Barry aka Barry (NJ)... yeah, I'm not complicated

Let's see... Back in 2000, I'd just left a consulting job that required a good bit of driving, for a job in NYC that I could use mass transit to commute to.
Along with that job came a good boost in pay. So I decided I could finally afford a car that was more than just transportation

I'd been thinking about Porsche 928s, but my dad talked me out of 'em, because parts and maint. on those, make Z32s seem inexpensive.

Like I said I could get a car that was more than just transportation, but it needed to serve that purpose too.
I already had 2 kids, and as this was going to be the second car in a 2 driver family so I needed a 2+2.
I had to get an auto, so my wife could drive it if her car was in the shop.

I'd been searching the web for about 6 months. One of the first questions I posted was on the old 300zx forum, "Can you convert a 2+0 into a 2+2?".
At that time, I didn't know that the chassis were different.

I'd looked at a bunch of cars, most were higher mileage, and looked it. I ended up finding a car at a dealership in Hartford, CT, 110 miles away.
A '95 with 47K on the clock in great shape. The fact that is was a '95 and had dual air-bags was a plus, so I was very excited.

The sales guy at the dealership said that someone had a deposit on it, but that their credit was shaky.
I told him I didn't need financing and left my number so they could call me if the other deal didn't fly.
About a week later I got a call that the car was still available. I gave them a deposit via CC over the phone, and went up the following weekend to pick it up.

Just about everything links back to the original post on tt.net.


Pic from the add in the web



These are some of the first pictures I took of my Z, scanned from 4x6 prints





My first Z meet March '01



My first Z show April '01



My first sig Sept '01



I put a UR UD Pulley on the car @ Elizium's place in Aug. '02, Chivas was there to help, no pix though


First visible mods... KYBs, Eibachs, Adjustable suspension bits, 350z wheels & tires, and a '90 nose panel.







About 6 months later The 350Z tires were worn and noisy as heck, so I opted for g35 wheels and tires.





Next mod was a 300 degree BMC Brace



Jun. '05 Clear Corners, '99-Spec Tails and Gauge Rings








Aug. '05, Front Ladder Bar, dogpile & ARA300ZX were around for that install



Berine installs my new JWT Pop-Charger after the '05 ZCON closing banquet



Oct '05 JWT ECU in (Won at ZCON Charity Auction w/ Pop-Charger)



Apr. '06, Cat-Back



Apr. '06, BBK



May '06 HIDs



Jun. '06 '99-Spec Rear Center Panel and new 3rd Brake Light Panel



Jun. '06 Blitz Electronic metering device... since relocated to an even better location



Oct. '06 Water Pump



Oct. '06 Fascia Vents

Prettier Pix

So I arrive at Bernie's place Friday 3/30/07, and the first thing he has me do on Saturday morning is pads and rotors on somebody's poor beat dd z.
Later on that day I pull the door apart on an even worse example, to replace the broken window with one from one of his parts cars.



Spee and Ashley... A Modern American Gothic



On Sunday Bob brings us Krispi Creams, Ashley is impressed by his morning wood...




That's it for pictures from the first weekend. I had a bunch of great pix from my first 2 weekends in NoVA,
but I still haven't been able to recover the ones I lost when my hard drive crashed. Oh well.


Well April 6th rolls around and after work I head down to NoVA again. It's Easter weekend and Bernie is going to visit his parents, but he found a buyer for my motor so we spend Friday night getting it ready to be delivered on Saturday morning. Ashley and I spend the rest of the weekend pulling the AC and the NA power steering hard-lines out of the engine bay, swapping the fuel pump, and cleaning up the the bay and the motor.


The bay looks pretty good for a car with 96,000+ miles on it.
This is before we start cleaning...




Well the following weekend is April 14th, and my dad came in from LA, so I couldn't go down to NoVA.
Bernie, Spee, Ashley and Glenn make good progress on getting the bay ready for the new motor...












The weekend of the 21st was the ECZA Meet, Bernie had a wedding to go to, and my neighbors daughter had her first communion on the 22nd, so no Z work was done that weekend.


On the 27th Kostas met me at my office at about 4, and we hit the road in his Z. He was on pain killers so I drove, but I had a conference call at 6:30, so we pulled into a rest area so I could start my call, and he could get some refreshments.




Sunset on the road in MD




And here's what it's all about, a couple of little spinny thingies...






Here they are bolted up to the motor




Note Bernie's sexy custom bent turbo cooling hard-lines.




On Saturday 4/28 Ashley, Bernie, Kostas, and I, drop the motor into place, while Rusty (the VW driver) takes pictures...








With the Z motor in place, I show Rusty, the Clown Photographer, how to change the brake pads on his R(32)abbit




Kostas makes sure that the Motor Mounts are good and tight




Spee showed up late Saturday afternoon, and as punishment, Bernie banished him to the under side of the car.




Bernie smiles as he sits comfortably atop the motor fondling fuel lines while Spee squirms around under the car




Kostas and I install my pimp custom fascia








It's about noon on Sunday April 29th, and Boys & Girls it looks like we have us a 2+2 TT




Bernie adds what he said was "...all we really needed to do from the begining"




As I drop the hood




The crowd waits anxiously




We push the car out )~; and I add about 7 qts of ATF in the drive way




I take Bernie for a ride around the block to make sure everything is as it should be.
But after our return we hear a hissing noise in the engine bay...




This is a bit perplexing as there are next to no vacuum lines left on this motor.
We bring the car back into the garage and pull the plenum to discover this...




Some poor finishing work on the lower plenum left sharp burrs that caused 3 of the fuel rail insulators
to disintegrate when they were put under pressure after the fuel rail was tightened down.




A few hours later, it's about 8 and the motor is back together and purring like a kitten.




Bernie crosses my TT Swap off on his white board.




And a tired but gratified crew says fair well...



BIG Thanks to all who helped make it happen!

Great post Barry,the more i see those gauge rings the more i want them.how hard was the install?

Not bad, it's a bit of a PITA getting the cluster off, but after you've done it a couple of times it gets easier ;~)

did the rings stay in place without glue or did they need epoxy?and are those the SPL or the ones from COZ?

I used super glue, I got these from the originator of the rings, Ted of snowflake customs. He used to be on tt.net not sure where he is these days though.

ahh i remember that SN

wow i want a 300 now....

Loved the post Barry. You and I have alot in common except my car is nothing like yours Oh well maybe someday.

props on the TT swap. i wouldn't think of pulling my motor personally. but maybe thats cuz my mechanic showed me a pic of the full 3.0 engine on a stand next to a big block 454. and the Z motor was bigger. kinda intimidating ya know. lol.


nice write up

Pull the motor? I had it out twice in the last two months

But hopefully it'll stay in the car for a while now

AWESOME CAR!! AND THIS IS AN AMAZING PAGE, ITS NICE TO SEE SO MANY OTHER Z MEMBERS IN THIS AREA THAT ARE AS PASSIONATE AS I AM!!!