Big Al's Teenage Dream 300zx

[AALAWS]

I had pictures of these on my wall as a teen back in the 90's. I never really thought I'd own one - they were considered a sort of 90's Jap supercar.
I didn't want another project and started looking for one a few years back but pretty much gave up finding the right one for me.
I was looking at Japan but needed 40-50K for that, so started looking at JDM WRX Sti's locally......then this popped up and I had to have it.
It's not a mid life crisis car.......It's just a coincidence that I can only afford one now....ok?

Red, Twin Turbo, Manual, 2+2, Targa Top - the only this this doesn't have that was on the wish list was the leather interior.

I wanted to do a real classy wide body kit like the TwinZ Design ones out of the states, but this has only done 155Kms so will keep any mods simple to maintain the originality for the future.
 

I 

No doubt it'll cost me some $$ in the future but for now the plans are:
Some nice dished/mesh wheels, nice exhaust, tints, stereo, cut and polish, few service requirements and small things.....and enjoy!

Foam with me here.....

 

[AALAWS]

Masked her up and gave her a cut and polish.
The drivers door, A pillar, rear fender and bumper are still original paint so were a bit dull compared to the newer paint. It came up really good, still differences in the colour but only if you go looking for it.
Dropped off to a mate who is doing the rocker cover gaskets, replacing some pipes, upgrading the headlight bulbs anda few other little bits and pieces.

I've ordered a new sticker for above the taillights too. Should have an update on wheel availability soon too.

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This is my Shopping cart....when I say shopping I mean browsing cart....... while thinking "Deep breath......FAAARK Gst and customs are going to screw me hard for this.......and why should the govt get money for nothing and it's bullshit because If I could buy it here I would so I'm not ripping NZ business off anyway you bastards".......and breathe.... rant over. I will try and hit up TwinZ Design directly myself for a better deal, their website directs you straight to Z1 Motorsports and you see the $$$$ mark up straight away.

All these bits would fit snugly and require no damage to the original body work - the best compromise for a full kit. But I still need to account for getting the wheels, stereo and exhaust.......who is a good place to hit up for a decent cat back system in NZ? 

[AALAWS]

Months go by......
 
Car went to my mates workshop to replace the rocker cover gaskets, ignition plugs, Japanese manifold heater lines delete, and a few other bits and pieces.
It sat there for months, getting a little progress, but between his fucked back, no staff, covid, workshop floods, roller doors falling off, trees over driveways........ it never got finished.
So I took it to the local Nissan to finish up. New Wof and ready to go now.

Gave the cam covers a clean up. These cars came with a heating system to keep the manifold warm in colder Japanese climates so we took the opportunity to delete these - thought about deleting the EGR too but left if just to avoid any future hassles.

Tidied up the cowel panel and wipers and got it back to the workshop, but not after one other small scare.......

Once Nissan assembled it all they noted a high idle so I have a new idle control valve on the way, and it had developed a water leak.
The turbo coolant hard line had sprung a leak.......removing this means engine out.....FARRRRRRKK.

Mechanic was able to sleeve it with some hose for now - so I'm planning a proper engine rebuild/refresh for sometime in the next few years, so until then its cruise and enjoy.
Ordered a new radiator too so that'll go in soon, along with some good sounds hopefully. Just waiting for now before getting some wheels. Theres a few rattles and creaks I want to eliminate before I head out for a lower profile tyre.

 

 

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New radiator and rear hatch stickers.
Old radiator was a calsonic brand.......felt a bit bummed I've lost a piece of Nissan racing heritage from my car, but i've gained another 10hp with the turbo sticker

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I've been trying to fix the idle with varying success.
It's been sitting at around 2000rpm, even at a warm idle, so I got a second hand IACV. I stripped it down and thoroughly cleaned it and fitted it on Friday.

I let it run up to temperature, unplugged the ACC solenoid and tried to use the Idle adjust screw to drop it down to the recommended range - even done right up - nothing changed. If all things went to plan, the idle would have been around 650 and then raised to the reccomended base idle of 700 with the ACC reconnected. This not working suggests either an issue with the throttle bodies or a vacuum leak.
From there I checked the angle of the TPS and managed to get it to drop to around 1000rpm, but once I got it home after it got a bit warmer it was idling back at 1500rpm - a overall drop of 500 from before so a small victory.

Today, after some more reading,  I checked the resistance across the solenoids on both the new and old IACV's and ran 12v across them to see if they clicked and engaged. They all ran about 2 Ohms above the recommended but still engaged so no major issues there?

