more frequent over the coming years. Live comfortable :)

Good ones are hard to find for £4k in a TT guise. You should consider the cost of ownership not just purchasing it. Even if you run it at weekends for fun it is going to be an expensive hobby if you want to look after the car. I see plenty of ok Z's with "thousands in receipts" from 5-6 years ago and "belts changed less than 10k miles ago" - But you will find that the 10k was back in something like 2005 and the belts may have perished by now and the thousands in receipts were from an age ago when a past owner used to look after it. You see plenty of these cars flipped every year or so which on the face of them look great, ebay is a classic for spotting these over the years. The truth is in many cases the owner had them for a while, did not pay to maintain them as they demand and then flip it to someone else. The cycle continues. The result is a car which is ok but needs a fair amount spending on it to get into a decent condition or to be a "keeper". It might not be peoples initial intention but that happens. Good examples of these cars will only get rarer. Personally I would look out for cars that have been owned for a while by the current owner and maintained with evidence to back that up even if it was done by themselves. Look at the rubber they are running too, in my book crap tyres on such a car mean crap attitude to maintaining and looking after it. 80% of the TT ones you see in this price bracket may be crap but there will be a good one come along eventually. As for NA's you might be better off finding an better NA example for the money. Buyer beware! Find the right one and you will be hooked :). I dont have the mechanical skills or time to do what is needed so cost of my ownership will always be high. Even with that said I would still consider only sending it to an expert if there are engine issues etc. These is a lot of help on here and people with a lot of knowledge, dont rush into a purchase and you should be fine.

I dont think so I enquired about it a couple of years ago as the seller tried to sell it then and its reasonably local to me but decided not to go and view it then for a reason I can no longer recall. Same pictures as before reminded me about the car.

Thanks for this much appreciated guys.

Hi I am looking at a Z which has as an advisory "metal hydraulic clitch pipe corroding" I dont know what is involved in getting that rectified, is it an item that can be replaced easily or is it a big and costly job, any insight into this would be most welcome. I am not a mechanic so would not be doing this myself but would like to know what I might be in for.

With all the talk about suspension changes the challenge is how all these different setups work best together as I assume its not just a matter of fixing it all into place, how it is setup would be a key factor in satisfaction and getting the ride you are looking for, that would need a professional. Where do people go to get someone to put it all together and setup correctly for the car. I am in the Midlands so knowledge of any reputable places round here would be valuable too.

From what I have read £300 is not going to come close to what is needed to get this car to a good standard, it will need a lot of preperation of the bodywork and respraying together with trim which I guess would cost a lot. It is a very unfortunate situation but good to hear both sides of the deal. Reading about issues like this however they came around has made me one very cautious individual when looking for another Z. The longer time goes on the more ones there are with issues be they in the UK already or over in Japan. The good ones are naturally becoming harder to find. At least this one sounds like it has a sound body and no rust which is a positive I guess. Lesson to everyone dont import cars where it states "uneven paintwork" unless you accept that you may be in for anything from a little bit to a lot of work to get it to a good standard unless you are not fussed and have plans for a colour change or other work on it. Where it gets difficult is when you factor cost into the equation too, for X price should someone reasonably expect minimal work or extensive work. It is so hard to tell with auction vehicles in this example and at the end of the day it is an auction so buyer beware. It is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. A very unfortunate experience for everyone involved apart from the seller in Japan. Would they know its a foreign buyer bidding? If they knew people had a trusted pair of eyes on the ground in Japan looking atr the car in that condition would a lower offer been accepted. We will never know.

I have been to see two Z's in the past week both with comments like the ones Jeff shared in their descriptions in the Traders ansd MOT checking thread, I used the MOT history checker online which revealed a few things to question the sellers about but still there are so many other things that dont show up, I have seen rust that scares me when you dig deeper, obvious accident damage covered up and no doubt all manner fo other things I dont have the knowledge to spot. I have been looking to get back into a 2+2 Z again this year and after seeing peoples experiences with importers and having my hopes let down by supposed good cars I am getting very wary about dipping my toe into Z ownership again. I am in no rush to buy a Z but want to find one that I plan on keeping for the long term. I dont have 22k or 8k to buy some of the super examples on the market but for decent money I would have expected to see better. Maybe its that the good ones are just rarer and in the sunny weather every chancer is trying to shift their banger Z that has not been well looked after for £3-£4k or maybe I have just had bad luck. I have looked at NA's for this kind of budget but am coming to a different viewpoint now. What are your views on my current thinking. I know I will most likely have to spend more on a TT rather than a NA but I have heard different opinions on the reliability of both, my original plan was to get a 2+2 NA to steadily cruise around in but it seems that either if looked after and regularly serviced should be a good bet. I am now of the view that if I can find a decent LWB TT in Manual then that is the way to go. I would be looking for as close to stock as I can which has ben serviced. Is this realistic? Will there be many out there like that? A factory manual woul dbe preferred but if not should I go for an Auto that has been swapped if I want to keep it for the long term, will that go against the cars value in the future? I dont know what step to take so am sticking to being more cautious. I am not skilled mechanically too so anything I will be needing to do will be done by a professional like PowerZed. Any thoughts or tips for a wary buyer?

This has been covered before but I can’t find the thread, I am looking for details of the stock 300zx in various guises eg SWB NA Slkck top manual, LWB NA Manual, to get an idea of the differences. Just as they came “claimed” as stock? Can anyone point me in the right direction please? I’m specifically interested in the differences of a NA slicktop manual and a stock TT LWB Manual.

I had a genuine MK1 GS300 Sport in Black with the 10" rears and that engine in it and I still regret selling it, I cant find one that has not been messed with for love or money so have given up even looking. It was one of the smoothest rides. They go for very little money these days and in my opinion look great you get noticed. More VIP car than boy racer. No need to speed.

Great, that looks even beter than I thought it would. Nice work.