Happy Chinese New Year

Happy Chinese New Year to all my readers who are celebrating it. May you have a great celebration and a prosperous year ahead.

It has been weeks since I viewed the Nissan Fairlady Z or 350Z in Perlis. The update is I bought the 350Z and already paid a deposit on her. You might think that I am very happy but the fact is I am not. Supposedly it would only take a week for all the procedures and I could drive home with the 350Z and make it before the Chinese New Year holidays and my birthday. However, due to issues regarding the new car plate, I would have to wait longer. This, unfortunately is quite the norm for me every time I get a new car and this is the 4th time. It began with Toyota Celica, Hyundai Tucson, Mazda 6 and now, the 350Z. Some how, every time I get a new car, the number that I want is extremely difficult to get or expensive to buy. So, I have no choice but to wait and as my father's friend mentioned, I am not in a hurry to get the car so let us just wait. That is true and the seller is more anxious to get rid of the 350Z. I will let him worry about that and enjoy my new year celebration.

Although I do not know when I will be able to retrieve the 350Z but it did not stop me from planning what to do with the car once I get my hands on her. Not only did I came up with a list of restoration and mod needed, I actually started to purchase parts for her. I ordered 2 parts, just in time for my buddy to bring back from Japan as he was coming back for the holidays. The first part is for the Recaro SR6 seats that I have sitting in my room. Readers who read about my Toyota Celica would know that the SR6 came along with Celica and was removed when I sold the Celica. It was kept in my room and finally with the 350Z, I will be able to use the SR6 again. If you have a car with semi bucket seats, you would know the extra hassle the seats have with seat belts. So, I bought a custom made seat belt guide for the SR6. It allows easy access to the seat belt and I feel like it should have been a mod when I was driving the Celica but better late than never. It is leather on the outside with blue stitching (red is too mainstream) and a special strap for the seat belt. Since it was custom made, it fits like a glove.

Recaro SR6

Custom Leather Seat Belt Guide

Installed and fits like a glove

The second part was a simple yet much need part. This will the first manual car I drive and I have always want to buy a shift pattern plate. Most of the time, the shift pattern will be on the gear knob but not all gear knob has the pattern. That is when this plate is very important. So, I had my buddy buy one of this Nismo 6 speed Shift pattern plate which does not cost a lot but sure hell is a cool thing to have. On the web page, it seems nice but when I see it, I was not expecting this. This is because it is too thin, almost like a sticker. I can't wait to put this in the car. It will certainly increase the cool factor of my 350Z interior.

Test Drive: Nissan Fairlady Z, The 1000 km Drive

It started with a spontaneous idea and soon I was cruising in my Mazda 6 heading north with my friend, just to go view the Nismo 350Z. The journey was long and tiring, spanning over 5 states. Luckily, I was travelling in the Mazda 6 which provides some comfort and I decided to sleep a night before viewing the car. 10 am next morning, I found myself waiting at the meeting place anxiously for the seller to appear with the 350Z. I waited for more than 30 minutes and finally the owner texted me but I could not see a 350Z. Then a guy waved at me from a Toyota sports sedan and asked me to follow him. After 5 minutes, I drove into a housing area and I saw the 350Z right in front of me. The moment of truth is upon me. I parked my car and took out a list that I prepared. Yes, I prepared a list for all the mods or problem that I find and make a record of it.

So I started looking around from the rear for the titanium exhaust. I could not see much because of how low the car is but I manage to have an idea how the muffler is. The rear boot's absorber has already given away which is expected given the age of the car. Next I went over to the engine bay to take a look and found the titanium intake pipe and ARC Super Induction Box. It looks great but the engine bay is really dirty. Could use a good wash. I could see the coilovers are Tein but wihout a pillow ball mount. The carbon hood is a good addition but without proper latch, I worried it might fly off. The rims are 2 piece 19" Volks Racing rims but I am not sure of the model and size of tires used.
The biggest issue I have with the car is actually the interior. Most of the silver plastics are scratched or faded but again expected.

