New Z
 

After a few months of seeing cars and test driving I finally found a Z that wasn't too beat up.(122,000) Ran the VIN Decoder and it came up as2003 Nissan 350Z 2dr Cpe Touring Manual Trans

To confirm it does have seat heater buttons in the center console, power/leather seats, VDC button, Factory HID and TPMS.
The VIN decoder says it comes with the BOSE system but it looks like the head unit was replaced (with a boss touch screen) and the speakers may have been also. I hear nothing from the fronts so ill have to investigate.

Issues included:

Small crack in the windshield
Blown hatch struts (ordered new ones)
Keyfob not working (ordered from amazon)
Bad tires
Severely yellowed headlights
Straight pipe exhaust with one cat :dunno:
Cut springs :dunno:

Ill post up a few pics later. I've been focused on getting my WRX wagon back together since that's my new daily.

Congrats on your purchase. It sounds like another Z which needs some TLC. What color is it? Is the finish still in good shape?

I am very knowledgable on the workings of the factory Bose HU, and any upgrades to that system. Your Boss HU should provide a 12v turn on lead for the Bose amp under the front drivers seat, OR the amp was bypassed and new speaker wires were run to the doors and pillars (tweeter pods). No sound at all means a bad HU or bad Bose amp. If the rears and sub are working, its probably not the Bose amp under the seat. You will have to do some digging and see how thigns are hooked up and wired to provide more detail on the hookup.

All of your other issues are fairly minor (I am on my 3rd sert of hatch struts), and my windshield has been fixed 2x... there are alot of Zs around with higher mileage... so it is a reliable car. Mine has 33k... its garaged year around and only gets driven 1-2k miles per year anymore...when the weather is perfect. Advance auto sells a nice headlight refinishing kit that works well...I think its made by Meguires-15 or 20 bucks, but it worked great for me on the headlights of my 130k mile daily driver--an 07 Nissan Pathfinder.

Thanks! I believe the color is Silverstone Metallic, I didn't check the paint code. It absolutely needs some TLC. The finish seems ok but it needs a really good wash for me to be certain. Didn't see any rust.

Thanks for the info, I will take a look and see what I find. My plan is also to garage the car during the winter months and enjoy the hell out of it during the better days.

Nothing new really. I ordered two of those key fobs off amazon and got them programmed, worked like a charm. The only thing I couldn't get to work was the horn when arming, I did try the button press combo but no such luck. Not a big deal.

I decided instead of trying to get the factory bose speakers working I'm going to do a fresh audio install utilizing the current head unit. So a basic sub in a box that will fit in the stock location, a sub amp, and a 4 channel amp along with 4 new speakers. Its a simple enough project and I've done it a million times before.

After that I'd like to tackle the suspension. I was looking at the Z1Motorsports Adjustable suspension package as my next move as well as endlinks and any other bushings that might be worn out.
In the future I was planning on running 18 inch wheels and eventually going some form of wide body. So naturally coilovers came to mind. I really have no plans to track this car, its really just supposed to be a drive around and have fun with the occasional longer distance drive thrown in. I also plan to go FI at some point. But my timeline was Freshen Suspension -> Freshen Motor -> Coilovers -> Widebody/Wheels -> Turbo/Supercharger

Here are the pics I promised

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7884/...ae7211ef_c.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7907/...a458d557_c.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7862/...508a9e2c_c.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7814/...a8a90205_c.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7823/...e8b0e5ea_c.jpg


https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7922/...ef678127_c.jpg

Pic of my other daily for fun. 5-Speed, turbo WRX wagon. Just got her back on the road after sitting for a bit. Swapped over the wheels from my old WRX. I need to clean up the rust and then she's going on some Bilstein Shocks with some lowering springs.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7927/...e61310aa_c.jpg

Aaaaaand the workhorse!
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/...e3dbd9a3_c.jpg

Haven't had much time to do anything to the car, Still working on getting my garage cleaned up so I can move the car in there.

It was warm enough to give it a wash. After the wash the paint looked pretty good, still needs a good clay, the rear bumper has some spots where the paint cracked I guess from people driving into it or the previous guy backing into other cars. There was also rail dust in various spots.

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7907/...d22cb439_c.jpg

I was curious to see how bad the headlights were so I used a restore kit and started on the right one, its getting better maybe another hour of work and it should be good. ( the kit is a 3m kit with some sanding discs, polish and uv protectant)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7844/...71ce95d0_c.jpg

I took apart the rear and found two amps wired up so Im gonna disconnect all the BOSE stuff and utilize the two amps. (one for sub and one for the other speakers.)

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7925/...9acbc419_c.jpg

Love it, nice job!

Cleaning up the headlights makes an incredible difference! Well done.

Boom back from the dead just like that. Had a few things going on so the car had to sit on the back burner for a while. Its currently sitting at my brothers house.

Didn't do a damn thing to the car besides getting the audio system sorted out. I finally have some time now to get some work done. I ordered a bunch of crap from rockauto...
new belts, pads, rotors, oil filter, plugs, endlinks... etc. basic crap. Plan is just to drive the car on the weekends during early spring, summer and fall.

Also on the list:

Z1 Motorsports 350Z Adjustable Suspension Package and BC coils. I had found the Enkei RAIJIN (19 x 9.5 +15) and may go with them.

Now that you're back at it in warmer weather, it's high time to get your Z cleaned up. Wash, clay, polish and wax or sealant will help get that Chrome silver metallic (paint code KYO) shining the way it should.

It's amazing how much lenses or new housings improve the look of any vehicle. Keep up the good work!

Yep that's on the list as well! Unfortunately yesterday my pass side window got stuck down so it looks like its time for a new motor/regulator.

Thank you and absolutely! The left light still needs attention, its looking like i'll need to take it apart to clean it out and seal up the area that's letting water and dirt get in.

As far as suspension I did some more research and decided to go with the following (This is for a weekend driver - street. No plans for tracking at any point.)
Going to keep the endlinks / sways stock for now.

Enkei Raijin - Hyper Silver
18 x 9.5 +15 Front
18 x 9.5 +15 Rear

Tires
Continental extreme contact DSW
255/40 Front
275/40 Rear

BC Racing BR coiloivers (looking for a very mild drop just to close the gap)

If needed I have budgeted for adjustable upper control arms.

Just a thought, that's a lot of tire for a 9.5" wheel IMHO. I run 265/35/18 out front and think they're on the big side. 2 cents and hey, it's your car...
edit
obviously the rears.

no worries! didn't order them yet, taking another look at the numbers and some pics...

did come across a few with 255/35 F and 275/35 R and that looks much better.

So i got done reading about the whole VDC thing also...

I ran numbers through the calculator and ...

If I run 265/35/18 in the front Diameter difference: -0.67" (-2.65%)
If I run 265/40/18 or 275/40/18 in the rear Diameter difference: -0.33" (-1.27%) / Diameter difference: -0.02" (-0.07%)

Given the state of NYC Streets a little more rubber might not be a bad idea....

Found this in the wheels thread and this is running 275/35/18 and rears are 275/40/18

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....59e1f33a55.jpg

So everything finally got here. I didnt want to mount the wheels so soon but because of space issues I had to get them on.

I ended up going with the 265/35... 265/40

Could not find the enkei raijins in the hyper silver colors so I ended up coming across these avid1 av06's.

Just need to order the proper lugs and the coilovers. Still working on getting maintenance done bit by bit. Also need to source fender liners as they appear to be missing.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/my350z....66681a24bb.jpg