Punning Clan

No idea what such an item is worth, I've never ever seen one for sale in the UK, but I do have a medium condition turbo bumper already on the car that I'd definitely consider straight swapping for an item in similar or reasonable condition. I don't have turbos, thus don't need intercooler cooling and the N/A bumpers look better in my opinion. And it needs a respray anyway so I might as well! Just spreading feelers for what I need to get the thing looking vaguely like it should, unless anyone happens to have the exact '99 spec front end, still in not-quite-bayside blue, that was on my car back in 2011 or so when it was being sold by Peach on Retrorides! http://forum.retro-rides.org/thread/117495/1990-nissan-300zx-manual-leics In fact, the leather interior and clear rear lights would be nice to have back too, as well as whatever that is in the centre console where now I only have a round hole... Funny how good stuff disappears from nice cars over time... It's still got the dent in the passenger door though, and I definitely paid more than that for it.

I did always wonder what purpose of that slab of plastic in the bottom of the dash was. Would be nice to have, although the crown still goes to Saab 9-5 heated and air conditioned seats. You can have a warm back and a cool tool at the same time. Made Birmingham traffic almost bearable.. On a slightly different note, does anyone know where the nose panel 'Z' badges can be found, specifically the red kind. Z centre have the black and red pictured but only the black available.

Much like the rest of the classic and retro car community I've been doing that painful post hibernation MOT prep. Thankfully the MOT date itself fell on probably the first sunny day of the year so I could have the tops off and dry the old girl out a bit after the heater matrix disaster... Winter is not conducive to drying a targa car out... So, many hours on hands and knees sorting the little niggles like a lack of interior, tyres being right on the wear bars, sorting the broken wiring on one of the front fogs and of course the rear fog light pod refusing to function. I don't know who wired it in, I don't want to know. What I know is that it was spliced on to a lump of blue cabling, which itself was poked though a hole drilled in the dash and spliced directly into the feed from the fog light switch in the right hand dash pod. I'm no auto electrician but even I know stuff should really go through at least a fuse if not a relay, and you don't want full working current flowing through the spindly dash wiring that's only designed to fire a relay. Cue panic, then a moment of clarity. I simply acquired some suitable wire from work poked it into the one working front fog through the condensation vent tube, crimped a bullet connector on and plugged it in where the bulb should go. No front fogs at all, which means the broken one is now no longer an MOT fail! Front now powers a fog light bulb that had its 'bent' bayonet clip filed off to fit in the reverse light holder. It's a bodge, but at least it's done properly, and I can sort the front fogs out properly when it's positive temperatures outside, and it's not ruddy dark! But, at the end of all that.... it failed the MOT on a split in a steering rack gaiter. No advisories, although Mr MOT man did have to realign the headlights and slap some putty over a pinprick exhaust hole... This is why you take biscuits folks...

For me, all I ever wanted was a 240. Actually I wanted an E type, but the 240Z was similar but affordable(ish). Reality of money meant I 'ended up' with the Z32 and.... I love it. Biased I am, the Z32 is the 'best' Z car if only for the fact that no complaints can really be levelled against it, other than possibly its weight. The 350Z is an interesting one as even 16 years on, they still look modern and perform well, while the NA Z32s at least are, let's face it, slow. I'm frequently embarrassed by boy racers in Fiestas. Turbos I'm sure are more interesting but still, not all that quick anymore, but not old enough to pull grandad rights. Still better than a Mk4 Supra stock for stock. I'd still give some of my less useful limbs for even a heavily patinated 240Z bit I can't say for sure if I'd sell the big blue Z32 for one though...

Now to wait for it to stop raining, and for me to be not-ill enough to crawl around in the cold!

Should have come out with that screw, but persuasion with some wide flat webbing threaded behind the mirror and even pressure may work. Unfortunately there's no other way to split the housings, and replacement glass seems to be easier than replacement plastic! I have a passenger side unit with glass but a sheared swivel if it's any use.

