1984 Nissan 300zx

If you want to feel like you are driving in Night City with less dystopia, look no further. On a midnight drive through SF’s Financial District, the view of the full VFD dashboard and the glow of the pop-up lights create a feeling unrivaled by any other car on the road. The best part? It’s all-electric. This machine is perfect for you if you want to daily drive something as economical as a Nissan Leaf, but far more fun. 

Working EV conversions are pretty rare to find on Craigslist, and oftentimes are either sold without batteries, with aged lead acid batteries, or with custom charging solutions. This car is not like those. It is powered by the same modules that power a Tesla Model S, has completed over 300 miles, and has had no issues. It can be charged on any 6.6kw J1772 charger. 

That’s not all. This car stays true to its performance roots with a manual transmission (yes, you read that right!) The remainder of the drivetrain is still in-tact, providing the optimal balance of fun and ease of driving. Want to rip around? Leave it in second and smash the pedal. Want to take it easy and be closer to an automatic? Leave it in third and just cruise around town. Want both? Use that clutch and SHIFT. The controller software will also let you tune the throttle, power curve, and re-gen curves so you customize it to suit your driving style. 

Range is about 100miles. Most of my trips have been 60 miles at highway speeds, a few hours of charging, then 60 miles back on the highway. That has been pretty easy leaving about 40% SOC when I returned home. The miles / kWh when I calculated was about three which is right in line with a model S. 

The car has current registration and was properly registered as an electric vehicle in California so no smog required. 

Brake caliper and pads were replaced and, to help braking power an electric brake booster was added in. This gives the brakes a real kick to augment the regen that the motor can provide.

Working with the factory systems are pretty easy. Fortunately the repair manuals are incredibly detailed and include full wiring diagrams and pinout. 


Ok time for the good/bad summary:

Good: 

- Power plant is rock solid. Starts every time
- Can charge at J1772 public chargers (I've used chargepoint down by oyster point a lot) 
- New clutch
- Polyurethane bushings in the rear
- Power brakes
- Power windows (which is good, see AC delete) 
- Betty is still chatting
- Kicker speakers + bluetooth amplifier
- New carpet + headliner
- Structurally very little rust


Bad:

- AC delete (there is a blower installed physically but not wired up yet, just need a switch and a potentiometer to get it working) 
- Power Steering delete
- The tires have tons of tread but are 5+ years old. 
- This is a 1980s Z31.. it has A LOT of electronics especially for the era. So little things can be finicky like the power locks can be inconsistent on the passenger side door, and the front right headlight likes to stay up even after the headlights are off. You can get it to go down with cycling the switch but it can be embarrassing. 


Key components are listed out below. 

- Motor: Netgain Hyper9 144V 
- Motor Controller: SME AC-X144 Controller w/ waterblock (purchased as a kit with motor) 
- Charger: Elcon 6.6kW CAN bus Charger
- Battery Manager: SIMPBMS
- Batteries: 6x Tesla Model S Modules

Building up a car that keeps the vintage 80s feel and aesthetic while breathing new life into the drive train has been an awesome experience. Taking it to Radwood and seeing the look of shock when people look in the engine bay and see something completely alien never gets old. 

If you would like to own this incredibly unique experience let me know!