my friend made a dumb 300zx mistake...help!

[CleanNeon98]

so my friend from pittsburg came here a few months ago and picked up a 94 honda prelude Si that he later sold for 1000 profit. He came back this weekend, and as much as I told him not to, he made a 3000 dollar mistake. He bought a 1991 300zx with 142k miles for 3k

Here is whats wrong with the car

Front bumper cracked
interior smells like it was flooded
both mufflers are completely rusted through. it sounds like a monster coming down the street, and not in a good way
missing some plastic on the rear taillight
engine squeals (belts?) under acceleration
right drivers wheel he said wobbles
no shift knob, or boot
speedo guage doesnt work. instead just flies and bounces around its operating range. when we were parked, it was flying from 20 to 60 like a rabbit on drugs
power steering leak
alternator is on its way out

if anyone has any parts or advice that can help him, please contact me. thanks

[DoubleOughtCel]

Carfax ftw? Better luck next time.

[i like rice]

www.twinturbo.net

you can purchase the jspec shift knob and boot (black with red stitching) cheap.

upgrade to a catback exhaust

probably could upgrade the front bumper (ie Stillen, Wings West, etc)

upgrade to jspec tails

the power steering hose is a bitch. have fun with that one =)

[300zTT]

i still think thats not that bad of a deal

[CleanNeon98]

i still think thats not that bad of a deal

believe me you havent seen this thing. there are rattles and squaks everywhere.

[SteevoZ]

lets see some pics!

[Willdue]

hed still own you

[italianblaze]

+1 for pics

[PaleDSM]

Well, he has already made the mistake. Start fixing them one at a time.

[ikozhukhin]

hed still own you

X2

his dumbass mistake not yours. you got enough **** to worry about on your own man.

[Vypurr]

Why would he buy it without actually seeing it? Seems like these things are obvious...

[OMGz Turbo]

Only reading the title of this topic... Im gonna say being friends wtih you was the first mistake,

Second, When you buy a 300ZX you need to have a bit of cash put away. Just like with any DSM.

[Willdue]

Only reading the title of this topic... Im gonna say being friends wtih you was the first mistake,

Second, When you buy a 300ZX you need to have a bit of cash put away. Just like with any DSM.

lmao!

[whitezenki]

I fail to understand why your friend bought this car? Did he not see it before he purchased it? Sounds pretty stupid to me

[CleanNeon98]

lets see some pics!
il ask him to take some if the car makes to to pittsburg from here in 1 piece
hed still own you
i took a ride in it...hardly any pull
X2

his dumbass mistake not yours. you got enough **** to worry about on your own man.
so do you
Why would he buy it without actually seeing it? Seems like these things are obvious...
he saw it...just didnt have the brain to knowledge to check anything
I fail to understand why your friend bought this car? Did he not see it before he purchased it? Sounds pretty stupid to me
yep

[jspek]

sounds like a nissan that is begging to be stripped and tracked.

[CleanNeon98]

sounds like a nissan that is begging to be stripped and tracked.

sounds like a mustang coming down the street lol its crazy, it needs a LOT of TLC

[Honduh]

are you sure this 'friend' isnt you?

[italianblaze]

are you sure this 'friend' isnt you?

o snap wheres ashton kutcher at?
but seriously
obviously his friend is an idiot or he made an idiots mistake(and is trying to blame an innocent friend), lets just help him out or not say anything at all from this post on

[whitezenki]

sounds like a mustang coming down the street lol its crazy, it needs a LOT of TLC

TLC aside, he got ripped, lol I fail to see how he paid that much for a car after seeing it.

I would say get rid of it ASAP, but theres no way anyone is gonna pay that price again! I landed my 240 for about that, with 50K less miles, mint condition, faster, and all around nicer.

[The Devils Z]

NA or TT ?

[CleanNeon98]

he says he got it because it is his dream car. i told him that his dream is going to turn into a nightmare.

[CleanNeon98]

NA or TT ?

no turbo

[jspek]

he says he got it because it is his dream car. i told him that his dream is going to turn into a nightmare.

eh not true. my car has been nothing but probs, but i got in it tonight and ****ing said i love it.

[Gorilla Unit 33]

no turbo

WTF! 3k :screwy: no turbo FTL!

