Thoughts on Z32 300ZX?

Been trying to narrow down car purchase after my last what car thread on trying to find a neo classic (80s/90s) turbo car. The 300ZX tt was my childhood and high school dream car. 

In my last what car post I was siding on doing a 240SX SR20 build. I briefly was trying to find cars for that and they are insanely overpriced or have terrible mods that I would have to undo, finding one is going to take time. I then thought maybe I should get a car that can be in Street Touring or Street Prepared in autocross instead of SM and still be able to do what I want to do and while still having the power I like for things outside of autocross. I get that nobody runs this car in autocross but i'm not trying to find the ultimate autocross car. 

I know these are supposed to be hard to work on aside that I just do not know much about these cars. For example is there a specific optioned setup I should look for? I'm assuming aftermarket is good. Just looking for some unbiased input on it lol. 

I am looking at RX7s as well but don't really have questions for those. I am aware that it's probably is the better car to buy here. 

How much do you hate yourself? TTZ32 reliability and ease-of-repair is on par with that of a Stealth RT/TT

G_Body_Man said:

How much do you hate yourself? TTZ32 reliability and ease-of-repair is on par with that of a Stealth RT/TT

lmao are they really that unreliable? The Stealth was known for blowing transmissions on stock power. 

I want one.  One day I'll have one.  Other than that I am of little use.  Well maybe I'll enable a little.

$1,200 Needs a new motor.

$2,500 no engine/trans

Another one for $2,500

Projects all it seems but it shows where the bottom of the market is at least. 

You did mention Mazda but this one is an 8.

$2k needing a rebuild.

Z32 are really nice cars, although most would agree that the twin turbo version is extremely difficult to work on due to packaging and lack of space in the engine bay. The VG30DETT engine has been known to easily handle about 420whp on the stock block with absolutely no problem. Aftermarket is definitely cheap and plentiful. 

LS swaps are a common way to tidy up the engine bay, make it easier to work on, improving weight distrubition, while improving power all at once. If that's not your cup of tea, an SR swapped Z32 could be pretty awesome. I'd start with a "slick-top" model if I were doing that. Or maybe even a VQ37HR swap, Nissan V8 swap, or maybe even the RB series if you want to keep it in the family. 


RX-8's are completely under-rated, by the way, but definitely not a neo-classic... (but will be a classic soon). 

I had a 1990 N/A about 12 years ago, so not sure what the current situation with these are as far as parts availability is concerned. From what I've read and have first hand experience with, is that the engine electrical harness is a must replace item at this point, most get cooked to a crisp especially on the TT models. I would imagine any rubber seal under the hood is also baked to a crisp at this point in it's life. The fuel injectors on the early models were prone to giving out, they make a kit to switch to the later year models, but the whole intake plenum has to come out unless you want to grind away some of the plenum that gets in the way of a couple screws.

As a whole, I really loved that car. It handled extremely well and even in N/A form was a blast to drive fast on B roads. The best part to me was the fighter cockpit style controls and drivers area, everything is driver centric, making you really feel connected to the car.

My biggest worries these days would be any trim that has rubber on it, doors and window seals, window sweeps, hatch seals, that sort of stuff. If I got one today, I would get another N/A, and look at doing an engine swap to something newer, cleaner and more efficient.

Do you like vacuum lines?

I had a '94 NA. Loved it except for the mess under the hood. Even the NAs are a nightmare to work on and bake all of the wiring and vacuum lines under the hood, anything beyond minor service on the TT is an engine-out affair.

If I bought another one (which I do think about) I would find a nice NA slicktop and swap an RB25 into it. The VG30 is a strong engine but it is extremely heavy and the underhood packaging is just awful.

I think they are the best looking of the Japanese bubble era sports cars.  Nothing else useful to add, but I’d love to own a hardtop someday.  Good luck in the search.

kanaric said:

G_Body_Man said:

How much do you hate yourself? TTZ32 reliability and ease-of-repair is on par with that of a Stealth RT/TT

lmao are they really that unreliable? The Stealth was known for blowing transmissions on stock power. 

TTZ32 owners be like:

"They're great cars!"

*grenades turbos*

*t-tops leak*

*vacuum lines crack*

*interior crumbles because Nissan*

*everything squeaks*

*clutch fork explodes*

*driveshaft support bearing fails*

*injectors fail*

*VTC death rattle kicks in*

I still want one though

We just bought a 92 NA slicktop for $900 for Lemons, runs and drives but has a bad lifter and rebuilt title.  

I’ve already ordered a bunch of vacuum lines and stuff like that, timing belt kit, etc, to freshen it up.  From what we are reading, an accusump is a must for track use.  

Sonic said:

From what we are reading, an accusump is a must for track use.  

Yeah, it has been a while, but from my understanding the stock CCV system is poorly designed to the point where fast corners will basically cause fresh oil to spray into the intake. There were various hose reconfigurations and so forth that supposedly mitigated the issue but an Accusump or proper windage tray/baffled pan is probably the real solution.

Cant comment on how easy/hard they are to work on but I run against a 500whp one in my region and its a beast. Routinely in the top 5 times (beating most cars on slicks) and it hasnt ever missed an event because of reliabilty issues.

I currently own a 1993 NA convertible, which I love.  It is however a difficult relationship.  I will confirm that these are time consuming to work on (much disassembly to do much of anything)  and age has really not been kind to these cars.  Most mechanical parts are fairly easy to find, but some of the trim etc. will have to come from someone parting a car out.

Sounds like it would be an even more annoying version of the Nissan I have now lol. I've had to deal with all kinds of rubber/trim/vacuum line issues. At least in my car though everything is mostly open and easy to work on. I probably wont go after one unless the previous owner has replaced much of this stuff which I doubt i'll find. That's one thing I definitely like about my current car, it's simple. The penalties on it thought make it just as annoying, just for different reasons. 

I've looked at a RX7 engine bay and it's nice an open and it looks easy to work in much like my current project. 

Basically it seems if I want a car like this, an older turbo import, and not have it be a pain in the ass and make the power I like for road driving on stock turbo and that is decent at autocross in a non SM type class I need to get a WRX, EVO, or RX7. Of those there is only one which is rear wheel drive which is the RX7. 

I do not care about exploding dorito apex seals, doesn't bother me and i'm not afraid of a potential engine rebuild on that car. That is the main downside of a RX7. In every other way it's better than a 300zx which is why it's more expensive. Probably should pick that or forget about autocross aside  "for fun" sessions in XP and build my current project properly and focus on HPDEs instead. 

Thanks for the help unless you guys have more suggestions. Believe me this talk of LS swaps had me briefly consider a C5 Z06. I just have no connection with modern Corvettes and that factors a lot into my car choices.