Curious about late 80s so 87,88,89 300 z cars. Do we love them or hate them? Parts prices? Rust issues? Any crazy fuel or electric systems? How do they drive? Anyone rocking one as a DD?
I found one for reallllllly cheap and am thinking about picking it up. I was looking for an 80s 944 when I found this one.
Friend of mine has one, a black 87 Turbo with T-tops. Good-looking car, Japanese-tastic 80s interior, pretty quick with boost mods. If they are your cup of tea, go for it, but they are more GT than sports car, and that engine bay is very cramped. Personally, I like the older Zs with the scooped out headlights and straight sixes, the Z31 always seemed kind of generic to me.
Lots of vacuum lines and typical 80's stuff, but they are durable and reliable. There are a few guys on here that have them, one guy with a nice white turbo (forget who it is). If the one you are looking at is solid and runs well, I would jump on it. They have a following too, just a different crew than the earlier Z's. Good highway cars, and a nice one would make a great DD, IMHO. Pics?
Difficult as hell to work on and the rear suspension sucks. Heavy for what they are. But there is power to be had, for sure. Not much of a sports car, but a great tourer.
I have a fondness for them since my best friend in HS had one so I rode around in it quite a bit. They have a nice 80's essence which I enjoy. But they seem to rust terribly from the inside out, so if I bought one, I think I'd have to bring it in from a non-rusty locale.
I had a normally aspirated '86 300ZX many moons ago and I concur about the rear suspension. TONS of wheel hop.
The gearboxes seem a bit fragile. I grenaded mine just past the 100,000 mile mark.
I found the bar graph tach and digital speedo a bit off-putting.
Love them, the 87.5-89 turbo is the hot ticket, best on the 84-89 brakes, suspension, trans, and a clutch type LSD. The rear suspension does suck, it's similar to the e30 and can't plant the power. Easy to make big power. The engine bay isn't as bad as newer cars but cramped by 80's standards. Dang near bullit proof if you keep the timing belt changed. They rust! Look at the base of the "A" pillars, floor pan behind the seats where the rear crossmember attaches, lower rear quarters, and under the the tool tray. The digital dash power supply flakes out after 30 years so analog is preferred. Well intentioned owners use power steering fluid instead of the correct ATF in the steering making small leaks worse. Vacuums hoses become brittle and crack and the dash pots that operate the climate controls stick or crack. They are under appreciated and I think poised to be a collector as the values for z32's plummet due to their cost of ownership being so high, the z31 is a bargain by comparison.
SlickDizzy wrote: Difficult as hell to work on and the rear suspension sucks. Heavy for what they are. But there is power to be had, for sure. Not much of a sports car, but a great tourer.
Heavy? They are just like 3000lbs, lighter than a Fox Body or Supra MK3. They are fairly normal period GT weight.
People keep saying they are heavy here when they weight the same as a optioned FC turbo.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/nissan-z-history5.htm
The gearboxes seem a bit fragile. I grenaded mine just past the 100,000 mile mark.
87+ has the 300zxtt from the 90s (z32) gearbox. They can take lots of power.
I found the bar graph tach and digital speedo a bit off-putting.
I do too, you can always replace that though.
Sort out suspension, nistune, intercooler, T3/4, have fun. Get a 87 and earlier T3 and send it to some place like Arizona Turbo & Tractor Supply and you can get a great turbo for almost nothing.
87 Z is different than 88 and 89 despite looking similar in that it has the lower compression engine and a T3 instead of T25.
The Jed said: I found the bar graph tach and digital speedo a bit off-putting.
Is that really the dash? It reminds me of the old Mitzu Starion dash that Jaws and Jackie Chan drove in Cannonball Run. Ugh.
I should have also prefaced with I know nothing about 80's Japanese rides.
The one I found was a 87, NON turbo, runs, drives, outside looks nice, but seller advises it needs an interior. I emailed and haven't heard back yet. It was listed at $600.
I'll let you guys know if I hear more.
kanaric wrote:SlickDizzy wrote: Difficult as hell to work on and the rear suspension sucks. Heavy for what they are. But there is power to be had, for sure. Not much of a sports car, but a great tourer.Heavy? They are just like 3000lbs, lighter than a Fox Body or Supra MK3. They are fairly normal period GT weight.
Lighter than a Mk3 Supra by far.
Similarly they were intended as a "wangan car" - big power, just passable handling. The TTs feel wickedly powerful because, first they are decently powerful for a TT V6, and then they have big rear traction issues. You can light up the tires in 1st or 2nd, maybe even 3rd, by moving off normally and flooring the gas, and you'll get wheelspin once the boost kicks in.
They need A LOT of mods to make good track cars...it's like a Japanese muscle car. I don't just mean coilovers and things like that, I mean different suspension members or even subframe swaps.
Could be good for a drift car (although I wouldn't like to see them smashed), drag racing, landspeed fun, or its original intended purpose 
Personally the MK3 Supra is soooo much better and not all that much more expensive. The Supra handles better, drives better and has a much better interior. This is from personal experience.
octavious wrote: The one I found was a 87, NON turbo, runs, drives, outside looks nice, but seller advises it needs an interior. I emailed and haven't heard back yet. It was listed at $600. I'll let you guys know if I hear more.
super slow. there's plenty of worse choices for a daily driver. idk what else to use it for.
I know nothing about them except they look cool, and I like the digital dash. I also grew up in the 80s and wanted a Vector or late 80's Lambo with extra wings and grills so my taste may be somewhat questionable.
93EXCivic wrote: Personally the MK3 Supra is soooo much better and not all that much more expensive. The Supra handles better, drives better and has a much better interior. This is from personal experience.
Yeah I think the Mk3 Supra is a better car overall even though it weighs about a sportbike-with-a-petite-woman-on-it more, but even the turbo models don't have the savagely powerful feeling of the 300ZX TT.
GameboyRMH wrote:kanaric wrote:Lighter than a Mk3 Supra *by far.* Similarly they were intended as a "wangan car" - big power, just passable handling. The TTs feel wickedly powerful because, first they are decently powerful for a TT V6, and then they have big rear traction issues. You can light up the tires in 1st or 2nd, maybe even 3rd, by moving off normally and flooring the gas, and you'll get wheelspin once the boost kicks in. They need A LOT of mods to make good track cars...it's like a Japanese muscle car. I don't just mean coilovers and things like that, I mean different suspension members or even subframe swaps. Could be good for a drift car (although I wouldn't like to see them smashed), drag racing, landspeed fun, or its original intended purposeSlickDizzy wrote: Difficult as hell to work on and the rear suspension sucks. Heavy for what they are. But there is power to be had, for sure. Not much of a sports car, but a great tourer.Heavy? They are just like 3000lbs, lighter than a Fox Body or Supra MK3. They are fairly normal period GT weight.
Ummmmm, we are talking about the 84-89 300ZX here. Only 205hp on the later intercooled models, and they were single turbo.
The Twin turbo cars were 90-96.
GameboyRMH wrote:93EXCivic wrote: Personally the MK3 Supra is soooo much better and not all that much more expensive. The Supra handles better, drives better and has a much better interior. This is from personal experience.Yeah I think the Mk3 Supra is a better car all-around even though it weighs about a sportbike-with-a-petite-woman-on-it more, but even the turbo models don't have the savagely powerful feeling of the 300ZX TT.
We are talking about the Z31 not Z32 300ZX though aka this one
D'oh you're right...there's nothing too special about the Z31 models, unless you count the optional Bitching Betty 
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