| So theres multiple parts to this thread. I'm long overdue for one, and if you feel like skipping down to the pictures or 5 speed swap story feel free to. Otherwise enjoy! So I fell in love with the Z 13 years ago when my uncle drove up to my house in a Sapphire blue 92 NA 300ZX. Ever since then I wanted a Z, and last November I finally had the funds (or so I thought) to buy and maintain a Z. Mind you I have a DD, so this was just something that I wanted to get for the weekend and to love and cherish. I asked alot of question on this message board for my first few posts and alot of you guys gave really helpful answers. I looked at about 8 different Z's on craigslist before I found one I fell in love with. Initially, I didn't even think I would buy it, but after looking at some other options I was able to talk the owner down to a pretty reasonable price of 5.8k. It had already came with a JWT Stage 3 upgrades with recent 150k maintenance done at the Z car garage two months before I bought it along with 555cc fuel injectors, rebuilt engine at 100k, and a Kaminari body kit. Love at first site. The Z was a beauty to drive around, and it was an automatic. The guy even got some custom work done to it, as shown in this picture
 I didn't even realize that I had some big freaking lump on the center armrest that wasn't supposed to be there until I decided to redo the interior and strip it out. Thats another story though. First thing I noticed was that the trim outside was starting to peel and show the chrome underneath. I followed Greavous's tutorial on how to redo it and here are the pics 
Me showing the tools, good old Krylon 
Finished product! 
Next was to get rid of the old Alpine CD player and throw in something much more modern 
I still have speakers for the car I haven't put in yet but they will go on soon! So I decided to redo my interior and pull out all the tweed. I dont have the pictures up for that, mainly because I am going to redo it again after gaining knowledge on what to do and what not to do. Few months go by and I'm loving to drive this Z when suddenly... Tranny dies. Time to do an auto to auto swap, and I get into contact with an ebay seller Arley Leghorn who has a warehouse nearby in the bay area. I find Ravi, a local Z enthusiast/god (more on that coming up) who is willing to help out, and gives a good price to do the auto to auto swap. I get the parts and bring it to Ravi 30 miles from my house with my tranny that wont go past second gear. So I end up having to do the entire trip through surface roads, which if you haven't experienced is quite an interesting way to travel from one place to another. If it weren't for Ravi, I would be stuck in a rut. The transmission that I picked up from Arley turns out to be dead as well, and all that labor that was done to get the new transmission out as well as check everything else that could be the culprit still points to the transmission as the main problem. Great, I thought, now I gotta get another auto transmission and all that labor was for nothing. After some convincing I decided to go ahead and get a manual swap! I found someone local who on craigslist posts that he has all the parts needed for a 5 speed swap including a (and I quote) rebuilt transmission from Z1 motorsports with less than 200 miles on it. Awesome! I can get all the parts for the swap for $600 that includes a rebuilt transmission from a reputable Z specialty store. I contacted the owner asking if he could provide a receipt... and the rest begins to fall apart. The owner says he didn't keep the receipt from the job, which I thought was odd and said ok well do you have credit card statements or any other forms to prove that you got the work done there. He says he doesn't keep those either... Red flags raised everywhere. I said would Z1 be able to help and confirm the order and he said go ahead and asked. After sending Russel at Z1 a PM, Russel immediately responds that they haven't sold a rebuilt transmission in OVER 2 YEARS since they were prone to failure. Epic fail. I let the lister know what Russel said and he completely flipped on me, started throwing out racial slurs, etc. etc. Turns out that the guy was none other than Josh, AKA supernatural. After reading up on what this guy had done (on the 3zC along with another forum) I didn't feel so bad but oh man what a character he is. Lets just say if it weren't for CoZ I would be so screwed. They were able to get every single order that I needed and the parts for the swap at great prices. I needed to get a new driveshaft as well so I went ahead and got a 1 piece driveshaft from AMZ performance, Downpipes and testpipes from Megan Racing, XTD Clutch and Flywheel, as well as rear main seals for the engine and new oxygen sensors. We used a SS braided clutch line from CoZ which saved alot of time and labor. I contacted Arley who sold me the auto tranny that it wasn't working, and thankfully because of the warranty that came with the tranny, I was able to trade it in for a Manual transmission (although it came with the wrong speed sensors I went ahead and ordered a new one) This entire time mind you, my Z was stuck at Ravi's house for OVER 6 WEEKS. He never once complained about it and had helped me through countless PM's and phone calls to get everything back together on my Z. He went ahead and saved me money on alot of different things by splicing the harness, and answering all the noob questions that I had. Once I got him all the parts, he did a great job of putting it all together in a few days at a great deal. I would be stuck with nowhere to go if Ravi hadn't come and bailed me out, and I actually found him through the BAYZA forums. He took care of my car just as if it were his own car, and Ill be sure to bring my Z back to him everytime for anything. Anyways, the 5 speed feels awesome! What a thrill! Its alot more fun than an auto for sure, and I feel the true power of the Z now (especially with the downpipes and faster spooling because of it) My Z has been long overdue for a lil whoring so onto the pictures! 
And heres a quick photoshoot after a nice car was. Sorry it was on time constraints the sun was setting, and yes it is touched up a bit! 
This is the interior. Note its now a 5 speed! The gray vinyl is sagging and I'm replacing it in a few weeks. 
Anyways, thats my story so far. Feel free to drop a comment or questions!
|
My Z story - Purchase to 5 Speed swap (Lots of pics!) - 
19:41:46 07/08/08
