General Information
Year
1987
Make
Nissan
Model
300zx
Color
Peanut Butter and Jelly
History
Bought from auto auction more than 15 years ago. First car I ever picked out bought and paid for all by myself. Owned it 11 days and was rear ended by a 17 year old driving her daddys mercedes. Daddy wrote me a check to keep it off his insurance for 3000. Had entire car repainted, and all body work done. Had it back from the body shop a week and a shopping cart dented in the rear near the gas tank filler.
Drove as is for about 10 years and tranny gave out, replaced tranny with a new aftermarket tranny. Coolant leak developed that I could never find. Parked in back garage and forgot about it until this year when I decided to restore it and drive it again.
I have started restoring my 300zx that I have owned since my sophomore year in college. Everyone around here knows it as "Peanut butter and Jelly", which is the paint scheme :-) It was the first car I ever picked out, bought, and paid for all by myself and this year I decided that I was going to go over it completely and restore it.
Naturally with any car that is 26 years old and has been sitting for a while it has its share of problems. Several of which were the reason she got parked in the first place :) None of which kept it from starting right up! Three gallons of new gas and a new battery and VROOM, right back to life. The radiator had some rust in it, but I flushed it out. I had an issue with her before I parked her that was always there from the day I bought her. The battery would drain completely flat while it sat non running. I tore out my hair trying to figure that one out the whole time I owner her. I managed to fix that issue, almost accidentally. The car had an old POS pioneer CD player in it that I always hated, so I removed it and all the wiring that was related to it, and now my battery stays charged, hurrah!
I was researching a coolant leak that the car had (the reason she got parked) and ended up joining the discussion forums at zcar.com and there are a lot of knowledgeable people there that have been helping me to track down issues and make a list of parts in order to restore my baby. I would really like to give a shout out to Jamal, who out of the goodness of his heart mailed me the hood strut bolts I was missing for free. What a nice guy! I’d like to give another shout out to AWG, who identified where and how to replace the stupid bypass hose that was the cause of the coolant leak that parked her.
I have been ordering parts for her as I can afford them and piling them in the corner, just like I do when I decide to build myself a new computer. I was really hoping to have all the parts I needed this weekend to do my front of the engine overhaul, but am still short the cam seals, crank seal, timing belt tensioner pulley, the hub bolt for said pulley, CHTS, and the alternator. I decided since I am still short some parts that this weekend would be a great time to focus on the interior, since most of the interior is still in good shape, with the exception of the front seats need recovering. Most of the interior just needs cleaning. I decided to start in the trunk for two reasons. First the old window tint from the mid 90's was faded and flaking apart, and second all the parts for the trunk like the carpet, insulation, spare tire, tool kit and trim panels were all there, but were just thrown in the trunk area.
I removed all the old tint from the windows and removed all the parts for the trunk, and once I got down to the trunk metal, I found rust in the trunk area that was pretty bad. Off to good ol wal-mart for a rust/paint grinder wheel, sandpaper, and primer I spent the better part of today, May 24th 2013 grinding rust, vacuuming rust and premiering. Looks pretty good I thought about smoothing the driver side with some bondo, and Kenny suggested using a final coating of flex seal. More pics of the restore to come.
Drove as is for about 10 years and tranny gave out, replaced tranny with a new aftermarket tranny. Coolant leak developed that I could never find. Parked in back garage and forgot about it until this year when I decided to restore it and drive it again.
I have started restoring my 300zx that I have owned since my sophomore year in college. Everyone around here knows it as "Peanut butter and Jelly", which is the paint scheme :-) It was the first car I ever picked out, bought, and paid for all by myself and this year I decided that I was going to go over it completely and restore it.
Naturally with any car that is 26 years old and has been sitting for a while it has its share of problems. Several of which were the reason she got parked in the first place :) None of which kept it from starting right up! Three gallons of new gas and a new battery and VROOM, right back to life. The radiator had some rust in it, but I flushed it out. I had an issue with her before I parked her that was always there from the day I bought her. The battery would drain completely flat while it sat non running. I tore out my hair trying to figure that one out the whole time I owner her. I managed to fix that issue, almost accidentally. The car had an old POS pioneer CD player in it that I always hated, so I removed it and all the wiring that was related to it, and now my battery stays charged, hurrah!
I was researching a coolant leak that the car had (the reason she got parked) and ended up joining the discussion forums at zcar.com and there are a lot of knowledgeable people there that have been helping me to track down issues and make a list of parts in order to restore my baby. I would really like to give a shout out to Jamal, who out of the goodness of his heart mailed me the hood strut bolts I was missing for free. What a nice guy! I’d like to give another shout out to AWG, who identified where and how to replace the stupid bypass hose that was the cause of the coolant leak that parked her.
I have been ordering parts for her as I can afford them and piling them in the corner, just like I do when I decide to build myself a new computer. I was really hoping to have all the parts I needed this weekend to do my front of the engine overhaul, but am still short the cam seals, crank seal, timing belt tensioner pulley, the hub bolt for said pulley, CHTS, and the alternator. I decided since I am still short some parts that this weekend would be a great time to focus on the interior, since most of the interior is still in good shape, with the exception of the front seats need recovering. Most of the interior just needs cleaning. I decided to start in the trunk for two reasons. First the old window tint from the mid 90's was faded and flaking apart, and second all the parts for the trunk like the carpet, insulation, spare tire, tool kit and trim panels were all there, but were just thrown in the trunk area.
I removed all the old tint from the windows and removed all the parts for the trunk, and once I got down to the trunk metal, I found rust in the trunk area that was pretty bad. Off to good ol wal-mart for a rust/paint grinder wheel, sandpaper, and primer I spent the better part of today, May 24th 2013 grinding rust, vacuuming rust and premiering. Looks pretty good I thought about smoothing the driver side with some bondo, and Kenny suggested using a final coating of flex seal. More pics of the restore to come.
1987 Nissan 300zx (Peanut Butter and Jelly)
Modifications
Drivetrain
Stock 3000cc non turbo
Interior
Stock grey leather
Exterior
Custom painted Lexus Rose red mica pearl, with Tacoma Gold racing stripe (Peanut butter and Jelly)
Suspension
Stock
Wheel and Tire
Goodyear ViVA Z tires with stock Rims
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