site home | 300ZX news/home | contact | misc | projects/modlist | :. News/Home .: What happens to a dream deferred? Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?... Or does it explode? --Langston Hughes [ Want to get info from other 300ZX Owners? ] 2007.10.21 ·Moving On... Time for a new project, so the Z is for sale, to the right kind of owner... 2007.05.25 ·Summer Fun Just got back from a nice drive up around the canyons...what fun! Nothing quite like T-Tops off and 500hp under your right foot! 2007.03.25 ·Spring Progress Report Not a lot to report for the car over the winter. A lack of problems, and a lack of funds means it was just a simple daily driver when the weather was nice enough - can't bear to drive the car on dirty roads. Believe I'm going to try putting cats in the midpipes to eliminate some more resonance. Now that the house is sold, I'll be fixing some other small issues - like the front fenderwell splashguards, the A-Pillar, and probably get myself a dyno chart for fun. Did an oil change today - everything looks great under the car, no issues to speak of. The new driveshaft solved the vibration the car had, so that's really the last of the issues to restore. The new Infinity amp and speakers in the front doors are a great combination with the Infinity rears - the sound really is incredibly good, I'm very happy. 2006.10.02 ·Fall Progress Report The car has been steadily a daily driver for some weeks now, and it's been flawless Shortly after getting the car back from SCR, with its new turbos etc, the upper water hose split as I was driving back from an autocross, so I had SCR replace all the hoses in the car as a precaution - clean as can be. As before, the attention to detail from the SCR guys was excellent. Since the Nismo transmission mount was causing some fitment issues with the SZ Midpipes, I had SCR replace that with an OEM mount. The #4 injector died, so I replaced that a few weeks ago, since the weather wasn't good for driving the car anyway. Since the in-car volume was still pretty high, I have traded out the SZ mufflers, gorgeous though they are, with Stillen mufflers, and a Stillen X-pipe. Along the way, I also acquired some more sound deadening, which now occupies the wheel wells. The latest issue is sorting out the source of a 40mph vibration, which seems to be the driveshaft center support bearing. the D-shaft is currently out of the car, and I'll be getting that examined soon. As well, I am ferreting out the reason for the RF speaker not working, which seems to be an amp issue. I did finally do a boost leak test, and it appears there might be a connection or two I have to check near the P/S of the turbo, but boost is steady at 10 and 15psi on the profec. I replaced the rear brakes too, since they were getting a bit low. Ultimately, I will replace the door speakers with aftermarket units, and put some B-Quiet down in the process. Also helping the car to be quieter will be replacing all of the door seals, which are about $100-150 per seal. Lastly, I finally installed the engine undertray pieces, which fixed a small off-throttle drivability issue, and generally makes the bottom of the car look nicer. 2006.05.19 ·Midsummer Projects After 2 1/2 weeks of sitting in the garage looking blue, the Z...is still doing just that. However, I've been sorting out some issues from the previous owner. So happy to say, things are in much nicer shape than they were 2 weeks ago. The wipers now, in fact, wipe, since the missing wiper relay was installed to fix those. I ran new hose for the boost gauge and Profec boost source, and at one end, nifty new Autometer boost gauge is now living in the A-Pillar pod, and lights up rather fancy. The Panasonic head unit is in place in the dash, and operating well - the sound is great!. The speakers and amp really make things sound nice. I moved the turbo timer from the clock location to under the armrest by extending its wiring harness, and cubbyholing it right up against the front, mounted vertically. It's not a particularly attractive piece of electronics, and more importantly, I had to make room for the Profec B, which I have installed and run lines for. Boost control at the touch of a button, right in front of the shifter, and the black appearance is quite nifty. My large order from Coz has arrived - gaskets, downpipes, undertray bits, interior trim, and whatnot. I installed the new rear speaker covers, and will install the new steering wheel centerpiece when the new wheel arrives from Imports Extreme. New upper control arms, and new Nismo tension rod bushings to tighten up the front suspension a bit. I discovered that the rear toe links are worn and need replacing, so I will take care of that after the car is back in one piece, or perhaps have the dealer do it when they evac and charge the A/C system. Mark reports that the lift should be at the shop soon, so sometime next week (probably not Monday, as planned), the car will go in to get the motor pulled, turbos swapped, P/S installed, A/C installed, and generally fixed up with a few other nice trim pieces and such. There's a list I'll be giving them. Some Pictures are available, including my favorite, showing all the JUNK that is going on the car! 2006.05.12 ·"My" First Z I dug up an old picture of "my" first Z, from the photo album Mom made of my growing up: Some things never change. That would have been about 1990, making me about 10 years old. 16 years ago...holy cow. 2006.05.11 ·Look Familiar? Seems like I've always got a car mostly disassembled in the shop. I sure don't want to spend much more time working on this thing, I want to drive! Today is Dad's birthday - sent him these pictures saying "wish you were here" - sure would be fun to do this together! ·Interior Work Doing lots of junk with the interior, since it's easy, and clean. The amp is now properly secured. I re-ran the power cable for the amp down the passenger side door sill, and ran RCA's up for the head unit to the amp in the center tunnel. That should make the sound nice and clean. The new head unit arrives tomorrow, so I will wire and test everything, before the proper radio brackets arrive from Bernie sometime next week. I tossed the POS "AC" boost gauge in favor of a nicer Autometer gauge from Summit. The wiring and boost line is run, so that will be a quick install when it arrives on Tuesday. After all that, I can button the interior back up, since none of the rest of the issues I have on my list are interior related. Parts start to arrive in earnest tomorrow - going to be an impressive pile before too long <*g*> ·Don Devendorf, aka "Cousin Donnie" Mom has been telling me about Donnie for years. Finally looked up some pictures and info about him. He drove the Nissan ZX-Turbo in the mid-80's, and founded a company called "Electramotive". In fact, I believe the first race I ever saw was at Sears Point, in the mid/late 80's. Donnie was there in the black "California Cooler" car. I found some Pictures of Donnie and his ZX turbos on the web. Between him and our '90 growing up, it seems I've got Z-cars in my blood! 