I decided on the dash out method mostly because I don't have spares of the copper pipes that the dash in method recommends chopping, and I needed the ducting apart anyway as it's all full of grotty coolant. I'm also not nearly nimble enough (or small enough) to get in under the pedals with the seat in and not being able to fully open the drivers door. Spent ten minutes with my feet on the headrest trying to look for it and only succeeded in getting a headache! That and the 900 mile abortion of a wiring job under the steering column that appears to be linking two separate alarm systems to whatever they need linking to...

Oh the embarrassment. I've got the dash off, cluster off, wires taped and labelled, duct work off, stored, sensors in the right places, bolts back in holes so they don't get lost.... but I can't get the *expletive* heater box anywhere near off. Shiny new P10 Primera heater matrix is sitting on top of my fridge waiting to go in but I'm more stuck than a stuck thing covered in glue in a tight space. I've been following various writeups as best I can (most seem to have lapsed their image hosting) but they all seem to say 'remove this, remove that' with regards to whole units, with little explanation as to how or why, so I must once more dive into the pit of wisdom and knowledge contained within this fair forum. The heater box itself is looseish, I've removed all I can see of the bolts although I'm pretty sure it's entrapped by this doofer containing what I assume to be the A/C rad, which isn't coming off despite all the visible bolts being free. What exactly, and precisely, or a combination of the two, holds the AC box and the heater box in? Any little tips or tricks? Once again, thanks to all of those who sacrifice their time to divulge knowledge and experienced to the clueless and green.

Ah, blasted safety measures. Gentle tugging I shall try. Thought it might be something to do with the screws inside but that makes more sense. It's great to have such a wealth of knowledge on here Cheers!

I take it they are disassemblable(?) then? The rotating electrical things worry me, as does all electrical stuff and I'd really rather the horn worked! If it's just a case of poking a wire onto a pin though, I think I can handle that! So long as the wheel will physically fit on the splined shaft is the main thing. Was there a particular reason for changing what looks to be a fairly complex part after only 2-3 years? Sounds weird from a manufacturers point of view, but then again, it's Nissan. They only put a chassis rail on one side of the S13 so who knows with them!

I did a lot today. I swore at it, debated whether I liked or detested the black-painted stock wheels for the umpteenth time (result, inconclusive) despaired over the turd-ness of the paint, opened everything up, tops off, windows down boot open and.... ripped the dash out. Didn't break a single thing, although there's not much left to not crack. It's obviously been out before as half the screws are missing and half of what's left are just crummy wood screws. The wiring around the drivers knee area is an abortion, there's TWO alarm systems that BOTH seem to do things off ONE fob!!?!?! The rear fog had to be un-wired as it'd been wired by drilling through the dash rather than using the MASSIVE hole the stock loom goes through, which was all great as I HATE WIRING. STILL didn't manage to get anywhere near the heater matrix, that's buried under yet more plastic and wire and crud, but I need that thing replaced and to mop out all the water from inside everything. Then I found I hadn't actually clicked confirm enough times when ordering up a new matrix (for a P10 Primera, because apparently those fit) so I've now clicked that and it should be here tomorrow or the day after. Exciting times. Confirmed that the disks and calipers I picked up were 26mm items as expected rather than the 30mm I'd hoped for, but no worries, I've now got a set of calipers I may use or rebuild or sell. Speaking of which, I must now gather all the junk I have and sell it. Grumblings aside though, it is nice to have a day off work, relatively not-terrible weather, outside all day just mooching with the car. I know there's a long way to go, but hey, none of us have these things because they're convenient, it's because we (really really) like them. So, if you need a hand with dash removal, I'm your man. Just don't ask me to put it back in again because I ain't got to that bit yet!