"First off, check the solenoid resistance (don’t forget to clean the connectors first, as your readings won’t be accurate on an old corroded connector).
FICD => ~22 Ohm
AAC => ~10 Ohm".        Mine were about 24 and 12 ohms

I then cleaned the throttle bodies and checked they were correctly aligned. The passenger side intake hose had a small crack, once everything was clean I smeared a little gasket goo over it just to be safe.

And the result after all this?  Idle is now down to 1200rpm and the radiator fan isn't kicking in as loud too which is a bonus. Still not 700rpm resting idle though.....
next? clean out the air regulator? pressure test for a vacuum leak? If I'm going to fit a decent exhaust I don't want to have a loud drone on idle.

I'm a total noob at this so learning as I go - any Z32 guru's out there with some answers?

 

[AALAWS]

Gave it it's first real shakedown a month or so back. Drove it fairly hard out to the coast, could have been harder but was wanting to be a bit conservative with her.......
I got to 10 mins out of Kawhia and she spat all her water....bah!! Found some water and nursed her into town and then eventually back home.
Diagnosis was a loose hose, not one I had touched previously, and a possible crack in the overflow tank which turned out to be nothing.

On to the good stuff - picked up these mufflers cheap. A local oil rep had them for years and wanted rid of them -  he bought a crashed Z to turn into a stock car and the previous owner had only just fitted them so score! Gave them a polish and fitted them - nice change to the sound right away, got that nice burble when you come off the gas. 

More Gran Turismo goodness....

Also fixed my rattles in the cabin......kind off.....decent stereo and speakers to drown them out.
Out with the old.

 

and in with the new

Just need to figure out how to keep the sub from moving without doing any obvious damage....
Velcro doesn't get a decent grip/work on the carpet and the targa straps don't work......any solutions fellas?

 

 

[AALAWS]

Well it happened sooner than I thought it would but that's life.
Back in....holey shit, September 23, I had to pull the engine due to a head gasket failure so it was time to refresh the whole engine.

Definitely needs 'more low' with the running gear out

Started stopping it down, going through everything to see what was needed and making a list.

 

 

 

 

[AALAWS]

Next she was off to the body shop to get a dent out of the sill, the crushed sill joins straightened out and the radiator support replaced.

 

So these are all fixed up and good as new again - the paint is so new it sticks out so might look at a quick closed door respray once it's done.

[AALAWS]

Bottom end got a total overhaul with new .5 OS pistons and rings, and the heads got tested, machined and a whole bunch of new bits thrown at them.

Timing kit all done and turbo's are off getting tested. Slowly putting her back together in my spare time, replacing bits where I can.

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Turbo's rebuilt and drivers side fitted - only snapped one manifold bolt ha ha.....waiting on a new set for the passenger side

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Put on some new studs and got the turbo's bolted on only to discover that there was a gasket missing for the intake - only another delay...but they eventually arrived with a few other little bits and pieces.

Got some reconditioned injectors from Oz which saved a few $$ and got them fitted along with some new VTC valves and an EGR delete kit.
I also replaced all the fuel hoses and a bunch of water pipes ect at the back of the block.  

Gave the plenum a clean up and replaced the gaskets for the throttles and AIFF too. looks like at some point someone spilled some resin or epoxy on it but managed to remove most of the visible stains.

Now i'm just waiting on one more pipe and she's ready to be refitted back into the car!

[AALAWS]

Finally arrived.....

Fitted and off to get the donk the hole with a shiny new pink heavy duty clutch

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She's alive!

100kms into bedding in the new rings and she is driving super nice. There's no tinny rattle coming from the loose turbo heat shield and there's even a rattle, that I thought was coming from the front suspension, that's gone so that's a win. WOF and Rego'd, aircon regassed and ready to cruise - but I do feel like a bit of a plonker having to rev it at intersections and not let it flat idle (engine rebuilders recommendation) but oh well.

I should be able to get a good drive in this week and chew through some kms. Then when the oil and filter get done I'll put on a new crank pulley (squeaky and delaminating) and a few viscous fan clutch.

The rest of the 'to tinker with' list is:

Wheel alignment
Cut and polish
New radiator pipe bracket
Fish oil rad support and refit front mudflaps and new bolts/clips for lower fender and inner fender liners
Repair drivers seat
Repair shrunken vinyl on T-Top trim and in back seat
New clock
Repair centre console lid
Fix rattle from windows
Tighten up door latch's - not perfectly flush
Repair cracked boot plastic
Secure sub

 

When $$ Allows:

New Wheels
Closed door respray - fitting new windscreen, mouldings, quarter glass and door glass trim and Targa seals.