Ex 300zx - Supra newbie here....

Hi all

After a long membership on the 300zx forum I am happy to say that I know just about everything there is to know about the Z32 300zx. But, my little girl has just been born and I cant justify running 3 cars, one of them being an unreliable 300zx. So, I have broken it up for parts and almost sold everything. It was a huge shame after 5years work and devotion to the car but then I have somthing else to concentrate my efforts on; my litle girl

Anyway, for the last year I have been commuting to work and back in a 1994 JDM NA MKiv Supra in Teal blue. Its awesomely reliable but then I have a few Q's and I hope you guys can point me in the right direction:

1) The air con dash light seem to be going out like bingo numbers over the last few weeks; what the hells going on? They seem to all but one light work when the headlights are turned on? I read somewhere about a blown board?? Is it an easy fix or do I just need to find a replacement air con dash control unit?

2) The bonnet release lever doesnt work? I am in talks with Toyota in Grantham and they have advised that I take the car to them tomorrow and they will have a look at which part is broken.

3) I have fitted the 18" 'Real modification" Spec-VAV wheels onto my supra using the studs from my old wheels. In order to put the wheels on I had to modify a socket by grinding it down to make it super thin. The space in the 5-stud holes is very narrow and the bolts that I used on the 300zx had a different thread pattern to the supras so I couldnt switch them over. Does anyone know where I can get the proper studs for these wheels (which came with the 300zx when i bought it) for the supra?

4) Someone has cut larger holes in the door cards and they look a right mess, how much should I be looking to pay for a pair?

5) The front headlights look really murky; how much should we be looking to pay for a pair of UK glass?

6) Is there an on-line manual to help me take the car to bits when needed?

Apart from that, what a car the supra is. The back seats however are a waste of bloody time, extra boot space would have been more useful!!

Anyway, any help you guys can give will be hugly appreciated.

All the best

Mark:)

 

1) The air con dash light seem to be going out like bingo numbers over the last few weeks; what the hells going on? They seem to all but one light work when the headlights are turned on? I read somewhere about a blown board?? Is it an easy fix or do I just need to find a replacement air con dash control unit?

"Jezzybabes" is our resident breaker so you could get a price from him. It may be possible to resolder the leds......pm emin "Supra ST myster" for advice

2) The bonnet release lever doesnt work? I am in talks with Toyota in Grantham and they have advised that I take the car to them tomorrow and they will have a look at which part is broken.

Look behind the lever under the dash, if its just seperated here you can pull the cable with some pliers etc and then fix it. If the cable has 'gone' elsewhere it can be a pita by all accounts

3) I have fitted the 18" 'Real modification" Spec-VAV wheels onto my supra using the studs from my old wheels. In order to put the wheels on I had to modify a socket by grinding it down to make it super thin. The space in the 5-stud holes is very narrow and the bolts that I used on the 300zx had a different thread pattern to the supras so I couldnt switch them over. Does anyone know where I can get the proper studs for these wheels (which came with the 300zx when i bought it) for the supra?

one of the resident traders will be your best bet i think.......Envy or Proalloys possibly

4) Someone has cut larger holes in the door cards and they look a right mess, how much should I be looking to pay for a pair?

I think these are ridiculously expensive from toyota, Jezzybabes may have some or will be able to give you a better idea than me.

5) The front headlights look really murky; how much should we be looking to pay for a pair of UK glass?

There are a few good Toyota dealer contacts on here search for "steve manley" ......... also GZaerojon refurb j-specs.....he can supply and you just send him the old ones (i think)

6) Is there an on-line manual to help me take the car to bits when needed?

not as such i don't think. I have bound manuals that the helpful CJ did a big print run of.........i think "JohnK" can do you a copy..

they have everything they are the toyota mechanics ref books..

Whats the 300zx like handling wise to the supra? sharper?

How much stuff actually went wrong with the 300zx? Is a non turbo one far better re reliability?

Hi and thanks for the helpful info.

The 300zx was loads better but then I did have koni T/A's all round. The Supra will grip but with the standard shocks and springs seems to lean quite a bit when pushed hard. The 18's really help but I have honestly never driven a car round bends like I did my Zed. The term I used to apply when discussing cornering was 'The car 'outdrives' me'. Its a case where you turn a bend so hard that you are thrown left or right (even in half bucket seats (laws of gravity and al that)) and the car keep going round. Its one of the strangest experiences.

I would say it was shaprer but again thats with the mods. I also fitted adjustable upper and lower front arms whcih excompassed rose joints and made another huge difference.

EVERYTHING went wrong with my Zed, just before I was about to put it back on the road, the wife fell pregnant and that meant it had to go as the headgasket needed replacing.

The biggest problem with the Zed is that it is a nightmare to work on as I am sure you have heard. I dont have a double garage (yet) and you need that really to work on a car like that.

I changed every component but the engine (even a new wiring loom as the 300zx bonnet harvest's heats and cooks the engine loom!! It was more like the £15K I spent on mods were improvement where Nissan went wrong; if that makes sense?

But dont get me worng, when the car ran right it was fabulous. A Ferrari like poise and with the right mods phenomenal power and grip with comfort too on long journeys. If only Nissan had simplified the development thus increasing reliability; I'm sure I'd still be driving one now. But then, does that take away the character from the car? Who knows? What I do know is that I WILL have another Zed once the child grows up, I earn more money and we move in a house with a double garage.

The N/A Zed is supposed to be as good as the N/A Supra for reliability and they tend to be cheaper. The reason why I havent swapped the Supra for one (and I could even get a Short Wheel Base version) is because I know I wont be able to leave it alone; whereas for some reason I can the Supra. I havent figured out what it is yet.

Perhaps its the fact that whatever I changed on the Zed, another weaker component seemed to break. Another might be that I just cant be bothered with mesing with the car.

If there is anything that I have taken with me from the whole Zed experience, its to never mod a car unless it is already 100 perfect in every aspect, otherwise you end up forever chasing yout tail.

ATB

Mark.

Are NA 300zxs reliable then? I was under the impression that both the TT and the NA were a complete reliability nightmare. Eg everything goes wrong with them.

If NAs are reliable, they make a nice fun cheap sports car tbh

Yes, the 300ZX is a cheap reliable sports car. Over my 5 years of ownership and as a memeber of the club, I hardly ever heard of any issues with the N/A's. If you have a spare £1500 lying round then they're well worth buying.

whats the 0-60 on an NA? 7 secs?

whats the 0-60 on an NA? 7 secs?

Good question, I believe a little quicker TBH, around 6.5s. Standard TT is 5.2s

Thats quite promising really!

What kind of power can you squeeze out of an NA with BPU/Bolt on mods?

Thats quite promising really!

What kind of power can you squeeze out of an NA with BPU/Bolt on mods?

Not really sure what the maz is, I suppose you could grab a TT engine/gbox/loom and diff for about £1K and doa transplant. You then have 280bhp for less than what it would cost to mod the NA to that level.

I believe the most I have seen from a NA Zed is around 280bhp without the conversion but it took alot of work to get there.

You can get a TT Zed for around £2K nowadays

I wouldnt touch a TT zed with a bargepole tbh.

I like the retro 80s/90s feel to them and would like to own one day. Nothing would compare to a Supra, so a nice modded NA would work well for me, as it wouldnt blow up every 2 seconds like the TT!

hi mate try this for a manual http://www.mkiv.com/manual/