[JSeoul]

wow. thats tough. Well hopefully he will keep it & let it become his money pit. If its his dream car, then I highly doubt he is going to get rid of it now. If he really wants to fix the car up & everything, have him join TST and speak with fellow Z owners. Then maybe by next year, he'll have a TT swap. :) Good Luck

[CleanNeon98]

wow. thats tough. Well hopefully he will keep it & let it become his money pit. If its his dream car, then I highly doubt he is going to get rid of it now. If he really wants to fix the car up & everything, have him join TST and speak with fellow Z owners. Then maybe by next year, he'll have a TT swap. :) Good Luck

yea ive already directed him here. I also told him that people here suggested getting rid of it, but he just wont listen. He says "its my project. im keeping it "

[JSeoul]

Yeah, I think getting rid of it would be the wrong route to go. Tell him to listen to only himself. You wouldn't believe how much crap I got cause I didn't buy the STI, EVO, or 350z. hahaha. But I love my car and glad I got it. I think the 300 will be a fun project.

[Snoozie]

Seriously, if he is that dumb to by it, then why bother helping him? He'll figure it out on his own.

[james_ls]

It's NON turboed??

Burn it to the ground...insurance money time.

I could understand if it was the TT...just gut it (no more squeaks) and use it as a project tracker....but eff that now.

[Renegade_]

I could understand if it was the TT...just gut it (no more squeaks) and use it as a project tracker....but eff that now.
Yeah, thats what I was thinking. If it was TT and he was just desperate to get his hands on one as a project car I could understand... If I was in the market for a 300zx I wouldn't buy a non-turbo one anyway.

[ScubaSteve]

Why do you guys think $3k will buy a TT z?

[goodfella732]

yea ive already directed him here. I also told him that people here suggested getting rid of it, but he just wont listen. He says "its my project. im keeping it "

Your telling someone to sell there project car they love. All that coming from the kid with the single cam civic sedan that everyone is telling to sell but "its your project". STFU and leave your friend be. Fing hyprocrite.

[whitezenki]

Why do you guys think $3k will buy a TT z?

Generally they dont, but a NA version with that many issues shouldnt go for over 1500, and I have seen TT's for under 5K, and they needed a lot less work than this one, just got to know where to look

[zerioustt]

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. If it was TT and he was just desperate to get his hands on one as a project car I could understand... If I was in the market for a 300zx I wouldn't buy a non-turbo one anyway.

Why not? Your better off buying a na and converting to tt, its the cheaper route to go(not in this case). You have no hicas and better gears in the rear. The swap is cake, can be done in about 6-8hrs with a few friends.

[CleanNeon98]

Your telling someone to sell there project car they love. All that coming from the kid with the single cam civic sedan that everyone is telling to sell but "its your project". STFU and leave your friend be. Fing hyprocrite.

my project doesnt need over 1k in parts and labor just to get it running right. It also doesnt have a rusted exhaust, dented body, missing pieces of interior, or any mechanical issues except for a squeek in my suspention that I think is due to untightened endlinks. I wont be surprised if he calls and tells me that the car didnt make it home. When I first saw it, I asked him "dude do you realize what you just got yourself into?" and he said "yea i know it was a mistake"

[JSeoul]

my project doesnt need over 1k in parts and labor just to get it running right. It also doesnt have a rusted exhaust, dented body, missing pieces of interior, or any mechanical issues except for a squeek in my suspention that I think is due to untightened endlinks. I wont be surprised if he calls and tells me that the car didnt make it home. When I first saw it, I asked him "dude do you realize what you just got yourself into?" and he said "yea i know it was a mistake"

hey... its been a day already... is he still driving it home? hahaha

[Renegade_]

Why do you guys think $3k will buy a TT z?
If it is in the condition described..... it might get close. Basically the guy might have just wanted to get rid of it

[TROLL]

this is in off topic? you fail the semester.

[CleanNeon98]

this is in off topic? you fail the semester.

lol you got me there.


Also, he only has 400 dollars to spend. The rest he spent on the car. Yet another setback so now he has to figure out how to get it to run and not stall (he can drive it the car stalls by itself sometimes) for 400 bux. Then he has to work and invest money into his project.

[goodfella732]

my project doesnt need over 1k in parts and labor just to get it running right. It also doesnt have a rusted exhaust, dented body, missing pieces of interior, or any mechanical issues except for a squeek in my suspention that I think is due to untightened endlinks. I wont be surprised if he calls and tells me that the car didnt make it home. When I first saw it, I asked him "dude do you realize what you just got yourself into?" and he said "yea i know it was a mistake"

Im still failing to see your point. Just because it needs work its just a mistake to buy and fix? When I bought my old beater it needed tires, an alignment, front pads/rotors, left rear wheel cylinder, cap/rotor/wires/plug, an alternator, and a coil. Should I have passed on the car because it needed some TLC? No, I bought it, did the work that needed to be done and drove that car into the ground. Got me thru the winter and all over the place til I got rid of it when I bought my SRT. Just because to you it has alot of issues doesnt mean someone shouldnt buy it. A project to you might be something small. Being a mechanic, some rust, broke interior pieces, and a host of mechanical issues only means a weekend of getting dirty and beer drinking. Its your friends money, dont be a d-bag to him because he bought a broken down car. Let him have some fun.

