Owner Review: Experience JDM rear-wheel-drive classic - My 1991 Nissan 300ZX Z32 

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Basic information

1991 Nissan 300ZX Z32 

Reasons why I bought this car

 I had a Subaru Impreza version 8 and Subaru forester SG9 STi and you can’t deny the fact that the symmetrical AWD is such a fun thing to have in both the cars. But when I received a good offer on the Forester STi, I decided to let it go. While searching for another car I stumbled upon one of my childhood dream car which is a Nissan 300zx. Without any hesitation, I called up the seller and arrange for viewing and sorted out the deal eventually. The RWD driving experience is totally different from an AWD and I was ready to venture myself into trying out a new platform. The look still doesn’t look outdated although it's almost 30 years old. But all in all the main reason affecting me from getting this car was the “midnight wangan” movie and also 300zx that was build by Jun auto.

Car selection process

• I had a budget of: RM50,000- 200,000
• Models that I have considered include: Nissan Skyline BNR32, Nissan 350z, Nissan 370z, Nissan Silvia s13, Nissan Stagea, Mazda Miata MX-5
• Reasons why I chose this car:

1. Slick looking
2. The powertrain
3. RWD
4. Targa top
5. GT category car
6. It was in LE MANS (hehe….)

User experience

• I have already done 15,000 km.

The owner did a major service for the car before I made the purchase which saves me lots of time(timing belt, water pump, oil pump etc. When I first got the car back, it was misfiring as 2 of the coil packs wasn’t in great condition. It took me 2 weeks to get a working condition coil pack from halfcut shops and then it regained its normal idling and driving pattern. The second thing I did was to change the old and rusty radiator to an alloy radiator because it started to leak. Then there was a fuel pump failure. I was pretty surprised when I found out that the car is still running the original dinosaur fuel pump since the day it rolled out from the production line. So, I took the opportunity to upgrade the fuel system and also fitting in a fuel pressure regulator for monitoring purposes. Then there was once it broke down in a parking because of PTU (power transistor unit). It was the wiring issue and my trusted mechanic suggested me to redo the entire wiring system along with a standalone once I had the budget because of how old the wiring is, we wouldn’t know when is the next breakdown again.

It’s a restoring process for me and I am still in the mist of gathering parts that is needed for an engine refresh. As of now the car really handles well and does brings me joy. When the car accelerates pass rpm 4k, it will scream its lungs out and roar on the streets. Unfortunately, there isn’t much parts available here so I have to take a slower approach to gather the parts and only do it at one go when I have all of the parts in my inventory. It takes patience, money, and time to restore the car back to its former glory and don’t be upset or disappointed about it. after all, we are not competing with anyone but ourselves.

Pros & Cons

Pros 

The sound of the roaring v6 twin-turbo, very nicely build and solid car. Capable of pushing more power even for the stock internals and turbos. But for reliability sake, I rather have reliable horsepower than an unreliable horsepower to deal with on daily basis. Suitable for donuts and dorifto.

Cons 

Parts are not widely available in Malaysia and mostly are halfcuts that are left there for quite some time. I import my own parts from Japan, Australia, and the US.

Most of the wirings related components needs a refresh as it hasn’t aged well in an engine that is tight and hot.

Car is definitely heavy and with the stock boost 0.5-0.6 bar the car isn’t going any faster than you might be thinking.

Not many local mechanic’s like to work on the car as the engine bay is very compact.

Ratings

• Total Score: 4/5
• Performance: 4/5
• Quality & Features: 4/5
• Space: 4/5
• Ride Comfort: 4/5
• Fuel Economy: 2/5
• Price & Cost: at this point it is willing buyer willing seller if the car is in pristine condition.

Summary 

Let your story speak through the build you have in mind and do not be provoked by people around that ur car suck/ old junk etc. your car, your story, the tales is yours to tell, not them so take your time to fix up the car when the situation allows.

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