Z32 Buying 300zx

Discussion in 'Technical' started by Callum McNamara, Apr 27, 2020.

  1. Callum McNamara

    Callum McNamara New Member

    I'm going to buy my first 300zx I want to know how much maintenance will cost.
    Also the engine is vg30de. And what is the difference between this and the turbo charged? That's the power difference? How can I get better power
     
  2. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Callum,
    How much is maintenance?
    Well that varies a lot. It will require 2 services per year as an absolute minimum. If you cant do this yourself then that is probably the best part of $500 id be guessing. But if you take it to a mechanic I'm sure hell be finding all sorts of worn bushes and brake fluid flushes , oil leaks etc etc. Then depending on what other odometer milestones are reached throughout the year that servicing will also have to be paid for.
    These are were complicated cars for their day and their day was 30 years ago. I believe the price in australia for these cars in the late 90's was over $80,000. So parts are not going to be cheap. This is as close to Ferrari as it is far away from a Nissan hatchback. Expect to be continually spending money on something if you are trying to maintain and improve the cars condition or if you plan to drive it till some part fails be ready for an expensive failure at any time.

    what is the difference power wise? in stock form Vg30de about 200hp, VG30dett about 300hp but that is not really important you either want a fast car or a slow car. if you want a fast car you will want a twin turbo.

    How can you get better power?
    VG30det -NO, to get this to match the 300hp of the turbo would cost more than buying a whole 300zx twin turbo car
    VG30dett- you may not need more power many have been modified already but if not you can get a bit more out of these pretty cheap with an exhaust and boost. There are second hand performance parts for sale on here and facebook doubt you will find much for the non turbo apart from an exhaust perhaps.

    From your questions it seems that you are not familiar with cars and so cannot work on them yourself . So I can recommend this car to you if you like the look and have heaps of money you don't mind spending without any hope of ever recovering it when you sell. You also have another car which will be your main form of transport.

    DO NOT BUY THIS CAR IF YOU ARE POOR
     
  3. beaver

    beaver southern zeds

    Harsh assessment J/B,s, the truth is usually hard to cop.
     
  4. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Beaver and Callum, I tried to edit the message with a WELCOME at the beginning and better wording as i thought the overall post sounded a little unfriendly. I only intended to answer all the questions honestly not rudely. But i took too long rewriting and the time limit expired for edits, so that was the first draft that posted.

    So welcome Callum and please post any more questions you have, i will answer anything i can. JB
     
  5. beaver

    beaver southern zeds

    I didn't think you were rude or unfriendly jb, bit hard on our cars, but I can identify with most of what you said. :cool:
     
  6. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Beaver, i said 300ZX but you could interchange Supra, GTR or 3000GT with 300ZX in most cases in the original post with the exception of retained value. Here the 300zx stands out at the bottom. They can be expensive to own but they are currently cheap to buy. Think $5-$10,000 twin turbo a bit rough. This is me and while they haven't cost me much the amount of money required to restore certain areas is not something im willing to do. I doubt either of my cars will live to see a restoration.
    Perhaps the cheapest 300zx overall is a $20,000 very well looked after unit that currently needs no repairs. Keep it well serviced and garaged with regular weekend trips. You might even make money out of this over the next 10 years. The price has to go up one day.
     
  7. beaver

    beaver southern zeds

    I'm aware of the costs involved Jb, my car was stripped down, engine gearbox interior suspension, the lot out. engine was rebuilt top and bottom to first oversize .5, heads were refreshed 2560s injectors side mounts twin intakes fuel rails manifolds dumps exhaust full respray all new suspension the list goes on and on. In the end it did cost make no mistake, but now I have a car that is beautiful to look at imo, ultra reliable, powerful and solid, driving it is a pleasure, and most of the work I did my self. Having the time,equipment, "room" and a little knowledge are absolute necessities.
    I guess I,ve always tried to improve or modify near all the mechanical conveyances I've owned, bikes cars 4x4s boats, and just on boats. I brought a new boat not long back, its got a 4 stroke 2.1lt merc on it, I wasn't happy with the power straight away, compared to a two stroke of the same capacity, there slow like a tt compared to an na . After a lot of searching I found tuner In the NT who has cracked the merc ecu.(mercury made it extremely difficult to access/retune their ecu) mercury's 2.1lt four stroke line of engines, 5 in all from 70 to 115hp in command thrust series , all use the same block alternator injectors the engines are basically the same, the up shot is 30-35 hp more from the engine, just removing the restrictor plate from the intake on a stock engine gets you a hp boost you can feel. Gone of on a tangent?
    Yep.
     
  8. jellybeans

    jellybeans Active Member

    Beaver,
    There is no greater joy than finding your engine has a restrictor plate. Nothing i said was directed at anyone who already owns a 300zx. Depending on the price bracket/condition of your 300zx you will have a varying ownership experience. If you can get a car to the stage you have where it is essentially now in very good condition then you have a viable alternative to a new car in terms of reliability and cost. I don't think the 300zx is unreliable just complicated and old. My cheap VW jetta is starting to become unreliable with electrical gremlins. It's one thing to have a few issues with a sports car it's something totally different to have issues with your daily run about. I consider most new cars to be unreliable and contain designs specifically targeted to ensure high maintenance costs.
    the fact that the 300zx is still desirable 30 years later is a testament to its excellent design. Apart from the gauges which i think look disappointing cheap.
     

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