Thank You, Reverend. I'll Take it From Here. (300ZX)

"Garrett Davis" (GarrettDavis)
02/05/2015 at 17:13 • Filed to: None

As some of you may have seen, my !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! through no fault of her own (or mine). Since I lost my good job mid last year, I was actually regretting my rather high car payment, so I took this opportunity to buy something with cash and be able to breathe a little easier at the end of each month, hopefully without missing out on all the fun the ST is so well known for. I'll miss that car.

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Anyway, as you can guess from the picture above, I did indeed buy a 300ZX !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . It's a 1996 NA 2-seater with T-tops and a 5-speed manual (of course), and just might be the cleanest one I've seen in very long time. I know, I know, it's not a twin turbo, but I am not in a place where I can (or even want to) afford to deal with the maintenance that comes with a TT. Plus, have you seen these engine bays? My knuckles hurt just looking at mine, let alone with two turbos stuffed in there:

It's totally stock apart from the K&N intakes, MagnaFlow exhaust, a swapped pulley, and an aftermarket head unit. It's sitting at 126k miles and was meticulously maintained by none other than a retired reverend. His license plates even read "REV ZEE." Two things come to mind here:

Holy (literal) shit, who better to buy a used car from??

Imagining this elderly reverend zipping around with this exhaust (which he put on):

It's not quite so rumbly in person, blame my phone's crappy microphone, but I was impressed with the sound. It does drone a bit more than I'd like on the freeway if you keep your foot on the pedal, but it's easily drowned out by music if that gets annoying. It's much louder on the inside than the outside, and is still quiet enough that I'm not drawing too much unwanted attention, and it certainly won't wake the neighbors. It's tasteful.

The paint is definitely not perfect, showing some scratches and wear, but no dents or dings since he shelled out a few hundred to get all of them removed about a year ago. The interior is by far the best part. Apart from a few common wear areas, it looks brand new. The fabric on the driver's side bolster is showing some wear from getting in and out (foam is perfect, though), and the center console, steering wheel, and shifter are showing signs of age, but everything else is seriously mint. Power windows, locks, mirrors, auto-climate control, and AC all work beautifully, with the only thing not working on the car being the power antenna, which I couldn't care less about.

I had it checked out by my mechanic, the compression is solid across all cylinders. Brakes and tires are at 70-80% life, fluids all look great, only one minor oil leak (drain plug), belts and hoses all pliable and look good, alternator charges great, and the car stays nice and cool in traffic on a warm day with AC blasting.

So there are a few things that need to be taken care of, the clutch is going to need to be done fairly soon. If you really try, you can get it to slip, but it still grabs well if you don't drive like an idiot. The alignment is a bit off, and there is some slight vibration on the freeway at certain speeds as well as under breaking from high speed, which feels like a wheel balance issue. I was able to get a pretty decent deal on it due to the clutch, though.

What it's like to drive:

She purs like a feisty little Japanese kitten, and pulls strong. It's not what I would call fast by today's standards, and is certainly no ST, but it's reasonably quick. In fact he had it dyno'd at a Z club event last year and it came out surprisingly well at 204hp and what looks to be about 185lbs-ft of torque to the wheels. Pretty damn good for being rated at 222hp and 198lbs-ft torque at the crank back in 1996. Of course, who knows how accurate that dyno was, but at least it was consistent:

It's nice to be back into a correct wheel drive car, even if it isn't as fast as the ST was. You sit way down low, and it takes corners effortlessly. It has already instilled the confidence to forgo breaking on many corners, but I'm still getting a feel for heel-toeing in it. The foot well is a little cramped for my size 14 boats, but I can manage it easier than in the ST, which had pretty poor pedal placement for heel-toeing.

At first I was thinking it was a bit of a dog, but then I reminded myself that I'm coming from something that makes its full torque before it hits 3k RPM, and that these Japanese NA motors like to rev. After 5k RPM the engine really comes alive and it actually starts pushing you back in your seat as it approaches 6k and up. It's a little strange to get used to the high revs as well as the long gearing coming from the ST with the 6-speed and a power band that fell off above 5500RPM.

Also, this thing gives you a very distorted sense of speed. It accelerates so smoothly and gradually that you're hitting illegal speeds far before it feels like you should be. I'll feel like I'm just getting up to freeway speed before looking down and realizing that I'm pushing past 80. The ST was of course incredibly easy to speed in, but it made more ruckus, torque steered, and threw your head back to let you know it was doing so. The Z is just so comfortable and neutral in its acceleration that you hardly realize it. From what I'm reading in old reviews, 0-60 was in the 6.7-7.0 second range, and that feels about right. Just can't be afraid to wind it out.

