Perhaps this thread was a crap idea... these stories are depressing and you guys must hate remembering this stuff. Call it quits here - Andy & Scrubber both win a Canadian Z32 sales brochure each - PM me your postal address' guys - seriously, apart from the French, they're good brochures if you want them!
No no, let's keep it going! There's a lot more war stories to be told yet and a lot of members who deserve more than a poster for their sheer bloody-minded persistance :thumbup: (I'm keeping in mind that your opening post asked about multiple breakdowns soon after purchase, not upgrades and cosmetics) Some of the povvo buyers out there who are looking at buying a Z32 on a budget - especially a TT or imported NA - will get some idea of just how worst a worst case scenario can get
hmmm, good point. Initially I'd just hoped for stories from first time Z owners who paid $2k, spent 8 and eventually set fire to the car themselves & were still glad they did. But can't imagine anyone enjoys reading of how a seasoned and true lover of these great cars put months and $40k+ into a Z only to have it stolen & burnt... makes you want to sleep in the garage. But then, perhaps some prospective Z owners could avoid a bad life-lesson by reading of someone else's nightmareZ / heart breakZ / frustrationZ :br:
This thread follows my philosophy on life- "no matter how bad you think you've got it, there is somebody else out there who is much worse off, and they're dealing with it, so harden the puck up". Remember the most VITAL part of all of these stories- the teller is STILL a part of the forum, and remains (or is considering again becoming) a Z owner. -that's some Jerry Springer closing shit right there
Bought our TT with a freshly rebuilt engine: 1. took five days 'till it was off the road with a clogged AT filter 2. two weeks later the filter clogged again!! 3. scrubbed out two brand new rear tyres in 6000klm due to wayyy too much camber 4. constant detonation problems, retarded timing soo much the car felt slow but finally no detonation....or so it seemed. 5. engine starts to loose coolant, thought it may be the 37-38 degree days during summer as I couldn't see any leaks. 6. BOOM there goes the engine on my way home from work sitting on a sedate 80klm/h with absolutely no warning from a reliable aftermarket temp guage 7. stipped engine down to find heads warped, evidence of major detonation mainly due to heads being machined previously without use of a thicker gasket, compression ratio would have been through the roof!! oh and also I cant forget the two spun rod bearings & massive amounts of rust, scale & RTV silicon that were clogging oil galleries & water ports, causing localised overheating especially on the two rear cylinders......what a bloody mess!! all this on an engine with only 25,000k's since rebuild Anyway $7000 later & more of my own time than I can afford, the engine should be ready to go back in maybe Friday if all goes well....but then again this is a Z!!!....you gotta love 'em:zlove:
White jeans lol I bet u had like 4 popped collars too Im not even going near the chai, that speaks for itself lol
haha tbh I haven't ever worn white jeans just taking the Piss from this thread lol : http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=313155
I over paid for my NA which was my first car. I picked it up from Brisbane, then drove it to Dubbo in central west NSW the next day. That afternoon I had my first break down, lots of smoke from the engine bay, 4 cylinders not firing, completely undrivable. I had to have it towed and when inspected I was told that the AC belt burnt out, and the ignition modual failed due to incorrect installation. To have the modual repaired and a service was $500 plus a towing fee. I was also given a 2 page list of mechanical errors which needed addressing. I took her too my mechanic in the next town, he's a family friend so I got mates rates labour but I took priority under higher paying customers. 2 months and $5k worth of parts and labour later I had an apparently road worthy Z. Got her registered and drove it for a few months incident free. Had some minor issues getting stuck in the Queensland floods. Then in march I was done for speeding, and defected for the pod and exhaust. Replaced that at a coast of $1600 + fines and passed yet another blue slip inspection. On my way to Queensland to get my new kit installed and respray I had the car gone over by Queensland transport at a vehicle inspection site outside goondiwindi. Defected for my bonnet, warned for exhaust again, as well as a list of others. More fines and the finally on my way again. Picked her up all new and shiny from Ztoy a couple of weeks ago and no problems as of yet. Still need all exterior plastics replaced and some other minor issues corrected...
I think a lot of us have some sort of horror story. I'm just sharing my experience. The radiator core broke the first week. Then the auto box broke the next month. After that the car started to smoke badly. Turbo seal was shot & new turbos were installed. Also had bodywork done, fitting of bodykit and tidy up. Then hit a possum 2 nights after and the front bar was smashed up including one foglight. Paid to have it repaired soon after then to find my Z had been rear-ended in a carpark with no note left. That's just some of what I've gone through & I'm sure a lot have had a lot worse. Xavier was a bit unlucky wasn't he?
There was a poll awhile ago asking members how many zeds they have owned. Ever decreasing number up to about 6...then one person had 14odd and i swore it was you Michael. Anyone remember/know who it is? Matt.
14 Zeds? Probably Chilledpain. I have been fairly lucky. Red NA (first z) was pretty much all maintenance up until the very end. Then a new engine made her happy again. TT is a bit of a PITA. Worked perfectly, then I ran into a block of wood on the freeway on a cruise, which smashed into and killed the auto box. New box was popped in, and a few months later that one died due to what i thought was a combination of high power + SAW + valve body mod, but which turned out to be an unseen crushed AT fluid line... from the block of wood I hit. All easy things though really. Glad I'm not you guys! Finally went manual though. :zlove: No issues so far
Martin Williams, last I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago he had that many. Probably has 189 of them by now.
Hate to dig up an old thread I found it interesting that I bought another z and it mentioned in this thread with my old one I must be a glutton for punishment.
