Project 300zx [14] - Epilogue

All stories must come to an end eventually. On 14 April 2014 I sold the Z. The new owner has an inent to finish restoring it and also plans to take it to the track occasionally. So it will continue to have a happy life!

It's only fair to mention, before we close this chapter, some posts I wanted to make but never got around to. In no particular order:

Aftermarket stereo: or maybe I did write about this? Can't remember. Anyway, after the OEM radio started to fail, and after trying out the other identical one I got from the previous owner which was even worse, I decided to get a new one. Not much to it, I went to crutchfield.com, picked one, ignored the warning from the site saying that the stereo wouldn't fit my car, since of course I know better, ordered it and installed it. It's a not-quite-basic one, at least with Bluetooth and HD radio. I also had to get some adapters for the wire harness (to avoid stripping and reconnecting wires) and the antenna adapter. Oh, and also since the Z comes with integrated amplifiers attached to each speaker, the signal from the radio to the amps is pretty low voltage (think preamp level) so I had to get an adapter to basically put resistance on the stereo's output to match what the amps expect. Not complicated, and Crutchfield does an excellent job of offering and suggesting all the parts you need. Installation went without a hitch, and I discovered why they said it wouldn't fit: when opening the faceplate, which tilts down, the volume control knob would hit the lower edge of the recessed cavity in the car, so it wouldn't go all the way down. Fortunately though, it was just, only just enough so I could get CDs in and out (not that I use CDs much) and I was able to remove and reattach the panel easily. Phew. Final note: those Bose amps usually fail for many people so they go all the way and replace everything with regular non-amped speakers. Mine appeared to be holding up so I just kept them.
The volume knob "issue".

How it looked installed.


My super special vent holes, and Chilean flags of course!
Track days: I took the car to Thunderhill raceway. It was my first ever track day (behind the wheel at least). It was great but as expected, the car overheated each session after a few laps. I had to keep it calm and easy. Kind of ok since I was still learning the limits of the car and getting the hang of track driving anyway. This was in August 2013. Overall I was pretty satisfied with how the car handled. Then on February 2014 I went to Laguna Seca. I was really looking forward to it; being a sort of famous track I had practiced a lot over the years in various simulators. It's a really great track, and not only because of the famed corkscrew corner. I must say I loved the track and how the car handled it; it may have been a combination of several factors: weather is much cooler over there so the car was overheating much less (I also used the original aluminum hood on which I cut some holes with a dremel to improve airflow within the engine compartment, but I'm not sure it made any difference). It was also my second track day so I was more confident on my limits and aware of the car's limits. I had a great instructor that really helped me be consistent and stay on a good line through the circuit. Here are the professional photos from the event. Unfortunately by the end of the day, my front pads and rotors were pretty much gone so during the last session I had to contend with severe shaking from the rotors being warped, and then had to crawl back home because once they cooled, they were making all sorts of grinding noises (from the significant material transfer that occurred from the pad to the rotor). I wish I had done the brake job before the track day. More on that later. I mean immediately below.
Cooling down as the day ends at Laguna Seca.

Front brakes: Original brakes on the Z were one of the known weak spots. Too small for the vehicle's power and weight, they tended to be underpowered and overheat easily. The previous owner replaced the front ones with a big brake kit from Wilwood (6 piston calipers and... actually I don't know the diameter. But they're big). That means you need to stay with the brand when replacing rotors, and even pads. Not cheap. All in all it was a $900 job that I had to do given the state they were in after Laguna Seca. And to think I didn't even get to enjoy them.

Here's some pics of the state the brakes were in before replacement:

Not much material left on the rotors, and you can see all the pad material adhered to the surface.

You could feel the deep grooves when running your fingers along the rotor surface.

A particularly bad spot.
 And here you have them, brand spanking new:
Those wheels are so cool. There's some rust deposited on them form the old pads.


Nice and shiny.

Those pads are thick as hell! Should last a good couple track days, but alas, not for me.

I'm sure I did a couple more things to the car that I'm forgetting now.

As a last piece in this series, I want to post something that was suggested to me (thanks Paula): a sequence of before-after shots. The "before" ones I took the first day I had the car, and the "after" ones I took the last day before delivering it to its new owner. So there's some significance to it, yo.









































Long live the Z.

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