Picture the scene, I'm hoofing down some back lanes, feet dancing on the pedals, hands a whirl on the wheel, coolant dripping unseen from the heater ducts... anyway I conclude my drive, cool down, park up, shut off and am stunned by the sheer amount of crud I have all over my hands. Time for a new steering wheel, or one of those natty Halfrauds covers. I chance upon a gentleman on Facebook breaking a Z but 4 miles from my home. I turn up at his place, pay a very reasonable sum and leave with, amongst other things, a less un-shiny steering wheel. Mediocre at best, but not split and shedding crusty black bits everywhere. I jolly on home, swag in hand, grin on face. Pop the cover off the centre, brace the wheel, loosen the nut, apply careful walloping to free the wheel from the splines, align the new wheel and.... it doesnae fit. I had a look and, as you can see, absolutely no chance in current state. The round bits on the back appear similar apart from one being on the car and the other on the wheel, but have different wiring for the horn. My car is a 1990 SWB N/A, the centre of the 'original' wheel has the cruise buttons but the car does not have cruise, unsure as to whether it ever did or not. The car the new wheel came off is believed to be/have been a 1991/2 and was most certainly N/A. Does not have cruise on the wheel which suits me fine. Faces appear to be interchangeable anyway. So, long story short, what do I have here? Original wheel is on the left. Can these be swapped? I just want a good rim (said the nun to the bishop) Cheers guys.

If you can't find a breaker, or some for sale, there's an off chance a scrapyard may have it. Search random Nissans of similar age and you may get lucky, I've had a few random connectors and even lighting components out of Micras, Primeras, etc. Nissan were real good at using random bits off other things all over their range, and some Ford stuff.

Don't know much about head units as I've never and never plan to buy a brand new one, just try to get my 90s tastic inherited items working... What I do know is that Z centre also have double din fascias for sale, and that the Z Thirty Two one is quite a bit more expensive, or was when I was looking into filling the hole in my dash. I decided against as now I've found it, I couldn't live without the little cubby box thing!

Right, trying out the 'thanks' thing. Seems a bit impersonal but I'm 99% sure it boosts the rep score or something and every little helps! Thanks all for your help, I shall definitely leave the temp sensor connected and work through the suggested fixes in order of simplicity divided by likelihood of me being a clutz and knackering something. I have noticed that it's always roughly the same bunch of guys doing the rounds dispensing advice and it's very much appreciated! Cheers

Oil in the fan? There's a load of electrics up there... Temperature sensor makes sense, needs airflow, top is the hottest part etc.. I shall hoik it out best I can and get some peace and quiet! Cashflow means I'd far rather do the paint myself and spend the money on fuel/parts/save for a full respray. The rest of the paint being mostly bubbling rubbish means I'm really not too fussed about finish, but I'd still like to at least try to do it properly! The whole car was originally KH2, judging by the dinged up plate in the engine bay and the boot floor and engine bay being metallic grey. I just figured that that was as good a colour as any. Possibly because I still haven't decided whether to keep the blue or go back to original when I eventually get it sprayed.

Right peeps, this thing is now seriously annoying. I have a noise. An annoying, rattly, scrapey, whirring noise that I've traced to a small fan in a mess of plastic right up in the map light pod on the ceiling. Car's been unused for a little bit and this noise genuinely tainted the first drive its so obnoxious. My question(s) therefore are, what is this fan, why does it do what it does, do I need it, can I rip it out/fix it easily, how many kidneys would I need to sell for a new one if it is an essential part? This thing... Also, does anyone with (or without) an imported Z, have (or have pictures of) an original front plate mount (or equivalent) as I want to get the front and rear plates matching whilst sorting the grotty front bumper out. I assume it all has something to do with the dutty great square holes and the holes deep within but can't for the life of me picture how it all sits without bending. Speaking of which, I've decided the 'moustache' is a thing I need, any advice on painting one in? The plan would be to buy a tin of KH2 Charcoal Metallic and zap that on as that's the car's original colour and I'm sad as hell but there seems to be a plastic grille in the 'mouth' vent that I don't really want to go painting in, and I'm not 100% on where the boundaries of standard 'moustaches' are, or even what kind of paint/vinyl/whatever they're made of. Also also also, any ideas on what standard N/A bumpers (without the side vents) are worth these days in decent to moderate condition? Maybe when I have some spare money I'll 'downgrade'. Cheers guys,

I do have a new starter, I just don't see any point in binning a cracked case with strong internals if they can be swapped into a starter with knackered internals and sold for profit or kept in reserve for the day the inevitable happens. Old car life tends to bring out the thrifty hoarder gene more strongly than most other pursuits.