[CleanNeon98]

Im still failing to see your point. Just because it needs work its just a mistake to buy and fix? When I bought my old beater it needed tires, an alignment, front pads/rotors, left rear wheel cylinder, cap/rotor/wires/plug, an alternator, and a coil. Should I have passed on the car because it needed some TLC? No, I bought it, did the work that needed to be done and drove that car into the ground. Got me thru the winter and all over the place til I got rid of it when I bought my SRT. Just because to you it has alot of issues doesnt mean someone shouldnt buy it. A project to you might be something small. Being a mechanic, some rust, broke interior pieces, and a host of mechanical issues only means a weekend of getting dirty and beer drinking. Its your friends money, dont be a d-bag to him because he bought a broken down car. Let him have some fun.

Im not being anything to him. I just think that he paid too much for a broken car, and now has to struggle to get it running right before he does any mods. On the plus side, it has t-tops lol. Also, I am not sure he knows how to fix all of these things by himself, so thats even more money for him to spend, when he could have had a nice prelude that only god knows why he sold. Il post pix of it when I get home

[CleanNeon98]

now to get back to topic, this is to give me advice to pass to him so he wont struggle as much.

[Renegade_]

buy a VQ30DETT, swap it, strip it, have fun.

What do you want us to say? What kind of advice are you looking for? You just start with one problem, fix it, move onto the next... not that hard...

[CleanNeon98]

buy a VQ30DETT, swap it, strip it, have fun.

What do you want us to say? What kind of advice are you looking for? You just start with one problem, fix it, move onto the next... not that hard...

Any advice as where to get parts, or maybe some 300zx owners know easier ways to fix things than a non-owner would.

[JSeoul]

Honestly, no offense to you at all, but this thread is a waste. I'll wait until he registers, posts up pics & then asks the questions.

[Renegade_]

Any advice as where to get parts, or maybe some 300zx owners know easier ways to fix things than a non-owner would.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=300zx+oem+parts&btnG=Google+Search

Start a shopping cart. Finding that took me all of 10 seconds

[TROLL]

i agree with the guy above. any valuable info was posted above, now this is just talking about some car that a guy we dont even know has. if he cares enough he can register, but his best bet is to just do his homework on it, not ask people on a forum to do the legwork for him. or if he doesnt care enough to fix it up then he deserves the car he has.

[CleanNeon98]

i agree with the guy above. any valuable info was posted above, now this is just talking about some car that a guy we dont even know has. if he cares enough he can register, but his best bet is to just do his homework on it, not ask people on a forum to do the legwork for him. or if he doesnt care enough to fix it up then he deserves the car he has.

Yep. I told him to register on here before even when he had the prelude but I dont know if he ever did.

[Broken5hift]

i would go to a junkyard and pull what you can off of other cars, he can probably find a majority of parts he needs at a budget price.

sooner or later people need to realize buying older high mileage cars are gonna require lots of money, time, and knowledge (except for like hondas or DD's).

if your buddy doesnt have the money to fix up the car he shouldnt have bought it because even though its his dream car, what is in his mind will probably never become a reality. either way, good luck with it

[Snoozie]

Honestly, no offense to you at all, but this thread is a waste. I'll wait until he registers, posts up pics & then asks the questions.

Exactly. If HE wants help, then HE should come on here or a Nissan/300zx based site for info.

[Broken5hift]

i dunno whats more annoying, cleanneons threads or how every single one turns into a F U post fest. it would probably just be easier to shoot across some advice and let the thread die on its own from there. clean is using the site to ask car info, obviously he has alot of questions, i dunno why this is still such a shock to everyone

[CleanNeon98]

just got a call from my buddy with some news. he was driving on the turnpike his car died. tow truck came and said it was the alternator. they towed it to pep boys and they siad he needs a new engine. now hes stuck in pottstown

[TROLL]

alternator died so he needs a new engine? this thread is going nowhere fast...

[teh DIRT]

i swear hes a troll, I swear.

