This article is from a past issue of the magazine. Like stories like this? You’ll see every article as soon as it’s published, and get access to our full digital archive, by subscribing to Grassroots Motorsports. Subscribe now.
story by David S. Wallens• photos as credited
editor’s note: This is an article from a past issue of the magazine. Some of the entities provided in “Parts & Service” section either do not have a working website or no longer exist.
When it comes to Z-cars, everyone wants the original 240Z. It’s viewed as the true athlete of the family thanks to its minimal mass and lightning-fast reflexes. Plus, it’s the one that made automotive history, displacing traditional European sports cars from their perch while scoring countless race wins.
What about the 1984–’89 Nissan 30ZX, the first real redo for the Z-car line? Today this Z31-chassis Z is shunned and ignored by the hardcore sports car elite, who view it as a boulevard cruiser or perhaps LeMons fodder at best.
What if we told you that the 300ZX offers more performance than you think? Way, way back in 1996, a little magazine called Grassroots Motorsports pitted the 240Z against a 300ZX. The test cars were prepared for SCCA Improved Touring S competition, and our drivers included the day’s best: Grayson Upchurch Jr., a supporter of the newer alternative, and longtime 240Z driver and tuner John Williams. We performed the test at Road Atlanta, back before they filled in the dip.
After his session in the 300ZX, Williams proclaimed it the slower sibling. Then we looked at the lap times: It circled Road Atlanta just as quickly as his trusted steed.
What the what?
The softness of the 300ZX, our drivers concluded, seemed to mask its speed. More good news for 300ZX fans: Its brakes were less prone to failure and its then-revolutionary V6 offered more torque.
The 300ZX didn’t take over the class, though, since it was the more expensive option at the time–funny how the tables have turned. The 240Z also offered more race development. Perhaps the final strike against the 300ZX’s racing pedigree was the prevalence of T-tops. Most cars came so equipped.
Looking for even more performance? Nissan also offered a turbocharged model–although like all other turbocharged cars, it was prohibited from the SCCA Improved Touring ranks, hence its omission from that comparo.
Fast-forward to today, and most 300ZXs have been unceremoniously driven into the ground. A few good cars do remain, though, and we’re going to call them off-the-radar Japanese collectibles. Find a good one and you’ll stand out.
Which one to buy? Our friends at Acadiana Sports Car Orphanage recommend a 50th Anniversary Edition car. “[They’re] fantastically equipped ’84 Turbo models that definitely look the part of an ’80s import street machine,” they explain, “fender flares and skirts, awesome black-and-gray paint scheme with gold trim, and decadent options that are truly from the ’80s, like a Body Sonic integrated seat/subwoofer system.”
Roughly 5000 Anniversary Edition cars were made, they add, although they warn that some dealers slapped the same badges onto regular-spec cars.
Their next recommendation is the Shiro Special, a stripped-down 1988 Turbo model with a stiffened suspension, limited-slip diff and traditional gauges.
Hagerty actually shows that prices are on the rise for good examples of the 300ZX, with the best Turbos on the planet now worth a surprising $20 000 or more Closer to reality, we have seen nice 300ZXs advertised around the $5000 mark.
Zack Ard and Kyle Kehlmann of Acadiana Sports Car Orphanage tag-teamed our shopping advice.
The specified service life on the timing belts for the VG30 found in the Z31 300ZX is 60,000 miles. Unfortunately, this an oft neglected repair and is something that should be verified prior to purchase. Although not a terribly difficult DIY repair, the shop rate for it is pretty spendy. And since this is an interference engine, you’ll be having a much worse day if the timing belt gives.
A rear-end cluck is also a common occurrence in Z31s, and usually occurs when the rear subframe bushings and differential mount have failed or deteriorated. It usually occurs during shifting as the shock load causes a pronounced clunk or thud. Many people will inaccurately believe there is some sort of axle damage, but generally this is not the case at all. The subframe will require removal, and although replacement rubber parts are available through Nissan, most people opt to purchase polyurethane replacement bushings and a polyurethane differential mount.
It is an absolute testament to Nissan’s engineering staff that Z31s are still plentiful after the sheer amount of neglect many of them have been exposed to in the past 30 years.
Common running issues include sputtering, stalling and generally poor running condition. Once you have eliminated fuel as an issue, likely culprits can be traced to two different sensors that send outputs to the ECU: the cylinder head temperature sensor and the crank angle sensor.
These cars can suffer from the lack of dedicated aftermarket support for parts you may not normally think about on any car. For instance, the mounting gaskets for the external sideview mirrors are NLA from Nissan and have been for years. Over the past 30 years, they have become susceptible to cracking and disintegrating, causing massive leak points for water to enter the car and leading to an awful lot of wet floorboards. This is compounded by the fact that the ECU is housed in an interior kick panel against the passenger fender and below the glove box–a perfect spot for water buildup due to this issue.
For many years, people tried RTV and black tape with little success, and it looked awful in the process. Recently we were able to properly replicate the gaskets, and this has helped to eliminate the issue for many people.
Turbo cars had an in-cabin adjustable shock option that allowed you to change the settings in three stages. Unfortunately, the special fluid inside these specially built struts was deemed toxic by the EPA, and the manufacturer of the struts will not sell rebuilt components because the system was proprietary to Nissan.
If you wish to keep the adjustable suspension, the only recourse is to source working used parts. However, most people opt to switch to non-adjustable struts available from companies like KYB.