Stock Engine

Arc Super Induction Box

Now that I am done inspecting, it is time for an important question. Can I test drive ? It is really important to have a test because engine and transmission condition cannot be known by just looking at it. Since I drove all the way here for 500 km just to see the car, if he does not let me drive it, I would have hurt him real bad. Luckily not only did he let me test the car, he did not even get into the car when I tested it. Being the gentleman that I am, I did not drive it out on the open road. Instead I just drove around the housing area a few times. Before driving, I stepped on the clutch while gear is in neutral and find out that the clutch is quite hard. So, when I reversed the car, I tried not to rev and to my surprise I could drive easily. Once the gear is in, it does not feel hard at all. However, I realized the original Japanese screen has cracked and could not access the reverse camera.

Manual Interior with Nismo 300 km/h Meter

Nismo Semi Bucket

During the test, I loved the semi bucket seat. When I hit the accelerator, the sound from exhaust could be heard but it was not that loud. I could also feel the great torque from the engine and coupled with the exhaust note, I thought I was revving high but when I looked at the meter, it was only 3,000 rpm. The car is definitely in good condition and powerful. There is a sense of familiarity but at the same time something new. I definitely was grinning but I had to hide it from the seller. After all that, I returned the keys to the seller and told him I will contact him later.

Carbon Hood

2017's New Plan

First of all, Happy New Year to all who actually still drops by into this blog. This blog has been neglected mainly due to the lack of car related happenings to me. The last time I posted was about the BMW-Toyota Hybrid idea that I had for my next car but that soon came to a fizz because of the recent change in Vehicle Law in Malaysia. This change in law only allows the transplant of engine within the same brand. So there goes the hybrid idea and for sometime later, I was back to staring at the local car selling website and hope for a cheap buy. However, in light of the new year, something came along and it all started with a lunch meeting I had with my father and his long time friend, who is an extraordinary car sales rep 1 week ago.

 

During our lunch, I talked to him about the recent cheap sports car on the market and mentioned that some of my friends suggested I look for a Nissan Fairlady Z, precisely the 350Z. He then told me that he just remembered having seen a 350Z sold on the Internet and he is able to get me a good deal. It is a 2006 red, roadster (soft top) model with auto transmission. Since the car does not meet my requirement and is way over my budget, I passed on it but to my surprise, my father told me that at that price, the 350Z is really a good choice. Although surprised, I understood why he said so. The 350Z was sold for around RM 260,000 new and after 14 years, it is now around RM 50,000 for a 2003 model. That is around 80% decrease in value and anyone who bought one now would have save on depreciation.

350Z Roadster

Soon after the lunch, I talked to some friends and one of them told me that there is a Nismo 350Z for sale and it is cheap. I joined the 350Z owners club's Facebook page and viewed the photos of the Nismo 350Z. I was immediately excited and attracted to the car because of the spec of the car. It has all the mod that I would go for; Suspension (Tein), Exhaust, Open Pod Intake (ARC with Heat Shield) and has Brembo Brakes, and the Ultra Rare Nismo parts; Cluster Meter and Semi-Bucket seats. I was starting to believe it is a Nismo model but I did some research and found out it is only a stock 350Z with Nismo parts installed in it. Nevertheless, it is hard to come by a manual transmission 350Z with all these mods and selling at a good and cheap price.

Actual Nismo 350Z

Previously I was talking to my buddy who has a 350Z with auto transmission and asked him to sell me his ride for a cheap price. Since the market price for his 350Z is around RM 40,000 to RM 50,000, you can understand why I am interested in the Nismo 350Z posted online. I contacted the seller and realize the biggest problem is the car is located 500 km away from me but since it is a great deal, I decided to make a spontaneous trip up north to view the car. Deep down inside my heart I hope that this would be a good ride and I will be able to buy it. Wish me luck !

Car For Sale

*ps. When I told my parents, my mother flipped and I got into a huge fight with her. This is what
        happen when you have an over-protective, conservative mother and a record of a huge crash in
        the past. However, I will survive.