Swore at it some more. Then I went and bought a naff old Micra to spite it and drove that to work instead. It at least has a functioning starter, heater and doesn't douse my left foot in clutch fluid. Then I felt bad seeing it sat there all forlorn, mirrors folded, axle stands and tools littering the interior, bird dirt down the side, like something off the Unloved Classic and Retro pages... So I spent lots of money on stuff it doesn't need like four OEM wheels, an OEM steering wheel, a centre console facia (which I don't need but it has those little screw covers still in it!) and.... and a starter, which it really needs. And sponged the turds off. So when I get back from ZE GERMANY, I shall throw spanners at it until it works again. Then, if it starts and runs and behaves itself, I shall treat it to the shiny bits and maybe even clean it. I shall even consider torturing myself with 988cc of knackered K11 Microbe to save it from the winter salt. If it was human, I'd sue it for emotional trauma. Stupid old thing. On that note, has anyone else had a starter motor housing shatter? Also, anyone know if the electrical guts of the starter motor are removable and swappable between casings?

Evening all, I'm a bit up the proverbial creek without a paddle so literally any advice is welcome. Due to an incident involving hitting what was left of the road as I drove down the pothole, my starter motor housing has cracked and is knackered. If these can be sourced separately and the motor swapped, does anyone have one? If not, anyone got a starter going for cheaps? I also need a functioning heater matrix, as mine has decided that it much prefers saunas and leaking as opposed to not-that. In addition, the dead lambdas really are causing fuelling headaches, so I want to replace them. Nissan want 200 a side (!!!!) Finally, after being let down by a number of breakers who've promised parts but not got back to me and Nissan themselves who promised one then forgot to tell me it wasn't available, I'm still in desperate need of an N/A clutch master cylinder as mine leaks like a sieve. Daily driving a Z32 is fun, yeah, until it all decides to break at once. Cheers guys.

I can always chop a bit of the core down to drop the height, but as a lanky fellow in what is a surprisingly small car, it sits just about right for me. Would look better if I took the whole assembly out and painted/polished the shaft, as the black sparky tape covering the rusty nastiness still doesn't do many favours! But, function over form until I start doing a lot more overtime!

Naff picture but, fully custom ratio selection device crafted from the finest random lump of black plastic I scrounged out of the bin at work and turned up in 10 minutes during lunch. Has an aluminium core for weight and so I can swap anything onto there that I can razz a big thread into. Fits in the palm perfectly, and is the nicest shift of any car I've driven... although that's really not saying much as everything else has been broken or a van.

Sounds to me like the fan blades clipping the housing. E28 BMWs make a similar noise when the bearings wear and allow the fan to dip. They usually shut up once the fan blades/housing wears enough, although by that point you're likely to be thoroughly narked off with the noise, and it will almost certainly be knackered. Common problem on those cars, not sure about Zs, but certainly sounds similar.

Bit late, but I've only just seen this is happening so hey. Is it all Z driving members allowed to park in the museum or do you have to register? I'm only an hour away and I've not had chance to come to a club event yet, so whether I have to park with the normies or wherever I think I'll come along and say hi anyway.

FINALLY fixed my intermittent drivers power window! Spent weeks after work probing and testing trying to find what presented itself as a wire break or loose connection (worked when jiggled). Turns out it was, as seems to be the norm, the top left pin had a dry joint on the PCB of the magic black box that controls the windows. One of the Electron Wizards at work dabbed a lump of solder on and Bob's your mothers brother. Fully functioning window. So, window runners greased, rubbers siliconed, all contacts contact cleanered (the non grease kind, so as not to leave a film that can short between pins) speaker de-grotted, lock mechanism greased, random loose wires from previous owner taped up out of the way and door card back on! Nice to have somewhere to put my elbow again and to not have to open to door (after removing seatbelt so as not to garrotte myself, hashtagearlyz32problems) to swipe into the work car park!