Fresh meat!

Well sort of.

I just picked up a 2003 350Z Touring about 2 weeks ago, and it's in pretty good shape for being 12 years old, but it needs some love. I picked up the car because the timing belt in my Acura CL jumped a tooth, and is now a 6 speed pile of metal that needs to go away.

The Z has ~198,000 miles on it. Original engine and transmission. Still runs quite well, but needs some TLC. When I bought the car, both passenger side lower control arms had bushings that probably wouldn't have held up to the rigors of supporting my 4 year old daughter's training wheels. BAD shape. Car pulled very hard to the right.
Radio in the car was poorly installed and only worked on FM radio, but not all that well because the antenna is split in half and patched with electrical tape.
Driver's seat has the typical side bolster wear, and the passenger's seat has some age and wear showing on the bottom cushion, though not insufferable.
Carpet has holes conveniently dug out on the driver's floorboard near the pedals for your feet to gently and awkwardly sink into.
Console had holes cut in it and some sort of switch that I still can't understand a purpose for.
Ashtray near the shifter area of the console has tabs broken so the ashtray can't sit properly in it.
Passenger side silver door pull garnish has tabs broken from a forced attempt at install
Passenger side window switch cover (trim piece) also has tabs broken
Poorly spray painted black factory touring 18's.
One lug stud snapped, and two cross-threaded.


I could keep going, but, in the end, they are all mostly little bits that can be improved upon without a ton of effort, time, or money, and allows a great opportunity to upgrade parts and pieces as I restore it.

So that was when I picked it up... Since then I have done/replaced:
2007 G35 17" Wheels (From my Maxima) - Tires are only 225 all the way around, so they are certainly not permanent, but tires are brand new and will suffice for now
Center console with all tabs accounted for, and no random holes or switches
Pioneer Double DIN Touchscreen Head Unit from my Acura (It doesn't need it any more)
Passenger Side Window Switch Cover
Factory Cup Holder Assembly (old one was just miserable)
All 4 front lower control arms (Forward and Rearward with ball joints)
Replaced snapped lug studs, and one of the cross-threaded studs - Ran out of time to finish the one remaining in the front... This weekend though...

Near Future Plans:
Lower front knuckle ball joints - Ordered and on their way
Battery bay cover - Ordered and on it's way - Current one has a small crack on the side
JWT Popcharger Intake - Ordered and on it's way - Current intake is OK, but seems to have a leak, possibly from the resonator (definitely before the MAFS)
Front sway bar end links - Ordered and on their way - Current ones are pretty worn. Perfect time for an upgrade to some better, adjustable pieces
Respray top engine cover - Previously owner took his wheel painting "skills" to the engine bay and sprayed the cover (poorly) white. Either repaint or replace
Full carpet - Have a lead on a good secondhand carpet for a decent price that I may pick up this weekend, we'll see.
Shift **** - Haven't decided on a style, but the factory piece is worn and torn. May go NISMO leather, but also may go with a clean factory replacement as I do like the feel.
Polish and Wax the so-so paint to a half decent shine. Paint has some marks in it, though no major creases. Has some dullness, and plenty of swirl marks. This may be done tonight, in fact.

Also, has a lovely tapping noise on cold startup... Gee, I wonder what it could be? Planning a full front engine refresh and reseal pretty soon for piece of mind and to get those tensioners and guides out and replaced. Parts list for that is coming together and I'm going to plan that one out, and make sure that I don't miss anything that can be done while the chains are off. Probably going to be February or March I think.

Anyway, since I know that all threads of this kind are useless without pics, here are a couple, though I haven't taken many at all yet, and none are very good.... And none are of the interior... Enjoy!

EDIT: Forgot to add that the throwout bearing has a slight whine to it when cold, so clutch and flywheel are in the works. I'm planning on going ahead with a CD009 trans swap when that time comes. No better time to do it after all. That will likely be the project I take on after the timing chain work.

 

Welcome. Sounds like shes in great hands!

 

Thanks. My first car, a fair while ago, was a 1977 Datsun 280Z, then I had a Z32 TT for a short time. I've had quite a few cars outside of those, but it feels good to be in a Z again.

 

Nice almost 200k mile club. Hope you got a good deal. Looks like a solid foundation for you to build upon. You might run into slip light issues around turns without the staggered tires. Someone local on my craigslist has a carpet for sale ill post the link if your interested.

 

http://newhaven.craigslist.org/pts/5322209848.html

This dudes selling a carpet for $75... Dont know if they would ship or not but worth a text if you could get a mint carpet for $100

 

Welcome and congratulations! Sounds like the car found a good home. Keep us updated on the progress.

 

Thanks for the link!

The person I bought the console, cupholder, and window switch trim from has carpet that I'm supposed to go take a look at this weekend. Selling for $65, and it appeared to be in good condition, but that was based on a half decent cell phone picture. I'll have to see if it's worth it or not.