So there there it is. Keeping it Jalop worthy, and doing my best to ensure that you guys keep seeing clean, non-dorifto modded Z's around, since !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! At some point, everyone's gotta own a front engine, rear drive, proper sports car. We'll see if this gets me hooked.

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Side note: I pull up to my place and the first thing one of my buddies says "Woah, is that a Corvette???" Sometimes I hate being the only car guy among my friends.

DISCUSSION (54)

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:20

Very clean and nice 300zx! Congrats!

From what I hear, you're much better off without the TT engine. I hear they have a lot of issues. Not like you can't add forced induction later anyways!

Galileo Humpkins (aka MC Clap Yo Handz) > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:22

Congrats! A fine choice! Also, you need to edumacate your friends a little.

03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:23

Congrats! That's a very clean 300ZX. I've always wanted one of those. It sounds good to.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:23

nice coupe too! they always look better than the 2+2's.

I wouldn't change a thing on it.

Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:23

Welcome to the Z car family!

WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:25

Well done. That's sharp looking, and those are good engines. As I said before, my Infiniti J30 had the same engine, and I loved the way it drove. And I think it's totally awesome that an old Reverend owned it. Enjoy!

Garrett Davis > WesBarton89 - The Way to Santa Fe
02/05/2015 at 17:29

Thanks! He was a cool guy, has been driving Zs since the 70's and was totally up on car news. We talked about cars in general almost as long as we talked about the Z when I went to look at it.

Garrett Davis > Quattro-luvr, Powered by Datsun & Stinger
02/05/2015 at 17:29

Thanks!

Garrett Davis > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard
02/05/2015 at 17:30

Thanks! I agree, I test drove a 2+2 and I didn't care for it as much. Also didn't like the convertible either, it was noisy and had much less headroom.

Garrett Davis > 03mach1 - Now has a Fiesta ST
02/05/2015 at 17:35

Thanks!

Bryan doesn't drive a 1M > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:36

Nicely done. One of my favorite cars.

Garrett Davis > Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow
02/05/2015 at 17:37

Thank you!

I was talking to the mechanic at the official shop of the Z-club here in San Diego and he was saying the same thing. They need service often and it's always expensive. He said the NA model is a gem in terms of reliability with just standard maintenance.

itschrome > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:42

Well color me jelly, that's a mighty fine ride you got there!

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:42

"Woah, is that a Corvette???"

*Facepalm*

Congratulations! That is definitely the cleanest Z I've ever seen.

I own dead car brands only > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:49

the vibration sounds like warped brakes. I know that because my Saab does that when I brake from high speed and it exhibits a weird vibration at a certain speed. I haven't gotten around to replacing them because its fricking cold.

Looks like a beautiful car!

Garrett Davis > itschrome
02/05/2015 at 17:50

Thanks!

Garrett Davis > Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage
02/05/2015 at 17:54

Thanks!

I laughed so hard when he said that.

Him: "Woah, Is that a Corvette??"

Me: *laughing*

Him: *Taking a closer look at the rear badge* "Wait, what they hell is this thing? I don't think I've ever seen one before!"

I guess they are getting rarer these days.

Garrett Davis > I own dead car brands only
02/05/2015 at 17:55

Hmm, that's true, it could be. It's not too bad normally, but when breaking hard from 85+ it gets worse.

Thanks!

BarryDanger > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 17:56

Love the Z32! As Matt Farrah would say "You've done well for yourself good sir!" Any future changes planned? Maybe a nice set of wheels and tires?

Might I suggest some RFP1s?

Kinja'd!!!

Garrett Davis > BarryDanger
02/05/2015 at 18:00

I was thinking about new wheels for it, but I'm torn. I love the stock "super 90's" look, but I think some more modern wheels would really set it off. I have plenty of time to decide though, those tires aren't wearing out any time soon, and if I did decide to go aftermarket, they certainly would not be 16s.

Thank you! I was actually thinking about emailing Farah about driving it in one of his one takes, but I figure he'd be more interested in a turbo than mine.

uofime > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 18:06

Kinja'd!!!

Something was not calibrated correctly during this dyno run, power and torque should be equal at 5252 not 3920 as is shown here.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 18:09

First off, I'm terribly jealous. I've always loved these.

