84 300ZX

Just today I bought an 84 Z car. Non-turbo with a five speed. I think it has an LSD. Anyway, it's completely stock and I have a ton of questions.

What are some common modifications for these? I don't want to go crazy with engine mods but am open to going crazy with suspension/brakes/ground effects.

It seems like this one has some really, really soft rear springs or some kind of anti-anti-squat (the opposite of anti-squat geometry). The ride is stiff and it doesn't roll much but I feel almost like the rear bumper is going to scrape every time I pull away from a stop light. I drove an 87 turbo Z and it did the same thing. It seems to put the power down really well so I don't know if I want to change it. Is this normal?

Are there any auto-x classes I can run in quasi-competitively?

Any known weaknesses on these cars I should look out for?

Is the famous Nissan parts-swap-ability in evidence on this generation?

Thanks.

If you hear a squeaking type noise from the gearbox that ceases when the clutch is pressed in it may NOT be a throwout bearing issue. The gearboxes in those cars were notorious for bearing failures. The gearbox on my '86 sploded shortly after the noise began. I assumed it was a throwout bearing squeaking.

There have been a few 300zx's built for the 200x challenges over the years.

In reply to The_Jed:

No gearbox noises, thank god. Did you replace your box with another 300ZX tranny or did you use something like a Z32 box?

One real biggie on these is the timing belt. If you do not have documentation that it has recently been done, do it now. The VG30 is a great motor, but it is an interference design, so tossing a belt gets very expensive.

My father had one... it replaced a 260z that drowned in the spring floods we had one year at the shore.

I remember the hardest thing about that car was replacing the radiator

This link is kinda dated but has some good info - Z31 upgrades

Here's another place for suspension parts - Z31 parts

The z31 didn't come with a LSD until 1987, and that was only on turbo cars. The 1987-89 turbo cars also came with beefier sway bars along with a better Nissan transmission then the B-W T-5 that is probably in your car.

The best springs are the ones that Z31 parts sells or the ones that were OEM on the 1988 Shiro model, which are hard to find.

And yes, the first thing you should do is change the timing belt. It's the first thing I started on when I bought my 86 turbo, and a year in a half later, I'm still making "improvements" to the car.....

I always thought the Z31 had THE best looking pop up headlights

The Z headlights are a pretty cool 80's design iteration. I just love pop-ups. I know they're not the most aerodynamic solution, but I just don't care.

Hmmm, I love z31s. I miss my old '88 NA.

240SX throttle body is larger (S13) by 5mm or so? I didn't see that one on there.

Would consider getting another one of these days. But now the back end bothers me, just too long after the rear wheel.

Did some research and drove it around some more.

Would I be wrong in assuming that with stock-ish power the brakes will be more than strong enough?

I think I'm going to do some mild weight reduction, buy some adjustable shocks (anybody know where to get a deal on those, btw?) and drive it as is until I do a vg33 NA with big cams and a hogged out intake manifold.

Gonna check the belt ahorita, btw.

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