I'm targeting the 200k mile mark to be when I do a full, or at least near full, overhaul of the engine components, and shortly thereafter, tackle the transmission, clutch, etc. I'm focusing on suspension, steering, and brakes right now because it does run and drive well at the moment. I'm excited with the foundation and I don't think I could have found better for $5k. That leaves so much room for restoration (or restomodding). In general, it's in pretty good shape, but more importantly, there isn't a single aftermarket part on it.

Thanks mate! Is there a good spot on this forum to create a "build" thread or is here the best place? I'd love to have a good place to document everything, and get input from a group that I'm certain knows these cars better than I do.

 

Feel free to create a build thread in Media Share:

https://my350z.com/forum/media-share-8/

 

Welcome! Can't wait to see it finished. I have a set of OEM 18 inch staggered wheels with almost new tires and sensors. Might be worth it to you to check them out. Best part is I'm only a few miles from Plano.

 

Thanks! Cool to see a local on here.

I would love to see what you've got. I'm planning on getting a good set of aftermarket wheels eventually, but that's hardly priority right now. For now, I was planning on stripping the spray paint off of the OEM 18's that I have and slapping some fresh paint with a good finish and some new rubber on them. I am certainly interested in what you have though, as it would be easier and cleaner to buy a good set rather than go through the ordeal of getting the ones I have street worthy.

Sometimes I just don't understand people. Good set of 18's, ruined with runny, carelessly applied spray paint. SMH

Any chance you will be at Cars and Coffee tomorrow morning? I'm planning on attending, and I'll have the Z there.

 

Looks like that tired old '03 is thanking you for the re-vitalization !

Enjoy the process - Welcome !

 

There ya go!

 

O snap anniversary wheels to boot nice... My oem 04 wheels are painted because they had some curbage..




And im thinking about painting the anniversary wheels I have before they go back on in the spring...




I like the anniversary wheels better then most aftermarket wheels, mostly because of the price point

 

Welcome.
It sounds like you have some work to do to get this z back in shape.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

I'm definitely interested in discussing those Anniversary wheels. I spent a couple hours the other night looking at all sorts of different wheels on Z's, and I haven't really found a set or style that has jumped out at me as must have. I do like the Anniversary wheels, and, if the price is fair enough, I would definitely be interested in picking them up.

As for having some work to do... Quite so. What I like about it is that it will require some good planning and there's nothing in catastrophic shape, but the attention that it needs is in every area of it, which allows me to tackle many things at once, like the timing chain for example. It does need it, but it's not mission critical that it be done right this second, which means that I can plan it thoroughly and make sure that I can touch the water pump, oil pump, front seals and gaskets, and then upgrade things while I have it apart like the upper intake plenum, etc.

I've been doing quite a bit of reading through this forum and others, and just yesterday, I had a P0011 VTC code pop up, so that's getting my attention right this second. Oil level is fine, grabbed a new oil pressure sending unit from the dealer this afternoon that I plan on installing tomorrow. I don't think that will solve it, but I would like to be able to monitor my oil pressure through the in dash gauge, which is currently stuck above 120 all the time due to a bad sending unit.

Anyway, I'd like to take a look at those Anniversary wheels if you're available sometime soon. You definitely have my attention.

Also, dboyz, I like the painted 04's. Those go really well with the black, especially with the carbon you have going on. If I were going to paint the anniversary wheels, I would consider the same color. Looks good!

Cheers!

 

Welcome to the forum dude, if your Zee was well looked after by previous owners with regular oil changes these motors go for ever. there are guys who have hit 250,000 miles with no issues. I can't remember the name of the guy who designed this motor but it was designed to cover 200k so like I say if quality oil was used previously you should be set for many more mules to come.

 

Welcome.

 

Thanks!

It wasn't particularly well looked after, but it does run pretty well given that the previous owner certainly could have done a much better job of taking care of it. Mileage never rarely scares me though. I've been working on cars for quite a long time now, and I have always enjoyed taking other people's castaways and reviving them just by doing proper maintenance and showing them a little love. Your car will always love you for it. I have a 1988 Toyota MR2 with 330,000 miles on the original motor, and it's the best running car I own. I bought it from the original owner a little while back, and it is fantastic. I'm pretty confident that if I can get this motor back in proper functioning order and keep her happy that she'll get up over 300k too.

Thanks for the warm welcome folks!

 

It should certainly make it to 300k.
I bought mine new in '04 and it has 138k now and runs just as it did in '04 when I drove it off the lot.
Post some pics of the MR2 if you've got any, I'm a big fan of those cars.

 

be careful with posts like this, you can get dinged for trying to sell outside of marketplace..... happened to me

i am up in lewisville