Monday, February 13, 2006 - 09:51 pm, by: John Jantzen(Taslex)
Mid November I bought my UZZ31 Ltd through EBay, and I've been a very keen member of this forum ever since. I'm a 55 y.o. enthusiast living in Tasmania. I've owned many cars over the years, mainly Nissan Zeds of one model or another (9 zeds). I was drawn to the Soarer by its wonderful styling and fit and finish. So far my money-pit has cost me about 1/3 of what I paid for it originally, and I've had to fix tyres, blinky-dash, EMV, air-con, boot struts, battery, headlights, air con filters and I'm about to go to UZZ30 suspension. In addition I've fitted TT front brakes - well worth doing! Love the car but bit worried about the costs - I'd hoped this would be a cheap toy to replace my 300zx which was too pristine to use as an everyday vehicle.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 - 12:59 pm, by: John Jantzen(Taslex)
Thanks Jose-Antonio, I think they're pretty good myself - fortunately they were on the car when I bought it, as I hear they're quite expensive. Very nicely constructed wheels too - easy to clean and keep looking good.
Saturday, March 18, 2006 - 11:01 pm, by: John Jantzen(Taslex)
Thanks Davor. Well, today my Soarer became a UZZ30.5 or a GT-40L or just plain FrankenSoarer. It started off as a UZZ31 Limited, but now it has TT front brakes and UZZ30 Suspension. It seems a good combination, as my car budget doesn't stretch to new airbags. I've 'bagged' the air suspension in some of my posts, but on removing it I found out what the problem was. One of the rear struts had a damper which was totally shot. The thing wouldn't even support the weight of the top of the strut when taken out of the car and stood up - it just slowly collapsed! No wonder my car seemed to want to do all sorts of strange things on the road. Makes me wonder just what the real kms was on it when I bought it at ostensibly 130000kms. My thanks to the members who've helped me get my car the way I wanted it - especially Mark, Shom and George who've all supplied me with expertise and parts, and all those members who've taken the trouble to answer other people's questions. This place is a mine of information! I can see myself keeping this car for quite a while. Without this site I don't think I'd be saying that...... Now to enjoy it. I hear the drive from Hobart to Queanbeyan is quite nice...(apart from the wet bit in the middle)
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand I have LESS Soarers than Hayden :-(
Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 10:01 am, by: Don Bagnall(Baggs)
Good news John. By the sound of it you're nearly at the end of the "Spend" bit , now comes the "Enjoy the Ride" bit YAY! .
Don't forget that if any of the old struts are useable, you can still flog em for a bit of dosh, and Mark Paddick is always looking for the height sensor switches, which you no longer need. And if you take em off the car, it'll be 10 grams lighter! Yay!
Sunday, March 19, 2006 - 10:29 pm, by: John Jantzen(Taslex)
Don, I sincerely hope you're right! It's certainly enjoyable to drive now. I'll think about selling all the UZZ31 suspension gear, but at present I've "mothballed" all of it on the car in case I want to take it back to UZZ31 or a future owner does. The air struts are sitting forlornly in the corner of my workshop.....hell they're ugly!
Don Bagnall Moderator New Zealand I have LESS Soarers than Hayden :-(