Adjustable coil-overs are now widely available for the Z31–a pretty recent development. There is a bit of fabrication involved to install them, but it’s pretty easy and offers a solid handling improvement.
Like many other chassis, the Z31 has an LS swap kit available for those who simply want to look like they’re running vintage Japanese steel. Dirty Dingo released LSX mounts for the Z31 last year.
This article is from a past issue of the magazine. Like stories like this? You’ll see every article as soon as it's published, and get access to our full digital archive, by subscribing to Grassroots Motorsports. Subscribe now.
Acadiana Sports Car Orphanage
acadianasportscars.com
Black Dragon Automotive
blackdragonauto.com
(888) 789-3746
Classic Datsun Motorsports
classicdatsun.com
(760) 940-6365
Motorsport Auto
zcarparts.com
(800) 633-6331
Z Parts Warehouse
zpartswarehouse.com
(770) 926-6609
True story, an 84 Turbo 300ZX was the car that opened my eyes to the reality of how fast old sports cars could be. This was in the early 2000's, a good friend of mine had one. Had a lot of fun in that car.
I forget why he ended up selling it, I could have picked it up for a song, but I didn't know which end of a wrench to stick on the bolt back then, so I declined his generous offer. Looking back, it was probably something simple.
Few years later, another friend in another state picked up an 88 Turbo. He tried to kill the VG30 so he could stuff in some SBC variant or another. That VG just laughed at his efforts... If there's one company that does a good V6, I'd say it's Nissan.
I keep eyeing these on Craigslist but talk my self out of it as I’ve never personally owned a Japanese car(the wife has had many that I do maintenance on) and I think It would end in a yard full of old Japanese cars parked next to all my vw’s.
te72 said:True story, an 84 Turbo 300ZX was the car that opened my eyes to the reality of how fast old sports cars could be. This was in the early 2000's, a good friend of mine had one. Had a lot of fun in that car.
I forget why he ended up selling it, I could have picked it up for a song, but I didn't know which end of a wrench to stick on the bolt back then, so I declined his generous offer. Looking back, it was probably something simple.
Few years later, another friend in another state picked up an 88 Turbo. He tried to kill the VG30 so he could stuff in some SBC variant or another. That VG just laughed at his efforts... If there's one company that does a good V6, I'd say it's Nissan.
I had an '88 non-turbo in high school. I beat on that car mercilessly and it never skipped a beat. I think I got it with 70k miles on it (in '98) and sold it in 2002 with 155k miles on it.
I used to do ridiculous stuff like start it on a 30F day to go to school, and would immediately start going full throttle to redline while it was stone cold. It still didn't even burn oil when I got rid of it.
In reply to rattfink81 :
Like all things, some are good, some, not so much. These old Z's are pretty solid. I wouldn't want to work on one, but I'm not too big on V-engines anyway. Have only owned... three V8's over the years. Figure as long as you get one that's been cared for, might be worth a shot. Like any car from this era, replace the old rubber, keep an eye on the fluids, and it should treat you well.
In reply to z31maniac :
Soon as I read your cold start to redline comment, I thought to myself, "this guy's a maniac with no mechanical sympathy whatsoever" ...and then I saw your username. How apt, I love it. Truthfully I did the same thing in my first car, a 94 Cavalier 4 door. Not sure how that turd survived me driving it for 5 years.
Like I said though, VG engines, good stuff. How bad was working on them, in your experience?
Not bad, the plugs are a big of a pain since they are up on top of the head wedged in between the intake manifold and valve cover. Suspension stuff was no big deal, I was 18 without much knowledge at the time so I let me mechanic replace the clutch and timing belt/water pump.
My friends and I did the eibach springs/koni's and ST swaybars.
They have horrible rear suspension geometry and the diff mounts were trashed 20 years ago if it hasn't been replaced or welded solid.
That sounds like a strange location for the plugs to me, but I'm used to Toyota M and JZ engines, where they're right between the cams, somewhat deep into the head. Suppose that same sort of location doesn't quite work the same way on a single cam head. All about perspective!
Sounds about like a Supra, front end stuff on a VG shouldn't be too terribly bad I wouldn't think, no more so than most longitudinal engines anyway.
My father had one before the ocean claimed it. It consistently ran great when everything else was dying. He replaced it with a 260z which the ocean also claimed as it's own. (we lived on a flood prone barrier island)
z31maniac said:Not bad, the plugs are a big of a pain since they are up on top of the head wedged in between the intake manifold and valve cover. Suspension stuff was no big deal, I was 18 without much knowledge at the time so I let me mechanic replace the clutch and timing belt/water pump.
My friends and I did the eibach springs/koni's and ST swaybars.
They have horrible rear suspension geometry and the diff mounts were trashed 20 years ago if it hasn't been replaced or welded solid.
The car came with a foot long spark plug removal socket under the rear carpet along with wheel chocks lug wrench and lug nuts in a thick sponge rubber mat that just loved to hold moisture and promote rust under it... The plugs were no problem using the socket, just had to remove a bolt that held the accelerator cable to access the rear plug. Timing belt was a pita but absolutely necessary being an interference engine. When the rear crossmember bushings and diff bushings wore out the suspension would bang and shift all over the place... I did the bushing replacement in my driveway with numerous scissor jacks holding everything up. Nissan wanted $1000 bucks to do it. I got the parts and spent about eight hours on it. I have owned 17 ZX cars, a mix of Z31 and S130s. Had one 84 ae in the mix. Just last year I owned a 1980 280zx for nine months. If a nice Z31 comes along i would not hesitate to pick it up... Enjoy
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