2006.05.10 ·Slow Progress Progress continues slowly with returning this z to fighting shape. More parts are on the way: Panasonic 7401U head unit New upper front control arms new tension rods overflow bottle radio bracket Dipstick tube Hardpipe kit new cowlings hood proprod grommet engine slingers EGR delete ...and probably more I'm forgetting. This car is basically going to be a 2006! Parts will start arriving Thursday and Friday. I am also going to order some ADR M-Sport wheels in Silver when I can find the source - just break the bank while it's already burning... The problem list is shrinking - the RHS turn signal is fixed, the climate control will be fixed with the arrival of the A/C parts, and all of the amp/radio wiring I will be sorting out the rest of this week. I've cried uncle on the windshield wipers and mirrors for now - will probably have the dealer sort those out after Mark Baer finishes the car in a few weeks. The plan is for the car to go to SCR on May 22 and start its surgery. The limiting factor is going to be the presence or abscence of the A/C parts from Bernie, so we'll see how that goes... 2006.05.04 ·First Pictures Not much to show yet, since the car is still filthy from the trip, but at least a shot of it Home, and a few with the interior all cleaned up. ·First Fixes I started progress towards the first fixes on the car today. After vacuuming, armor-alling, windexing and carpet-cleaning the trunk, I replaced the hatch struts, so the hatch now stays up properly. I also vacuumed and armor-alled the entire interior. WOW does it look good! Lots of parts on the way: Stock turbos and manifolds Specialty-Z stainless downpipes Gaskets for same New power steering rack, pump, reservoir, bushings, HP line A/C lines, parts, compressor, fan, etc. New steering wheel pad Engine undertray, nose undertray, rear mudflaps The car is scheduled to go into get the engine yanked and turbos pulled the 3rd week of May (carpal tunnel preventing me doing it, aside from just flat not wanting to!) Still need to source the stock turbo piping, and with luck, a lot of misc items from Woody down in Denver - a cruise control box and a '90 climate control, among others. Forward progress at last! ·Giddy Observations Just a few things I'm noticing as I am going through the car: The carpet in this car is unbeliveably thick. I think not even light can escape it! The new paint job that Josh had put on was worth every penny...WOW does it look nice clean! 2006.05.01 ·Ups and Downs The car is here! The drive back was mostly uneventful. The highlight was spending most of the time between St. Louis and KC in the company of a C5 Corvette, driven by a fellow named "Jeff" and his wife. Having a highway buddy is great fun. There was a lot of rain on the drive home...and that's about it. Down...Not having cruise was awful. Not having windshield wipers was mostly OK, although downright dangerous at one point. Those things will be remedied shortly with the various fixes I am working towards. Up...The car was excellent the entire way! ~25MPG average, easy to drive, and generally pleasant. I did have a bit of "ringing ears" when I finally got out of the car at 3:00 AM Sunday night, so I will see about quieting down the exhaust - perhaps with some cats or better resonators. Up...The interior is everything I remembered. A wonderful place to be - I just love the design. It will make me happy to spend time in this car. Down...perhaps the biggest of all, the exhaust leaks from the manifolds reached epic proportions on the trip home. The driver's side wastegate didn't even have any bolts holding its exit on anymore...*sigh*. So, since I have confirmed there is *no way* for the A/C to fit with the 16g manifolds, they will be coming off, and will be for sale. In their place, I'll install stock manifolds and stock turbos, mostly for cost reasons. SP500's would be nice, but to be honest, the ~375rwhp that the stockers are capable from is more than enough...and I'd rather have the money for a set of nice wheels! A/C is on the way, so that will be another step towards returning this car to comfortable supercar status. On an interesting note, this is one day less than exactly 3 years from when I brought the Corvette home. Based on how I feel, I think I will love owning this car as much as the 'vette! 2006.04.14 After months of scheming and planning, with the sale of my bought-to-sell MR2 Turbo, I now have just two weeks until I will fly out to pick up my new 300ZX TT from my friend Josh. I imagine the drive back will be as much fun as the one I took in my C5 Corvette a few years ago, before it was sold for the Radical that now occupies its spot. Ever since my parents bought their Aztec Red 1990 Z in early '90, the Z has been my idea of what sports cars should look and feel like. It is probably why I like red cars so much! This one is not red, but it is a Turbo, and it will be fantastic fun, style, and relaxation, I believe. Right around May 1 should be the first update for this car, so we will see how it all goes! I can't wait to have a nice street car again, and if the amount I enjoyed the car in HSV this February is any indication, this car should bring many smiles for years to come - There should be no "Chasing Happy" with this car, like with the DSM and the MR2. I anticipate it will be as special to me as the 'vette was, and the Radical is.