300zx vs Corolla

[AndysPlit]

I admit, that's why I liked driving the Vanagons. It's pretty high up there which makes for an entirely different driving experience.

I don't know what it is but for some reason I prefer having a truck for a daily driver....even though they're not that economical and really not that good in snow (unless its a 4X4). Maybe it's just refreshing to have a DD where I'm high off the ground unlike the sports cars.

[red_dog007]

I don't know what it is but for some reason I prefer having a truck for a daily driver....even though they're not that economical and really not that good in snow (unless its a 4X4). Maybe it's just refreshing to have a DD where I'm high off the ground unlike the sports cars.

Don't forget about that 2.3L ranger.

My S10 2.8L V6 gets 24/25mpg. Rated for 125/150. Had a Silverado 1500 getting 14mpg, and that thing really hurt. Always $70 on a fill up and sometimes extremely close to $100.

Z31 are hard to work on, and are extremely expensive to fix/mod. I would only get one if it was an 84-86, TT, and T-Tops. Intercooler that thing, mod the turbo, get a boost controller, rims, and I would be done with it. Have a sport setting for peak turbo efficiency at 15psi and I will be set.

[daddz]

Here are some pics of both of my '86 hardtop twins.

In short I bought this car almost six years ago and haven't stopped spending yet! It had 165k on it when I bought it and it now has 224k on it and I have a receipts file that totals in excess of $12,000! My advice: stay away from the Z31 unless you want to be frustrated by parts that Nissan no longer supplies. If it's been on the East Coast it may also have rust. Luckily both of mine were not subjected to salt. This one is from Atlanta, Ga. and the other one is from Sherman Oaks, Ca.

For the price range you are speaking about you will end up with a car that comes with a bunch of deferred maintenance. I would suggest a Toyota Corolla, Nissan Sentra (the 91 to 94 may have had a timing chain motor), or a Honda Civic.

BTW, How is that gray car a Turbo? It looks like any average '86 NA to me. The Turbo's had black mirrors and not body colored. They also had black out window moldings. FWIW, the white one cannot be an '85 as the hardtops were available only in '84, '86, and '87; the other years were t-top only. I think I saw that white one on ebay awhile back and the dealer was asking almost 6k for that car! If I recall it was an '84 with about 78k on it.

'86.1:

'86.2:

[AndysPlit]

Very nice Z31's!

[SportBikeMike]

Nice Z31s indeed.

Daddz, do you currently own all the Zs listed in your sig.? If so, I'm jealous!

[AndysPlit]

Well, it seems that my Z will be the DD for a while. My Vanagon has transmission issues now. I'm just frustrated because it wasn't suppose to go like this.......Then again, that's life in the fast lane. My trusty 78 is back on full-time duty until I get that ideal DD. Anyway, just venting.

DO NOT own a Vanagon, especially if you do not have the financial resources of a small country..........Jason, we're going to have to make it ALL Nissan again!

Cheers.

[e_racer1999]

..........Jason, we're going to have to make it ALL Nissan again!

Cheers.

all right!

Jason

[daddz]

Just to update on the 86.1: I had a new exhaust system installed today. The catalytic converter all the way back. A universal 2.25" high flow catalytic converter and 2.25" mid-pipe and a reducing cone to 2" for the Bosal oem style muffler. After this early morning excursion I added up the receipts and not including the wheels (you can always remove those and re-assign) the total comes to : $14,300 since December 2001!

The monthly average works out to about $224 over a 64 month period and the per mile from 165,000 to 224,000 works out to about 24 cents per mile. On a long highway trip it will see just a bit over 500 miles on one tank so it makes a good long road trip partner.

Anyone who thinks Z31 ownership is cheap might want to pick up that used BMW instead? Keep in mind this is with mostly Nissan parts and aftermarket upgrades when it made sense (i.e. the KVR slotted / drilled rotors, stainless brake hoses, etc..).

[KenshinX]

Yea, the Z31 is definitly out of the picture as of now and so is the Corolla I'm selling it for whatever I can get from it. Mean time my dad sent me a pic text of this 2001(?) Toyota Celica im very interested in that it looks clean and is silver, but I can imagine the price tag. He's trying to talk me into making car payments to build credit, but I dont know about making payments on such a tight income just yet especially with my rising insurence .

[daddz]

Be careful with the Celica purchase as they can be expensive to insure. I used to own an '87 Celica GT-S back in the early '90's between Z car number one and number two but the surprising thing was when I traded the Celica GT-S for a Supra the insurance went down! The reason according to my agent was that back then Supras were bought by older people and tended to have less claims filed versus the Celicas which were bought by young people who tended to file more claims.

You might want to call your agent and ask them for some idea of what the cheapest car to insure would be and let that help you decide where to start your search for a daily driver.

[Mr Camouflage]

BTW, How is that gray car a Turbo? It looks like any average '86 NA to me. The Turbo's had black mirrors and not body colored. They also had black out window moldings. FWIW, the white one cannot be an '85 as the hardtops were available only in '84, '86, and '87; the other years were t-top only. I think I saw that white one on ebay awhile back and the dealer was asking almost 6k for that car! If I recall it was an '84 with about 78k on it.

Well, I was under the impression that the Turbo models got 5 stud hubs, and the NA got 4 stud hubs, but maybe that was only in Australia.

[KenshinX]

Anyone Know of any 1970-1980s Trumph TR-6s or Fiat spiders in the VA area with a resonable price?