Second, you really need to ask REV ZEE if you can do an interview with him and write it up for OPPO.

Birddog > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 18:16

Very nice find! I forgot how good those cars looked.

Garrett Davis > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
02/05/2015 at 18:17

That's not a bad idea... I'll have to call him up and ask.

Thanks!

Garrett Davis > uofime
02/05/2015 at 18:18

Ah, good catch! I'm surprised I miss that, actually. You would think the dyno techs would notice that.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 18:24

Look forward to reading it. If he's not interested, you could at least get a detailed list of all the cars he's owned, and ask what got him into cars in the first place.

My dad is a retired pastor, and the first car he bought for himself (when he was young and single and studying in Germany) was a used 356B Super 90. Had to sell it after my oldest brother was born. I'll never forgive my brother for that...

Just4GP > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 18:30

A ZX that clean here in SD? Every one I've seen lately has been beat to death. It's good to know clean Z32's are still around. Congrats!

Garrett Davis > Just4GP
02/05/2015 at 18:39

Thanks! The only other one this clean I could find was in Hollywood, and it was having smog issues that the owner refused to fix before sale, so this is where I ended up. Can't say I'm disappointed, this one has interesting history behind it.

Garrett Davis > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
02/05/2015 at 18:59

That's awesome! Damn, I wouldn't forgive him either, what a selfish dick your brother must be.

I'll let you know what happens with that.

Tuned-Port-Injected-Rage > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 20:30

No problem!

They do seem to be getting really rare, at least here in Michigan. I really only see one around me parts, and its under a tarp a lot.

Dsscats > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 23:27

FUCK YES!!!!! Welcome to Z ownership!!! Looks very clean, you'll enjoy it a ton! And you're much better without TT maintenance. Also, join a group called "300ZX Drivers" (Something along that line) on Facebook. Also, if you do the Matt Farah thing, I'll bring my Z too!

Once again, congrats and you'll enjoy it SO MUCH!

FiST of FuRRY > Garrett Davis
02/05/2015 at 23:52

I don't care about HP numbers or the fact that the ST is much newer, this is a definite step up! The ST is too "boy racer" for my taste, the Z is a gentleman's sports car, akin to a Vette.

Oh, and.....RWD FTW!

NA or TT, makes little difference as long as it's not an automatic! I think NA is actually better suited for DD duty.

I'm so jealous of you west coasters, cars just age better all around.

The only thing I was never a fan of was the chrome rims on those... but she looks great nonetheless.

Garrett Davis > FiST of FuRRY
02/06/2015 at 01:13

Haha, thank you! I'm not sure I agree it's really a step up overall, but I am definitely happy with it. I do agree with the gentleman's sports car idea, I didn't really consider it like that until I spent some time in it. It's really a fantastic cruiser, I just took a small two hour trip in it to stay at my girlfriend's for the weekend and it felt great to just cruise at 75-80 and just enjoy the road, knowing I can step on it anytime and hear that V6 come alive. This will make a great Vegas trip car

The seats are very comfortable, the cockpit is completely driver centric, and it can be very restrained when it needs to be. Coming back to RWD after the ST has really made me appreciate it more. The ST was my first FWD car, and as much as I loved it, I definitely won't miss that aspect of it.

I'm not a fan of the chrome either, but they have a very 90's charm and it is actually not a very common option, so I am glad they're on there. Also, I couldn't imagine a better place to be a car guy than out here. Rust is really more of a cosmetic annoyance than anything else.

Thanks for weighing in!

Garrett Davis > Dsscats
02/06/2015 at 01:23

Haha I was waiting for you to see this. I'm loving this car. I always sort of admired them, but never really gave them much thought until recently. I had no idea they were such well made, well rounded cars. It's a great drivers car, and totally underappreciated. It's a really great cruiser, I'm finding out, and it has a fucking giant gas tank to match. A 19 gallon fuel tank? What is this, a truck? This is going to be my GF and mines go to Vegas trip car.

Are you in LA/SoCal area? It would be awesome to meet up with someone and try out these canyons I lust over watching Matt's videos. We have some good roads like that down in SD, but there always seems to be a truck or an old man clogging them up, even in the morning.

Is yours NA as well? Or are you of the superior turbo race?

