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.

I like the "cat killers" comment, sadly its probably true, I nearly got hit by a Tesla in my works parking garage. I walked behind one as the driver decided to start reversing back out of a paring space. I could not see him in the car with it being quite a dark garage, having tinted windows and I heard nothing, it would have been my fault I gues for walking behind the vehicle but I can see why there are accidents. The worst is when EV drivers stop and pause in the parking lot to either mess with their satnav or something similar, even when you can see them, it is impossible to tell if they are just siting there waiting, messing with something or ready to drive off so therefore unsafe to cross by them. You have no prompt like the revving of a normal engine. I can see the need for a beeping reversing alert on such vehicles, not loud like the trucks but something subtle just to get peoples attention would be safer. For those of you that might be in the trade related to EV's I woudl recommend going to the LCV event at Millbrook in September if you can.

The days of the petrol engine are closing faster than ever. Our time is not up just yet, but things are changing quickly. Has anyone any thoughts on the suitability of a 300ZX (shell) as the basis for turning into a well performing EV. Technology is moving so fast and it would be great to see some classic cars that would otherwise go to scrap born again into EV's with performance to match. I know that some really old classics have been changed over to electric and there are companies like electric classic cars but I dont think these are that useable every day. I am keen to explore if a Z could be turned into a practical everyday EV or a Lithium battery powered monster. There are many niche vehicle manufacturers in the UK bringing out new models, so I would not have thought it would be that hard to do. I would be interested to see what the costs woulld be too as I imagine it would cost a lot but once you had developed the ststem and what needs to be done then it could be scaled and become cost effective. The logic bieng the costs of EV related car components will also drop in future years. For now you could even use old model EV batteries that have dropped below 80% that are not suitable for the newer market and who's stockpiles will only grow in the future. What are your thoughts? For my part it would be great to have a n EVZ with the performance of a standard Z. Classic looks, less to go wrong, clean motoring, great performance and useable every day! I want one :) (You may think it but I am not a heretic)

The Z left alone will always stand the test of time, I had a 9 year old kid at my sons school come to my son and say "wow is that a fairlady", the only place they have sen these cars is on computer games, but they recognise it as something special, none of them really give a second look to all the top end Mercs and BMW's knocking around the school as they see them every day. When some kids see a Z they recognise them and know its something special. The next generation will be different from this younger one and the classic Z look will continue its appeal. I cant see the day when it will fail to draw atention as they continue to become more and more scarce (especially without body mods). A Z will get more positive attention than most cars on the reoads still.

That car will always be knwn as your car. Stick it in storage or in a museum, the cost of storage and keeping it will be minimal. Buy another car and enjoy it. 10 years from now motoring will be something very different from today and you might appreciate the value of what you currently have even more. You go into so much detail over your Z it needs to be well looked after whatever happens with it. My 2p worth :)

Thanks for the replies guys really appreciated and the business in Redditch is close too. Thankyou.

Hi all, I have pulled out of buying two Z's in the past few months after going to view them due to being concerned about potential rust issues, patched up historical work and even recent new work that I felt was dubious. My challenge is not going to get any easier over time. As a community it seems we know where to go for parts, we know reliable people for engine work but I have no clue who I can really trust to do a great job for bodywork. Do we know of any decent bodyshops that have done work on members Z's? Is there a club recommended trader etc? I am based in the Midlands where there are plenty of bodyshops. That does not mean they are any good. Location is not an issue really I would want to know that a job has been done right for the long term and im not going to end up with a rusted out Z in a few years time and dipping my hand back into my watet. I would rather pay the right money to get it done right first time. If I am going to invest in a Z again I want to to keep it in good order. I so regret selling my old one a long time ago now even if it was to a mate. I have thought about buying into some of the sounder Z's out there but hidden problems still worry me and I just know in time I will need the services of a bodyshop as these cars are gettig on in age. Allof this and now the new MOT rules that are coming in seem to makie it a minefield for buying such a vehicle these days unless it has a fresh MOT on it.

For smaller items I always use RM now as I have had too many problems with others. I send over 5k items a year. They are also a nightmare when you try and get a refund for one of their cock ups too even with signed for items. Unless you provide them with exactly what they say they ned they just refuse your claims. I have always found TNT and UPS good for overseas items too. Its not always the parcel companies fault though especially with selling on eBay. These days there are so many more people that are out to scam sellers on lower value items, I have noticed it get worse over the past few years with eBays increasing popularity amongst the masses. I believe RM are bringing in new types of barcodes though so more parcels will show as being delivered aside for signed for services which will be handy and stop some of the chancers. Interestingly I used to think that Amazon used decent delivery drivers especially with their next day services etc. I see that these days they use any old contractor in banged up estate cars. I guess its all down to keeping the costs down.

My kids have JLB Cheetah's 21101 model they are electric and I also got them more powerful spare batteries so plenty of play time from having 2 batteries. They have been so much fun and so far have taken every knock and bang really well. They do the busienss and will put lots of other RC cars to shame that cost a lot more money.

I was not offering up the idea to go for a solution that semi or permanently mounts a tablet in the car but something that you can easily take it in and out of the car with you so that you have the tablet or ipad with you to use anytime, something better than just a cradle. You may even be able to keep a stock dash mounting setup behind it without the need to modify the stock setup for a permanent tablet/screen install too much. There are a number of mounting options out there, some use magnetic bezels that you can get a built in looking effect. There are plenty of people doing it these days so you could most likely get a good looking and functioning setup for not a lot of money either. If you just cant decide go back to the stock setup, and get a single or double din unit. Its a good point that has been raised about the ambient light, and worth looking into, see what others have done to overcome it, it may be as simple as just having some kind of screen cover film. A standard tablet or iPad will give you issues with reflections.

I agree with the previous comments from others but you may also want to consider a relatively simple ipad setup where you can remove the ipad upon sale of the vehicle rather than spending a lot more and locking value into the vehicle. If it is removable then you have the benefit of an ipad/ tablet to use at home and not just when you are in the car and at the same time making the car less of a target for thieves with a new ice install. I would expect that a tablet would work better than the functionality of a lot of cheaper head units for satnav, movies etc. and you could ditch the armrest tech and put it back to how it was originally. With the right kind of mounting or housing to sit in it could look really nice.