Tell me about 300ZX's (Fairladies)

[Soopra]

My husband is having horsepower envy (don't laugh he's currently driving a Micra)

 

He's been offered a 300ZX twin turbo that I believe is an import and is allegedly running around 400bhp

 

We're going to look at the car tonight and I wondered if there's anything in particular to look out for on these...

[wile e coyote]

Just check the usuals but i seem to remember they can suffer valve stem oil seals leaking so check for smoke when start up at cold and over run( in gear down hills)

[j_jza80]

I've always liked the look of these, but have steered clear because of the following rumours;

 

- how fragile they can be

- they're a pig to work on

- they're expensive to fix when they do go wrong

 

With TT auto Supras starting at £4k, there's no competition IMO.

[barneybrendan]

ive had one and hated the thing.seats dont go back very far,they feel slow compared to the supra.my roof started to leak.

[SteveR]

Was it these or the GTO that had the clever 4 wheel steering thing that breaks but can never be fixed for long (despite £££££ for the repair)?

[j_jza80]

Was it these or the GTO that had the clever 4 wheel steering thing that breaks but can never be fixed for long (despite £££££ for the repair)?

 

I think they both have that issue HKS do (did?) a delete kit for the 4ws on these.

[TubbyTwo]

any major work in the engine bay ususally requires the engine out, they can also suffer from low oil pressure problems. ££££££££££££££ to fix, believe they also have the Hicas 4 wheel steer.

 

Hold out for a supra, as already said you can pic one up from £4k these days.

[tony tt]

I had one years ago filled up with fuel one day got about 2miles and the fuel tank dropped right out it in the road! The gearboxes are soft and are prone to the bearings going. There's a lot of them out there that are rot boxes so be wary. As stated though I'd be more inclined for a tt auto than a zx now.

[ubersonic]

I was looking into these when deciding what to replace my MKiii Supra with but decided on the Mkiv Supra. The main thing that killed the ZX idea for me was when I was checking YouTube/Google for performance comparisons vs the MKiii Supra and found videos/guides on how to swap an MKiii Supra 1JZ engine into a 300ZX.

[Supra Gaz]

Steer well clear, I don't want to say anything else.

[ADZsupra]

Wouldnt touch..rubbish build quality n performance...id go for the supra everytime

[Dnk]

Long stick and touch spring to mind

[Rob_Mitchell]

buy as late as possible and DONT buy a automatic. Nice cars, my dad has one and performance is very good.

[ronttuk]

Mine was unreliable enough said

[SteveR]

Aren't they really heavy too (1800kg IIRC?)

[dude]

Nitemare to work on, over complicated and too heavy, very expensive WHEN they go wrong..............................oh and it aint no Supra !!!!

[SteveR]

Aren't they really heavy too (1800kg IIRC?)

 

I was wrong according to Wikipedia: about the same as a full spec TT Supra in most cases:

Curb weight

3,186 lb (1,445 kg) 2 seater non-turbo T-top

3,373 lb (1,530 kg) 2 seater twin-turbo T-top

3,310 lb (1,501 kg) 2 seater twin-turbo hard top

3,432 lb (1,557 kg) 2 seater convertible

3,313 lb (1,503 kg) 2+2 non-turbo T-top

3,602 lb (1,634 kg) 2+2 twin-turbo T-top

[carlmhtt]

I dont know anything about these but I thought on paper they were of similar performance to the Supra TT.

Are the not low 5's to 60 etc...

[Hobgoblin]

I had a UK TT manual a few years ago, 175,000 on it, and still going strong. No smoke or rattles, and the best sounding car (it had non standard exhausts) I have ever owned.

 

Running costs will be quite high, but you should be able to get quite a nice one for c£1600, as ever you should favour an enthusiast owned car, who will have done all the work. UK cars are almost all rotten, imports usually much less so.

 

 

Things to watch for are leaky roof seals (cheap to fix), and noisy transmissions (not so cheap unless it is only the prop bearing).

[Havard]

Keep away..!!

[benkei]

Long stick and touch spring to mind

 

You want to touch someone's long stick?

[Swampy442]

My mate has a business breaking them, he's never short of work. But his short wheelbase car is a nice looker, fragile though.

[ellis]

Have you had a look at it yet Gail?

[fastcar]

I dont know anything about these but I thought on paper they were of similar performance to the Supra TT.

Are the not low 5's to 60 etc...

 

I had one for about 3 months while i had my supra and the performance was no where near it in terms of handleing or power. Build quality was ok and the exhaust note was spot on. To be honest its a cruseing car and thats what it is best at if you start pushing it you find its limits very fast and is very twitchy.

Things to look at for are

low oil pressure

any rattles coming from the bottom end when warm as they have weak cranks and have heard reports of just changing the clutch to an uprated one can make them go.

the 4 wheel steering system if it has it.

leaking roof.

 

To be honest if your husband wants one i would get a standard one not one with 400bhp

[Soopra]

Have you had a look at it yet Gail?

 

yes and it's a shed... but it's what he wants, it's a good base for a project car.

 

bloke in the picture is the seller

 

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/556211_10150695200733928_575233927_9372162_2019356327_n.jpg

 

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/524794_10150695200808928_575233927_9372163_1333717291_n.jpg