Dsscats > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 09:31

NA too, and yep, I'm in LA. And it's really overlooked too often

BarryDanger > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 10:44

Yeah Farrah usually goes for the modified versions of cars he's already driven. On the flip side, he may be interested simply based on the 'time capsule' feel of it. I'd say go for it! I love those one takes and I would lend him the keys to my GTO if I lived in SoCal.

cazzyodo > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 17:26

I mourn your loss but will marvel at your gain.

Glad you're ok, bud.

Garrett Davis > cazzyodo
02/06/2015 at 17:33

Thanks, I appreciate it. Could have been a hell of a lot worse. Also, as I'm working on settling things with insurance, it looks like I'm making up for the loss I would have taken in depreciation, which is something.

DrScientist > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 17:40

sorry for the loss of your ST, glad to see you got into something as interesting if not more so!

one thing does bug me a bit though. seeing a "man of the cloth" using what i assume are church donations for his salary, to purchase a frivolous toy. of course i spend plenty of money that could be donated to charitable causes on my automobile hobby, but i am an unabashed sinner. for some reason i expect more from a "holy man."

unless it was this reverend.

deekster_caddy > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 17:57

Wow, that's a sweet 'Vette! Very clean! Sometimes I wish I lived in a warmer climate where I could DD a fun car year round...

deekster_caddy > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 17:59

I'd second a look at the brakes, especially if it's not happening at a consistent speed. Wheel balance issues are pretty consistent to a specific speed or range, i.e. always the same. Brake warpage makes for a much more random vibration. Make sure you check for well lubed caliper guides, a sticking caliper or guide can cause hot spots.

Garrett Davis > DrScientist
02/06/2015 at 18:12

Thanks! I just couldn't get something normal or uninteresting.

Eh, I wouldn't think much of it. He bought it cheap when these hit rock bottom value and I think he's been retired for a good few years now. Of course reverends make a salary from the church, and not pocketing donations straight up. And it's not like he bought a brand new Nismo 370 or anything.

Who says a minister can't have a little fun with the money he makes? He wasn't exactly living in extravagance otherwise.

Garrett Davis > deekster_caddy
02/06/2015 at 18:15

I'll have to pull the wheels off and take a look at it this week. The vibration is only between 65-70 when cruising and is pretty slight. I've only noticed it get worse when breaking hard from 85-90, and then it's quite a shake. Breaking hard from 75 and under is very smooth.

Hopefully its just a warped rotor, I'd prefer to not have to replace the calipers.

Baconpocket > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 19:18

and no payments. Well done!

deekster_caddy > Garrett Davis
02/06/2015 at 20:30

Hmm, yeah that's a tricky one. I'd bet replacing the rotors will fix it. If it were wheel balance it would vibrate under all conditions at 70+, not just under braking. It's possible that there is a bent rim, tire sidewalls can absorb a slight bend, that's showing itself under heavy braking, but very unlikely. You would notice that under some other condition as well. Good luck!

Garrett Davis > deekster_caddy
02/07/2015 at 01:16

Thanks for the info! Hopefully it is just the rotor.

jmjr07 > Garrett Davis
02/25/2015 at 15:30

check out the scales on the left and right sides though, HP and TQ are measured on different scales

Garrett Davis > jmjr07
02/25/2015 at 15:41

Oh good point. I'll have to ask a dyno tech what happened here.

Griffen > Garrett Davis
02/25/2015 at 19:31

excellent choice! The Z32 is one of the all time best Automotive designs. Such a clean and elegant design. No extra body creases, no fake vents or grills, no extra chrome. One of those cars that will look GOOD 30 years ago or 30 years from now. Twin turbos make them A LOT quicker, but as you said maintenance on them is a hassle. If you haven't already there's some great reading on the design an development of the VG30 engines

Garrett Davis > Griffen
02/25/2015 at 19:33

Awesome, I'd love to read about it if you have a link.

Thanks! I absolutely love this car.

Griffen > Garrett Davis
02/25/2015 at 20:02

I'll have to dig around to ind it again but I'll link it to you when I do.

IMO the Z32 takes well to interior customization VERY well if you ever get bored of Black on Black.

Kinja'd!!!

Garrett Davis > Griffen
02/25/2015 at 20:10

I have seen the leather interior kits they makes for these, and I'm definitely considering it for down the line, but nothing as extreme as all this, haha.

Meatcoma > Garrett Davis
02/26/2015 at 08:42

Kinja'd!!!

I've wanted one of these for 20 years.

Meatcoma > Garrett Davis
02/26/2015 at 09:11

When I got my new Camaro, one of my sons friends called it a Mustang. He got a slap to the back of the head.