Vuelta de Tuercas

I kind of took for granted that the Z was in fairly spotless mechanical condition. Still, for peace of mind, I decided to take it to a good specialist shop for a checkup. These guys are Z fanatics. You are greeted with phrases like "Z you in a few days" or "long live the Z" in emails. The place is called ZCarGarage by the way. As a reference, my local Porsche shop charges me around $140 for an hour of labor. This garage charges $110. So it's pretty damn close, and that's fucking Porsche and this is "only" Nissan! The fact that the place is always full is evidence that apparently it's actually worth it. Full with Zs and Infinitis from different ages (from 240Z to 370Z and everything in between), the owner is the grand guru that breathes, eats and drinks Z. And he drives a Z32 TT (a 300zx twin turbo) like mine. He really understands Z cars. In a deep, intimate way. Almost makes you jealous, if you're into that sort of stuff. Anyway, as ...

After a couple months hiatus, upgrades are coming back again to the 300zx! A shiny new authentic Alcantara(tm) interior trim kit is on the way. In charcoal color, no less. I also sense new leather seat covers looming on the horizon, but the upcoming mechanical checkup may bring some unexpected expenses. Let's remember some of the interior trim pieces as they currently stand: That scratched section used to be smooth suede. Same here on the other side. Note the horrible appearance of the door handle. We'll deal with that later. This section is also replaced with the kit. Arghh looks terrible! Can't wait! I already have some instructions on how to install Alcantara, although not specific to the 300zx. We'll see. Update: The trim kit never actually arrived. I had to ask Paypal for a refund, which they did. I started a case, they investigated, and shortly afterwards I got an email from them saying the case had been decided in my favor. The provid...

Ok I've received this question quite a bit so I'm listing all the modifications that have been done to the Z. Most all of them were done by the previous owner so I cannot take credit for it. I will eventually list at the end the (measly) mods that I have added/will add. Ok here they come; brace yourselves. UPGRADES: Wilwood 13" 6-piston front big brake kit Power enterprise 555cc "new style" injectors/connectors KYB Agx adjustable struts front/rear Apexi AVC-R electronic boost controller Nismo rear taillights Infiniti 17" wheels (deprecated) Front midori style camber links Rear Nismo camber arms (deprecated) Z1 Howe all-alluminum radiator 12psi HKS adjustable turbo wastegates Z1 stainless 4-bolt downpipes Front/rear Stillen adjustable anti-sway bars Stillen boost hoses New 3rd brake lights Stillen POP charger K&N intake Z1 Silicone hoses (lower radiator, lower hardpipe, upper radiator, heater core) ARP wheel studs (1.5mm pitch) Mor...

So finally my new leather steering wheel cover arrived in an envelope from Poland (purchased from redlinegoods.com). They took 6 days to ship after I ordered, and then snail-mail took another 20 days so I was kind of eager to install the thing. Now, once you get the cover, you can have it professionally installed for around $100 but a) you have to search for a shop to do it and wait for them, b) it's not pocket change, and c) what would be the fun in that? The envelope says "synthetic leather samples, $0"... typical tricks to avoid import fees. A quick check confirms it's a nice, thick piece of leather baby! So, again, armed with utter ignorance but a lot of motivation, I set out for the task. I read the provider's writeups, watched the 5 youtube videos on how to do it, and off we go. Step 0: Preparation Prior to any action,  you need to ensure you have the tools and materials for the job. To glue the leather to the steering wheel's high density foam ...

There were a couple of plastic pieces missing in the center instrument cluster. Basically two screw covers and a plastic trim piece that goes horizontally across the dash and covers a couple more screws. As it turns out, if you need those parts you can only get them as OEM parts, that is, as original Nissan parts from a dealer (unlike larger items like the hood, steering wheel leather cover, shift knob, etc. that can be found in aftermarket distributors). As you would expect, you pay a significant premium for these parts (hell, I haven't done a realistic estimation but I'm sure buying a full car part by part would be way more expensive than getting a new Ferrari... and that's for any brand, not just Nissan). Well I bit the bullet and shelled out $43 for this: Everything is nicely packed and labeled individually, but they're still just a couple of freakin' plastic pieces! The two screw covers in the next picture are $8.40 each. And this other trim pi...

I spotted this on my way home biking on the Stevens Creek Trail. It's there on jackstands in some sort of car/RV junkyard. Sniff sniff, do I smell a future project coming? I mean, this is a classic but boy it would need some work. You may be able to see the quadrifoglio verde on the C-pillar. By the way, looks like it's a 1970-ish Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce. For context, take a look at this beauty: Some more pictures of the car I saw: Well if in a couple years it's still sitting there, there may be a chance...

My new hood has arrived! I ordered from ExtremeDimensions, and the hood itself is from Carbon Creations. They had a nice free shipping offer on Ebay that I think was more convenient than getting a used one (I saw a couple for $200-ish, with some dents), paying for shipping and then repairing it... would probably be the same price or higher. Let alone a new OEM one which will set you back some $750 plus shipping... ouch! As you might guess from the brand, mine is a carbon fiber hood. Wow. A few years ago it seemed like such an exotic material, only seen in F1 cars. It's my first close-up experience with this material. Although manufacturers claim their products to be "100% carbon fiber", it really isn't all carbon nanotubes; it has to be combined with some kind of polymer or other materials to give it rigidity, in addition to its natural tensile strength and low weight. What you see in the first picture above is the back side, which is lined with some kind o...