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OK my dad's boss is giving me an 85 300zx Turbo for FREE. Engine/tranny is in good condition... all it needs is a paint job, its primered (sp?) right now. Now this will be my full time car so we're sellin the vic for this. This gives me a good bit of money to do whatever i want with it. I'm planning on lit ookin like this http://www.infoaomori.ne.jp/~fairlady/z31.jpg. But i was gonna paint it white and get white rims. I'm gonna spend the money to boost controller and a new fuel set up and get it tuned. I know I'm goin down hill in the looks department but Performance wise . Well any input or advice would be greatly appreciated. Me and my friend are goin to have fun playin around with this.

 
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u lucky bastard... thats so dope.. i want a free 300zx turbo

 
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haha yeh... heard that like three times... i dunno bout the looks i guess they'll grow on me? even though i really like how that one looks on that link. but i can get past the looks, because from what i've been reading about this engine it seems pretty awesome. I know a good bit about the z32 (newer 300zx) but not about the z31 (older). They have 200 bhp and 227ft lb tq but i've been readin about people putting on a new filter and boost controller and putting down good numbers. One guy was running 13psi and pulled a 14.1 with just those mods. Now I plan on redoin the fuel setup as well in hopes of some high boost. Maybe 13s? At first I was really down about the looks but damn... i don't really care if i can get the car as fast as it can be.

 
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why didnt you just buy a cheap project car to begin with? either way its cool. a guy i know who owns a shop and is a techer at my school is working with us on a 87' supra turbo project car. weve already swapped a 1jz-gte in are working on putting the rest of the **** back together and swapping a couple other things out before we get it running. then its gonna need a paintjob, bodywork, wheels, tires, breaks, and the list goes on. its a slow process but were getting there.

 
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New turbos would be a good investment. After time wear and tear gets to them and while they may still be functional, you will see a huge gain in performance from slapping on a turbo(s) that arent 20 years old.

 
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well yeh... i'm planning on spending a few thousand on it. new turbo, boost controller, new paint, new rims and tires, new filter, bigger injectors and fuel pump, bov, shocks/springs/struts, etc. Would this be worth it though? Am i expectin too much or would yall jump on this too?

 
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If you need a daily driver I'd keep the vic and save up slowly and build up the Z. Like you said the engine and transmission are still good. The vic will last for ever, its a reliable car.

 
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i'm doing something similar. i'm buying a '85-'86 AE86 corolla as a project car. but i'm keeping the vic too.

 
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yeh my vic is gonna be my daily driver for a while, but unfortunately i don't have the money to keep both. So instead I'm gonna get the engine so its running smoothly then I'm gonna sell my vic. I'm gonna use this money to mod it, paint, and stuff like that. I'm hoping to reach over 300rwhp. I'll keep yall updated if you're interested with pics and stuff. I turn 17 in may so i'm still young but i think this will be a good experience with maintaining a car.

 
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The only thing I've heard that I don't like is the white on white color scheme. I've seen it on that bodystyle 300 and thought it looked pretty bad. The best color combo I could think of for it would be a strong blue color (similar to electron blue available on the 6th gen Si,) a burnt orange, or bright red color. Obviously it's your car - that's just my two cents.

And while I don't think I'd make the same decision you're making, I love anything and everything in the Z line. Especially the 300s.

 
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One of the nicest years for the Z cars....nicer looking then the new 350Z in my opinion.....good luck!

 
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well i've been thinking about a black on black scheme. maybe a dark charcoal grey or black with black rims that have chrome around the outside (need some help findin those). blue would also be nice with maybe some white rims? or a champagne like on the rsx? thanks for all the input guys, i'm so excited about this.

 
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Awesome.

I'd go for black on black, or silver... Turn it into a hot hot sleeper...

 
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You better have some deep pockets if your planning on getting all that stuff you listed above:
"new turbo, boost controller, new paint, new rims and tires, new filter, bigger injectors and fuel pump, bov, shocks/springs/struts, etc"
The stuff you listed is not cheap other than the filter. Just be sure to budget your cash in advance.

~n~

 
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yeah man congrats.. make a gameplan do some research on what works and what doesn't.. use other people trials and tribulations to your advantage. that car has gobbs of power potential. have fun and goodluck.

 
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well i'm planning on at least getting 13k or so for my car so i'm planning on using that for whatever the car NEEDS to run properly (new turbo, tuning, suspension, clutch, etc.) and to look how i want it to. Then with whatever extra cash i have i'll use to start my modding. I'll probably start with boost controller, filter, and new fuel set up. Then just go from there. Is that the route you guys would take? I'm spending my hours at home just reading about different mods and stuff i need to do to reach my goal. For my goal i'm looking to have a clean z31 that will fly.

 
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You might want to consider an engine rebuild. I don't know how reliable that thing is going to be.

 
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Yeh I don't know much about the car yet to be honest... miles or whatever. From what i've researched under good maintenance people have had these cars for over 200k miles and they say that the tranny is very strong. But hey... if the engine is absolutely shot then i can just swap in an LS1 like i've been readin about... wouldn't that be fun?

 
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wow i just found an amazing guide for modding my Z. I just read the whole thing and i'm just in awe of what this guy has said. I'm probably going to base my whole set up on what he's saying in this. I knew all this stuff but it's really good to have a reference. Read if you're interested...
http://z31.com/faq/turbo.faq.shtml

with $720 worth of mods he got 243 rwhp at 15 psi . Of course this was with racing fuel and I'm gonna run 10 psi until i do my fuel set up. And I'll have much more money to play with then that. I'm going to need help finding the turbo that's right for me. I honestly don't know much about the turbo itself and what I need for what I'm planning on. This is also in one of the turbo guides on z31.com

"Turbo: Another can of worms. You get what you pay for, if you go cheap you get cheap. If someone tries to sell you a 't3/t4 that makes 25psi' then run away fast. There are literally thousands of combinations of parts that can make a t3/t4 turbo - from one too small for a 2 liter honda to one that is too big for an 8 liter viper. Call a competent turbo vendor or buy a book on turbochargers and spec your own. A good turbo will run you $600-800 or so. Add $500 or so for ball bearings.
t3/t4 simply means a turbo with a t3 turbine and a t4 compressor. There is nothing magical about this. There are 4 t3 turbines and 4 t3 turbine housings. There are dozens of t4 compressors and housings. Do the math and note that "t3/t4" includes hundreds of combinations. Add in tricks like putting a t4 turbine in a t3 housing, clipped turbines, etc, etc. and you have thousands of possible combinations.

Turbo of choice for your vg engine will be a mid-sized t4. But the t3 and t4 bolt patterns are different, so how do you mount a t4 on your vg engine without the cost and effort of making your own manifolds? Simply have a t3 turbine housing bored out to fit the t4 turbine of your choice. Any competent turbo vendor can do this, run away if they say that this can't be done. This will almost require an external wastegate because of the size of the turbine - simply get/make a blank t3 outlet flange and use the internal wastegate hole for your external wastegate. Easy!

The Nissan turbine housing's wastegate bolt pattern is different from the standard Garrett pattern, so if you use the Nissan turbine housing then you have to use the Nissan wastegate or make your own. If you use a Garrett turbine housing then you cannot use the Nissan wastegate.

To upgrade to a t3 frame turbo from the t2 frame used on 88-89 models you will need the t3 oil line, t3 wastegate, t3 water lines, t3 inlet pipe, and the t3 turbo-throttle pipe. Then just bolt it in.

With some creative cutting and welding on the driver's side engine mount bracket you can get a straight-line shot into the compressor and ditch the very restrictive stock inlet elbow."