[CleanNeon98]

alternator died so he needs a new engine? this thread is going nowhere fast...
i guess he needs a new engine anyways.
i swear hes a troll, I swear.
lol


im done here until i get info and pix from him

[teh DIRT]

the day I believe someone from Pepboys who tells me "you need a new engine" is the day I jump from a very very very tall building

[Broken5hift]

the day I believe someone from Pepboys who tells me "you need a new engine" is the day I jump from a very very very tall building

but they sell automotive and stereo equipment

[italianblaze]

i heart pepboys they arethe best!

[zerioustt]

buy a VQ30DETT, swap it, strip it, have fun.

What do you want us to say? What kind of advice are you looking for? You just start with one problem, fix it, move onto the next... not that hard...


its a vg30dett

vq is that terrible 350z whored out motor...

do not go to twinturbo.net, your friend will be flamed and banned within minutes.

[CleanNeon98]

Here are 2 pictures of his prelude that he dindt like. IMO it was very clean

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/1295/picture022cx4.jpg

http://img259.imageshack.us/img259/9891/picture005iq3.jpg


He said he is probbably leaving the 300 here because of the motor problems and will buy parts in pittsburg and come back in the summer to do the work on it. Since he might leave me a set of keys, I figured id clean it up a bit and do w.e work I can on it to give him some help, and a friendly surprise for when he comes back

[auk113]

Get an FSM ($70 e-bay), and if you don't know Zs, find some one who does. They are not an easy car to work on, engine bay is very cramped.

i would take it to RT Tuning, they have done a few of these

[CleanNeon98]

http://a83.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/13/l_c8154a98f839da08e5827c975cdeadd2.jpg

Thats what he is working with. Il get some more info from him, but for now, the alternator is the first thing that needs to be done because the car doesnt even start

[shahee1]

My GF has a 300zx that I work on all the time. Its a little cramp for me to work on but its really straight forward. I'd buy a 300zx over a prelude any day. You should do a compression check on the motor to see if it is really busted. They normally don't die before 160K unless the timing belt was not done every 60K. I swapped the motor on my GF car with a J30 motor cause the price of 300zx motors are through the roof even though they are both
vg30de engines. If it is a good motor I'd just turbo the stock block with parts from a turbo motor. The crank and rods are the same just higher compression pistons and ports a lil bigger on the turbo head so it flows better. Get an alternator from the Junkyard or you might be able to use one from a J30, but I think the pins out for it is different. I can't remember but I have the alternator from one of them laying around. Your stalling could be from a bad coil pack or igniter ... get an FSM and check them ... matter of fact I have a FSM on disk if you want a copy. You can jump on a Jspec vq30det from the Nissan Gloria for about $1,500 and its not like the vq35de ... it has more balls. I think its my next swap for my GF car.

[CleanNeon98]

i know im bringing this from the dead, but some updates and a question. we installed a new alternator and battery the car didnt start...we bump started it, and it immediately choked and died..we did it again i set it on the ebrake, and held the gas at 1000rpm...we popped the hood and heard a very loud banging noise..as i gave it more gas and the rpm went up, the noise sped up..it sounded like a machine gun going off (not a tick like valves but a bang). We dont know what this is, but could it be a blown cylinder? spun rod bearing? im just pulling these things out of my ass, but those are the 2 things that came to mind when i heard the noise..what do you guys think it can be? also, if its a blown cylinder, can this be causing the car to choke and die? we wanted to make a sound recording of the sound, but when i reached for my cell phone i accidentally let go of the gas, and the car shut off..at that point it was late and we just split up. thanks for any advice on what this can be

[Broken5hift]

set the car on fire. buy something else

[CleanNeon98]

set the car on fire. buy something else

thanks henry..il pass him your message lol

[MuddyREX]

Engine go boom.

Time for a replacement.

[whitezenki]

I still cant believe he bought this thing for 3K

[CleanNeon98]

you guys really arent answering my question...what do you think the sound is...why does the car choke

[s14drftstn]

LOL.....Just tell him to sell it to me.

[s14drftstn]

You dident pull a cover did you? 1100 thats it.

[Twinz]

i know this is an old thread, but if he still has it i have a maority of those parts...along with a spare motor that runs well..just needs a few sensors and things like that, whihc the car should already have...but things like the boot and knob and all that stuff i have as well if interested

[Im2Slow]

I too have a whole slew of parts, mostly brand new parts that i am not using, plus i have a car's worth of used oem parts that only have 41k miles on them